The 20 or so people there reached into their wallets and put together $350 for materials. They later went to the building and got down on their hands and knees to refinish and polish the old floors.
They held homecoming festivities there for the first time in three years, Scott said.
Early plans Scott said that uniting effort led to plans for the March 13 meeting.
Mayor Joan Matthews said the town most needs apartments and rental housing for John Lilley prison workers who must commute because of a lack of housing.
"Hopefully, we will be able to get ideas for where we can get funds to do what we need to get done here,” Matthews said.
Another idea to be discussed is a treatment and rehabilitation center to help prisoners re-enter society, Scott said. The program would dovetail with the minimum-security prison.
"That’s needed,” said Logan, a corrections board member. "With the number of inmates in Oklahoma over 25,000, we’re really concerned with re-entry. There’s Second Chance Act money possibilities coming from Washington.”
The Second Chance Act of 2007 authorized $330 million for states and nonprofit groups that help ex-offenders with job training, counseling and other services.
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