MERCER COUNTY Program OK'd for offenders

The project will be monitored to determine its effectiveness.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- A program to provide court-ordered group counseling for domestic abuse offenders will soon be available in Mercer County.
Judges can order offenders into personal counseling now but do not have an organized local treatment program.
Mercer County commissioners entered a grant agreement Thursday with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency that will provide $37,878 for program start-up. A match of $12,626 will come from program revenue and court funds. No county tax dollars will be used.
The project is for 36 months and will be monitored to determine its effectiveness.
Beverly Burrows, executive director of Children and Youth Services, said the court will have the option to order batterers into the program and to drop charges once the program is completed. Those taking part will have to pay fees for the counseling, which officials hope will eventually make the program self-sustaining.
The program is expected to start before the end of the year. A similar program has been successful in Allegheny County.
Tax abatement
Commissioners also agreed to abate county taxes on additional property in a designated deteriorating area in Hermitage under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act. The area is the back property of Linden Point, off state Route 18 near the Sheetz station.
The abatement has already been approved by the city of Hermitage and the Hermitage school district. The measure will abate all taxes for three years, then 75 percent, 50 percent and 25 percent respectively for the fourth, fifth and sixth years. The abatement is only for improvements on the property.
Also Thursday, commissioners approved continuation of an agreement with the borough of Greenville for providing temporary prisoner holding cell space at their lockup as needed when the county jail is full. Cost is expected to be $50 per day.
Commissioners also hired two caseworkers for Children and Youth Services. Jeff Hawthorne will be paid $34,264 and Debra Jazwinski will be paid $25,782.