READERS WRITE

I am writing this to ask for the support of all my fellow Michiganders in the most recent attack by our legislators. As many of you are now aware the House of Representatives passed an omnibus budget bill which excluded funding for the Newberry Correctional Facility, and Camp Manistique, yet retained the funding for the Private Youth Correctional Facility, which was recently judged by the non-partisan Auditor General as inefficient and recommended the Michigan Dept. of Corrections take over these prisoners due to the private prisons many deficiencies.

The Republican leaders ignored all this and still voted to approve a budget, which axed one of the most efficient prisons in the state. The Newberry Correctional facility has the highest number of prisoners earning their GED's in the state every year and is among the top prisons in America annually. This would also devastate the entire Luce County, as it would remove more than 300 jobs, the county's largest employer. Don't allow this partisan political game to continue.

Please email or call all your legislators and tell them you oppose the closing of Newberry. Also, please visit www.savenewberry.com. This website has an online petition as well as daily updates and meeting schedules, governmental emails, etc. This is a complete farce by our leadership, which will result in almost NO noticed savings to the tax payers, while turning this great U.P. area into a ghost town! Please help!

Perry Mendenall
Concerned U.P. and Michigan Citizen