Residents and Alto Rest Park object to Blair County—hosen prison site; commissioners advertise eminent-domain ordinance

Blair County Board of Commissioners on March 20, 2025 heard multiple public comments opposing the county—ommissioners' preferred site for a proposed new county prison and voted to advertise an ordinance signaling the county—xecutive's intent to take two parcels by eminent domain in Allegheny Township.

The objections came from nearby residents and from Alto Rest Park Cemetery. Bonnie Miller, a long-time Blair County resident, told commissioners she and her husband have lived at 15 Hillside Drive for nearly 30 years and asked the board to consider a different, more remote site so their home would not "overlook a prison." "Just saying the words prison in my backyard makes my stomach churn," Miller said during public comment.

Jeffrey Behrens, vice president and general manager of Alto Rest Park Cemetery Association Inc., told commissioners the cemetery received a letter from the commissioners'…