WATERTOWN â A group met in Public Square on Saturday afternoon to protest the upcoming closure of Watertown Correctional Facility, which is scheduled to shut down at the end of March.
The demonstrators displayed signs for the honking cars passing by and talked about what the closure means for the employees at the facility and their families.
Among them was Watertown corrections officer Tom Dier. He will be traveling over the next few days to the homes of a few of his coworkers â who are in quarantine because they got COVID-19, apparently from the prison where they work â to pick up the paperwork they need to submit to stay employed.
Rallying for Watertown Correctional Facility, still hoping for change
Rallying for Watertown Correctional Facility, still hoping for change By Brendan Straub | January 16, 2021 at 4:47 PM EST - Updated January 16 at 6:36 PM
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWNY) - Signs could been seen up and down Watertownâs Public Sqaure all with the same message: Save the Watertown Correctional Facility.
Governor Cuomo gave the facility itâs 90 day notice back in December.
In response, several rallies have occurred, even if the decision may seem inevitable.
âRight now there is not much movement, but we are pushing for it hoping that the Governor will change his mind,â said Bryan Hluska, Central Region VP for New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOBA).
COVID prompts end to prison visits, union fears itâs too late
WWNY COVID prompts end to prison visits, union fears itâs too late By Lexi Bruening | December 29, 2020 at 4:13 PM EST - Updated December 29 at 7:12 PM
GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. (WWNY) - By allowing visitors into state prisons, there have been concerns that COVID-19 could become a big problem. On Wednesday, those visitations will stop.
According to the state, inmates will be able to use phones and tablets for free calls and non-contact legal visits will continue.
But COVID is already behind bars in north country prisons and the union representing corrections officers has fought for a while to halt visits.
New York Closing 3 Upstate Prisons Due To Budget Constraints, 1,000 Jobs Affected zerohedge.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from zerohedge.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.