Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome. It's time now for our community connection right here on Kwanda one, you trust. We have the lovely Miss Davis in here with us today, our county court clerk at the Washington County How you doing this morning?
Doing good?
Are you all ready to celebrate the fourth?
Absolutely?
Even more, it's all on the fifth because you.
Get absolutely great.
Tell us a little bit about your office and what you do, and then what folks can expect from the services you perform.
Well, we provide all kinds of services. We provide our marriage licenses, you can file.
For divorce, you can got them coming and going, got it.
Coming and going.
Yes, we do deal a lot with fines and costs. And right now I'm working on a project that my predecessor, Jill Spitcher, was working on to restore the old archived files from statehood from nineteen oh seven and forward.
That's a little bit of an undertaking, it is, but.
It's a wonderful There's so many interesting things.
I bet you could write a book about some of the stuff you buy.
Well, you read it and it says like in the beginning, it says in the Indian territory of such and such county or such and such nation.
And it's really interesting.
Mike, goodness sakes, I just can't imagine the history there. Now you're taking this from paper, how are you transferring it digitally?
Yes, we're doing it digitally.
And then we're preserving some of the files with a business that we use called Cofile.
And they are amazing.
They can take paper that has been damaged by tape from the acid and restore it to almost new. I mean, it's wonderful. The things they can do is amazing.
We live in such amazing times. Yes we do, right, goodness, your office is so busy. They got your right as you come in the door.
Yes they do. Why did you walk in? That's us right there. And I'm a very hands on court clerk.
I like to be you waited on me, I remember that.
Yes, I liked. I like the people. I like the attorneys, I like the people. I like to be up there at the calendar waiting on people.
You know, it's it's really interesting. I mean, you come in there, and of course the deputies are really nice. They let you know you got a plate in your head and none. But anyway, they do make sure everybody's safe, food coming and going and what have you. And a lot of your business is pretty quick, pretty transactional and right there, come in, go and you make it quick and expedient. And I know it's.
Accurate too, Yes it is.
I know it's because you look through there and you said you need to stamp on that.
Yes, I do, Yes, I make sure. I don't want you to have to come back. We try our best.
Oh, you do, great job. And you know the thing is is that with a variety of different things that you have to file and take in, you know you're getting a variety of different personalities walking in and out the door too. And the fact that they're greedy with the smile, they're greeeded with professionality, Karen, concern and compassion is really an a plus mark on your office.
Thank you, Thank you.
We I try to strive for everybody to walk up to the counter with a smile, and because however you treat them, this is how you're going to get treated.
Yeah. Indeed, but boy, it's a big office for being right there in the front.
I mean, yes it is, yes it is.
But we have gotten to where we've decorated it quite nicely too. We have our little ducks and our legos and our plants and you know.
But it looks it looks like you're, you know, for an office. It looks, you know, you got a comfortable setting so that folks don't feel like you're going into the sterile you know, stern mean environment.
Oh no, no, we don't want that, No.
Not at all. Yeah, but you know it's got to be great now. You took over for Jill. Yes, okay, do you when's your next election time.
Coming up in three years?
So you got a little weight.
I've only been in I've only been in office for six months, so it's all still pretty new to me. Well, I bet, but I had a great teacher, I really did.
Oh yeah, and how long you've been with the office completely?
I think about thirteen years, really, I think, yeah, well somewhere around and there a long time.
For you because you're young. But the thing is is that our county government works pretty well here in Washington County. We're not a huge county, but I like to think that we're a quality county. Yes, and that runs from the commissioners to the deputies to everybody who works the office. The office heads and the office workers. How do you fit so dark many people in that courthouse.
I don't know.
It's just the different aspects of the job of what we do there, the different needs of all the people in the county.
And it seems like everybody gets along. And I imagine from time to time one office has to maybe ask another office a question, especially if the something that's got some commonalities.
Yeah, we try to keep the lines of communication open well so between offices, and we have the full support of the commissioners in our office also, I try.
You know, they're a big.
Part, yeah, on these three guys, but they've got a lot of.
Weight, they do.
They've got a lot of weight.
But all the same. You know, I've been a citizen of Washington County for a little over six years now, and I haven't had it easier than I've had it here. And I've lived in a lot of different places over sixty five years. But you know, just as a citizen, hey, thanks, you're welcome. I lived in big cities, and if you go to the county seat sometimes it's not in the big city, right, You're maybe going to there and go,
oh you're from there. Yeah, and you can kind of get the business and right here, you know, everybody's in same and it's all good. But it's really nice. So on top of all of this transactional stuff, you get filing and I want to get back to preserving these records. That was something that got started not too long ago.
Right, Jill had started that and preserving our books, some of our old red, humongous.
Books that they had to write in.
Oh yes, and we've got those, the ones that she's already preserved.
We've got some of those.
If anybody wants to see them and see what it looks like, they're more than welcome to come in and ask me. And I'll pull a book out and show you.
Oh that easy, huh uh huh, My goodness sakes. But you know it is public record, Yes it is.
Most of them are. Now. There are some things that we can't.
Do that ordered I understand. But for the most.
Part, adoptions juveniles, they are not common sense.
Well, yes, she's common sense. Don't bother with the.
Yeah, the divorces, the marriage all that stuff. Yeah, you can see it.
If people have questions about your office and your services, what's the best way to find that out. I know that you're on the website. Phone calls work too.
Phone call is perfectly fine. I'll talk to anybody. I'll take the time.
Yeah great. I want to thank you for coming in today. I know you had a big, big day the other day.
Yes, I did.
The end of the fiscal year, the beginning of the next.
End, the end of the month.
Yeah, that's not the quite new year that most people that. That's not the party they like to throw.
No, it's not. It's not a party.
But you're kind of relieved to get out of Watkins.
I am.
Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate you being with us here and sharing a little bit about our county government right here on Community Connection. Thank you all right, folks, you've been listing and watching to our community Connection