HONESDALE, PA — “Trust, but verify,” President Reagan once said of then Soviet-American relations. In our courts, the verification of all monitored releases of those convicted of crimes is overseen by probation and parole officers.

The Wayne County Commissioners on July 21, proclaimed the week of July 17 to 23 as Probation and Parole Supervision Week “to recognize and celebrate the dedicated… individuals in the community who work tirelessly to make neighborhoods safer and work together to give offenders a second chance to be productive members of society…. ”

They are indeed busy people. County Probation Supervisor Jim Chapman recalled that he was the fifth officer hired by the county officers who oversaw up to 30 cases each, “and that was considered big.”

Today, the department has nine case officers, each with an average work load of 60 to 80 cases. These include both non-violent and violent offenders, and Chapman says his officers are armed and trained in both firearms and non-lethal self defense. “The work requires a high level of motivation,” he said.

Noting the national controversy about criminal justice issues, Commissioner Wendell Kay said he greatly appreciated the fact that Wayne’s probation officers don’t appear in the press. He said that “like good basketball refs, they don’t get noticed.”

In other business, the commissioners approved Probation 2016-17 Grant-in-Aid financial reports amounting to $110, 309, received two bids for heating and air conditioning renovations at the Park Street Complex and tabled them for professional review, approved an agreement with Salem Township for the county’s $1,060 ongoing monthly rental of township space for a senior center, and approved a $21,074 PA Department of Aging grant request for paving of the Honesdale Senior Center parking lot.