By John Estridge
Union County’s Courthouse will reopen to the public on March 1.
That was the unanimous decision of the Union County Commissioners at their meeting Friday morning, February 19.
The courthouse has been closed for several months going back to when the county was declared red by the Indiana Department of Health over the number of COVID-19 cases in the county. Public could still access the courthouse, but to enter it and do business with an office in the courthouse, required an appointment. Also, some business was done through email.
Commissioners first talked about it at their earlier meeting in February on February 5. At that time, commissioner Tim Williams said he wanted to wait until Governor Eric Holcomb relaxed limitations placed on the public and public gatherings through the governor’s executive orders concerning COVID-19.
This time, as at the last meeting, commissioner Howard Curry broached the subject near the end of the meeting. He said he had asked county health nurse Kim Klein about her and the county health department’s thoughts about reopening. According to Curry, Klein did not see any problems with it, but she wanted to talk to the county health officer first. However, Curry said that had been two weeks ago, and he still did not have an official answer from the health department.
Fellow commissioner Paul Wiwi said he had asked auditor Cheryl Begley to do an impromptu survey of county employees in the courthouse on reopening. Begley did what she was asked and said the survey results were: six negatives, six positives and eight people had no opinion on the matter.
Commissioners then talked about how many people have received COVID-19 vaccinations at the county health department. Jeff Mathews said they are averaging 100 vaccinations per day. However, not all of those vaccinated are county residents. He said the state controls who is sent to the Union County Health Department for vaccinations. Thus, people from the surrounding Indiana counties also receive vaccinations in Union County.
According to Mathews, by March 1, 2,000 vaccinations should have been performed at the county facility. Also, he predicted those 60-65 years of age would become eligible for the vaccination in about one week.
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