Static methods in class accessed by jsp/servlet

Question

I wanted to conceptually know ...
If I have a class specifically doing some quering to database and giving results to jsp and servlet ... does this make sense? Static methods are ok ? Is it secure enough if I have all connection classes local to a method? can i make the connection global instead without compromising security ?
For example:
public class DatabaseUtility{
public static Sring getUsername(String employeeid)
  Connection conn = ...........
  Statement stmt = ........
rs executes query and gets a username and returns it...
public static Sring getAddress(String employeeid)
  Connection conn = ...........
  Statement stmt = ........
rs executes query and gets a address and returns it...
}

Answer 1

can i make the connection global instead without compromising security ?As long as it was readonly, it should be secure. However as damiansutton said, you open yourself up to a resource bottleneck if you make the connection static, as everyone will be using the same connection.
Most often if you want one piece of information from this DatabaseUtility, you want more than one. Why get a database connection each time? You want to get a DB connection, milk all the info you want from it, and then give it back.
I think you might want to look at having a DataAccessObject: http://java.sun.com/blueprints/corej2eepatterns/Patterns/DataAccessObject.html
It is no longer static, but is much more efficient in that it only creates one database connection for all your queries on one request. So anywhere you want to use this, you create a new DatabaseUtility object, and then use it to your hearts content.
Cheers,
evnafets