Prison, Logan to swap services

Agreement would help keep drugs out of facility

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The Blair County Prison Board has endorsed a plan to swap services with Logan Township.

If an agreement is signed, the prison administration will be able to request Logan Township's drug-sniffing dog to search the prison. In return, prison personnel will handle cleanup and sanitation of Logan Township police vehicles.

The prison already has the proper chemicals for that kind of cleaning, Warden Abbie Tate told the prison board, which voted Thursday in favor of recommending the swap to Blair County commissioners for approval.

Blair County's prison, like other prisons, has a history of trying to keep out drugs and other contraband items. But drugs still get inside, and when found, those in possession or involved in the transfer have been arrested or disciplined.

Tate said the prison has previously called upon Keystone K9 and Security LLC for a drug-sniffing dog to conduct searches, but its handler and dog aren't always available.

So when the idea of exchanging services with Logan Township surfaced, Tate said it was deemed to be worthy of trying.

Prison board members said the legal concerns should be covered by the proposed agreement between the county and the township, which has already been reviewed by Solicitor Nathan Karn.

Meanwhile, it's expected that the township's drug-sniffing dog will enhance efforts that prison personnel have been making to keep drugs out and enforce prison rules.

In July, Hollidaysburg Borough police filed criminal charges against four inmates and two women who allegedly were involved in an effort to supply an inmate with 10 Suboxone strips by hiding it inside a knee brace taken into the prison. Prison personnel discovered the strips when inspecting the brace, police said.

Police also charged a Martinsburg man in June with a felony count of contraband possession of a controlled substance by an inmate. An orange Suboxone strip and a note were found in his cell which borough police determined to be "indicative of drug trading or selling."

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.