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| Prison Staffers Aid Gulf Counterparts |
| By The Patriot News |
| Published: 09/26/2005 |
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You can't just shut down a prison, even when a Category 4 hurricane leaves much of its staff temporarily homeless.' So it was with empathy that Mike Richner, a driver for the Pennsylvania state Department of Corrections, eased his Big House Industries truck -- loaded with relief supplies -- out of the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill yesterday. He was headed for Washington Correctional Institute in Angie, La., a small town directly in Hurricane Katrina's path last month. Pennsylvania has sent four truckloads of canned foods, uniforms, toiletries and other supplies -- all produced by inmate labor -- to help the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections cope with an influx of inmates from flooded local jails. There were also skids of baby items, toys and other goods raised in an employee-to-employee charity drive. In addition, 20 Pennsylvania corrections officers have filled in for their Louisiana counterparts so they can tend to personal crises. Seven members of the Pennsylvania Corrections' Critical Incident Stress Management Team are in Louisiana, providing support to staffers and inmates. State Corrections Secretary Jeff Beard said he also plans to send a maintenance crew. Beard said the staff absences are covered through overtime assignments that will be reimbursed by the federal government, and the supplies were Pennsylvania Correctional Industries products that can be easily restocked. Jannitta Antoine, deputy secretary for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, said yesterday that the aid has helped her department avoid the stress-induced mass resignations that plagued the New Orleans police. It also eased the potential for unrest among inmates concerned about their families, she said. The Pennsylvanians say they're happy to have helped. |
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