Cambria County Prison Warden Kurt Wolford speaks at a celebration Friday commemorating the 30-year anniversary of when his father, former Warden William Wolford, broke ground on the prison he works in today. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

EBENSBURG — Cambria County Prison Board members didn’t let the weather rain on their celebration of the prison’s 30th anniversary Friday.

For Warden Kurt Wolford, the milestone was special because his father, William Wolford, then-warden of the old Cambria County jail, broke ground on the prison he works in today.

Kurt Wolford said the rainy weather was ironic because “rain washes all of the old away and allows us to start fresh” — something he and his administration received praise for Friday.

Cambria County officials said Friday’s ceremony not only marked a milestone for the prison, but also acknowledged the progress Wolford has made since taking over as warden in April.

Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said Wolford has been working tirelessly to reduce recidivism rates by partnering with other agencies.

During the ceremony, Wolford said he also adopted new uniforms for his administrative staff as a symbol of pride being restored to the prison and started doing swearing-in ceremonies to boost the morale of employees.

“He leads by example and you see his energy. He has no problem going a million miles an hour and he gets things done,” Chernisky said of Wolford.

Commissioner Keith Rager said he was honored to celebrate Wolford’s accomplishments so far.

“We thank the warden for his new direction. It’s a great day for the prison,” Rager said.

Although the prison was dedicated in 1995, it didn’t open officially until 1997, President Commissioner Scott Hunt said, noting two former commissioners lost their job over building the state-of-the-art facility.

“I think it’s an important lesson that sometimes, when you do something, you don’t always see the benefits until long after. This prison has done well for us for 30 years,” Hunt said.

John Briel, a lieutenant at the prison, worked at the old jail with Wolford’s father. He said the building was in bad condition and the current prison was built to create a nonsmoking facility.

In the old jail, everything opened by a physical key whereas the locks in the current facility are all electronic, he said.

“That was the big movement at the time was to turn everything to nonsmoking,” Briel said, adding Friday’s ceremony brought back a lot of good memories.

Wolford said his father believed in something greater than duty. He said his father believed in purpose, noting they were “extremely close.”

It means “everything” to Wolford to be able to honor his father’s legacy as the current warden, he said.

Wolford said he takes pride in partnering with community organizations and area agencies like the Cambria County Day Reporting Center and the Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program.

Chris Maul, the Day Reporting Center’s director, said they started offering a 10-week program last year that prepares inmates for life outside of jail upon their release.

“Working with Kurt has been great,” Maul said. “He’s really working (hard) to change the way they do things over there and to cooperate with more organizations and try to get more treatment and programs into the jail.”

Fred Oliveros, the Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program’s administrator, said he agrees, noting Wolford is “very interested in providing services to inmates.”

Most recently, Wolford collaborated with the drug and alcohol program this month to assist them in their prevention needs assessment process, he said.

“What we were interested in doing is having focus groups with parents as well as individuals who have used substances. Both of those populations exist in the prison,” Oliveros said, adding Wolford allowed male and female inmates inside the prison to participate in the focus groups May 7 and 14.

“This was groundbreaking for us. We haven’t had that kind of connection with groups of individuals in the prison and it was very informative,” Oliveros said.

Ashley Tronzo, who runs the Bridging the Gap program at the Cambria County Adult Probation office, said she thinks the Cambria County Prison is going in a great direction under the new administration.

“They’re all about reentry and just starting new programs in the jail,” Tronzo said. “The whole county itself is going in a great direction with getting these people back on track with what they need to be doing whenever they get out of jail.”

Wolford said he wholeheartedly believes the current administration can make a huge impact on the community.

He said the prison’s staff are committed to transformative change and compassionate justice.

“We are not here to maintain the past. We are here to build the future,” Wolford said. “This is our moment. This is our mission and this is just the beginning.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.