WEBBER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (via WOOD TV) — It's not often that a prison brings hope, but it does when it's a prison being reopened in one of the poorest places in Michigan.
"This is an answer to prayer," said Pastor Rich Rybka, former chaplain at the North Lake Correctional Facility that's been closed for two years.
The GEO Group, Inc., which owns the nearly 1,800-bed prison, plans to reopen it in October to house criminally sentenced illegal immigrants for the federal government. The private Florida-based company says the federal contract will mean $37 million a year in revenue.
Wednesday, the former chaplain drove up to see the site.
"It's a good feeling to see vehicles in the parking lot, and I just told my wife we need to go in and see some life at the prison," Rybka said.
Those cars were driven by people looking to fill 300 jobs, from corrections officer to clerks to nurses to the warden. For corrections officers, the jobs will pay $17 an hour.
So far, 530 people had already applied online. Another 180 people walked in Tuesday for the first of a three-day job fair, coordinated with help from the Michigan Works Association.
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