As planned, the Laconia prison closed yesterday with the departure of the final inmates, and the retirements of the prison's warden and flag.

Prison spokesman Jeff Lyons said the last six inmates at the minimum-security prison left about 2:30 p.m. yesterday.

Warden Jane Coplan, who has been with the Corrections Department for 30 years and is now retiring, was given an honorary escort from the facility.

And the prison's flag was officially retired as the last of the Lakes Region Facility staff looked on, Lyons said.

The state closed the prison, which began taking inmates in 1991, to save money. The inmates and most of the staff were relocated: the inmates to the Berlin prison, and the staff to the state's other prisons. Nine Laconia employees were laid off as part of the closure, Lyons said.

The grounds will remain state property. A committee of local and state officials is expected to begin deciding the property's future after the first of the year.

Annmarie Timmins