Blair sheriff finally gets judge’s ear

Pleas about resignations, retirements, workload had garnered little attention

By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com
The Blair County Sheriff’s Department says it has been hit hard by resignations and retirements of veteran employees — and a spiraling workload that has delayed and canceled court hearings.

“We are struggling along. I have dedicated people. They go out and do the work. But we have all this work to do and we don’t have the people to do it,” Sheriff Larry D. Field said.

Field has aired issues about the low wages and high turnover in his department and the lack of well-maintained vehicles before, but they never have reached a critical stage until now, he said.

President Judge Jolene Kopriva said she has noticed the problems.

The Sheriff’s Department, she said, “is an essential player in the criminal justice system. It is the oil to transport people to and from proceedings effectively and efficiently. We’ve had to cancel proceedings because the sheriff’s department does not have personnel to bring people to the proceedings.”

Kopriva said there are communication issues, with Field saying his department is not receiving enough notice to schedule transports from county jails or state prisons.

Field is asking for 48 hours notice of a hearing to bring inmates from institutions such as the State Correctional Facilities at Huntingdon and Rockview, and a week’s notice if inmates have to come from further away, such as Graterford in Philadelphia, or Muncy, the primary state institution for women.

Kopriva said she also has received letters from lawyers in civil cases complaining that papers are not being served within mandated time limits.

“They [Sheriff’s Department] are being asked to do a big job,” Kopriva said, but she added that the department has not moved swiftly to make improvements.

For example, she said, the department has its own computer system that is not integrated into the statewide system in the prothonotary’s office.

That means a bench warrant recorded in the prothonotary’s office must be entered a second time in the sheriff’s computer system.

An effort is under way to change things.

Field promoted Travis Clowson, 32, of Williamsburg to chief deputy, who will handle day-to-day scheduling and department operations.

Clowson, a graduate of Penn State Altoona’s criminal justice program and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Police Academy, and Deputy John Higgins started an effort to show county officials and the public just what the department does.

Clowson has comprised statistics, showing that in the first five months of 2008, the three full- and 16 part-time sheriff’s deputies made 247 trips to state institutions and mental health facilities to pick up inmates. The trips were to nearly all state prison facilities, as well as in Maryland and New Jersey.

Deputies transported more than 1,100 inmates from Blair County Prison to various locations, primarily the courthouse for hearings and served almost 200 warrants.

The department served papers in 1,355 civil cases, or a rate of 271 a month. Ten years ago, the department was serving 128 civil papers a month.

And one of the sheriff’s new duties — security at the front door to the courthouse — also has yielded results.

Deputies at the door recently arrested a woman allegedly attempting to smuggle in a gun.

In the past four months, they also have prevented other contraband from getting into the courthouse, including a stun gun, switchblades, ammunition and a firecracker, brass knuckles, two lock-picking sets, drugs and more than 2,225 knives.

Retirements and resignations of James Eulie, James Porreca, Joe Filer, and the upcoming retirement of Joseph Cassidy, means the department is losing about 160 years of law enforcement experience, Clowson said. All are veterans of police departments or the Pennsylvania State Police.

The low wages in the department — beginning wage of $13,800 for a full-time deputy and $9.87 an hour for part-timers — has led to a steady turnover during Field’s 19 years in office. Clowson says that 75 deputies have went through the office during that time.

Clowson intends to do something about the problems, such as creating a warrant team, and creating better communications with the commissioners, who control wages, hiring, and the purchase of equipment.

Clowson said there is not just one problem in the sheriff’s department.

“This job,” he said, “it’s going to be an uphill job to straighten things out.”

“A lot of people look down on this department, but this department does a lot of work. The deputies risk their lives. When we are on warrants, we knock on the door. People don’t just jump in handcuffs. People fight us,” Clowson said.

“I can’t describe to you how I feel. We have a lot of really good people who deserve more than they get. I”m going to try my best in every way to make this department a viable productive department,” Clowson said.

Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.