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NANTICOKE — Sen. John Yudichak announced Thursday that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will hold a public hearing on the proposed closure of State Correctional Institution at Retreat on Thursday, Nov. 21, in Nanticoke.

The hearing will be held at the Nanticoke Municipal Building, 15 East Ridge St., from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Yudichak said the hearing is required by Act 133 of 2018.

Legislators, public officials and the public will be provided the opportunity to speak at the hearing.

More detailed information regarding the format will be communicated on the Department of Corrections website at www.cor.pa.gov.

Department of Corrections Executive Deputy Secretary for Institutional Operations Tabb Bickell was placed in charge of the process on Tuesday amid ongoing outrage over profane remarks made by DOC Secretary John Wetzel during a public hearing on plans to close the state prison, located in Newport Township.

Together with Bickell’s assignment to the role, the governor’s office announced last week that the DOC is developing an expanded schedule of community meetings to gain more input from employees, businesses, legislators, and community leaders, but did not elaborate regarding a timetable.

In a Times Leader story last Sunday, the governor’s office released a statement indicating that Bickell’s meeting with Wolf “will guide our next steps, including a timeline, locations of additional hearings or meetings and other steps in the process.”

It also added that closure of SCI-Retreat remains “only a proposal.”

Wolf’s administration and the DOC in August announced their current proposal to close SCI-Retreat, which has 384 full-time employees and had a prisoner population of 1,057 as of the most recent state report, released last month.

Officials with the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association have been dubious about the administration’s responses, a view that only intensified as the week closed with no specifics regarding next steps.

“PSCOA hasn’t heard anything since it was announced that there would be new hearings. Our officers and the community remain very skeptical,” said PSCOA Vice President Mark Truszkowski, a Luzerne County native.

“It’s going to take a lot of convincing that this is a legitimate process,” Truszkowski added.

The DOC has pledged to offer Retreat’s employees positions at about a half-dozen other state prisons that are within 65 miles if the facility does close.

Anecdotal reports received by the Times Leader suggested that some employees at SCI-Retreat have already agreed to transfer to other facilities or begun looking for other employment.

The administration dismissed those reports on Saturday.

“As for employee transfers, because we have not made a final decision, employee transfer decisions have not even been discussed with the employees,” their statement to the Times Leader indicated.

“The closure of SCI Retreat at this time is only a proposal. Once we have decided upon the next steps, we will be sure to notify everyone,” it concluded.

Truszkowski said the uncertainty has been difficult for employees.

Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, said, “The fight to save SCI Retreat has never stopped since the proposed closure announcement was made in August.”

He said he and Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, attended the Act 133 hearing in Nanticoke to argue our case for saving SCI Retreat, and we have been in constant communication with the Governor’s office and the Department of Corrections to pursue every option available to the Department to spare SCI Retreat from closure.

Baker said, “In terms of community respect and confidence in state government and its intentions and commitments, this regrettable series of events means they will face a much higher bar in establishing good faith and regaining credibility.”

State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, said he has been engaged in conversations with his fellow legislators on a daily basis as well as the governor’s staff to re-engage the conversation with the true intent of allowing the facts and testimony to truly guide the ultimate decision regarding SCI-Retreat.

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By Bill O’Boyle and Roger DuPuis

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