Wood County Commissioners will address bringing the Wood County courthouse security concerns into the 21st century with the upcoming budget process.

In the recent years, attacks at courthouses, on law enforcement officers, and elected officials have raised safety concerns at every level of government, even in small counties.

County Judge Bryan Jeanes said security concerns have been discussed and the county commissioners are ready to take action. “It has been brought to our attention in budget workshops this year and requested by our incoming district judge (Jeff Fletcher), who has been talking to other people about it. We have had people here at the courthouse looking around at the situation,” Jeanes explained. “It’s a variety of things such as locking the doors with limited access to the extent of adding metal detectors and putting on additional security people. The package we are looking at now is between $200,000 and $300,000.”

Fletcher, the 402nd district court judge-elect, said there have been concerns. “I want to make sure the employees at the courthouse are safe. We want those ladies who are in the county clerk’s office, the district clerk’s office, and the other offices throughout the building to be safe,” Fletcher said. “The county commissioners deserve a lot of credit for talking about this, studying the situation and doing something about it in their budget planning process. I certainly appreciate the commissioners for their concern and for taking positive steps.”

Pct. 2 Commissioner Jerry Gaskill emphasized the safety of employees. “We have been working on security and we want our employees to know they are safe. We want the public to feel safe when they come here to do business,” Gaskill added.

County Clerk Kelly Price said her office gets a lot of foot traffic. “Being on the main floor, we catch a lot of people looking for the district clerk’s office or the district court’s office. We are easy access to the back entrance where they come in and we deal with people who are unhappy, some with stuff that is out of our hands,” Price noted. “We probably deal with more public than any office in here. I have talked to the girls in my office and they know what to do in case of a problem. In the times we are living in now, safety is a major concern everywhere. Our bailiffs, Officer Rapp (Andrew) and Officer Cooper (Bill) are in our office a lot. They are super great guys and watch out for us.”

“Such as today’s society more security is always a good thing. When the courthouse is open we bring our lunch and we eat here, so there is always someone here,” Cooper said.

Incoming Wood County Sheriff Tommy Castloo is looking forward to working with commissioners and others to make the courthouse a safe place. “We are working on assessments with commissioner’s court and the new district judge (Fletcher) to make sure we bring the courthouse security up to the standards of the 21st century. Threats have changed with the mannerisms and type of people dealt with. Their thought processes have changed over the years,” Castloo claimed. “We have got to make the courthouse secure for not only the people coming in here to do business, but for all the people working here. There is a lot of anger out there and people wear their feelings on their sleeve. It seems like they get madder quicker and they take it out by yelling and screaming and some want to take action. We want to stop that from happening or at the very least you want to minimize so you have a chance to stop things before they happen.”

Fletcher added, “When this building was built 150 or so years ago, they weren’t worried about security. Like a lot of old courthouses, it isn’t designed with security in mind. Some of these offices have three doors while others have two doors and one office only has the one door in and one door out,” Fletcher said. The commissioner’s court is working hard and has been coming up with a plan to secure the building.

“The commissioners are in a tough spot because they are the stewards of the county money. They have to be careful to do the most expedient thing in the least expensive way. They have to watch out for the tax dollars and have to constantly weigh everything. It’s easy for me to say I need security, but I am not the one who has to pay for it,” Fletcher concluded.

Pct. 1 Commissioner Virgil Holland Jr. is on board. “I am totally for an upgrade in our courthouse security. It’s something which has been needed for quite a while. We are still in the planning stages, but there are many things we need to get done,” Holland said. “We must make sure our employees and the public are safe every day at the courthouse. And we have some high profile trials coming up this next year and need to have more security in place. We do not want to be vulnerable to any threats. We are living in times where the need for more security is a priority.”