Extending the number of hours part-time corrections officers can work is already saving Schuylkill County money on overtime costs.

Warden Eugene Berdanier told the county prison board on Wednesday the overtime cost in January came to $19,642.That's $18,755 less than $38,397 spent in December.Last month, the county extended the number of hours part-time correctional officers can work from 20 to 28.The move was aimed at attracting - and keeping - more part-timers.The hours have to be kept under 30 to avoid paying for health and other benefits.The county aims to have 10 part-time officers. The cost to train each is $622, Berdanier said.In addition to the extra hours, he said the drop in overtime was also due to some full-time officers returning from medical leave."Did the increase in hours help out?" asked Commissioner Gary J. Hess."Yes," Berdanier replied.In other matters, Berdanier told the Prison Board that on Feb. 8, he met with Tim McGinley, the Schuylkill Technology Center's cooperative education coordinator, and welding instructor Frank Rupp about Sheriff Joseph Groody's suggestion to have students build a needed second holding cell in the prison.The cell would hold offenders for brief periods when a regular holding cell is not available.Prison Board and Commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr., along with commissioners Frank J. Staudenmeier and Hess, all praised technology center students, who have done work at the county park at Sweet Arrow Lake and elsewhere.However, they have concerns about having students build a prison cell."Has anyone looked at what the specifications are for a holding cell?" Halcovage asked. "If something breaks off of that, and all of a sudden becomes a weapon because it was not done to specifications for a jail, and either one of our inmates is injured, or a corrections officer, that's a major liability issue I'm concerned about."Staudenmeier agreed."There should be more scrutiny," he said.Berdanier said the idea is still in the discussion stage, and no action could be taken unless approved by the board.Staudenmeier said he would get advice from PCoRP, the Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool.Hess said the holding cell is needed, and the county should either buy or build one.Halcovage agreed, and asked Berdanier to research costs.