Carroll County once again has a permanent fulltime deputy prosecutor in the courthouse. Prosecutor Tricia Thompson filled the empty position with Joel Hand June 5. His cases will be mainly in Carroll Superior Court however he will share duties with Thompson in Circuit Court.

Hand Hand graduated from Mc- Cutcheon High School in Tippecanoe County in 1988. He finished studies at DePauw University with a doublemajor in 1992 and the Indiana University Law School at Indianapolis in 1995. He has been employed as a prosecutor in Hendricks and Marion counties, by the Indiana Prosecutors' Attorney Council, the Indiana Department of Education, and in private practice.

The married father of one said he has prosecuted a death penalty case and considers himself an expert in traffic law. He said he has met most of the local police officers and finds them all to be hard-working, dedicated and friendly.

"I love prosecution," Hand said Tuesday. "It is my calling in life."