Apr 21, 2017 1 min read

Members of Washington County Prison Board Wednesday joined with John E. Wetzel, state secretary of corrections, in congratulating Warden Edward Strawn for gaining state approval of the county jail’s correctional officer training program through mid-March 2020.

Since its inception in 1996, 310 cadets participated in the seven-week program, which includes five weeks of classroom instruction and two weeks of on-the-job training.

Strawn told the prison board holding the program in-house saves the county money for motels, meals, training and travel to and from Harrisburg, where the Department of Corrections convenes its classes.

Washington County can keep Department of Corrections approval for its training program as long as it continues to meet the department’s minimum standards. During the approval period, inspectors from the department will perform an annual audit of the basic training course. Wetzel noted he worked with Capt. Jack Buckholt throughout the curriculum and academy approval process.

According to Strawn’s report to the local prison board, the jail, as of March 31, housed 349 male and 85 female prisoners.