« Ind. Decisions - "Court rejects Boney's appeal" | Main | About the ILB - Announcement »

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Ind. Courts - Indiana courthouses in the news

Courthouse Preservation. A press release from the office of Senator James Merritt announces: "Senate passes courthouse preservation legislation." Some quotes:

When members of the Farmland Ladies Bridge Club announced a bold plan to save the historic Randolph County Courthouse from demolition several years ago they created a media sensation – and inspired legislation to protect all Indiana courthouses which was unanimously passed today by the Indiana Senate.

Senate Bill 176, authored by Sen. James Merritt Jr., (R-Indianapolis), would create a 12-member commission which would investigate the need for preservation, restoration and maintenance of historic courthouses as well as assist county officials with such projects. According to Merritt, the ladies’ fundraising project – a calendar in which they posed nude with strategically placed replicas of the courthouse – led him to author SB 176. * * *

“In recent years, we have seen an increase in interest to tear down courthouses across Indiana,” said Wayne Goodman, Director of the Eastern Regional Office of HLFI. “This will be a great service for local government.”

According to Goodman, the commission will ensure county officials are adequately prepared for renovation and preservation projects before final plans are developed and work begins. “Renovations to the Fayette County Courthouse in Connersville were underway when some long-forgotten murals were discovered. We have been working with local government to raise funds to preserve them. It would have been nice to know they were there before work began,” he said.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

See also this Jan. 15th ILB entry on SB 176.

Grant County Courthouse. The Chronicle-Tribune reports today, in a story by Maribeth Holtz:

Renovations to the courthouse cannot wait, Commissioner Mark Bardsley said, and so the commissioners are considering using money from another fund to make improvements to the historic building soon.

Commissioners discussed the courthouse Tuesday at their regular weekly meeting. Jeremy Diller said that cumulative capital development funds can be used for renovations on items such as the building facade, roof, elevator and boiler. CCD funds are revenues set aside for the care and upkeep of capital equipment.

See earlier ILB Grant County Courthouse stories here.

Morgan County Courthouse. "Courthouse roof, other properties heavily damaged by winds" is the headline to a story this morning by Keith Rhoades and Ronald Hawkins in the Martinsville Reporter-Times. Some quotes:

Strong winds and hail ripped through Martinsville at about 7:10 p.m. Tuesday damaging many buildings including blowing the roof off the north side of the Morgan County Courthouse.

Trees were down throughout areas of Morgan County and power outages were widespread.

Twisted and torn metal and other pieces of the roof lay on the north courthouse lawn. At least one tree on the courthouse was blown down as well. Crews were combing the building to determine other damage.

The lack of lights caused by the power outage on the east side of Main Street limited the ability to determine what and how much damage there was along the Public Square. Drivers circled the Square, trying to see the damage.

The courthouse will be closed Wednesday.

[Update] See this Order of the Supreme Court, dated 1//30/08, grating emergency relief.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 30, 2008 08:30 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts