The fight to save the state prison in Cresson marched on to Harrisburg Tuesday morning. Officials from the township spoke before a state Senate Judiciary Committee. They argued the closure will, among other things, have dire impacts on the local economy.

The main point to state leaders was "slow down." They said the closure doesn't have to happen so fast.

They brought up many points, starting with a drastic cut to the municipal authority. SCI Cresson is the township's biggest water customer, and supervisors said they had already entered into an agreement with the prison to build a $1.3 million water tank to replace the current one, which has been leaking.

Township officials said they are also worried about a loss in taxes, nearly $400 for each employee who lives in the township if they decide to locate. And if that happens, township officials will also be faced with a drop in annual occupational taxes and real estate taxes, not to mention a major decrease in real estate value.

"In (the) recent past, we've lost a great deal of workers from the coal and steel industry," explained Cresson Township Supervisor Gary Bradley. "But this loss will be especially painful as the closure moves 584 jobs from our high-employment zone to a county that already has the highest unemployement rate of the 67 Pennsylvania counties."

Roy Pinto, president of the PA State Corrections Officers Union, also made the trip to Harrisburg on Tuesday, simply asking the Judiciary Committee for more time.

"Give these people some time. They have to figure it out," said Pinto. "You can't decide for their life. They have to decide and they need time to deal with the problems."

Sen. Sewart Greenleaf from Bucks and Montgomery counties is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee looking into the prison closure. But there's no evidence the committee will be able to do anything because the Department of Corrections has already started transporting inmates out of SCI Cresson and has set a date of June 30 for the prison to close.