Kenneth Cooper

Mill Hall

As a graduate of Lock Haven University, a retired employee from Rockview State Correctional Institution and a resident of Clinton County since about 1985, I can’t understand what the State of Pennsylvania is doing to this county and surrounding counties.

I will start with Lock Haven University. It appears that the state is trying its best to close Lock Haven University and Mansfield University by taking great established curriculums from both universities and transferring them to Bloomsburg. I know that Lock Haven and Mansfield have provided individuals with great education at an affordable price. As a matter of fact, my wife, both of my sons and myself graduated from Lock Haven University.

I grew up in the northern tier of Pennsylvania and I know what the Mansfield University has done for that community and economy in Tioga County. The same goes for Lock Haven and the surrounding municipalities. The students at these universities work at various bars, restaurants, fast foods, supermarkets and other stores. These individuals help fill the gap of needed employees for these businesses. They rent houses/apartments, buy groceries, eat out, pay taxes on their wages and do volunteer work in these communities.

The state has taken at least $50 million from Lock Haven University reserve funds and probably more. I have no clue how much money they have taken from Mansfield. I would like to know what they did with these funds! It is my understanding they have cut these university budgets to the point they can hardly function due to shortage of materials. Also, they are not replacing needed positions such as maintenance staff, janitorial and faculty. I know many of the employees, who are dedicated and hardworking employees.

If the state continues to deplete programs and reduce the number of students on these two campuses, they will create and enable justification to close these universities in the near future.

Next, I want to address the closing of the Quehanna Boot Camp and State Correctional Institution at Rockview. During my 38.5 years of service at SCI-Rockview, I have seen five Pennsylvania Correctional Institutions close. As a union member during these closings, I know the impact it places on these individuals, their families and the local communities. Many of these affected employees will end up moving out of their respective county to be closer to where they were transferred to.

These closings in the past created overcrowding which led to more violence to inmates and staff. I have directly seen violence inside the prisons, such as the Rockview’s “food fight” which was a massive brawl in an overcrowded institution’s dining hall environment. Hopefully Governor Shapiro and the Department of Corrections Secretary Harry value the safety of the staff and inmates, and will change their stance on these ill-advised proposals.

They have put a lot of money into Rockview and I’m sure the same at Quehanna. I know Rockview is built to stand the test of time. Rockview is also self-sufficient, they have their own water source and water/sewer system.

Recently, SCI-Rockview has replaced or done repairs to the following:

— Replaced the outer perimeter fence.

— They have totally upgraded their security systems.

— Done various concrete work inside/outside the institution.

— Installed new siding and replaced windows in the treatment building.

— Repaired the water reservoir and replaced mainlines

— Fixed a roof on more than one of the buildings.

— Remodeling the old laundry building for at least the last two years.

— Installed new plumbing and electricity in two of the largest housing units.

After upgrading so many things at SCI-Rockview, the governor is proposing to close it. This makes no sense to me and is wasting a lot of taxpayers’ dollars without just cause, especially since they approved these projects over the past few years.

I worked with many great correctional officers, maintenance staff, culinary, education, counselors, psychologists, medical staff, managers and support staff, who still are working there.

The individuals for the above entities deserve better. If the state allows these places to close, surrounding counties and municipalities stand a chance to lose lots of money in taxes which will create more taxes on the remaining residents. This especially will hit the elderly residents the hardest, since they are on fixed incomes.

I know many individuals already travel a long distance to work. They are told that they will be employed at an institution within a 67-mile radius from their old institution. This means for many individuals may be traveling 1.5 hours or longer one way to work. If they stay with their current residents, they will no longer be able to put money back in their local communities, because it will go to increased transportation costs. Furthermore, many of these individuals are volunteers for various entities, so they will no longer be able to donate their time to things like volunteer fire companies, coaching and other organizations, etc. Also, they may need to find additional child care, since bidding of shifts will not be an option for quite a while for many affected employees. I hope the various local, county and state politicians stand up and make a voice for their constituents in the area.

I did have the opportunity to speak to Angela Harding, one of the Clinton County Commissioners, she agrees this is a problem with both Lock Haven University and SCI-Rockview. I have not had the opportunity to speak with other county commissioners. Ms. Harding has expressed that her voice will be heard on keeping Lock Haven University and SCI-Rockview in service.

It is my understanding that Dallas Kephart, PA State Representative 73rd District, and Wayne Langerholc, Senator from the 35th District, who both represent the Clearfield County Area, have voiced their opinion against the closings. They have already seen damage being done to their area by the closing of the Lock Haven University Clearfield Campus and possibly the Penn State Dubois Campus. Now, they may lose Quehanna Boot Camp and Rockview, which many individuals from their area will be affected.

I just saw a posting from Cris Dush, Senator of the 25th District, concerning the closing of SCI-Rockview. I can tell by his posting, he totally understands the impact this proposed closing will do to the individuals, who he represents.

We need individuals to speak out and get all of their local, county and state legislators to step up to the plate to stop these proposed institutions from being eliminated. If they don’t, I suggest they get voted out of their respective offices. You can either find another candidate in your party or vote for the opposite party candidate.