BELLEFONTE - As the defense in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation trial wraps up, along with another high-profile trial in the county, Centre County officials say they are both going "smoothly."
"With the Sandusky trial and the trial involving the robberies, everything is going smoothly," County Administrator Tim Boyde said at Tuesday's commissioners' meeting.
In addition to the Sandusky trial that most in the nation are watching, Centre County is also simultaneously conducting a trial for Dmitriy Litvinov, 25; Maksim Illarionov, 23; and Anatoliy Veretnov, 28.
In the burglary/robbery trial, authorities allege Illarionov is the ringleader of the spree, and he was convicted last year of illegal weapons charges. He is serving a 15-year state prison sentence for those convictions.
The remaining co-defendants face charges related to 40 separate cases stemming from the crime spree, during which they allegedly burglarized homes and businesses and committed a string of armed robberies.
"We have beefed up security and there are no issues yet, just a lot of pressure in downtown Bellefonte," Boyde said.
Commissioner Chairman Steve Dershem added the county will likely see an additional cost in security, as sheriffs from Lycoming County were called in for extra security measures, but that expense won't be known for a few weeks.
"We are very grateful and thankful for all the law enforcement personnel who have come to our help," Dershem said. "Handling two high-profile cases a the same time is difficult."
In another matter at Tuesday's meeting, the commissioners agreed to hire Civic Plus of Manhattan, Kansas, to redesign the county's website, in addition to support and maintenance services.
The cost will be $43,323 the first year, which includes the website redesign. The next two years will each cost $6,047 each, with a 3 percent increase in the cost each year thereafter, said Commissioner Michael Pipe.
That cost includes a "soft redesign" every four years, Pipe said.
The proposal was one of two proposals the county received.
"Our committee met for several weeks on the two proposals. We think it's in the county's best interests to go with Civic Plus," Pipe said. "We have a website that is up and is functional, but it's a little behind the times."
He noted Civic Plus specializes in governmental websites and has over 1,000 clients nationwide, including State College Borough and Westmoreland and Cumberland counties.
The website should be operational by Jan. 1, 2013, Pipe said.
