SUNBURY — The coming change in administration may be what is needed to improve conditions for inmates at the Northumberland County Prison, the Rev. Walter Everett said.
Everett, who retired Tuesday as pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church, which sits directly across the street from the prison, has voiced many concerns over treatment of inmates at the county lockup over the past few years.
“I feel like they’ve made some improvements, and I’m looking forward to the new administration, hoping that those improvements can continue,” Everett said.
Warden Ralph “Rick” Reish, who is retiring, will be replaced this month by Roy Johnson, of New Cumberland.
“I am hopeful that the person who comes has the backgrounds and skills to plan some of the rehabilitation programs I would like to see,” Everett said.
Most people believe prison is for punishment, he added, but punishment makes inmates no better when they leave the prison than when they went in.
“Some real needs are not always being met promptly, and I’m concerned about that,” Everett said. He visits often with inmates as part of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, which advocates for just treatment of inmates and preparing them through rehabilitation, not punishment, to face the world when they are released.
Everett said he supports a proposal to combine five regional county jails into one prison. Individual county prisons are not large enough to support many of the necessary rehabilitation programs, he said.
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New warden brings new hope, the Rev. Everett says
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Memorial Day Observances
Here is a listing of Memorial Day events this weekend in the Central Susquehanna Valley.
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Four charged in ripoffs that hurt eight local senior citizens
Four Philadelphia men have been charged with operating an elaborate scam that targeted hundreds of elderly residents across Pennsylvania, including eight Valley seniors.
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Midd-West taxpayers face increase of $109
MIDDLEBURG — The Midd-West School District on Thursday night announced an average property tax increase of $109 to help offset its $1.8 million budget deficit for the 2012-13 school year.
Midd-West will also close two elementary schools, consolidate two middle schools, cut programs and furlough seven teachers and 23 other staff members. -
Jokester cop tased intern at station
NORTHUMBERLAND — A Northumberland police detective claims in a lawsuit filed Wednesday he was wrongly blamed after an officer shot an intern with a Taser gun while fooling around at the police station in December.
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Jerry Sandusky charity to shut down and transfer programs
PHILADELPHIA — The charity for troubled youths started by Jerry Sandusky more than three decades ago — and through which the retired Penn State assistant football coach met the boys he is charged with sexually abusing — said today it is seeking court approval to shut down and transfer its programs to a Texas-based youth ministry that serves abused and neglected children.
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Man pleads guilty in 2006 Penn State student death
STATE COLLEGE — A man whose murder conviction was previously thrown out in the fatal beating of a Penn State student six years ago has pleaded guilty in the killing under a deal with prosecutors.
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Streaker at Phillies-Cardinals game last night lost a bet
ST. LOUIS — The streaker who ran naked onto the field during a Cardinals game says he did so because he lost a bet.
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Privately-operated Dragon capsule arrives at space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space station astronauts have captured the Dragon. The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station today, making history as the first commercial delivery truck in orbit
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10 Things to Know Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today (times EDT):
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LARA: Charred bridge sound
LEWISBURG — The fire-damaged railroad bridge crossing the Susquehanna River at Lewisburg is structurally sound following the March fire that discolored steel and charred roughly 400 ties, the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority said at its meeting Thursday.
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Stat of the Day: $2.6 million
Stat of the Day: $2.6 million.
That's what President Barack Obama has spent on advertising in Iowa, which may be a battleground state in November's election against presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
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Northampton County jury sentences man to death in officer killing
EASTON — Jurors in eastern Pennsylvania have sentenced a man to death for fatally shooting a police officer last summer.
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