By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-866488.mp3
LANSING, MI – Corrections Department officials testified before a state Senate committee that they have had little contact with the federal government regarding the future of the Standish maximum security prison. Representatives from the White House toured the facility in August as a potential site for Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
The Department of Corrections says it has only been contacted once since August by federal officials who toured the Standish prison.
Russ Marlin from the Department of Corrections was on the tour. He says the officials had many questions regarding the condition of the facility. And he says they talked with Standish residents about housing in the community and the local school system.
"The local folks asked a number of questions about the safety and security if the detainees were located there," Marlin says.
Marlin says the White House officials told him President Obama intends to stick to a promise to close Guantanamo Bay this January. The Standish prison is set to close at the end of this month.