Aug 20, 2020 2 min read

Washington County will be accepting applications online for the vacant position of jail warden through Friday, Sept. 4.

Edward Strawn, 58, retired July 31 after 28 years of service that began as a part-time corrections officer at the old Washington County jail, which is now the Family Court Center.

Candidates for the top job at the Washington County Correctional Facility must have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, public administration, behavioral sciences or a related field, or have equivalent training and experience. A master’s degree will be considered a plus.

The county prison board is also seeking someone with considerable experience in a correctional or law enforcement institution or agency and a background as a supervisor or executive-level manager.

A full description of qualifications and applications are available online at www.co.washington.pa.us.

Donald Waugh, deputy warden for operations, reported Wednesday to the prison board that as of July 31, the jail had 237 male prisoners and 60 female inmates. Of these, 215 men and 52 women are awaiting trial or sentencing. Thirty are serving sentences full time, and there are no work-release or weekend inmates.

When Commission Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan, who is also in charge of the prison board, noted that no one has tested positive for the novel coronavirus at the facility, Waugh confirmed her statement and knocked on the wooden conference tabletop.

Ninety-five percent of visits with prisoners are being conducted via video.

Sheriff Samuel Romano said corrections officers who have completed a training course start as part-timers at the jail, but that retaining them is difficult.

The board also approved, at no cost to the county, an intergovernmental agreement with the state Department of Corrections for technical assistance related to the review of the facility’s premises and operational practices including population projection, staffing, staff training, programs and mental and behavioral health.