Officials: Jail needs new control panel

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Lawrence County commissioners will vote Tuesday on a $397,131 contract with a Cranberry Township, Pa., company to provide a new electronic control panel at the county jail.

Warden Charles Adamo told commissioners Thursday that the current system frequently malfunctions and often requires guards to manually open the doors with keys. He said on two instances, all of the doors in the building automatically opened during a malfunction. The system is original to the jail building, which was constructed in the mid-1990s.

It will take Simplex Grinnell three months to install the new system, Adamo said.

County Administrator James Gagliano said the money for the new panel will come from the county capital fund, which now has $750,000.

In other business, commissioners said they intend to reappoint Mike Mancuso to the Lawrence County Housing Authority. Mancuso was appointed in July 2006 to fill the term left vacant by former Lawrence County Treasurer Gary Felasco. Felasco resigned from the board just before his trial and ultimate conviction on theft charges from his county offices.

Mancuso will be appointed to a four-year term on the board.