HONESDALE, PA — The May 2 Wayne County Commissioners meeting started on a positive note, with two employee recognitions.

First, Randy Heller was recognized for his 35 years of work at the Wayne County Recycling Center. The commissioners had nothing but praise for this dedicated employee.

“You’ve been great,” Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer said. “You’ve been out in the community doing educational events. You run the whole department very efficiently....I hope you are here for many more years.”

Next up was Sergeant Justin Huffman, who was honored for his 10 years of service at the Wayne County Correctional Facility (WCCF).

The warden, Randal Williams, said Huffman often volunteers to stay behind after his shift when they are short-staffed so that others don’t have to.

“It’s not an easy job, the service you provide helps protect this community,” Williams said.

When Commissioner Brian Smith invited Huffman to speak, he simply stated that it is a privilege to help the community.

The next topic on the agenda was a motion to adopt the Corrections Employees Week Proclamation. Williams, Deputy Warden John Masco, and many other staff members from the WCCF attended this meeting to receive the proclamation. 

Currently, there are around 60,000 inmates housed in various correctional facilities throughout Pennsylvania. In Wayne County, these facilities include WCCF, SCI Waymart, and USP Canaan. Each is managed daily by committed correctional employees—not only the correctional officers themselves but also the workers behind the scenes, such as nurses, administrators, food service, counselors, and maintenance workers. Although they all specialize in different areas, the proclamation emphasized that all correctional professionals “are committed to a common goal: the secure, safe, and humane operation of our county’s correctional facilities.” 

Cramer said the public tends not to know a whole lot about WCCF, especially if they are not interacting with the facility in some way.

Smith said tax dollars going toward the WCCF help maintain a high quality of life here in Wayne County. Not only does the facility help to keep the community safe, he said, but it also helps to correct community members who have made some bad decisions. That’s why, he said, it’s important to staff the facility with people who know what they are doing. This can be a bit costly to do, he said, but he assured the public it is well worth the money. 

Williams agreed.

“Corrections is largely a thankless job,” Williams said. “Other people go to work, build a wall, and drive by that wall on their way to work every day and say ‘I built that wall’... in the case with corrections, we don’t always see a return on our investment, so it is always fantastic when city hall will recognize us like this.” 

At the end of the discussion, the commissioners voted to adopt the proclamation, thereby making Corrections Employee Week official in Wayne County.