by Ruth Leubecker

During his first week in office, Randall Liberty, newly appointed commissioner of corrections, announced his top three priorities for action.

“The Downeast Correctional Facility, Long Creek and the women’s prison population are tops on my list, and those are not in any order. They’re all right there at the top,” he informed the Machias Valley News Observer last week. “With DCF we recognize the value of the facility in providing employees to businesses that use them, and we also realize the value of the prison as an employer.”