PUBLIC DEFENDER SETS OPEN HOUSE TODAY AT JACKSON

JACKSON - An open house will be held here today for the new Public Defender's office.

The open house will run from 2 to 6 p.m. The office, previously on the ground floor of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse, is at 111 West Main St. The office moved to the new location Nov. 1.

Along with Cape Girardeau County, the office covers Scott, Mississippi, Perry and Bollinger counties.

The office is fully staffed with five attorneys, including Public Defender Gary Robbins; one investigator; and three secretaries. Assistant Public Defender Chris Slusher joined the office Jan. 2. Slusher, 26, is from Columbia and is a graduate of the law school at the University of Missouri there.

Assistant Public Defender Valerie Wulff, 25, started at the office Nov. 1. She is originally from Charles City, Iowa and a graduate of the law school at Washington University in St. Louis.

The two remaining assistant public defenders are Ella Boone, 28, and Kim Shaw, 31.

Boone, from Spanish Lake and a graduate of the law school at St. Louis University, began working for the office in August 1990. Shaw also graduated from the law school at the University of Missouri at Columbia, where she is from, and has worked at the office since August 1989.

The Public Defender's office was last fully staffed about eight months ago, said Wulff.