COAL TWP— The Secretary of Corrections for the state of Pennsylvania took a tour of the new Northumberland County prison in Coal Township today. John Wetzel says he was pleasantly surprised, “I was actually very impressed on a couple of levels. One, that campus they have created especially that detox facility makes so much sense in the context of the opioid epidemic. The facility its self I thought you got a lot of facility for $22 million so all in all I came away more impressed than I thought I would be.”
Northumberland County Commissioner, Sam Schiccatano says the drug rehabilitation center should be opening this summer. Commissioner Schiccatano says after two years of work the vision is finally coming together, “It’s reassuring that this two year process, that has been a trying process that is ending in a couple of weeks, that people see the vision.”
Commissioner Schiccatano says work on the prison should finish up at the end of July saying, “We are hoping that July 30 is still a good date. Then we are talking about a month of transition where we train people, where we check all the systems out, and where we let the corrections officers come in and practice in the facility. We are hoping that after Labor Day we can start busing inmates here and start doing what we need to do.”
Secretary Wetzel toured the prison, the drug rehabilitation center, and juvenile facility operated by TruCore Behavioral Solutions, LLC.
