Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1912-10-11
COMMITTEE FAYORS
new COURT HOUSE
Says Old Building Cannot Be
Repaired to Meet Demands
Of County.

| "hNN Va WV NiiSuil OouTL OI luZe-
well County
To the Honorable. the Board of
Supervisors of Tazewell County:
The Undersigned. S. C. Graham, ].
N. Harman, E. l.. Greevor, Il. o.
Crockett. j. Powell Royal and A. G.
kiser. were appointed. by the Hon
orable Jugdc of the Circuit Court
of Tazewell County. II committee, in
which said order the following direc-
tions were given:
''lt appearing to the Court that the
Court House is inadequate in this:
That there is not sufficient vault
room to properly take care of and
protect the records of this Court; and
that there is also needed additional
rooms therein; and that the Court
room should be improved, with such
modern convcniences added as the ex-
igencies require and demand, together
with such additional rooms adjoining
said Court Room on the same floor as
may he necessary for the convenient
or orderly disposal of the business of
the Court"
To-day majority of the committee
met and made n general inspection of
the permises included in your order;
and before proceeding further, we
wish to say that the order you made
is timely one, and should be speed
lily needed. We expect to confer with
with the Board of Supervisors, as you
required us to do, about the 7th inst,
or as soon thereafter as possible. Be-
sides being utterly inadequate for the
purposes for which it is needed. the
structure itself is now in n bad con.
dition; it leaks badly; the broad and
heavy cornice has rotted and rea lily
destroyed; the Court House is badly
kept, and the basement il simply a
disgrace.
The Court Room itself is badly ar
ranged, and, So far as it is concerned,
could be greatly improved and made
much more convenient and habltable
than it is.
The vaults of the Court House are
not large enough by one half for the
proposes for which they are used even
now, not to mention the fact that
valuable records are continually in
creasing with rapidity each year.
These vaults were constructed and
built many years after the Court
House was built. and it is very ques-
tionable, indeed, whether they would
stand fire and the heat that would
be generated should the Court House
| be burned.
We looked over the Court House
carefully on the outside with view
to seeing what addition, if any, could
be made to the present structure. If
any such additions can be made, they
will have to be constructed on the
East and West sides OF the Court
House, for the purpose of enlarging
the space for the two Clerk s Offices,
situated respectfully on these two
sides, as well as the enlargement of
the vaults.
the Treasurer's Office is exceeding
ly small, hampered and cramped, and
there is no vault in it, and none that
is used by the Treasurer.
Any additions which might be made
to this old structure will obscure
lights and render the building a very
unsightly one and will be difficult of
access from the old structure as it
now stands.
There is an attempt to heat the
Court Room from heating plant in
the jail, which Decessitates conveying
the heat at long distance through the
pipes, which is very costly proceed
ing, if kept up, but is. really, inad-
equate for the Comfort of the Court
Room itself; and, whatever may be
done, pains should be taken to heat
this whole building by steam fur
mace and plant in the cellar. There
are many times during the session
when the Court cannot carry on its
business in an expeditions way on ac-
count of the want of heat in the Court
Room. 1t is positively dangerous for
the Court, Jurors, Witnesses and peo-
pie to stay in that room; and there
are know instances where Jurymen,
who were compelled to sit there, have
lost there lives in consequence. The
) floors of these rooms, and of the
whole structure, are wooden, and
to there is great deal of wood used
! in the structure. and it is a wonder
that it has not been burned before
this time; and when fire does occur,
as Iit is not improbable it will do, il
will entail untold loss and damage tc
the people of this County, for unfor.
tunately. there has been preserved
the records accumulated since the
: form nj ion Of ihin Gnnnl.. ...LiaL !.