Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Moving prisoners from the old jail to the new one will not be announced.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- Dedication of Mercer County's new state-of-the-art jail will be at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 9 at the new facility on Thompson Road.
Public tours will follow from 1 to 9 p.m.
Mercer County Commissioner Brian Beader told the Mercer County Prison Board Monday that the actual moving of inmates to the new facility will take place sometime in November but will not be announced until after the fact because of security concerns.
When to make the move will be decided by Sheriff Bill Romine, District Atty. James Epstein and the courts when they hear from the transition team that all security issues are resolved and staff training is complete.
Commissioner Michele Brooks said construction has reached the long-awaited "substantial completion." One of the last major items, a sewage equalization holding tank -- which controls the flow of sewage to the nearby state prison for treatment -- has passed inspection, a requirement before inmates could be moved in.
Needs remain
A few other security issues must be dealt with and the building cleaned and secured room by room, said Mercer County Jail Warden Jeff Gill.
The board hired Andrew Hallowich of Volant, formerly a captain at Lawrence County Jail, as a lieutenant for corrections officers at the facility at a salary of $38,135 annually.
It also promoted Mike Applegarth of Mercer, a corrections officer and part of the transition team, to jail counselor at $34,366 per year. Gill said one more lieutenant's job and five part-time clerical positions are still open.
Gill also reported that Southern Health Partners, Chattanooga, Tenn., the new company that has taken over administration of medical services for jail inmates, wants to expand co-pays from inmates to prescription drugs and other services.
Currently inmates pay co-pays on doctor and nurse visits of $5 and $3 respectively. Gill said charging co-pays keeps inmates from overusing services as well as helping give them a sense of responsibility for the county's costs in housing them.
Gill said, however, that collecting the co-pays is a problem because they are not a part of a court order. Commissioner Olivia Lazor said some state reforms are in the works, and this may change, making it easier for the county to collect the money. She commented that inmates are already charged $10 per day toward their room and board.