First permits issued this month

At press time no concealed-carry permits had been issued in Greene County, but the first of the 233 applicants should receive their permits sometime around mid-April, according to Louise Brosi, gun permit coordinator at the Greene County Justice Center. The Greene County Sheriff's Department began accepting applications March 15.

The three- to four-week application process includes background checks of fingerprints to the FBI and Highway Patrol, and a search through Springfield Police and Circuit Court records.

"We check as many things as we can think of," Brosi said.

Before heading to the Justice Center, applicants must complete firearms safety training courses certified by the Greene County Sheriff's Department. "They must present a training certificate when they come in to us," Brosi said,

Applications fees are $100, nonrefundable. Applicants must be 23 years old and those with felony histories or more than one DWI in the last five years are automatically denied, Brosi said.