[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 56 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E722-E723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO MANATEE COUNTY SHERIFF CHARLIE WELLS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VERN BUCHANAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2007

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Manatee 
County Sheriff Charlie Wells who will retire on April 2nd after 41 
years in law enforcement. Sheriff Wells is an honorable public servant 
whose selfless dedication, vision, and leadership has helped to protect 
the more than 300,000 residents of Manatee County and earned him the 
respect of the community as well as his colleagues in law enforcement.
  Charlie Wells was first elected sheriff in 1984 and took office in 
January of 1985. He was reelected five times, serving a total of 22 
years, which makes him the longest serving sheriff in the history of 
Manatee County.
  Among his greatest achievements is the enactment of the Stop Turning 
Our Prisoners Act, which he helped pass to require inmates to serve at 
least 85 percent of their prison sentence. He is also credited with 
pioneering and implementing several other innovative programs designed 
to help keep kids in school and out of trouble. They include the 
establishment of:
  A Police Athletic League recreation complex which was expanded from a 
recreational program to one of Florida's first charter schools;

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  The first boot camp program in Florida for juvenile offenders to 
promote discipline, education, physical fitness, and respect for self 
and others;
  A school resource officer to promote positive relationships with 
youth;
  Child Protection Services to consolidate services and ensure the 
safety of children with family related problems; and
  Victims First, which is a charity organization that provides 
scholarships to children whose parents have been murdered or sent to 
prison as a result of murdering the other parent.
  Also, under this leadership, a new jail complex was built and the 
agency of 1,100 employees became nationally accredited in both 
corrections and law enforcement.
  The six-term Sheriff also served in various capacities with the 
Florida Sheriffs Association including president and chairman of the 
Legislative Committee.
  He began his law enforcement career with the Florida Highway Patrol 
where he worked for 15 years as a state trooper. He also worked for one 
year as an investigator with the State Attorney's office and served for 
two years as the Chief of Police for the City of Bradenton.
  He ends his career with the successful arrest of kidnapping suspect 
Vicente Beltran-Moreno who is charged with kidnapping a 13 year-old 
boy.
  Charlie Wells has prevented, investigated, and solved countless 
crimes. I thank him for his tireless efforts to protect the people of 
Manatee County and wish him the very best in retirement.

                          ____________________