AG STILL MUM ON CAPE'S TOUGH SECURITY

It appears there is no longer a private security guard on duty at the Missouri attorney general's office in Cape Girardeau. However, the front door of the building remained locked Wednesday and new security equipment was being installed.

As they have for more than a week, locally based personnel and an official at Attorney General Jay Nixon's main office in Jefferson City continue to decline to discuss the reasons for the recent security changes at the office at 2860 N. Mount Auburn Rd.

Scott Holste, a Nixon spokesman, said the office does remain open to the public.

"Nothing that has taken place in the area of security is going to cut down on legitimate public access to our office," Holste said.

Early last week it was noticed that a security guard employed by Wolsey Investigative Service Inc. had been posted at the office at 2860 N. Mount Auburn Rd. The building was locked during office hours and visitors were allowed entry by the guard. No guard or Wolsey Investigative Service vehicle were visible near the office Wednesday morning.

An office employee who answered the locked outer door politely referred all inquiries to Holste. Though no Wolsey personnel were apparent, a worker with Security Alarms of Jackson was installing some type of equipment at the facility.

Holste, who last week said the presence of the security guard was a temporary measure, said Wednesday he wasn't sure if a guard was still being posted at the office.

The Cape Girardeau office, one of four attorney general's branch offices in Missouri, opened in the late 1980s under then-Attorney General Bill Webster.

It is the smallest of the operations, normally employing three assistant attorneys general. At the moment, however, one of those positions is vacant.

The Springfield office employs approximately 12 assistants, with 15 in Kansas City and 30 in St. Louis. More than 100 assistants are based out the attorney general's headquarters in Jefferson City.

The assistant attorneys general working out Cape Girardeau primarily handle worker's compensation and consumer protection issues, as well as some criminal matters, Holste said. They also handle some government affairs cases, representing state agencies in legal matters.

"From a geographical standpoint, (the Cape Girardeau office) is strategically located to handle cases from around Southeast Missouri," Holste said.

The territory covered by the Cape Girardeau office stretches to West Plains in the west, to the Arkansas border in the south and north to Farmington.