Acting warden named
At his final prison board meeting Wednesday, county officials presented retiring Warden John Temas, a Mon Valley resident, with a silver commemorative plate, but Deputy Warden Edward Strawn also received something: a new title.
After a closed session, the board named Strawn acting warden once Temas, who announced his intention in April, retires June 10.
Strawn, a former captain of corrections officers, was named major in 2012 and when Temas became warden the next year, Strawn became deputy warden in charge of security.
Larry Maggi, chairman of the county commissioners who also is in charge of the prison board, said the county has yet to determine the acting warden’s compensation. Strawn, a Washington County employee since 1992, has a salary of $60,729, while the warden’s salary is $78,210.
“We’re going to try to be uniform with that from now on,” Maggi said. “We want to do it as soon as possible.”
The county received at least 42 applications for the permanent position, and the pool was narrowed to between eight and 10, including Strawn. The seven members of the prison board will have the opportunity to interview the top three or four candidates, Maggi said. The prison board meets once or twice per month. Commission Vice Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan, who also is vice chairman of the prison board, said the board could choose a new warden as early as July, but she noted it can also convene a special meeting.
Temas reported at the end of April there were 351 inmates at the jail, 281 men and 70 women.
In his final warden’s agenda, Temas received permission to have Good News Jail and Prison Ministry of Henrico, Va., conduct an assessment later this month with the aim of developing a contract. The facility pays $36,000 a year to Chaplain Stanley Albright from the proceeds of the inmate welfare account at no cost to taxpayers, even though providing a chaplain is a service required by law, Temas said. Albright came to the Washington County jail through the Good News organization.
The prison board also formalized an agreement with the Allegheny County Jail to house each other’s inmates, as needed, at a daily cost of $50 per inmate, similar to the one the Washington County jail has had with Greene County since March of last year. Strawn said the Washington County jail just moved five female and one male prisoner to Greene County, the first this year, which he described as more of a “swap.”
The prison board placed a cap of $50,000 on the agreement with the Greene County jail, which has extra capacity, but the program this year, like last year, is operating at under that amount.
Judge John DiSalle was absent Wednesday, and Dennis Paluso, deputy district attorney and chief of litigation, attended in place of District Attorney Gene Vittone.
The prison board’s next meeting is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 15, in the conference room of the jail.