STATE PRISON Renamed access road honors former chief

The former prison superintendent was honored for his years of service.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
MERCER, Pa. -- The superintendent of the State Regional Correctional Facility thinks that naming the access road to the prison after the man who drove over it nearly every day for 20 years is an appropriate remembrance.
Gilbert A. Walters became superintendent of the minimum security prison in 1984 and retired in January 2003. He worked nearly 36 years for the state Department of Corrections.
Action by local legislators got the unnamed access road leading into the prison off Pa. Route 258 named after him, and Walters Drive was officially unveiled Thursday before about 60 prison employees and Walters.
Sen. Robert Robbins of Greenville, R-50th, one of those who spearheaded getting the road named for Walters, was on hand to present him with a road nameplate.
Walters' successor, Joseph F. Desuta, said the honor was appropriate for the man who "drove up and down this road almost daily. I think it's a fitting symbol."
Both he and Robbins praised Walters' leadership at the prison during his tenure with Desuta noting that it grew from 230 inmates to nearly 1,100 today.
Robbins said the prison has brought jobs, and economic and other benefits to the community, all with "zero political impact."
Walters credited the prison's good record to the people who work there.
"You people have done a tremendous job," he said.
Wheelchair project
After the dedication, Desuta led a visit to the prison's Wheels for the World wheelchair rehabilitation center, a project launched in 2002.
It was first set up as a triage to examine donated wheelchairs collected by Joni and Friends, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free wheelchairs, walkers and canes to poor people in other nations. The organization was founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, who became a quadriplegic after a 1967 diving accident.
The center became a full restoration station in early 2003 and has restored and sent out 2,137 chairs so far as well as hundreds of walkers and canes, said Michael Dorn, program supervisor.
Samuel Buxton, manager of transportation and restoration for Wheels for the World, was on hand for the tour and presented the prison with a plaque of appreciation from Joni and Friends for its service.
The program employed six prison inmates when it started and now has 13 working there.