State Attorney Office In LaBelle Expanded

LABELLE, FL. (June 30, 2005)-- State Attorney Steve Russell had an
opportunity Thursday to thank those who made funding for the expansion of
the Hendry/Glades County State Attorney's Office possible. Russell hosted
an open house at the recently expanded facility on Cowboy Way in LaBelle,
where county commissioners, city council members, school board members, law
enforcement, judges, government staff and the public toured the facility
and had an opportunity to enjoy many home-cooked foods provided by the
Hendry County staff.

As part of the county's a five-year improvement plan, the Hendry County
Commission provided the funds for the 4,000 square foot addition. The
original building was constructed in 1991 when the population of Hendry
County was approximately 25,000 residents. Now, in 2004, the population
has grown to over 37,000 people. Russell says, "Hendry and Glades counties
have the same priority as Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties, and we will
continue to provide the prosecutors and staff required to keep the citizens
safe." To maintain the Hendry and Glades County pristine lifestyle, Russell
recently added an additional prosecutor to the staff to keep up with the
growing caseload. There are now six assistant state attorneys assigned to
the office. Russell says, "We will continue to add more prosecutors,
paralegals and support staff as part of the long-range expansion plan."

For the first time, staff members have their own offices, along with a
conference room, filing rooms and investigative division. As an added
bonus, the windows and roof are hurricane resistant and can withstand
120-mile per hour hurricane winds. The original building also received
hurricane resistant revisions to the roof to insure the safety of the tens
of thousands of documents housed in the Hendry County office.