Jobs found for all officers of closed Nevada State Prison

CARSON CITY - Jobs have been found for all the correctional officers laid off when the 150-year-old Nevada State Prison closed in January.

Corrections Director Greg Cox told state legislators Thursday that jobs have been found for the 27 employees who were laid off when the prison was closed in an effort by the Sandoval administration to save $15 million.

Most are working in other prisons, and five found jobs with other state agencies, he said. Avoiding layoffs to the prison's 140 employees had been the chief objective when legislators agreed last year to close the prison. Most inmates were moved to the High Desert State Prison near Indian Springs. Annual costs of overseeing inmates there are $9,000 a year cheaper per inmate.

The prison, built in 1867, predates even construction of the state Capitol. Except for California's San Quentin, opened in 1852, it was the longest continually operating prison in the West.

The prison, two miles east of the state Capitol, was decommissioned May 18. No decision on its use has been made, but a Carson City group wants to make it a museum.

Cox has talked about using it for mock prison riot drills and training for correctional officers from around the nation.

A small building in the prison still houses the state's license plate factory. It will be moved to another site, probably the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City, but not before 2014.