Folks, one of the biggest murder cases in many years is about to begin tomorrow in Mariposa. Cary Stayners preliminary hearing for the murders of Carole and Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso begin tomorrow. The federal case againt Stayner for the murder of Joie Armstrong (Yosemite Park naturialist) never reached trial. Stayner pled qulity to killing Armstrong in exchange for a" life without the possibility of parole" sentence in feederal prison. Stayner has been in the Mariposa County jail since December when he was arrainged on the murder charges and he entered a not guilty plea. At this time requests for cameras in the courtroom are being evaluated- Court TV is one of the applicants- There is going to be a motion for change of venue- basesd on the size of our jury pool , and the pretrial publicity. As you know , our courthouse is almost 154 years old- and something that you must not miss when visiting Mariposa. Recently I examined the courthouse with our local historian , and author of "Shrine to Justice, The Mariposa Courthouse", Scott Pinkerton. Twice a year, our Historic Sites and Records Preservation Commission, Mariposa County Building Department, and our Public Works Engineer explore the Courthouse to see that all mainentance and upkeep is done and see if there are new issues that require attention regarding the structure. It is a pleasure to see that the courthouse is very well cared for , after 154 years. Carolyn