Jul 14, 2016 2 min read

WAYNESBURG – A special committee was formed Thursday to review résumés submitted by applicants interested in becoming the next warden of the Greene County jail.

The county’s prison board voted unanimously to place three of its members, Commissioner Archie Trader, President Judge Farley Toothman and Sheriff Brian Tennant, on the committee to sift through the dozens of applications they expect to receive before whittling the list down to a few candidates to interview.

Harry Gillispie, who served in the role as warden for nearly 20 years, retired from his position July 1.

Trader, who is also the prison board’s chairman, said they hope to publish the legal advertisement for the position late next week. He expects they will be able to begin the interview process early next month, although he did not have timeline on when a new warden will be hired.

Before advertising the position for hire, however, Trader said the board is “taking another look” at the job description for warden and comparing it with other counties that are of similar size to Greene County. The job description should be finalized by Monday, Trader said.

Toothman said they want to review the “best practices” for the position to get it into the job description.

“Let’s give the applicants an idea what they’re applying for her,” Toothman said.

Trader was unsure how many applications they might receive, but noted Washington County officials received 42 résumés in May while trying to fill its vacant county jail warden’s position. Trader expected they would narrow their search down to four or five candidates to interview.

He did not know if they would be able to approve the hiring before the next prison board meeting scheduled for Aug. 18.

Also during the prison board meeting, Deputy Warden Michael Kraus said the entire jail staff has been certified to use naloxone, the opioid antidote, and a new policy is now in writing. He expects the jail will be able to purchase its two doses of the nasal spray soon.