By Robert Swift
The Times-Tribune
HARRISBURG, Pa. — With their jobs on the line, state correctional officers from across Northeast Pennsylvania came to the Capitol on Monday to support efforts to keep open three state prisons in the region.
They lined the walls of a Senate hearing room and stood on the marble steps of the Capitol Rotunda as lawmakers and local officials called upon the Wolf administration to, at the very least, delay an announcement set for Thursday on which two of five targeted prisons will be closed because of a chronic state budget debt. Administration officials said they are sticking with the Thursday schedule.
Three of the five prisons -- SCI-Waymart in Wayne County, SCI-Retreat in Luzerne County and SCI-Frackville in Schuylkill County -- are in Northeast Pennsylvania. The other two are SCI-Pittsburgh and SCI-Mercer in western Pennsylvania.
Some 85 officers from SCI-Retreat and SCI-Waymart were at the Capitol, said Mark Truszkowski, the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association business agent for those two prisons.
These officers attended the hearing so they could hear first-hand the information about why their prisons have been targeted, said Mr. Truszkowski.
Two Retreat officers declined to comment to a reporter’s question about their participation, citing Department of Corrections policy.
Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said closing two prisons is better than the alternative option of a 10 percent across-the-board department cut. He said there would be no staff layoffs from a closing because of the department’s relocation policies.
The four-hour Senate hearing featured delegations of local officials, prosecutors and economic development experts from Luzerne, Wayne and Schuylkill counties discussing why their own prisons should be spared and the negative consequences to their communities and economy from a closing.
SCI-Waymart is a good candidate for expansion, not closure, because it provides specialized mental health services that could be used to address the opioid abuse epidemic, said Mary Beth Wood, executive director, Wayne Economic Development Corporation.
Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said the closing of SCI-Retreat would hinder county government’s effort to reduce its debt.
Closing SCI-Frackville would mean a double hit to Schuylkill County in terms of lost state jobs, said Rep. Neal Goodman, D-123, Mahanoy City. The area is also reeling from Gov. Tom Wolf’s recent announcement of plans to close Hamburg State Center.
A Luzerne County prosecutor spoke about the impact of a closing on corrections officers.
“You are adding increased stress to this job,” said District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis. “You are adding more travel time so they won’t spend time with their families.”
Sen. John Yudichak, D-14, Plymouth Twp., said he is disturbed by disclosures that the closing decisions were only made during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, shortly after the governor said he wouldn’t seek broad-based hikes in state taxes this year.
Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., said many think the administration is using the prison closings as leverage to force a hike in the state personal income tax.
Kevin Hefty, vice-president of SEIU Healthcare PA, suggested that Republican lawmakers bear some responsibility for this situation by not supporting tax hikes sought earlier by Mr. Wolf.
At one point, Lackawanna County Commissioner Patrick O’Malley, a one-time correctional officer at Lackawanna County prison, asked those in the hearing room audience to stand up if they are a correctional officer. Many did.
He then asked how many had ever found themselves alone on a patrol. Many stood up again.
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(c)2017 The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)