WHO DOES WHAT?
GAVEL GAMUTÂ By Jim Redwine
On Wednesday, December 26, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. in our historic courtroom in the Posey Circuit Court in Mt. Vernon, Indiana you have the opportunity to see the people whom you have chosen to help run your life take an oath to perform their public trust. On November 6, 2018, you voted for a new Circuit Court Judge, Craig Goedde, another term for Prosecuting Attorney, Travis Clowers, and a new Sheriff in town, Tom Latham, to oversee your legal and law enforcement system.
They will be working with new County Clerk Kay Kilgore, Auditor Sara Beth Meighen, Assessor Nancy Hoehn, Coroner Bill Denning, County Commissioner Randy Thornburg, and four elected or re-elected members of our seven-member County Council, Tom Schneider, Dave Pearce, Stefani Miller, and Marilyn Brenton.
Further, each of our ten county townships: Harmony; Black; Point; Marrs; Lynn; Center; Robb; Robinson; Bethel; and, Smith has an elected Trustee and a three-member Advisory Board.
Each of the major office holders has the duty and authority to appoint staff such as Court Reporters, Probation Officers, Deputy Prosecutors, Deputy Sheriffs, and numerous assistants. While it would require more pages than your newspaper has to name all the support staff for those offices, the inability to mention each one does not mean their roles are not important. In fact, some of the public functions the deputies and admin-staff perform are where the rubber meets the road if you or your family need government services.
You may have never thought about all the government employees you hire and pay or you may have wondered: “How do I get that done and who does it where?†Well, on the day after Christmas you have the opportunity to see in person many of the people who will be sworn in to help you.
If you have questioned whether our democracy is alive and well, come to the Courthouse and see it in action. It will make you feel good.
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