By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Cedar Creek Corrections Center at Littlerock is getting a new superintendent next month, a man who also has been tapped to assist in finding a spot to build a new 1,000-bed prison for Washington state.
Doug Cole’s appointment takes effect August 15, according to the Washington State Department of Corrections.
Cole is currently the superintendent at the women’s prison at Purdy and previously served as an associate superintendent at McNeil Island Corrections Center, according to Belinda Stewart, a spokesperson for DOC. He has extensive experience in security management, Stewart said.
“He has been in corrections for a long time, he came up through the custody ranks,” Stewart said.
Cedar Creek’s current superintendent Jane Parnell will move to take Cole’s post at the Washington Corrections Center for Women near Gig Harbor.
Cedar Creek is a minimum security prison that houses offenders within four years of their release. The Bordeaux Road facility holds 480 inmates.
In addition to being in charge of Cedar Creek, Cole – a Mason County resident – will serve as the prison division’s liaison for the siting and design of a new facility.
DOC plans to construct a what it calls a new male reception center, in part because Washington Corrections Center in Shelton was never built for that purpose, which is currently serves, according to Stewart. A decision hasn’t yet been made about where it will go.
“We want it on the I-5 corridor,” Stewart said. “That just makes it easier for families to visit.”
Prisons Director Dick Morgan said in a news release Cole a good fit for his new duties.
“Doug has extensive experience with prison construction and his expertise will ensure progress is efficient and meets the needs of the agency,” Morgan stated. “This project is a huge undertaking and it’s critical that we have the right person heading up the effort for our division.”
DOC reports the prison population has changed drastically in the past year. The state agency has reduced 1,056 beds this year in response to a decreased offender population and a projected decline of incoming offenders in the future, according to the news release.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Lets see if I understand this. The state has reduced 1056 state beds because of reduced prison population but they want to build a 1000 bed NEW prison.
Something wrong with this picture since they can’t provide programs for the existing prisons.