Colorado selects vacant prison as temporary holding site

Officials say a vacant prison in southern Colorado has been chosen as a temporary inmate holding facility while a Canon City prison undergoes extensive remodeling.

The Pueblo Chieftain reports the state Department of Corrections on Wednesday selected the Huerfano County Correctional Facility to temporarily hold 250 low-risk to medium-security inmates.

The Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee last year recommended for $10.6 million to be earmarked to open and operate a temporary prison.

State Sen. Larry Crowder says the committee will review the prison selection at its meeting next week.

Officials say the prison in Walsenburg closed in 2010, and the temporary facility could open by May. The department also considered an empty private prison in Burlington.

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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain, http://www.chieftain.com