Horizon

Farmington is Proclaimed 'Capital for a Day'

FCC Dog Team: Standing (L to R) CO I Doug Beard, CO I John Matthews, CO I Doug Rehkop, CO I Ron Baker. Kneeling (L to R) CO I Lindell Moore, dog 'Annie', CO II Jason Scott, CO I Carl Miller, dog 'Sadie', CO I Jason Matkin, dog 'Lucy'.  FCC Mattress Factory  FCC Mattress Factory 
Click on the image to enlarge.

Keeping his pledge to allow Missourians to communicate directly with state government officials, Governor Matt Blunt and leaders from 16 state departments held the third 'Capital for a Day' event on February 1, 2008, in Farmington. Blunt held a news conference at Farmington City Hall, where he was joined by Department of Corrections Director Larry Crawford and other Department Directors.

In addition to holding office hours at City Hall, the Department of Corrections held an open house from 3-5 that afternoon at Farmington Correctional Center (FCC). Director Crawford, Division of Adult Institutions (DAI) Director Tom Clements, FCC Warden Al Luebbers and FCC staff met with St. Francois County area residents. FCC's Dog Team, which recently captured the Department's Tracking Dog Team title, provided a demonstration. Representatives from other areas provided handouts.

"The open house included informational handouts regarding different areas of Farmington Correctional Center," Crawford told the Horizon. "Those areas included Education, Probation and Parole (P&P), Medical Services, Missouri Vocational Enterprises (MVE) and Transitional Housing Units. It's a shame the winter weather forced us to cancel the bus tour of the prison. Our staff was looking forward to showing the public how we provide public safety."

There was a winter storm in much of Missouri the night before the event.

Farmington Correctional Center is a male facility with an operational capacity of 2,686 offenders. It currently has 2,563 offenders. FCC is home to specialized programs for offenders with mental illness, sex offenses and substance abuse issues. The majority of male sex offenders in the Department attend the Missouri Sex Offender Program (MoSOP) at FCC. Farmington Correctional Center is one of the largest employers in St. Francois County. It has 700 FTE (full-time employees), with an annual payroll of $22,170,689. During the open house, Warden Luebbers and FCC Corrections Officer I Robert Ebert drove Director Crawford and Department spokesman Brian Hauswirth around on a golf cart to see several buildings on the 326-acre campus.

"We went by the medical unit, the transitional housing unit, the gymnasium and the mattress factory," Crawford said. "We also went by the state-of-the-art laundry facility, which employs 191 offender workers. They process laundry six days a week and account for 12,500,000 pounds of laundry being processed annually."

Warden Luebbers said he's proud of his staff. Luebbers told Director Crawford he recently presented 30 20-year service pins to staff, 22 15-year pins, 27 10-year pins and 76 five-year pins.

"I'm proud of the place," Luebbers told the Horizon. "It's a family that sticks together."

FCC is a key partner in Reentry. Governor Blunt signed a 2005 executive order, creating the Missouri Reentry Process (MRP). FCC's transitional housing unit offers numerous programs, including Pathways to Change, Building Strong Families, Money Management and Restorative Justice. It also offers free Missouri birth certificate assistance and driver license checks. The Missouri Department of Corrections has issued 355 state ID's and 1,600 birth certificates statewide, since the beginning of the identification project.

"That's a tribute to our staff at Farmington Correctional Center and around the state, as well as to our Reentry Unit," Crawford said.

Back to E-Horizon