by Ruth Leubecker
Although the Downeast Correctional Facility has been funded for another year, due to the dogged, unrelenting efforts of Sen. Joyce Maker and Rep. Will Tuell, years of heavy-duty fighting to keep this prison operating tells us we’ve only been granted a temporary reprieve.
During this past session, Tuell, forever tenacious, said, “This is much more than a Washington County problem. We will not give up hope. Closing the prison means losing the bed space systemwide. There isn’t enough statewide bed space to throw 100-plus beds away.”