More than 250 people listened Thursday night to the three candidates for Pasco County sheriff speak on law enforcement issues. ...more

October 11, 2008

In her monthly address to the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, Sheriff Susan Benton told the board the jail population is down largely due to streamlining the process. ...more

August 16, 2008

Steve Wyatt's pickup is generally unremarkable, but there's a recent attachment that's earned it the nickname "sex offender mobile." ...more

May 21, 2008

Brother wants to create awareness. ...more

May 20, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - It won't be a beautiful addition to Pasco County's stable of government buildings, but the waterfront view will be pretty. ...more

May 10, 2008

It costs taxpayers about $925 when police arrest a homeless person for drinking beer in public or sleeping behind a church, a Herald-Tribune analysis shows. ...more

February 25, 2008

SEBRING — Inmates in the Highlands County Jail will be served a special turkey dinner today. With Tuesday's jail population bulging at 453, the cooks, along with supervised inmates, are preparing a special Thanksgiving lunch, said Detention Maj. David Paeplow. Each inmate will get three ounces of meat, a half-cup of green beens, half-cup corn, half-cup of dressing, a roll, two ounces of cranberry, an eight-ounce serving of mashed potatoes, one piece of cake and sweet tea. But jail is jail. Inmates won't get a choice of white or dark meat, Paeplow said, and no seconds. "They get whatever is put on their plates," he said. ...more

November 22, 2007

SEBRING — To stay on course, Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton held a four-hour strategic planning session Friday at the jury assembly room in the courthouse. The idea was to review the sheriff's existing three year strategic plan for 2006 to 2009, and to extend it out one more year to 2010. Benton's theme is: "Vision without action is only a dream, (but) vision with action can change the world." Crime statistics for most major crimes have been dropping, not just in Highlands County, but as a national trend, Benton said. ...more

September 23, 2007

Barring unforeseen circumstances, a desperately needed jail addition could open early in 2009, county officials learned recently. Only one problem: The extra space is needed now to relieve overcrowding of inmates. ...more

September 12, 2007