Search committee to interview candidates for Greene County jail warden
WAYNESBURG – A search committee will interview six or seven candidates next Friday as it works to find the next Greene County jail warden.
The three-person search committee from Greene County Prison Board has whittled down the list of more than a dozen applicants and will interview about half of that group between 8 a.m. and noon Friday before making a recommendation to the rest of the board about whom to hire.
Harry Gillispie, who served in the role as warden for nearly 20 years, retired from his position July 1. The prison board formed the search committee two weeks later and appointed three of its members, Commissioner Archie Trader, President Judge Farley Toothman and Sheriff Brian Tennant, to the panel.
Toothman, who was unable to attend prison’s board meeting Thursday morning due to court proceedings, said after the meeting the search committee “whittled down” the candidates after advertising for the position late last month.
“I think it’s prudent to say we want to do it as soon as possible,” Toothman said of when the committee will make a recommendation, “but not until we’re ready.”
Toothman said the committee hopes to return a recommendation to the rest of the board next month, although that could hinge on how the candidates align with any potential changes to the jail’s policy and procedures before a new warden takes the position.
“Where do we want the prison to be with policies and procedures over the next few years?” Toothman said.
Michael Kraus, who was deputy warden under Gillispie and now is serving as the jail’s interim administrator, said after the meeting he is one of the candidates the board will interview next week.
Also during the meeting, Kraus told the prison board the state recently inspected the jail and he expects the staff will be receiving a notice by today that the facility is in “full compliance” with state laws.
He also said the jail staff has been certified and re-certified on first aid, including on CPR procedures and use of an automated external defibrillator. The prison board will meet again Sept. 22 at 11:45 a.m. at the Greene County jail.