STANDISH, Mich. -- Only days after Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced plans to close prisons across the state, one local community is fighting back.

Residents in Standish are petitioning to keep their largest employer open.

The maximum security prison employs hundreds of people and is slated to close on July 28.

Monday residents and prison guards began collecting signatures in the hopes of convincing the governor to keep the prison open.

“It’s brought so much economy to this community,” said Jan Roth, who’s worked at the prison for 19 years. “Everybody’s being pushed on; some people won’t even have a job after this.”

The Standish prison is one of three maximum security prisons, along with five prison camps, slated to close as a way to save the state money.

Michael Moran, Standish City Manager, indicated state officials and representatives, as well as the governor, will be notified of the adverse effect closing the prison could have on the community.

“This is a real problem for us and we’d like to see it reversed,” said Moran.

The closure is expected to take a huge toll on the city tax rolls and also cut into the books of many Standish businesses.

“It’s going to hurt the little guy, not the big guy,” said David Munson, a Standish business owner. “They need to cut in Lansing and not cut in Standish.”

With the prison closure slated to take effect in six weeks, those working the petition drive do not have much time to come up with a plan to keep the prison open.

The other seven prisons scheduled for closure will do so between August and November of this year.