Jobs trump fears of terrorists in Michigan town

[August 04, 2009]  STANDISH, Mich. (AP) -- To many people struggling in this job-starved part of rural Michigan, unemployment is a bigger threat than terrorists.

With unemployment at more than 17 percent, many residents say they would welcome detainees from Guantanamo Bay in order to save the 280 jobs at a prison scheduled to close because of state budget cuts.

"We'll take the most dangerous prisoners the world has to offer if we have to," corrections officer Paul Piche said Monday.

The Standish Maximum Correctional Facility and the military penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., are possible locations for a heavily guarded site to hold the 229 suspected al-Qaida, Taliban and foreign fighters now jailed at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, senior U.S. officials say.

In Kansas, the prospect of incarcerating terrorist was met with dismay. Some officials and residents said the foreign detainees would make the area a security risk.

"This is a bad idea on a hurry-up, artificial timeline," said Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican. "They should be treated with dignity and humanely, but not here."

Gov. Mark Parkinson said he opposed the move because Fort Leavenworth's facilities did not meet security requirements, not because of a "xenophobic fear of foreign prisoners." Parkinson, a Democrat, also said it would harm the local economy by requiring increased security along the Missouri River, a railroad line and the local airport.

The reaction was far more positive in Michigan, where signs outside many businesses and even a Catholic church bear the message: "Save Standish Max."

"Anything that keeps the prison open is fine with me," said Perry Pelton, owner of Wheeler's Restaurant on Main Street.

A third-generation resident of the area, 48-year-old Pelton said he lived less than 2 miles from the prison and wasn't worried about the Guantanamo inmates escaping. The facility is surrounded by a 16-foot-high double chain link fence with razor-ribbon wire. There are five gun towers, and armed guards constantly patrol the perimeter in a vehicle.

"No one's ever gotten out of there," he said. "They've got a 19-year track record since that place opened, and they'd probably have even tighter security if we get these al-Qaida people."

The prison holds about 600 inmates and is the top employer in the community about 145 miles northwest of Detroit.

Piche was among half a dozen employees protesting Monday against plans to close the prison. They held signs calling for the recall of Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other messages such as "Save Our Town."

Granholm's office said in a statement that the governor "continues to have concerns about the homeland security implications of relocating Guantanamo detainees to Michigan" and "is not in favor of moving detainees to Michigan" until the federal government addresses the concerns.

At the Standish prison, administrative assistant Rebecca Bailey said the news of Guantanamo prisoners "caught us off guard. We don't have any information about it."

Michigan officials have sought other out-of-state prisoners to keep the prison open. Granholm sent a letter in June to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger formally offering to take -- for a fee -- some of the Golden State's prison inmates. That proposal is still on the table.

Outside a local hardware store, however, demolition worker Dan Drouillard said he didn't want suspected terrorists in the neighborhood.

"If they don't bring them here, we won't have to worry about them," said Drouillard, 59. "Send them back to their own country and let them take care of them."

That was more similar to the reaction in Kansas, where people worried about the safety of the community.

"These people are a lot more dangerous than anybody we have here," said Leavenworth resident A.C. Byrd, a retired Army noncommissioned officer. "Their mission is to kill Americans and anyone who disagrees with them."

Resident Gladys Rivard said there were "soft targets" such as schools and soldier-family housing that would be at risk.

Supporters in Michigan said the possibility of retaliatory terrorist attacks seemed remote.

"What would terrorists blow up in Standish? We're not exactly a big target," said Elyse Sanford, 23, a hairdresser at a salon near the prison.

Local officials have previously suggested to Michigan's congressional delegation that Guantanamo detainees be sent to Standish, City Manager Michael J. Moran III said.

Aside from providing employment, the prison covers about 25 percent of the municipal budget with payments for water and sewer service, Moran said. It also provides customers for local businesses.

Moran said he'd heard little reaction from townspeople but expected most would support the idea.

"If anybody did escape, they'd have a surprise," he said. "We're a community of hunters. Just about everybody has guns."

[Associated Press; By JOHN FLESHER]

Associated Press writers John Milburn in Leavenworth, Kan., and David Eggert in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.

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