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Garrett Wilson enjoying career season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

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LCCC, University of Scranton to sign dual admission pact

<p>State Sen. Lisa Baker on Thursday said local officials and residents can be assured &#8220;we are not leaving the fate of the region&#8217;s prisons up to the whims of the Wolf administration.&#8221;</p><p>Baker&#8217;s comments came one day after she and several other local state legislators toured the State Correctional Institute-Retreat and met with employees to discuss the plan to close two state prisons.</p><p>On Jan. 6, the Department of Corrections announced that two prisons will close as of June 30. The five state prisons currently under consideration for closure: SCI Frackville, SCI Mercer, SCI Pittsburgh, SCI Retreat and SCI Waymart. The administration is scheduled to make its final decision as to which two prisons will close on Jan. 26.</p><p>&#8220;Any decision to close state prisons has substantial consequences for public safety and community welfare,&#8221; Baker said. &#8220;It is far more involved than just weighing cost implications.&#8221;</p><p>On Thursday, it was announced that three Senate committees will hold a joint public hearing to review the Wolf administration&#8217;s decision to &#8220;potentially close&#8221; two state prisons.</p><p>The Senate Majority and Democratic Policy Committees and Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on Jan. 23 at 9:30 a.m. in Hearing Room No. 1 of the North Office Building in the state Capitol.</p><p>The committees&#8217; goal is to look at various aspects of the proposed closings, including cost to taxpayers, public safety, transparency, prison overpopulation and the impact on local communities.</p><p>&#8220;We need to put everything on the table and figure out how and why the administration chose the five prisons they did,&#8221; Senate Majority Policy Committee Chairman David G. Argall, R-Schuylkill/Berks, said. &#8220;We want to bring transparency to this process that could have a major impact on a lot of people.&#8221;</p><p>Baker said the bipartisan committee review provides an effective means to collect information and receive community input needed for analyzing the administration&#8217;s plan.</p><p>To give area residents easier access to the process, Baker said she is putting a comment page on her website so individuals and groups can submit material and perspective for the record.</p><p><strong>Wetzel responds</strong></p><p>Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said Thursday that the plan to close two state prisons has not changed.</p><p>&#8220;As of right now today, yes, we plan on making the decision that two of the five will close,&#8221; Wetzel said in a telephone interview with the Times Leader. &#8220;As far as which two will close, no decision has been made.&#8221;</p><p>Wetzel, in his sixth year as DOC secretary, said that although &#8220;politics is politics,&#8221; the DOC is compiling all information on what the economic impact that any decision would have on each particular community.</p><p>&#8220;We have an unprecedented budget deficit that everyone acknowledges,&#8221; Wetzel said. &#8220;Every year, we are asked to make cuts. The easiest way to save money is to close facilities.&#8221;</p><p>Wetzel said that every staff member affected by the closings will be offered another position within the DOC.</p><p>&#8220;Not to minimize the effect on anybody who has to move, but offering every employee a job is a big deal,&#8221; Wetzel said. &#8220;And I think that is being undersold a bit. We care about our staff &#8212; our most valuable resource.&#8221;</p><p>Wetzel said he has talked with all elected officials from all five areas where the five prisons are located, including local, state and federal office holders.</p><p>&#8220;We want to make the right decision for all Pennsylvanians,&#8221; Wetzel said. &#8220;And we want to make the right decision.&#8221;</p><p>Wetzel said no matter what two prisons are chosen for closure, there will be a significant impact &#8220;for the short term&#8221; on the area.</p><p><strong>Illegal immigrants</strong></p><p>Wetzel said his discussions with federal legislators centered on the DOC accepting federal inmates to alleviate the over-crowding in those facilities. He said President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes. Wetzel said space will be needed to house those people until they are deported.</p><p>Wetzel said he discussed the option extensively with U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, and Tom Marino, R-Lycoming Township, who both sit on Trump&#8217;s transition team.</p><p>However, Wetzel said the state needs to save $180 million in its budget that needs to pass by July 1. He said he doesn&#8217;t expect any agreement to accept federal inmates to be struck before that deadline.</p><p>&#8220;We have a real budget crisis in Pennsylvania,&#8221; Wetzel said. &#8220;We are facing real budget implications.&#8221;</p><p>Wetzel said closing two prisons from among SCI Frackville, SCI Retreat and SCI Waymart could save approximately $45 million each. Closing SCI Mercer or SCI Pittsburgh would save $80 million each, he said.</p><p>&#8220;No matter which prisons we close, there will be an economic impact on those communities,&#8221; Wetzel said. &#8220;The employees at all five facilities do great work, and there are hundreds of employees that risk their lives every day for the people of Pennsylvania. We don&#8217;t take any of this stuff lightly.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Cartwright weighs in</strong></p><p>U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, met with Wetzel on Tuesday and said he expressed his concerns to Wetzel about the potential economic impact on local communities the closures may have and urged DOC to consider the full impact on the region before closing any facilities.</p><p>&#8220;My meeting with Secretary Wetzel allowed for a frank, open discussion into the matter, and the secretary indicated that Gov. Wolf and the Department of Corrections are willing to listen to our concerns,&#8221; said Rep. Cartwright. &#8220;I will be closely monitoring the Department of Corrections&#8217; decision and its impact going forward.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Baker </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_LISABAKERNEW-8.jpg</photo0><caption0>Baker </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_wetzel-cmyk-1.jpg">
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<div class="neCaption">Cartwright </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Cartwright_Matt_cmyk-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Cartwright </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Capitol-in-Harrisburg-1.jpg">
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<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>SCI-Retreat is among 5 facilities that could close</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Senate committees to review possible state prison closures