HARRISBURG -- Their training now complete, Pennsylvania’s newest State Game Wardens are working in their newly assigned districts.
The 36th Class of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Ross Leffler School of Conservation graduated Feb. 1, adding 18 more officers to the ranks.
Members of the 36th Class, their hometowns and their assigned districts are: Jonathon R. Boland, of Erie (McKean County); Travis L. Brown, of Weatherly (Schuylkill County); Alex J. Christofaro, of Reading (Berks County); Alex W. Cook, of Bristow, Va. (Montgomery County); Kaitlyn L. Corle, of Hopewell (Fulton County); Isaac N. Decker, of Indiana (Delaware County); Madeline M. Delly, of State College (Dauphin County); Joshua T. Douglas, of Erie (Allegheny County); Logan C. Gervald, of Branchville, N.J. (Lackawanna County); Alexander D. Graff, of Kempton (Montgomery County); Justin D. Heller, of Franklin (Mercer County); Zachary D. Killeen, of Shelocta (Westmoreland County); Adam D. Mucha, of Connellsville (Fayette County), Spencer A. Palczer, of Spartansburg (Venango County); Drew T. Poleshuk, of Palmyra (Sullivan County); Caleb A. Rieder, of Emporium (McKean County), Cole M. Shomper, of Hummelstown (Centre County); and Jacob A. Wieder, of Alburtis (Lehigh/Northampton County).
Graduate Kaitlyn Corle received the class award for academics, with a score of 96.08%. Corle was also presented the EVOC driving award for exhibiting safe and exceptional police driving skills during the training program.
Graduate Zachary Killeen was honored with the marksmanship award, achieving the highest overall proficiency in a series of courses firing the handgun, rifle and shotgun. Killeen also was selected as the fitness award winner for maintaining the highest standard of physical fitness during the training program.
Graduate Joshua Douglas earned the academy torch award for maintaining the highest professional standard of conduct, values, ideals, and demonstrated abilities as judged by his fellow classmates.
Graduation of new game wardens follows 44 weeks of intensive training, including 10 weeks of field training.
Training School Director Kyle Jury praised graduates for their dedication and demonstrated commitment to our natural resources.
“These 18 new graduates now embark on their careers as state game wardens by serving in geographical districts across the Commonwealth,” Jury said. “By pursuing this career path, they fulfill an instrumental part of the agency’s continued and dedicated effort to wildlife conservation. Having these individuals join the ranks of game wardens will strengthen the agency’s efforts to safeguard the hunting heritage the Game Commission was founded on so that it can be passed on to future generations.”
In 1930, Ross Leffler, then president of the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners, proposed the establishment of a training school for game protectors, as game wardens then were called. When the training school opened its doors in 1932, in Brockway, Jefferson County, it was the first such conservation officer training school in the world and served as a model for other states.
From 1932 until 1935, the Ross Leffler School of Conservation offered in-service training for game protectors. The school became a permanent facility until 1986, when it was moved to the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters.