Congressman Rogers & Regional Leaders Welcomed Bureau of Prisons Director to Eastern Kentucky

WHITESBURG, KY -- U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers and the Letcher County Planning Commission hosted Colette Peters, Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), at a regional meeting in Whitesburg on Wednesday to discuss ongoing economic development and plans for a proposed federal prison in Letcher County. 

Congressman Rogers, who chairs the congressional committee that funds the Department of Justice, invited Director Peters to personally visit Letcher County before she issues the BOP's Record of Decision on the proposed medium-security facility and camp that would be built on abandoned mine land in Roxana, Kentucky. The new prison would employ approximately 300 people. 

"Director Peters has seen the BOP's reports, reviewed the numbers, and examined the environmental impact studies in depth, but we wanted her to meet the people behind the data and see the the beautiful landscape of our Appalachian region," said Congressman Rogers, Dean of the House. "Dozens of leaders from Letcher and surrounding counties made their case to the director and her team, to show the incredible strides that have been made to improve our infrastructure, healthcare, education and the overall quality of life in Eastern Kentucky. Nowhere in the country is better prepared for BOP's next facility than Letcher County, where leaders have been making strategic investments to attract new industry and jobs." 

More than 50 state and local leaders, business owners and service providers attended the forum to give Director Peters more insight into the region's ability to support another federal prison in Eastern Kentucky.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers lives near Manchester FCI and has witnessed the opportunities that the BOP facility brought to Clay County. 

"We saw employment opportunities, not only for correctional officers, but for food service coordinators, healthcare professionals, hotels, gas stations, restaurants and other things in our community. Manchester FCI has employed people from at least 12 different counties, and that's why you see so much regional support here for Letcher County," said Sen. Stivers.

Missy Matthews, owner of DoubleKwik and Director of the East Kentucky Heritage Foundation, said it is Eastern Kentuckians who set our region apart. 

"I can operate these gas stations any where in the country, but we choose here. I can't take these people with me anywhere else, but I can stay here and we, together, can make this place better, "said Matthews. "For those transplants that we have brought into this area, they are now deacons in churches, foster parents, and coaches in our schools. We took transplants and made them mountain people." 

Michael Gregory, a native of Barbourville, was the first correctional officer who was hired at Manchester FCI, and the first to retire after 25 years at the facility.

"I was in 37 countries and 5 continents when I was in the military and wound up coming back home to where I was born and raised, and I was fortunate to get a job at Manchester FCI. It allowed me to provide for my family, buy a home and have it paid for by age 49. I was a homesteader and stayed at Manchester FCI my entire career, and not having to transfer away from here was awesome," said Gregory.

Additional participants included State Rep. John Blanton, State Sen. Johnnie L. Turner, and leaders from the University of Pikeville, Alice Lloyd College, Kentucky Community and Technical College, Letcher County Schools, Jenkins Independent Schools, Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Pikeville Medical Center, Mountain Comprehensive Health Care, Primary Care Centers of East Kentucky, Thacker Grigsby Communications, Appalachian Wireless, Letcher and Knott County Water and Sewer Districts, Bell Engineering, Kentucky Power, Dara Energy, Kentucky State Police, Whitesburg City Police and Fire Departments, HOMES Inc., Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), One East Kentucky, East Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), LKLP Community Action Agency, Pine Mountain Partnership, East Kentucky Heritage Foundation, Letcher County Airport Board, Kentucky Highway District 12, and local elected officials from Letcher, Knott, Pike, Perry, Leslie, Owsley and Breathitt counties. Field Representatives for Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul also attended the forum. 

The next step for the BOP is the director's Record of Decision on the proposed facility in Roxana. 

"Congressman, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for inviting me to this forum. I will take everything that you have said into account. I was listening very astutely today about everything that you have to offer and I will take that back as I deliberate on the environmental study and on steps going forward," said Director Peters. 

Congressman Rogers has helped secure more than $500 million for the Bureau of Prisons to build a new modernized prison to help address the agency's maintenance concerns at aging facilities. 

"We're ready and anxious. We think we are the best  place in the country for this prison," said Congressman Rogers. 

In addition to the Letcher County Planning Commission's forum, the BOP has held several public comment periods throughout its environmental impact studies to gain feedback from anyone interested in commenting on the proposed prison in Letcher County. 

For more information about Congressman Rogers' work in Washington and at home in Kentucky, visit halrogers.house.gov and follow him on social media.  

Elwood Cornett, BOP Director Colette Peters & Congressman Hal Rogers stand next to the proposed map of the BOP facility in Letcher County

Elwood Cornett, founding member of the Letcher County Planning Commission, welcomed everyone to the regional forum in Whitesburg on Aug. 28, 2024

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