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getting critical. The hunting situation could get out of control if we don’t get more wardens.”
Asked about the prospect of relief from the increased truck traffic travelling Rt. 522 since Rt. 17 in Fauquier County was closed to tractor-trailers, Sen. Miller was not optimistic. “Some relief for Rt. 522 is included in the six-year (highway) plan, but nothing immediate.”
Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety Vivian Watts has said that her department will propose an additional 1000 prison beds for the state correctional system, to be built by 1991. Whether the beds will be added as one large facility, or located in several smaller, regional facilities, has not yet been determined.
“I’ve heard about the proposal for a new prison,” Sen. Miller replied. “It’s just not practical to continue to operate the old penitentiary in Richmond... Economically, (building a new facility) is not a bad deal for the state. The land (where the present prison stands) probably should sell for enough to build a new facility. It’s not a bad deal for the taxpayers.”
Sen. Miller said that he feels that Gov. Gerald L. Baliles will not propose any action on the recommendations submitted to him last fall by his Blue Ribbon Commission on Education. He added that he is particularly opposed to the panel’s recommendation for mandatory pre-school for four-year-olds. Citing universal opposition to the plan from legislators and citizens alike, he observed, “I think that the governor is politically astute enough not to pursue that one.”
Reporting on the Commonwealth’s budget situation, Sen. Miller said, ‘We’re in good shape - even running a ‘small’ surplus of $50 to 60 million... It sounds like a lot,” he quipped, “but percentage-wise, it’s about one-quarter of one percent of the budget.”
Asked by his constituents about the possibility of influencing the federal budget process, Sen. Miller replied, “The only thing we can do is
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