Two vacancies have been filled at the Schuylkill County Prison.
The prison board held a special meeting Wednesday to hire two lieutenants.
Daniel Fritz, Minersville, and David Whitman, Hegins Township, were recommended by the board to fill the two vacant positions. Both were correction officers at the prison.
The board went into a brief executive session to discuss salary. Both new hires will have a salary of $50,325, a standard rate for the position, Warden Gene Berdanier said.
The positions were left vacant after the resignations of Patrick Mahoney, Auburn, and James Bruce, Shamokin, earlier this month. There are now two more vacant correction officers positions.
President Judge and Prison Board Chairman William E. Baldwin said the county is currently training additional probation officers for the prerelease program that will be used to help reduce the inmate population at the program.
Baldwin said the program would be similar to parole, but with stricter monitoring.
There were 306 inmates at the prison Wednesday morning, Berdanier said.
The prison board is still considering building a housing structure in one of the court yards, but the state Department of Corrections required the problem be addressed in the meantime.
"If this program works well, I guess it's possible we won't have to address building something immediately," Baldwin said.
The monthly prison board meeting will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the commissioners' board room.