Clinton Prison Warden Motter and First Assistant Fired

Commissioner Snyder Acting Warden

LOCK HAVEN—The Clinton County Prison Board, at a special meeting this afternoon, dismissed Clinton County Correctional Facilities warden Jackie Motter and deputy warden Wayne Bechdel.

The action was unanimous, approved by the six board members, county commissioners Pete Smeltz, Jeff Snyder and Joel Long, along with county sheriff Chuck Ankney, district attorney Karen Kuebler and judge Michael Salisbury.

The board approved Snyder, the prison board chairman, as acting warden. He later told therecord-online that operations at the prison would “not miss a beat.”

Motter was present for the advertised meeting and accused Snyder of creating a “hostile environment” at the prison.

Snyder during the meeting said there was a breakdown in communication between the warden and chief deputy and the prison staff to the point, he said, that it threatened the safety of both staff members and the inmate population. He said the commissioners had reviewed their concerns with the union members of the staff prior to their public meeting in the commissioners’ office today.

He said the matter will be further discussed at the prison board’s next regular meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. next Wednesday at the Wayne Township facility. Snyder indicated an interim warden would be appointed while a permanent replacement is sought.