OSP repairs heat problems in two prison cellblocks

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Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester is pictured on Thursday afternoon. Photo by Kevin Harvison

February 4, 2011

By Rachel Petersen Staff Writer The McAlester News-Capital Fri Feb 04, 2011, 02:00 PM CST

McALESTER — The Oklahoma State Penitentiary lost heat in two separate cellblocks. “We’ve had heating issues,” said Terry Crenshaw, the Warden’s Assistant at OSP. “We’ve got maintenance working on it.”

A woman who said she was the mother of an inmate at OSP called the McAlester News-Capital and said her son, who is housed in the C cellhouse at OSP, hadn’t had heat since Friday. The woman refused to identify herself or her son.

“We’ve had some calls here too,” Crenshaw said, “and we’ve had issues with heating on the A and C units, but maintenance is working on it — they’re still working on it at this time.”

Due to budget cuts, low staffing levels and furloughs at OSP, all areas of staffing at the facility have been affected. The maintenance crew currently at OSP is comprised of 11 individuals — nine regular staff and two management staff — this is nearly half the number of workers approved, and needed, to maintain the infrastructure at OSP. “We struggle,” said Dan Heathcock, a maintenance crew member who has worked at OSP for more than 22 years.

On Thursday, just before 11 a.m., Crenshaw informed the News-Capital that the heating problems at the prison were fixed.

Besides the issues with heating, Crenshaw said that the recent downturn in weather hasn’t caused any other major problems at the facility. “Staffing levels are good and things seem to be getting back to normal,” Crenshaw said.

Contact Rachel Petersen at rpetersen@mcalesternews.com.

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