NORWICH – A mixed group of men and women were recently honored at a graduation ceremony held at the Chenango County Public Safety Building on County Road 46 in the Town of Norwich.

On Friday, Oct. 9 the group of provisional Corrections Officers from Chenango, Cortland and Tioga Counties were made official following ten weeks of training at the Chenango County Corrections Academy.

“We typically train between 10 to 20 officers from our county and others,” said Sergeant Clifford Williams, training coordinator at CCSO Corrections. “We offer this training to all of New York.”

According to Williams, the Chenango corrections academy is offered once a year in the fall, depending on demand.

And the demand for qualified, eligible corrections officers continues to grow, chiefly because “Corrections is a difficult job, and the job is not for everyone,” according to Williams.

“The department does have a high turnover of staff, usually because after doing the job people find out it’s not for them,” said Williams. “We work a lot of hours because we operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.”