Westmoreland prison: more guards needed

The Westmoreland County Prison still needs more corrections officers and will conduct interviews in January to fill 16 positions, the prison warden said.

Warden Bryan Kline will conduct the interviews and agility tests at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 9 at the county prison, off Route 119 in Hempfield.

The board approved the hiring of 13 corrections officers Monday, after candidates were interviewed earlier this month.

Kline said at November’s prison board meeting that the prison needed to hire 29 corrections officers. The prison had about 160 corrections officers, prior to Monday’s hiring spurt.

Starting salary for the job will be $17.72 an hour, increasing to about $23.75 an hour after close to a year on the job. Among the qualifications for the job is a high school degree or a general equivalency diploma. The agility tests includes doing push-ups and sit-ups. The county prison provides training opportunities.

K-9 moved

In other matters, the prison board gave its approval to offering the prison’s K-9 drug-sniffing dog to law enforcement agencies in the county.

Commissioner Sean Kertes said that a previous attempt to sell the dog attracted offers, but did not result in a sale.

The K-9 had “issues” while working inside the prison, particularly with the odors and the noise, said Controller Jeff Balzer, a prison board member.

The K-9 handler, Lt. Curtis Tringhese, told the board that Kira, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, was suffering from anxiety related to the jail’s electronics. Kira still will be used, but will be working the exterior of the prison, rather than inside, Kline said. The K-9 has been on the job at the prison since she was a puppy.