Schuylkill County commissioners on Wednesday took another forward to establish a new commissary system at the prison.

They approved the county treasurer's office to create a new bank account to facilitate transactions with Oasis Inmate Commissary Services, Atlanta,for a new accounting program at the prison.In a related matter, they approved contracts with Tech Friends, Argent Financial Group and Numi Financial to implement the new commissary accounting program.Commissioners approved Oasis in May, granting the company the exclusive right to operate all commissary services in the jail from May 23 through May 22, 2021.The agreement can continue on a yearly basis after that.Oasis replaced Trinity, which operates the commissary until May 22. Oasis uses an inmate accounting program called Lockdown.In other matters, commissioners approved a new five-year lease agreement with the Borough of Orwigsburg for the rental of 1,980 square feet of office space for the district court and related activities.The agreement starts Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2021. The rent will be $1,888, which is $11.45 per square foot.The offices are occupied by District Judge James Ferrier.Also on Wednesday, commissioners hired Diego A. Jimenez, Schuylkill Haven, as a full-time corrections officer at $18.58 an hour. They also accepted the resignation of part-time Assistant District Attorney Keith Hoppes as of Sept. 2.In other business Wednesday, commissioners bid a fond farewell to Carol Bowen, director of the county Retired Senior Volunteer Program. Bowen retired after 24 years on the job. More than a million service hours were accomplished over those years, with volunteers aged 55-plus performing tasks that benefitted a wide range of county residents.There will be no commissioners' meeting held next week. The next meeting will be a work session at 10

a.m.Sept. 7.