Etowah County Courthouse Security

The Etowah County Commission rejected a plan Tuesday to close and secure all courthouse entrances except the front door but then voted to hire two additional part-time deputies to provide security.  Several county employees clocked out from their jobs to support securing the courthouse and adding a checkpoint at the front door with a walk-through metal detector and an X-ray machine.  Sheriff Todd Entrekin and Revenue Commissioner Linda Barrett-Vaughan, who spoke at the commission meeting, drew applause from the employees.  Commissioners Joey Statum, Lewis Fuller and Larry Payne voted against closing and securing all courthouse entrances, while Jeff Overstreet, Carolyn Parker and Tim Choate voted to approve the move. With a split vote, the measure failed.  It was Overstreet’s vote on a second agenda item that led to hiring two part-time deputies. Statum, Fuller and Payne also voted for that option while Parker and Choate voted against it.  Parker has pushed for more security for several years, and in April organized a committee to study courthouse security and present a plan to the commission. It was that plan that split the commission’s votes Tuesday.