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Chew on this: Big news in dino teeth at King’s College

<p>LUZERNE COUNTY &#8212; When news broke Thursday morning that only one state correctional facility would close &#8212; SCI-Pittsburgh &#8212; many Northeastern Pennsylvania legislators were quick to praise the decision of Gov. Tom Wolf and Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel.</p><p>Gov. Wolf emailed a statement on his administration&#8217;s announcement that the Department of Corrections will immediately begin the process to close SCI-Pittsburgh by June 30.</p><p>&#8220;The growing size and cost of our prisons system has gone unaddressed for too long &#8212; rising to more than $2 billion and threatening funding for programs that the people of Pennsylvania want: education, senior care and jobs and training programs,&#8221; Wolf said. &#8220;Prison population is declining and that is a good thing because it means criminal justice reforms are working. We must continue to pursue smart reforms that reduce the burden on taxpayers and protect our investments in education and drug treatment to keep people out of prison where we will spend $40,000 each to house, feed and care them.&#8221;</p><p><ins>Wolf went on to thank all Pennsylvanians who provided input during the deliberation. He said the decision will save taxpayers approximately $80 million, while minimizing the impact on staff and local communities.</ins></p><p>Here is what others had to say:</p><p><strong>State Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township</strong></p><p>&#8220;Today&#8217;s announcement came as very welcome news for our region, and especially for the prison employees and their families who would have been affected by a closure.</p><p><ins>&#8220;SCI-Retreat, at which many residents of the 116th District are employed, is a well-run facility and the administration realized closing it would have dramatically impacted our community.</ins></p><p>&#8220;I want to thank all of the corrections officers and my legislative colleagues for the concerted effort we mounted to convince the governor that closing NEPA prisons would have been a great mistake. The community mobilized quickly in order to save SCI-Retreat and its 400 jobs, and we should take pride that our campaign brought the result we were seeking.&#8221;</p><p><strong>U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton</strong></p><p>&#8220;This is a victory for the people of our region, most importantly, the employees and their families at the three facilities in our area. The fact that these prisons will remain open will preserve hundreds of jobs and prevent a blow to our local economy. Additionally, it will also alleviate concerns about officer safety, the burden on local courts, and the welfare of the inmates themselves. I thank Gov. Wolf for listening to our point of view.&#8221;</p><p><ins>&#8220;My concerns about the rapid decision process remain. Closing a state correctional facility is a determination that should never be made based on fiscal concerns alone, rather, it should come after an examination of the impact on the local area and the safety of the public, correctional officers, and inmates. It is my understanding that the facility in Pittsburgh is situated in such a way that it is a valuable property, and so its closure and conversion into another use may, in fact, be beneficial to the surrounding area. That was clearly a different situation than we faced in Northeast Pennsylvania.&#8221;</ins></p><p><strong>U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic</strong></p><p>&#8220;This decision is a direct result of federal, state, and local officials working together to retain jobs and maintain a safe working environment for our correction officers.</p><p>&#8220;Having had the opportunity to speak directly with Gov. Wolf and Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel, I expressed my constituents&#8217; concerns about the economic and safety impacts of the potential closing of these prisons. Today&#8217;s news indicates the willingness of the Wolf administration, even in the face of serious budget constraints not of the governor&#8217;s making, to listen to the concerns of the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania in this important matter.&#8221;</p><p><strong>State Sen. John Blake, D-Archbald</strong></p><p>&#8220;I am relieved and encouraged that SCI Waymart was spared the fate of being closed by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. This means, for the immediate future, that over 700 jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact will not be lost in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Further, the specialized services and mental health treatment sorely needed within our state&#8217;s Corrections system will be maintained at Waymart.&#8221;</p><p><ins>&#8220;We need to ensure public safety; the safety of our workers; and the safety of those under the watchful eye and the necessary constraints of our corrections system. We also need to be smarter in how we deal with non-violent offenders in order to reduce prison populations going forward. This means &#8212; as an alternative to shutting down facilities and shuffling prisoners around while disrupting lives and regional economies &#8212; investing in proper treatment and job training capacities to transition more non-violent offenders into productive members of society.&#8221;</ins></p><p><strong>Mayor Tony George, D-Wilkes-Barre</strong></p><p>&#8220;It is truly inspiring to see the residents and leaders of Northeastern Pennsylvania come together to save SCI-Retreat, SCI-Frackville, and SCI-Waymart from closure, saving over 1,500 jobs.&#8221;</p><p>Mayor George said that SCI-Retreat, SCI-Waymart, and SCI-Frackville employ over 30 Wilkes-Barre City residents. If any combination of these Northeastern Pennsylvania facilities would have closed, over 30 families would have been affected in Wilkes-Barre alone, he said.</p><p><ins>&#8220;These job losses would cause residents to move out of city, to remove their children from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and ultimately adversely impact the economy of Luzerne County. As the largest city in the county, many of the employees and their families shop, dine, and do business in Wilkes-Barre.&#8221;</ins></p><p><strong>State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake</strong></p><p>&#8220;The community&#8217;s voices were heard. I attended the hearing on Monday and was part of the battle cry to keep SCI-Retreat open. Our concerns were more than the loss of jobs. The communities impacted by the potential closing would have felt a financial hardship in their schools, sewer authority, businesses and overall tax structure. I am pleased that the governor and Secretary John Wetzel heard our voices and concerns and responded accordingly.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Dr. Ronald Grevera, superintendent of Greater Nanticoke Area School District</strong></p><p>&#8220;As a school district we are very happy that SCI Retreat will continue to employ families in our community. These jobs will continue to provide stability for our student population in the school district. Additionally, we will be able to maintain services for our students as our revenue streams will remain stable.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Toohil </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Toohil_Tarah-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Toohil </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Barletta_Lou_2-cmyk-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Barletta </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Barletta_Lou_2-cmyk-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Barletta </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Cartwright2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cartwright </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Cartwright2-1.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_Blake_John.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Blake </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Blake_John.jpg</photo3><caption3>Blake </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_George_Tony.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">George </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_George_Tony.jpg</photo4><caption4>George </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_web1_Boback_Karen-cmyk-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Boback </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_web1_Boback_Karen-cmyk-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Boback </caption5><photoCredit5></photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Grevera-Ronald.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Grevera </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Grevera-Ronald.jpg</photo6><caption6>Grevera </caption6><photoCredit6></photoCredit6></div></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>

Legislators praise decision on keeping prisons open