CHEYENNE -- Work on Wyoming's new medium-security prison in Torrington is wrapping up and the first training class for officers starts Monday at nearby Camp Guernsey.

A contractor is scheduled to complete the Wyoming Department of Corrections' new $128-million facility in late November. Warden Michael Murphy said he expects the first busload of inmates will arrive at the prison in January or early February.

The new prison, called the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution, has a maximum capacity of 720 inmates. The corrections department currently is paying to house about 200 male inmates in prisons in Virginia and opening the new prison will allow the state to bring those men home.

Wyoming already has hired about 140 staff workers out of the total 355 it needs for the prison, department spokeswoman Melinda Brazzale said. At full staffing, the prison will have 235 uniformed security staff and 120 non-uniformed workers. The state will contract privately for medical and mental health services.

Of those hired so far, Brazzale said more than 70 are entry-level correctional officers. She said more than 30 have come from Michigan, more than 20 from Wyoming and five from Nebraska. She said Wyoming is benefiting from tough economic conditions in other states as it recruits workers to come to Torrington.

Murphy, former warden of the state penitentiary in Rawlins, said he's pleased to see experienced officers coming to the Torrington prison. He said some are coming from state prisons that have shut down and laid off staff while others fear they could lose their jobs.

"I'm really enthused about the idea that we're getting people from other prison systems who are bringing with them new experiences, new ideas," Murphy said. "I review a lot of the backgrounds of the people coming here, and they seem like they're going to be really good neighbors to have."

The training academy class that begins Monday is the first that the corrections department has held at Camp Guernsey, Brazzale said. She said the department plans to hold eight of the 10-week classes there over the next five months. While many of the graduates will work at the Torrington prison, she said some will work at other DOC facilities.

Bob Kiser, DOC facilities operations manager, said construction of the prison is going well and said the project is on schedule to be substantially completed on or before Nov. 23.

Kiser said DOC Director Bob Lampert and others with the department gave suggestions on the design of the prison. Kiser said the department decided to have the contractor, Layton Construction of Sandy, Utah, build the basic shells for two additional housing units at a cost of $3.5 million that will allow the prison to be expanded by an additional 120 beds.

Murphy said finding housing in and around Torrington for the new prison staff is a concern.

"We have let people know that we are going to be in need of the kind of housing that professional staff can afford, and also especially for rentals," Murphy said. He said he believes the local community ultimately will be able to absorb the new workers.

Randy Adams, a Torrington city councilor, said it seems the prospect of opening the new prison is pretty well received among most local residents. However, he said finding housing for the incoming prison staff poses a problem.

"Those coming to live here are going to be looking for housing, and we are not well prepared to deal with that," Adams said. He said some area contractors have been taking a wait-and-see attitude to determine what the real demand for housing will be before building any more.

Adams said he's heard from landlords that people are calling around looking for rentals, but that there's little available.

"So toward the end of the year, I think we're going to have some problems in terms of housing," Adams said. "I think that in terms of restaurants and services, things like that, I think we're well prepared."