During these challenging economic times, all options for attracting new business should be on the table.
This from the Gazette:
Economic development officials in Hardin are looking at the soon-to-close detention facility in Guantanamo Bay as a possible fix for the jail sitting empty in Hardin. President Barack Obama signed an executive order Jan. 22 to close the Guantanamo detention facilities in Cuba where hundreds of enemy combatants have been held since 2002. The closure is to occur in a year, during which time remaining detainees must be returned to their home countries or detained elsewhere. Meanwhile, a 460-bed detention facility sits empty in Hardin. Built by Two Rivers Authority, the city’s economic development arm, the facility was meant to bring economic development to Hardin by creating more than 100 high-paying jobs.
The Hardin City Council voted Tuesday to support Two Rivers’ efforts. The council resolution states that the city “fully supports the efforts of the Two Rivers Authority to contact State and Federal officials for the purpose of inquiring into the possibility of housing Guantanamo detainees at the Two Rivers Authority in Hardin, Montana, and to determine whether the Two Rivers Detention Center could provide a safe and secure environment for housing said detainees.”
And just to allay any possible concerns the locals might have about – uh – safety and security…
If someone were to escape, Smith said, there aren’t any huge buildings nearby to dodge into. Montana is pretty homogenous, so detainees, many of Middle Eastern descent, would not easily blend into crowds, he said.
Well, that’s a relief!
So we probably shouldn’t be concerned with this newest proposal for the still unopened jail facility in Hardin? Let me think about that for a minute. Uh, yeah, I’m concerned.
For some reason, I feel a bit more comfortable if Montana isn’t a focus of international terrorism.
Let’s not.
Are you kidding me? Most Americans can’t find Montana, how will their terrorist brethern ever find their way to Hardin to break them out? This is a wonderful plan.
For idiots.
Yeah Steve, that’s why this bothers me so much. The idiots seem to be in charge of the asylum these days,
Actually, someone in Hardin must be pretty damn sharp when it comes to advertising their “product,” an empty jail that needs prisoners. Look at all the national advertising they’ve gotten with this story, FOR FREE! It hasn’t cost Hardin a dime. And there must be some “police/court” juristiction out there which has seen the story that is faced with an “overflow” of prisoners and no place to put them. So? Why not Hardin’s jail?
And no, I’m not in favor of the GITMO terrorists being housed in a Montana jail; GITMO is a perfect place to keep them for as long as it takes. Maybe “the One” will realize that someday!
Great idea, love to see how they like the change from a tropical paradise to our -40 winters. Lets see them try a prison break in January. And should they escape between the bears, the cold and the hunters with open season tags a lot of problems will be solved.
Can I just say – There is a reason this jail has been empty since it was built – and MSP, Wyoming, and Washington has chosen not to place it’s inmates there – it was poorly constructed. The last place on earth we want our suspected terrorists is this Hardin jail.