Pierceton Residents Hear Plans For Juvenile Facility
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PIERCETON - Plans for a proposed juvenile facility and housing opportunities for low-income residents were presented to the Pierceton Town Council Monday.
Representatives of Corrections Corp. of America and county officials explained the proposed facility to council members and citizens present and pointed out that Kosciusko County is one of 10 counties which will be involved in this project.
"Our kids are having trouble out there," said Charlotte Nesbitt, executive director of CCA's Southwest Indiana Regional Youth Village at Vincennes. "As a partnership, we can have a secure environment for our children, where they get schooling ... (and) the help that they need."
The facility proposed locally would be not only a partnership among counties, but also with CCA, and would require no upfront money from Kosciusko County. CCA is a for-profit business which operates correction facilities throughout the United States.
The secure facility would house 136 juveniles as proposed, with 40 beds designated for immediate detention and 96 for residential. The proposed 20-acre location is in Matchett Industrial Park, east of Paragon Medical Inc., off CR 250S.
The matter goes before the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission today for rezoning.
Questions from officials and residents at the meeting included addressing the spiritual needs of juveniles housed there, use of emergency medical services and whether input from neighbors was favorable.
All services, Nesbitt said, are delivered within the secure environment, including education and ministry - the local ministerial association will be contacted and invited to come into the facility. If an emergency arises where a juvenile will need to be transported by ambulance to a local hospital, a staff member will accompany him - the kids are never left alone.
Thus far, it was said, there have been little or no negative comments from neighbors. However, Marshal George Alexander said a neighbor approached him concerned with the possibility of gang members coming to visit one who might be housed there. Nesbitt said that visitors are limited to parents and siblings and must be verified as such before visitation is allowed.
"I see no reason why this community would not benefit (from the facility being placed here)," Nesbitt said, adding, "The kids will benefit."
Duane Huffer, who is judge of Superior Court I, deals with juveniles and helped organize efforts to secure the Pierceton location for such a facility, said he is impressed that counseling between the kids and their parents is stressed. "I love that," he said.
Currently, juveniles are placed at the Parkview Detention Center in South Bend, which affords little opportunity for local youth to interact with family members. The proposed location, Huffer said, is "very well located from other counties involved."
In another matter, Catharine Walker of Warsaw Housing Authority and the newly created agency called Housing Opportunities of Warsaw, told the council that she would like to expand a successful owner-occupied rehabilitation program to Pierceton residents. The agency would also aid with development of properties for sale or rent by low-income residents.
WHA serves Warsaw residents and HOW serves residents throughout Kosciusko County.
The program is operated by a grant which Walker, through HOW, would administrate. Walker said that the purpose of the project is to bring substandard housing up to building codes, and the program can provide up to $25,000 per home for qualified low-income residents.
The amount payable on the loans provided through the program would return to the town; the town would monitor its own mortgages.
Fourteen homes in the Warsaw area have been rehabilitated through the program so far, and another $330,000 is being used for such a project now. Additional funding will be available after this grant is completed, and Walker said the agency is offering the opportunity for area towns to take advantage of the availability. The towns that do participate will need a cash or in-kind match for the money, but where that would come from can be looked into at a later date. There are three funding rounds per year for this grant.
Also, the council voted to adopt the county's revised version of the sexually oriented businesses ordinance. The vote was unanimous.
The next regular meeting is at 7:30 p.m. May 11 in the community building. [[In-content Ad]]
PIERCETON - Plans for a proposed juvenile facility and housing opportunities for low-income residents were presented to the Pierceton Town Council Monday.
Representatives of Corrections Corp. of America and county officials explained the proposed facility to council members and citizens present and pointed out that Kosciusko County is one of 10 counties which will be involved in this project.
"Our kids are having trouble out there," said Charlotte Nesbitt, executive director of CCA's Southwest Indiana Regional Youth Village at Vincennes. "As a partnership, we can have a secure environment for our children, where they get schooling ... (and) the help that they need."
The facility proposed locally would be not only a partnership among counties, but also with CCA, and would require no upfront money from Kosciusko County. CCA is a for-profit business which operates correction facilities throughout the United States.
The secure facility would house 136 juveniles as proposed, with 40 beds designated for immediate detention and 96 for residential. The proposed 20-acre location is in Matchett Industrial Park, east of Paragon Medical Inc., off CR 250S.
The matter goes before the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission today for rezoning.
Questions from officials and residents at the meeting included addressing the spiritual needs of juveniles housed there, use of emergency medical services and whether input from neighbors was favorable.
All services, Nesbitt said, are delivered within the secure environment, including education and ministry - the local ministerial association will be contacted and invited to come into the facility. If an emergency arises where a juvenile will need to be transported by ambulance to a local hospital, a staff member will accompany him - the kids are never left alone.
Thus far, it was said, there have been little or no negative comments from neighbors. However, Marshal George Alexander said a neighbor approached him concerned with the possibility of gang members coming to visit one who might be housed there. Nesbitt said that visitors are limited to parents and siblings and must be verified as such before visitation is allowed.
"I see no reason why this community would not benefit (from the facility being placed here)," Nesbitt said, adding, "The kids will benefit."
Duane Huffer, who is judge of Superior Court I, deals with juveniles and helped organize efforts to secure the Pierceton location for such a facility, said he is impressed that counseling between the kids and their parents is stressed. "I love that," he said.
Currently, juveniles are placed at the Parkview Detention Center in South Bend, which affords little opportunity for local youth to interact with family members. The proposed location, Huffer said, is "very well located from other counties involved."
In another matter, Catharine Walker of Warsaw Housing Authority and the newly created agency called Housing Opportunities of Warsaw, told the council that she would like to expand a successful owner-occupied rehabilitation program to Pierceton residents. The agency would also aid with development of properties for sale or rent by low-income residents.
WHA serves Warsaw residents and HOW serves residents throughout Kosciusko County.
The program is operated by a grant which Walker, through HOW, would administrate. Walker said that the purpose of the project is to bring substandard housing up to building codes, and the program can provide up to $25,000 per home for qualified low-income residents.
The amount payable on the loans provided through the program would return to the town; the town would monitor its own mortgages.
Fourteen homes in the Warsaw area have been rehabilitated through the program so far, and another $330,000 is being used for such a project now. Additional funding will be available after this grant is completed, and Walker said the agency is offering the opportunity for area towns to take advantage of the availability. The towns that do participate will need a cash or in-kind match for the money, but where that would come from can be looked into at a later date. There are three funding rounds per year for this grant.
Also, the council voted to adopt the county's revised version of the sexually oriented businesses ordinance. The vote was unanimous.
The next regular meeting is at 7:30 p.m. May 11 in the community building. [[In-content Ad]]