Courthouses either closed or offering limited services
By Lilly Adkins
BSN Associate Editor
LOUISA — Courthouses in Lawrence, Johnson and Floyd counties are either closed to the public or offering limited services until further notice due to COVID-19 concerns.
Lawrence County Judge-Executive Philip Carter issued an executive order Thursday closing the Lawrence County Courthouse to foot traffic until further notice.
“Based on the past few weeks, our numbers of positive Covid-19 cases provided by our Lawrence County Health Department show we are in a trend that continues to exceed the threshold of critical or ‘RED’ status,” the executive order says. “As a safety precaution, the Lawrence County Courthouse will be closed to the public effective Nov. 13, and remain closed to the public until Nov. 30.We will continue to monitor the Covid-19 case numbers over that time for future decisions.”
Following the issuance of the executive order, Lawrence County Clerk Chris Jobe released information on how the public can continue to pay their delinquent taxes and renew their car tags, even though his office will be closed to the public.
Staff will report to work to assist with all work that is received by mail, online, drop box or via telephone, Jobe’s release said.
There are multiple options available to renew car tags. Option one is to use the online renewal at www.drive.ky.gov and you will need a credit/debit card to process the payment.
Option two is to mail in the renewal with a payment, proof of insurance and a phone number to Lawrence County Clerk, 122 S. Main Cross St., Louisa, KY 41230.
Option three is to call the clerk’s office at (606) 638-4108 to renew by phone using a debit/credit card.
Option four is to put together the payment, proof of insurance and a phone number and use the drop box out front to leave it.
For those who want to pay delinquent taxes, call (606) 638-4108 to get the current amount due and either mail in the payment or pay over the phone with a credit/debit card.
For document recordings, documents can be mailed to the clerk’s office for recording, but you must call to get the correct amount for recording and they can also be dropped into the drop box with the correct payment.
Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams announced Thursday night that the county courthouse would be closed to the public until further notice.
Williams said in a video posted on Facebook Thursday night that hospitals were at near capacity and that in other areas of Kentucky they are already exceeding capacity, so it has become necessary to do all that they can to reduce the number of cases in the community because there will be sick people and no place available for them to go.
Floyd County Health Department Director Thursa Sloan said in the video that cases are on the rise and that people need to be following the recommendations to wear a mask, maintain social distancing and remain diligent.
Prestonsburg Mayor Les Stapleton said in the video that city hall’s administrative offices will also be closed to the public.
Williams said Monday on Facebook that the Floyd County Courthouse reopened on a limited basis, with his office limited to foot traffic.
The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office is open on a limited basis, but the county clerk’s, county attorney’s, PVA’s offices are closed to walk-in traffic.
Citizens can make appointments to see the county attorney and PVA, while the county clerk’s drive-thru window is open for transactions.
Johnson County’s courthouse has been closed to the public since the pandemic started, according to the judge’s office, but access is still granted to the clerk’s office and to the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program office by appointment.
In Martin County, government offices remain open, but Judge-Executive Bill Davis is monitoring Gov. Andy Beshear’s comments every day and will make his decision based on what the governor says, the judge’s secretary, Debbie Harmon, said Monday.