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National Guard relieved of corrections facility duties

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia National Guard has completed its work in the state’s corrections facilities, seven months after Gov. Jim Justice ordered the guardsmen to provide relief to corrections staff.

More than 100 members of the West Virginia National Guard have provided assistance to corrections employees since February because of staffing shortages. The last day of work was Tuesday.

Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Jeff Sandy said the additional help was a huge relief.

“We had one corrections employee who had been on the job for four years, and he had missed his child’s birthday three years in a row,” he said. “This year, because the National Guard was there, he was able to be at home with his child during its official birthday.”

According to Sandy, the department spent $16 million in overtime costs before the National Guard began assisting. The extra work hours put a strain on jail employees, who left for other jobs.

“They wanted another life and you can’t blame them for that,” he said.

Justice signed a pay raise bill in March to provide corrections workers with a $6,000 raise over three years. This pay increase is in addition to the 5-percent raise, which was approved following the education walkout.

The department reported in June it hired 730 corrections officers following the bill signing in March while also reducing the number of vacancies by 67 percent. Sandy said the number of new officers has increased to 800, with at least five guardsmen joining the corrections staff.

“We still have over 255 openings,” he said. “We’re going down the right path and we need to make sure that our people are trained and trained well. Over the next decade, we need to make sure this does not happen again.”





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