Pipeline workers help Save the Prison
Yuma's warm welcome got paid forward as a crew working on a pipeline project here showed their appreciation by joining the Yuma Territorial Prison's Chain Gang.
Employees from TransCanada and Schmid Pipeline Construction recently completed a natural gas pipeline project to serve Arizona Public Service Co. in Yuma, said David Dodson of TransCanada Corp.
"Last week, on their own, the crew working on the project decided they wanted to make a show of support for Yuma because the community had been so welcoming over the course of the project," he said.
So they dug into their own pockets to come up with a donation for the Save the Prison community fundraising campaign, with the company matching it.
The result was a $3,600 check presented Thursday to the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area to help keep the prison open after the Arizona State Parks Department pulls out March 29.
The prison was one of 13 state parks slated for closure because of Arizona's budget crisis. However, the Heritage Area mounted the $50,000 fundraising campaign to match funds it had pledged to keep the prison open under local management.
The pipeline workers were holding a regular tailgate session, an informal safety meeting at the start of the workday, when one of them suggested showing support of the community through a group donation to a local cause, Dodson said. The employees chose to support the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, and their donation is being matched by TransCanada.
“This really was totally the employees’ idea,” said Dean Ferguson, TransCanada’s vice president, US Pipelines West. “The fact that they wanted to make this donation out of their own pockets is significant. It’s a good way of showing support for a community that will be our neighbor for years to come.”
The $3,600 donation will be a big boost to the campaign, said Susan Sternitzke, Save the Prison coordinator for the Heritage Area.
"The idea that a company with no true ties to Yuma has gone out of its way to help our historic prison is inspiring," she said, "and we want to thank them for lending us a hand.”
Sternitzke said the company was a boost to the community in another way as well, spending an estimated $750,000 while in Yuma for hotel rooms, restaurants and rentals.
"We don't know yet what has been raised so far," she said of the Save the Prison campaign. "We're still counting."
However, she noted that a number of organizations in the Chain Gang are "still out there raising money" and she encourages the community to continue to support their efforts. For example, Saturday, there will be a takeover at Brewer's Restaurant and a special event at The Pub. And March 21, there will be movie night at the prison.
For details on these and other fundraising activities, visit savetheprison.com.
"For anything over $50,000, we have a plan," Sternitzke said. "Infrastructure, programs, school tours ... the needs are great."
Likely at the top of the list will be construction of new restrooms at the prison, said Charles Flynn, Heritage Area executive director.
The need became obvious during the 3:10 to Yuma event at the prison Wednesday evening, when restroom facilities were portable toilets in the parking lot, he said. "People could clearly see the need."
It will be a complicated project, he said. But local contractors and engineers have offered their services, and additional funds from the campaign will help get the project under way.
