Positions

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- An early draft of Washington County's fiscal 2009 budget includes funding for 63.5 new full-time equivalent positions, 59 of which are public safety positions. Most would provide staffing for projects such as Central Booking, the EMS strategic plan and a new housing unit at the Washington County Detention Center. The public safety positions would be divided as follows: 11 Sheriff's Department deputies to staff an emergency housing unit at the Washington County Detention Center.

Jack Edward Padgett, 77, formerly of Clear Spring, Md., died peacefully at his home, Oct. 5, 2012.  He is survived by his wife, Joyce Kretzer Padgett. Mr. Padgett is also survived by his sister, Rheunette Odom; brother, Kenneth Padgett; and many nieces and nephews. Mr. Padgett was a member of St. Paul's Reform Church, Clear Spring. He was a veteran of the Marine Corps active service and the Maryland National Guard. “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” He served in Vietnam for two tours, and during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

More than 250 people descended on the Washington County One Stop Job Center in Hagerstown Thursday to fill out applications and drop off resumes, trying to match their skills to the needs of prospective employers. "The turnout has been incredible so far .... We saw 56 people in the first hour," said Becky Dice of Aerotek. Many of those people also had the skills the staffing firm was looking for in warehousing, commercial services and professional services, Dice said. Machine and forklift operators and call-center representatives were among the positions Aerotek was looking to fill, she said.

ANNAPOLIS - As expected, the supplemental budget proposal released Thursday by Gov. Robert Ehrlich included 160 correctional officer positions. None of those positions, however, were slated for the three prisons at the complex south of Hagerstown or the two prisons in Cumberland. "When I looked at that budget today, I was surprised," Sen. Donald F. Munson, R-Washington, said. On Wednesday, Ehrlich announced that $5.5 million had been earmarked for new correctional officers across the state.

A group of legislators and state prison officials heard a request for restoration of staff positions Wednesday during a closed-door session with representatives from all three prisons in the complex south of Hagerstown. Washington County Delegation Chairman Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, said Division of Correction officials will consider the request and make a recommendation by October. He was unsure about the exact number of positions requested, but said it did not include all of the positions that have been cut during the past three years.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - Six Sheriff's Department patrol deputies are among 34 new positions requested by the county in a $1.2 million proposal heard Tuesday by the Washington County Commissioners. County department heads originally requested 46 new positions at a cost of $2 million for the coming fiscal year, but County Administrator Gregory B. Murray and Acting Human Resources Director Dee Hawbaker cut the list to 34. The commissioners are in the process of reviewing the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008 and made no decision on the requests.

Boy, girl flown from scene of U.S. 30 accident Frederick County Sheriff's Office deputy shoots German shepherd Katarina "Katie" Patricia Sylvia Stains, 18 Williamsport graduate remembered as being strong and special Washington County gets approval to advertise positions

ANNAPOLIS tammyb@herald-mail.com As Gov. Robert Ehrlich prepares to make a budget announcement regarding the state's prisons today, Western Maryland legislators are continuing to press the governor's office for action on persistent complaints about staffing and safety at the institutions. Ehrlich plans to make the announcement at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women at Jessup. Washington County legislators heard from a number of correctional officers about staffing concerns during their annual public meeting Saturday, which included continued charges that positions the legislature had approved in the state's budget for local prisons were not filled.

I would like to express my gratitude to The Herald-Mail and staff for covering the concerns of the employees of Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in the Hagerstown and Western Maryland region. In my 21 years as a state employee, 14 of them as a correctional officer at Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, I have learned something very important. There is no "I" in team. What was done in the last two years was done with a cumulative teamwork from the Hagerstown Region Department of Correction's staff.

With an appointed commission recommending pay raises for some county positions, area residents offered their opinions Thursday. “Given the current climate, more taxpayer money for employees is probably not the best idea,” said Will Kenyon, 44, of Hagerstown. “I'm sure other programs could use the money.” Bill Bieltz, 57, of Hagerstown, said he thinks the pay increases are “well-deserved.” “I've lived in a lot of places, and from what I see in other counties, these county workers are underpaid,” he said.