Residents can see construction cranes north of town, building up walls and fences. They have watched buildings form, concrete block by concrete block. Shells of outer buildings are complete.
More centralized buildings have a ways to go.
In nine months, the new state prison is scheduled for completion. Seven months after that, the first inmates will arrive. But perhaps the most excited person can't see the daily progress from his Lincoln office 40 miles away. Blue Hill native Fred Britten is eager to start his responsibilities as warden of Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. That's part of the excitement, too.