MARENISCO TOWNSHIP, MI-- Marenisco Township will appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit against the Department of Corrections for closing the Ojibway Correctional Facility.
Township Supervisor Richard Bouvette says Judge Stephen Barrello didn’t read the township’s 96-page brief properly. It said the D.O.C. broke the law by not fully considering the economic impact of closing the area’s largest employer.
“And that would mean that if it was going to cause tremendous harm to the area that—to me, anyway—would mean they’re not allowed to do that. They said they took it into consideration and decided to do it, anyway. Well, what sense does it make to have that law if there are no consequences to breaking it?” he says.
The Gogebic County township has until December 18 to file an appeal. It will take between two and six months to settle the matter.
Bouvette says the area is already feeling the effect of Ojibway's closure earlier this month. He says many people who used to work at the prison have moved away to find a job.
Bouvette says the Department of Corrections made a mistake and it needs to be corrected. Yet he doesn’t know how the situation could be corrected, since the prison is already closed.
