The recent public meeting concerning the federal prison project prompted me to mention two comments I heard from those who attended.

One comment was that the location on U.S. 84 would hurt tourism — balderdash!

Have we had any complaints from those coming from the south when they pass by the Wilkinson County prison?

The other comment concerns the other property by the airport — that we need to save it for a larger industry.

It’s not that Adams County is running out of land and I don’t remember any industries wanting the land by the airport in recent years. I’ve always said “a bird in the hand beats two in the bush.”

Industries seem to come to areas where other industries are already operating successfully. Federal prisons are very clean industries and require a lot of local suppliers. They also offer many well paying jobs.

As far as escapes, most inmates that escape from any prison try to get as far away as possible, so the closer they are to Natchez, the better. I recommend we stop fooling around, get a contract with the best offer and get busy building the prison before they become frustrated with us and go elsewhere. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

Forest Persons

Natchez resident