Grigas named warden of the state's new southern prison

George Grigas will be the first warden of High Desert state prison when it opens this fall.

That facility is scheduled to open in September with 2,016 beds. It will eventually expand to more than 3,000.

Until then Grigas will be warden of Southern Nevada Correctional Center south of Las Vegas, but Prison Director Jackie Crawford said almost all of his efforts will be directed toward opening High Desert, at which point SNCC will close.

He was warden of Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City from late 1995 through May 1998 when he left for Florida. He is returning to take the new job under Crawford, who was recently named as Nevada's new prison director.

Grigas has more than 25 years experience in corrections in Massachusetts and in private corrections facilities in Australia.