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Thursday, October 05, 2006
Ind. Courts - "Justice delayed: Lightning zaps Steuben court"
"Justice delayed: Lightning zaps Steuben court" is the great headline to a story by Kara Lopp today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:
ANGOLA – A lightning strike at the Steuben County Courthouse on Wednesday morning left most employees without working computers and recording equipment, stalling much of the building’s normal activity.Employees, who described the lightning strike using words like “pop” and “bang,” said it occurred about 9 a.m., causing some computers to go dark and the building’s fire alarm to sound briefly.
Val Varner, an employee in the clerk’s office, was sitting at her desk by the front Courthouse windows when the lightning hit. But she didn’t stay there for long after being startled by the noise and bright flash of light.
“I got up and moved because you don’t know where it hit,” she said. * * *
Circuit Judge Allen Wheat’s court was using old recording equipment to continue with a jury trial beginning Wednesday afternoon.
Three hours after the strike, some computers in the building began working, while others lacked power or access to the Internet or software.
After talking over the phone through the steps needed to get her computer up and running late Wednesday morning, Clerk of Courts Diana Penick said the process was slow, but steady. The county’s automated phone system was also affected by the strike, Penick said, and employees couldn’t transfer calls within the building.
“It’s coming, we just have to be patient,” she said, as an employee in her office tested a printer.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 5, 2006 07:43 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts