Commissioners announce Vienna courthouse will remain closed

Posted 4/1/20

VIENNA — On Monday the Maries County Commissioners said the courthouse in Vienna will remain closed to the public “for the foreseeable future.”

Western District Commissioner Ed …

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Commissioners announce Vienna courthouse will remain closed

Posted

VIENNA — On Monday the Maries County Commissioners said the courthouse in Vienna will remain closed to the public “for the foreseeable future.”

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said there is a dropbox in the foyer at the unlocked front door where the public can place documents for courthouse business, such as with the license office. Courthouse employees will use the mail, telephone or email to work with the public. Fagre said all of the courthouse staff phone numbers are on a paper taped on the glass in the foyer. This is an effort to avoid person-to-person contact but to continue to assist the public with courthouse business.

The courthouse was closed to the public by the commissioners late last week. Earlier in the week, the commissioners said they would keep the building open until the state’s governor said to shut it down. One of the reasons for keeping the building open was so citizens could renew their license plates and drivers licenses and other business with the Vienna License Office. The state extended license renewals to July in an effort to keep people out of public buildings.

During discussion about closing the building and the coronavirus pandemic, the commissioners noted the uncertainty about when and how bad the pandemic will become and how it will impact rural Maries County. Metropolitan areas were reporting large numbers of people testing positive and also deaths from it. Over the weekend a Maries County citizen tested positive for the virus, the first one in the county.

Last Monday, Eastern District Commissioner commented on the panic buying with groceries disappearing off the shelves faster than they could be restocked. Older people told him this panic buying is the worst they’ve ever seen.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said he noticed there was no milk left and only a few loaves of bread.

Treasurer Rhonda Slone said she heard that there are a certain number of people who are going to the grocery store every day and buying a cart full. Stratman said some stores were limiting the amount/number of meat items that a person can purchase. All the lunchmeat was gone.

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said the news was saying the virus will peak in April and May in the United States.

No Room for Trash

At the commission meeting on March 26, Custodian Shawn Eaton reported the current courthouse dumpster is getting full after just a couple of days and then there is no room for trash. He asked the commissioners if they would consider getting a larger dumpster. Stratman contacted Waste Management for pricing. Currently, the county is paying $197.44 monthly for a four-yard dumpster that is dumped once a week. A six-yard dumpster will cost $206 per month plus a one-time transfer fee of $75. The commissioners agreed to go with the larger dumpster and to have it dumped twice per week for the first month, then switch back to dumping it once a week.

Eaton and Jailer Tim Edwards are working on cleaning out the third floor, which has been used for storage. Black mold was noticed so Eaton will clean with bleach once things are completely moved out. Also, while clearing out the third floor, several electronics were found. It was decided to wait for a special MRPC electronics recycling event to get rid of these so they can be properly disposed of. Other items on the third floor are a lot of files. It was stated the files on a murder case can never be thrown away. There were junk file cabinets that were hauled off by a person who does some scrapping.

Eaton told the commissioners he was able to obtain a larger dropbox and the commissioners asked him to put it in the foyer.

One Day a Week

Stratman contacted Dispatcher/IT Coordinator Shane Sweno. He asked Sweno if he can devote one day a week to IT work in the courthouse. There are multiple projects to be done. This would leave Sweno three days a week to work in the Dispatch Center.

Opioid Tracking

The commissioners spoke with Pharmacist Kim Litton about the tracking of opioid purchases she recently brought to their attention. All of the counties around Maries County have signed an agreement, with the exception of Pulaski County. The tracking would allow practitioners to see whether or not individuals were shopping for opioids by using multiple doctors and pharmacies. Missouri is the only state that does not have this tracking in place. The commissioners want to know what the costs will before they commit to going any further. Litton said she will check on this and get back to them.