Jail guards go extra mile for 86-year-old inmate

NEW CASTLE, Pa. - An 86-year-old man jailed for a week for not mowing high grass or cleaning trash from his yard has gotten help from prison staff hoping to keep him from going to the slammer again.

John Allen was sent to prison after being convicted of violating a Union Township ordinance stating that private property must be clear of junk, rubbish, garbage or unruly grass. After seven days in jail, Allen agreed to accept an offer of help from the Lawrence County prison staff.

About a dozen corrections officers spent several days this week at his house. Working on their own time, they filled a garbage bin to the brim with old furniture and other household goods. They plan to get to the yard - including mowing the high grass - once a recent snow melts.

"I've got nothing but good to say about the way they treated me," Allen said of the prison staff. But, despite the fond memories, Allen says he has no desire to return to jail.

- AP