MARIETTA—Washington State College of Ohio (WSCO) announced 10 corrections officers from area agencies recently completed the Ohio Corrections Officer Basic Training Academy.
The academy covers topics including administration, legal issues, jail security, human relations, medical overview, subject control techniques, and first aid. Certified by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, it includes 148 hours of training and is required for certification to be employed as a Corrections Officer in an Ohio facility.
The officers who completed the training represented correctional facilities from:
• Belmont County Sherriff: Derek Conley, Kurtis Gompf, Tom Kenefick, and Nakayla Tantarelli
• Washington County Sherriff: Cody Huggins, Trenton Johnson, Anyon Kunze, Josh Mays, Amber McCray, and Joshua Vanway
Enrollment in the academy is restricted to employees of an Ohio local correctional facility. The successful completion of this academy makes the graduates eligible to take the Ohio certification test.
In addition to the Corrections Academy, WSCO also offers the Peace Officer Basic Academy (POBA), the required training for anyone interested in employment as a law enforcement professional in Ohio. The college is currently accepting applications for the academy that will begin on October 11.
The 2023-2024 academy will run in the evenings Monday through Friday with some weekends and will span the fall and spring semesters. The first point of entry to becoming a cadet in the program is passing the state-mandated physical training test. The endurance assessment includes 1 minute of sit-ups, one minute of push-ups, and a mile-and-a-half run.
The next PT tests will be given on August 27 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., September 9 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and September 24 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. They will be administered at the Williamstown High School track. Pre-registration is not required.
