Wayne County correctional employees at 3 facilities honored by commissioners

The shoulder patch on the uniforms of the Wayne County correctional officers depicts the old stone jailhouse in Honesdale where their predecessors worked generations ago. Corrections have come a long way as the county grew and correctional standards changed, but all along there were prison or correctional staff, and those serving today were honored on May 2 by the Wayne County commissioners.

May 5-11 was proclaimed as Corrections Employee Week. The commissioners acknowledged not only the county correctional workers, but the staff at SCI Waymart and USP Canaan, totaling almost 1,000 positions among the three facilities. The state and federal prisons opened in 1989 and 2005, respectively, in Canaan Township.

Warden Randal Williams, who started in 2023, is in charge of the county facility, with a total of 65 employees. Of these, 46 are correctional officers; four are sergeants and four are lieutenants. They also have three in food services, four in nursing, one director of inmate services, one work programs supervisor, a warden and deputy warden. There were 83 inmates, as of May 2.

Data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for SCI Waymart shows that they have 683 employees, and as of March 31, there were 952 inmates.

USP Canaan is at 95% staffing level, with 233 employees, said Scott Taylor with the Federal Bureau of Prisons Office of Public Affairs. Of that, 203 are senior officer specialists, which are the same as correctional officers. The inmate population is 1,289.

Noting that the county facility should be called a correctional facility rather than a prison, Commissioner Chairperson Brian Smith commented, "There are people who go in there who have made some bad decisions in the past, and they do recognize their wrongdoings, get corrected and they go out and become good citizens and productive citizens."

Warden Williams said, "You couldn't ask for a better team right here than what I've got. I'm really blessed to have them.... I couldn't do my job without these people."

"Not only does corrections develop a lot of people internally, but a lot of our other departments are involved in Corrections too," Smith said. "Children & Youth, Human Services, Drug & Alcohol, probation, courts, district attorney.... We have so much interaction with our correctional facility. It is just really a very, very important part of what goes on at the county level."

Smith said this is one of the reasons the commissioners decided in 2022 not to merge with the correctional facility in Pike County and move Wayne County's correctional functions there.

Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer remarked that the correctional department is not something the public knows much about unless they have reason to interact with it, and therefore the commissioners wished to honor the correctional employees. Williams added, "By nature we are sequestered from the public."

Commissioner James Shook lauded the department for taking care of the inmates and serving the community.

Smith added a successful corrections department is a good return on taxpayers' dollars. "Everybody who lives in the community wants a quality of life... then you want bad actors off the street, you want people who made bad decisions to get corrected.... And that takes a little bit of money. So, anybody out there who said they get nothing for their tax dollars, this is one thing they are getting.... It is well worth the money we have to spend to provide this, and we are proud of that we are proud of all of you."

The 2024 Wayne County budget includes $6,301,479 for the county correctional facility, 15.8% of the $39.9 million total budget. The budget anticipates $400,000 from housing inmates from other counties.

The facility is far from being overcrowded, with 83 inmates and a capacity to house 186. In an interview in mid-February, County Clerk Andrew Seder said that this year by that point, the prison population had been around 70, which was an increase over a year ago.

As of May 20, the county website was listing three employment opportunities at the facility, a part-time correctional officer (trainee); a full-time nurse and a part-time food service worker.

At most meetings, the commissioners honor county employees on certain employment anniversary dates. Just in time for Corrections Employees Week, Sgt. Justin Huffman was honored for 10 years of service.

Warden Williams said that frequently, someone is unavailable for the next shift, which means another correctional employee must stay for another eight-hour shift. Lacking a full complement of sergeants, it happens to them most often. Williams commented that Huffman frequently takes another eight-hour shift just so someone else who didn't want to stay doesn't have to.

The sergeant said it was a privilege to serve the community and added that the warden provides great leadership.

Facility opened in 2008

The earliest jail within the present-day boundaries of Wayne County was established in Bethany when it became the county seat in the early 1800s. The stone jailhouse in Honesdale, still owned by the county and periodically opened for tours by the Wayne County Historical Society, replaced a smaller, wooden version in 1857.

In 1935 a two-story prison was erected closer to the courthouse, which served until 2008 when the current, much larger correctional facility was completed in Indian Orchard, Texas Township.

The 21-acre site for the present facility was found after a five-year search. The 1935 prison did not meet modern standards and had become overcrowded. The 1935 facility could hold 58 inmates; in April 2008 they had 57 lodged there, 18 in a separate work release center and 18 boarded elsewhere at great cost to the county.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Wayne County correctional employees honored by commissioners