PAINESDALE -- It came as a shock to most people in Houghton County on Friday; news that Camp Kitwen is closing by the end of this year.   The state prison work camp has been in Painesdale since 1991.

It's the largest employer in the small Copper Country community, Jeffers High School is second.   Residents were upset to hear their family and neighbors are losing their jobs.

Fifty-six people work at Camp Kitwen.  It houses 283 inmates, with a yearly budget of $6.1 million.

"That's an employer that would draw kids into our district," said Jeffers High School Principal, Tim Keteri.  "And by that closing, we would definitely see a decrease in the population.  Maybe not this year or next year, but future classes."

When TV6 spoke with local residents Friday afternoon at the post office and high school, they said only a handful of prison camp employees live in Painesdale.  But they knew of several others that live in surrounding communities, in Houghton and Baraga Counties.

Jail administrators in Houghton County say they're frustrated because the burden to house criminals could be shifted to them in the future.  They're already full, with room to house only 54 inmates between the jail and the county work camp.

"County jails are expected to see a 50 to 100 percent increase in their jail population in the next five years because of these early releases," said Captain Marjorie Chandonais.

And if people who would have gone to prison in the past are sentenced to a year in the county jail in the future, there might not be room for criminals committing lesser crimes.