Grayson County residents gathered at the courthouse in Independence to protest the proposed location of a prison to the Cox's Chapel community in that county.

Proposed prison near Cox's Chapel draws protests in Grayson

INDEPENDENCE, Va. - A medium security prison may be located just over the North Carolina line in the Cox's Chapel community, according to an announcement made at the Grayson County Courthouse here on Nov. 9. Attending the meeting were Virginia Delegate Bill Carrico (R-Fries), Sen. William Wampler (R-Bristol), Grayson Supervisor Chairman Ralph Tuggle and other county officials.

The proposed location of the prison, on a rise known as Buzzard Hill overlooking New River near the section of the river known as Molly Osborne Shoals on a piece of property owned by Larry Corriher, drew the ire of a number of Grayson residents. Several Alleghany County, N.C. residents also attended the meeting. The prison would be just over the line from the Turkey Knob community.

The prison would have 1,024 beds upon completion and is slated to create about 350 jobs and an estimated payroll of $6 million annually. The proposed facility would include about 80 acres and would have a price tag of about $100 million.

Hecklers called out from the crowd during the announcement of the prison proposal, causing the public announcement to have an air of chaos. They also waved signs inside the courtroom of the Grayson County Courthouse, where the announcement was made, with slogans like, "Don't bulldoze our blueway," "Prisoners don't need a view," "Find a Prison Site that Makes Sense, not on New River" and "Creeks not Crooks."

Philip Hanes, well known in Alleghany County and a property owner in Cox's Chapel, was one of the more vocal protesters. Haynes decried that the meetings on the prison were held in secret and that public wasn't allowed to provide input on the deal.

Tuggle said that Grayson County had expressed an interest in having a prison in June of 2004 and that the matter was out of the county's hands after that. The matter came back to Grayson officials in August, but they could not reveal the location under state law until an option was acquired on the property, which has been done because of a confidentiality requirement in Virginia law. A bridge would help access the remote prison site on the south side of the river from Battlefield Road.

Tuggle said the county requested the prison because of nagging unemployment, "We're in the bottom 10 percent in unemployment in the whole Mount Rogers area. The only higher unemployment is in the City of Galax."

Tuggle also said the impact on the tax base will be "significant." He said the extra income could help with costs of modernizing Grayson schools.

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