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By JOHN DECKER; Times Leader Staff Writer
Friday, January 09, 1998     Page: 1A

JACKSON TWP.- Terry Lee Brown put a fright into some of the more
experienced residents who live around the State Correctional Institution at
Dallas.
   
Brown, a convicted felon, was on outside farm detail when he poured a
flammable liquid on a prison employee and stole a prison truck. Brown, 44,
remained on the loose as of press time early today. !! Friday!!
    A blaring alarm went off at about 9 a.m. Thursday to alert area residents
that a prisoner escaped.
   
“It’s a very eerie sound,” Janet Stokes said of the siren, which the prison
sounds when workers test the equipment twice a year or if there is an escape.
“It sends a chill through your spine.
   
“When it goes you’re really never know if it’s a test or somebody breaking
out,” said Stokes, 52, who lives about a half mile from the prison on Jackson
Road. “There hasn’t been an escape in a while. When they first built the
prison (in 1960) there were a couple (escapes).”
   
Another Jackson Road resident, who did not want his name published, said he
didn’t think much about the escape when he heard the news.
   
“This morning I was laughing at it, but they haven’t caught him yet,” said
the college-aged man who lives with his family near the prison. He explained
that his mother called, telling him to get inside and lock the doors.
   
Around noon Thursday the burly man had a different attitude after he was
stopped by armed prison guards who checked the back seat and trunk of his car
near the Huntsville Nursery on his way home.
   
Kenneth Burnett, the prison’s public information officer, advised residents
to secure their homes, make certain keys aren’t left in vehicles and be sure
to check on neighbors.
   
Some neighbors who have lived in the area since well before the prison was
built heed Burnett’s advice, but otherwise don’t worry.
   
Stella Major, 82, has lived in the area of the prison for more than 50
years and said she has gotten used to the loud notice from the prison.
   
“I’m not afraid. The Lord is watching me,” Major said.
   
Others were leery of visitors.
   
“I didn’t pay any attention to it. I’ve lived here for 35 years,” said a
woman who spoke through a window, because she was too nervous to open her
door. “If they’re going to go, they’re going to go far away from here.”
   
Dave Eury wasn’t as convinced.
   
“We’ve only lived here three years, and we didn’t know what it was,” said
Eury, adding he was upset about the lack of information from the prison. “It
was a weird noise. We thought they were testing the thing.”
   
Eury said he and his wife forgot about the warning for a while until they
saw several police cars “go by at warp speed.”
   
Eury said he plans to attend the next township Board of Supervisors meeting
to ask the board to provide instructions for those who move near the prison.
   
Lake-Lehman schools were open but locked, and guards were posted at the
front door to monitor access Thursday after administrators were told there was
a convict in the area. District officials also called off all athletic and
extracurricular activities scheduled to take place on district campuses. The
lock-down and cancellations could continue into today if authorities believe
the convict is in the area, administrators said.