CLEARFIELD – The new lock system at the Clearfield County Jail, which is not yet complete, was a topic of discussion at Tuesday’s Prison Board meeting.
Commissioner Dave Glass noted that the new locks have been installed on all the cells, but they are still waiting for the control panel.
Warden David Rupprecht added that he has talked to several people responsible about the situation, but he is not getting any answers as to when it will be received.
At the last board meeting in April, it was decided to withhold the last payment on the project until the panel is received and operational.
Commissioner Tim Winters commented that they may not have held enough funds to motivate the vendor to complete the job.
Rupprecht stated that everything is fully operational and none of the cell blocks are currently closed as they had been while prisoners were shuffled around to install the new locks.
The work release program has two participants, but four others are pending approval, he said.
During his report, Rupprecht said that May started with 154 inmates and ended with 179. Currently there are 169 inmates at the facility.
He outlined two extraordinary occurrences at the jail.
The first was May 23 when an inmate tried to pick the lock on his cell with a spork and toothbrush. When he refused to drop the spork, one of the employees had to deploy a burst of pepper spray to get him to comply. He was then restrained and taken to be decontaminated.
The other incident involved a fight between two inmates in the yard on May 25. The altercation was stopped by an employee deploying pepper spray at both men who were assessed and cleared by medical personnel. The second man had minor cuts and bruises.
Online court records indicate assault, disorderly conduct and harassment charges have been filed against the aggressor who allegedly slammed the other man to the ground and punched him in the head and back.
In his report, Controller Robert Edwards said that the jail budget is “pretty much in line” with where it should be at this point in the year.