Pulaski County is a step closer to getting its security committee back up and running. The county council Monday appointed council member Ken Boswell as its representative. The county commissioners appointed Jerry Locke last week.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Shurn has been working to reestablish the committee, after county officials have been slow to implement its previous recommendations. “We met and we met and we met, and sort of, it got sidetracked because they were going to add on to the courthouse,” he told council members Monday, “and that would’ve taken care of security and some of your outlying offices and so forth.”
Instead, the county council and commissioners, along with Sheriff Jeff Richwine, have made other suggestions, like moving Circuit Court and other government offices out of the courthouse.
Shurn told council members that the biggest safety concerns have come from the clerk’s and assessor’s offices. He said the security committee’s recommendations went beyond adding armed guards, and also looked at ways to deescalate potentially violent situations. Council President Jay Sullivan suggested that the committee look at offering training for county employees on how to do that.
In addition to representatives from the county council and commissioners, Shurn said the security committee also included him, his paralegal, the sheriff, the prosecutor, the clerk, a local attorney, and a member of the public.
