By ANDY GARDNER

CANTON -- County officials have been working together to ensure next week’s murder trial of Oral “Nick” Hillary goes smoothly, but most headaches are likely to occur during jury selection where 500 people have been summoned, according to the county sheriff.

“There will be an extra presence of county staff in regard to the fact there’s that many people,” Sheriff Kevin Wells said. “We have trials here all the time.”

He said agencies including his office, St. Lawrence County, the Village of Canton and the Office of Court Administration have been speaking for weeks about how to accommodate parking and keep things flowing smoothly in the area around the courthouse.

“We’re working with Village of Canton on parking. There will be shuttles for some (county) employees during selection so everything can get done in an orderly fashion,” Wells said. “County staff will be cooperative and ready to help. Will be open for business in all other aspects for people who need to utilize county services.”

The commissioner of jurors says her office is still trying to figure out how to handle 500 potential jurors, given that the courtroom’s capacity is 200 and seats 120 comfortably.

“We have to talk with the judge and see how he wants us to proceed,” said Melissa Sweet, St. Lawrence County commissioner of jurors, adding that they will know by the end of the week.

Wells said there will be security precautions taken to protect Hillary, who is accused of strangling to death 12-year-old Garrett Phillips in 2011, but it will be similar to any other trial.

“We have trials here all the time with defendants … Everybody’s always aware and conscious of security,” Wells said. “The county administrator and county staff have done an excellent job preparing for this working in conjunction with Office of Court Administration.”