Dec 11, 2003 3 min read

U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown) said the Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report passed by the House Monday contains special funding that he requested for several important initiatives in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Three law-enforcement initiatives received special attention in the report.

A total of $500,000 will be parceled out to small police departments and other emergency responders in Fayette, Greene, Washington and Somerset counties to upgrade communications, computer and other essential equipment.

“Southwestern Pennsylvania’s struggling economy and the current national economic slump is making it difficult for these rural emergency personnel to effectively handle emergencies, disasters and, at times, even routine calls,” Murtha said. “These grants will help them acquire the tools they need to better manage their workloads and to provide for constant communications among the responders.”

The State Correctional Institution in Greene County (SCI Greene) will receive about $600,000 to implement a training program, Simulated Prison Environment Crisis Aversion Tools (SPECAT), which was first demonstrated in 2002. The program, piloted by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, is being expanded to SCI Greene.

“The demonstration exceeded its expectations, indicating that SPECAT dramatically enhances the preparedness levels of corrections officers in a timely, efficient, cost-effective manner,” Murtha said. “Since the program is built around the characteristics of each individual facility, it provides both a greater situational awareness of the critical areas and a platform for executing training based on realistic scenarios. This capability becomes even more important as prison populations increase and budgets remain static or decrease.”

California University of Pennsylvania was awarded $210,000 to improve the efficiency of its Geographic Information System (GIS) within local police departments. GIS maps and reports incidents of particular crimes on a monthly basis.

“This project will bring technology routinely used by large metropolitan police departments to rural areas of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Murtha said. “These smaller forces will have access to information that will allow them to increase their presence in those areas where it is most needed, which will enhance public safety.”

In other programs, the Appalachia Juvenile and Family Rural and Mining Crisis program will get $250,000 to provide social services and resource referrals to families of displaced workers in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Services are provided by the United Mine Workers Career Center.

“The support that displaced workers receive usually doesn’t extend to their families,” Murtha said. “This program provides children of these workers with the counseling and positive strategies they need to help them address the anxiety and uncertainty associated with a drastic change in economic status.”

Fayette County also will benefit from a $500,000 grant awarded to St. Francis University in Cambria County for its Center for Global Competitiveness. Since 1993, CGC has assisted small business in nine Pennsylvania counties, including Fayette, which is served through a subcontract with St. Vincent College in Westmoreland County.

“The CGC helps businesses in rural regions to better complete in the complex and rapidly changing global marketplace, which is critical for their long-term growth and continued success,” Murtha said. “Since its inception, the center has worked with more than 525 companies. In fiscal year 2002, clients reported export sales of more than $20 million and domestic sales of more than $101 million despite the fact that economic conditions during that period continued to be challenging for many businesses in the region.”