The Clarksdale Press Register from Clarksdale, Mississippi • 1

a 01 Sop 0 espy enters mayor race as Democratic candidate New son qualifies as independent By HARRY ABERN ATHY AnocUte Editor Clarksdale's 1989 mayor's race officially became a contest last week. Early Friday afternoon, Former City Commissioner Henry Espy qualified as a Democratic candidate for the office and a few hours later he held a press conference to formally announced his entry into the race. With Marion Stringer having previously announced, Espy's entry created a two-way race and it seems all but certain that others will toss their hats into the same ring. Mayor John Mayo already is campaigning for re-election, presumably as a Democrat, without having formally qualified. Also, Clarksdale businessman Charley B.

Newson filed a petition to run for mayor as an independent candidate. The signatures on the petition had not been checked this morning, but Newson apparently has plenty of time to meet the requirements and enter the race. During his conference in the Mirror Room at The Auditorium, Espy expressed his "desire and willingness" to serve and said that he is ready to conduct an all-out campaign for the mayor's office. "The question is," Espy then told about 100 supporters gathered for the event, "If I am ready, are you ready." He said he would "need the help and support and prayers" of everyone present. In developing his brief remarks, Espy asked those in the audience several rhetorical questions.

"Are you ready," he asked, "to take our filth and garbage off the streets and to the dump where it belongs? We might be poor as a city but we don't have to be nasty." Another such question was "Are you ready to take a good hard look at your utility bills to make See Election on Page 2A a s- State's seven electoral votes are cast for Bush and Quayle i'l 0Q' JACKSON (AP) Mississippi's presidential electors met briefly today and cast all seven of the state's Electorial College votes for President-elect George Bush and Vice President-elect Dan Quayle. Secretary of State Dick Molpus presided over the 20-minute meeting, during which the electors executed "certificates of vote" signing a certificate to be sent to Washington certifying that all seven of their votes were cast for the Bush-Quayle ticket. Phil Carter, with the secretary of state's office, said the votes would be officially opened in Washington on Jan. 6, "at which time George Bush, in his capacity as president of the Senate, will actually announce that he has been elected president and Dan Quayle as vice president." Certified totals from the Nov. 8 election showed the Bush-Quayle ticket receiving 557,890 votes, outdistancing the Democratic ticket of Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen, which' received 366,921.

The electors, chosen in the November presidential election to cast their votes for the GOP ticket, were Harry Allen of Pass Christian; Rhesa Barksdale and Robbie Hughes, both of Jackson; Henry Paris of Indianola; Adm. Fred Reeder of Laurel and Ed Weeks of Corinth. Carter said electors attending the session elected Michael Allred of Jackson to fill a vacancy at the meeting created by the absence of tor John Palmer, who was unable to attend. St. PmiTs United Methodist Owirt form of their "Singing Christmas Tree." The choir will also perform at 6:30 p.m.

this evening. The public it invited to stop and listen to the season celebration in song. Another choral event also takes place tonight at 7 p.m. at the Auditorium when the Dennis Chapel and Calvary Baptist Church choirs perform "Let Us Praise Him," a holiday musical for the public. -Photo by Bush Parchman: Its impact on local work force Kemp As of Dec.

2, Parchman employed 166 Coahoma Countians, a number that puts it among the largest employers in this county. The number of Coahoma County persons employed at the prison tops the number of Coahoma County inmates currently housed at the prison 134. TUNICA COAHOMA MorktJ QUITMAN Parchman BOLIVAR TALLAHATCHIE Cltvtlond u. 1 LEFLORE 1 GfMnwood I ai 'i 1 I wLM A--; heads HUD WASHINGTON (AP) -President-elect Bush today named Rep. Jack Kemp, once a combative campaign rival, to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the new administration.

Bush hailed Kemp for his role in passing the income tax cuts of the Reagan administration, and said he was one of the "premier architects of the opportunity society that we are trying to create." Aside from Kemp, transition sources said Bush has decided on Chicago mass-transit official Samuel Skinner as transportation secretary and said that ap- Kintment may come as soon as lesday. The leading candidate for secretary of health and human services remains Louis Sullivan, the Morehouse Medical School president who would become Bush's first black Cabinet appointment. Bush shed little light on the appointments still to be made, but said he wants an energy secretary knowledgeable about nuclear issues who can help increase the use of nuclear power. Kemp's appointment was the eighth Bush has made for his Cabinet, with six more to go. The president-elect has said he hopes to complete the task before the Christmas holidays.

Kemp, 53, a former professional football player, served 18 years in Congress from a Buffalo, N.Y., district before seeking the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year. EDITOR'S NOTE: The mowing is the first installment in a series of six articles examining the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and its economic ties with Coahoma County. Today's segment focuses on the number of Coahoma Countians employed at the prison and the opportunities for even more Jobs for local residents. By SHARON BURSON Staff Writer Coahoma Countians may not see the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman as a local industry. But its economic impact on this county may even surpass that of Sunflower County the prison's home seat in terms of jobs and Clarksdale merchandise purchased by the prison and its employees.

Parchman is' the second largest state prison in the United States, and its vast size provides jobs to 1,432 persons 600 females and 832 males across the Delta. This Dec. 2 personnel count includes persons hired from 29 counties across the state some as far away as Jackson County on the Gulf Coast who have relocated to counties surrounding the prison. Currently, almost all of the state's male inmates are housed at Parchman, with the prison's inmate population numbering about 4,500. Inmates are kept in 21 housing units, each of which must be located at least 58 of a mile from adjacent facilities.

About 700 of the 4,500 inmates are classified as maximum security, meaning they have committed violent-type crimes or have escape histories or behavioral problems. Currently, 49 persons are on death row awaiting execution for capital murder. According to Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) records, no one from Coahoma County has ever been executed at the prison since the gas chamber was installed in 1954, and none of the current death row Inmates are from this county. The gas chamber which has been used to execute 33 persons replaced an oak electric chair that was transported from county to county to conduct executions. The MDOC Rankin County facility houses about 600 pep sons, of which about 250 are females.

The remainder of the Floyd a resident of Clarksdale for 40 years, is one Coahoma Countian employed at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Hall has been employed at the prison for 14 years and runs one of the prison's three laundries. Hall said he cleans an average of 400 pairs of inmate's pants daily, as well as about ISO jumpsuits and shirts, socks, underwear, blankets and sheets. -Photo by Burson corrections system is made up of 15 community work centers scattered across the state for non-violent offenders. Construction is currently underway for a new maximum security facility on the Parchman grounds, and when that facility is complete in about 18 months, Parchman will be the largest state prison in the country.

As of Dec. 2, Parchman employed 166 Coahoma Countians, a number that puts it among the largest employers in this county. The number of Coahoma County persons employed at the prison tops the number of Coahoma County inmates currently housed at the prison 134. But even more job opportunities for Coahoma Countians will exist with the completion of the new maximum security unit and its corresponding 500 new Jobs. Coahoma County ranks third in the Delta in number of residents employed at the prison.

Sunflower County tops the list with 436 residents working at the prison, and that number includes persons that live in the county and the approximately 150 persons that live on the prison grounds. Bolivar County follows with 382 persons employed at the prison, and Tallahatchie County shows 156 residents with jobs at the prison. Even Leflore County feels the economic Impact of the prison with 146 persons employed there. Parchman Deputy Warden Dwight Presley said Clarksdale located just 23 miles northwest of Parchman could benefit even more from the vast pool of jobs available at the prison. And Presley, who is a member of Leadership Clarksdale, said he would like to see Coahoma County get more of its share.

The benefits that go along with a state job make the positions at the prison attractive to many, despite the risks of working in what is widely considered a dangerous job. Although Presley said pay at the prison falls below the Southeastern average, the pay scale competes well with other types of jobs in the Delta. Of the prison's $38.7 million budget this fiscal year, about SeePajxhmanonPafeaA How to apply for job Persons interested in jobsat Parchman should contact the Mississippi State Employment Service in Clarksdale or obtain an application from the prison's personnel department. Mississipi Department of Corrections spokesman Ken Jones said the employment office has listings of available Jobs at the prison. Once a person applies for a position at Parchman, the application is sent to the state Personnel Board, and applicants are notified about testing dates.

The local employment service also places persons from all over the state at the prison under the On-The-Job-Training Pro- fram. This program is funded by federal monies under the Job raining Partnership Act and provides vocational-technical training for economically disadvantaged persons. Billy Aldridge, office manager for the local Employment Service office, said the Clarksdale office handles placement at the prison for all persons in the state, and 117 persons have been placed at the prison this year. On-The-Job-Tralning Program placement Is only for correctional officer trainees. I 6 chopping days to Christina.