County Clerk

HARRODSBURG - After a two-week delay due to the weather, the new, temporary Mercer County Courthouse officially opened to the public Friday. Following a brief ceremony, local officials and citizens took in the new look of the renovated Gateway Grocery building in downtown Harrodsburg. The structure will serve as a temporary home for the court system until the new judicial center is completed in two years. County offices will remain in the building. The freshly renovated 24,500 square-foot building elicited a common observation from those who have relocated from the old courthouse building: So much more space.

LIBERTY - There were no major issues in the Casey County elections Tuesday night, according to Casey Davis, county clerk.  “It went really well. Very, very busy,” Davis said.  Casey County, which has 10,715 registered voters, 78 percent of which are Republicans, had a turnout of 57 percent. According to Davis, 6,179 is a good voter turnout for the county. The 29th District Circuit Judge's race was a closely watched one in the county, as Casey native Brian Wright competed against Judy Vance of Columbia.

HARRODSBURG - Former Mercer County Clerk Ronnie Compton has paid the county all he owed in excess fees for 2005, but he may not be out of the financial woods. The county received a cashier's check for $10,122.41, the amount owed. Fiscal Court sought the funds from the insurance company that bonded Compton; however, Compton paid the remaining excess fees owed the county with a cashier's check. Although the audit for 2006 is not complete, a report that accompanied the 2005 audit said, "There are additional undeposited receipts of $11,123 from Jan. 1, 2006, through July 14, 2006, based on the available records and comparisons of daily checkout sheets and daily deposits.

Dear Editor, After my last letter to the editor, I received a call from a supporter of Denise Curtsinger, a Democrat, who was angry at my disagreement with our county clerk. My answering machine recorded the call, but I will omit his identity out of courtesy. He was clearly miffed by my recent opinions about Mrs. Curtsinger's polling place position, and he ended the call with, "If you have the guts to call me, please contact me at ... " I tried calling him back twice but was only able to page him and leave a message.

Dear Editor, While sitting in on the election board meeting Monday, I was struck by Jack Carey's statement that he would vote with the county clerk on the issue of changing the polling places. He seems to think his loyalties were with her instead of the Democratic Party, which was opposed to the change. Shouldn't his loyalties be with the Democratic Party that gave him his position? If he can't be loyal to the party and vote their wishes, he should resign and let someone who will support the party's position take his place.

Dear Editor, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about the candidates running for Boyle/Mercer circuit judge, Mercer County sheriff, county clerk, PVA and 55th district representative; sincere, straightforward, honest, loyal keen, trustworthy, dependable, authentic, devoted, faithful, bona fide, accountable, frank, high-expectation, diverse, hard working, responsible, dedicated, enthusiastic, factual, passionate, first-rate...

The following candidates have filed for office in Mercer County: Sheriff Chris Kehrt, Democrat, 734 Ellerson St. No. 9, Harrodsburg, and Tony Harmon, Democrat, 309 Palomino Drive, Harrodsburg Jailer Cleo W. Baker Jr., Democrat, 762 Cane Run St., Harrodsburg, and Steve L. Williams, Democrat, 725 Perryville Road, No. 31, Harrodsburg County Clerk Chris Horn, Democrat, 461 Calvary Road, Harrodsburg ...

Dear Editor, There is a mighty army that has not yet let their voice be heard at the polls. Statistics show that 50 percent of church-goers are unregistered to vote. Think what a difference those people could make if they would only speak up for God and country at the polls. I urge every pastor to change these statistics by putting a voter's registration table in the foyer of their church this weekend and encourage their people to get informed, get involved, and vote the Bible.

County clerk Eva McDaniel presented the Jessamine Fiscal Court last Tuesday with a $769,886.80 check for excess fees received. The funds will go into the county's general fund. The excess fees are the difference between the fees brought in by the clerk's office and allowed expenditures for the 2012 calendar year. According to the report submitted by McDaniel, the county brought in $17,823,039.12 in fees, including more than $9 million in motor vehicle usage taxes, almost $2 million in motor vehicle licensing fees, and more than $4 million in ad valorem taxes.

HARRODSBURG - Fiscal Court approved budgets for the county clerk and sheriff's office respectively on Tuesday morning at its regular meeting. Sheriff Chris Khert presented cumulative quarterly spending and revenue estimates of $840,800 in receipts and $835,719 disbursements. The budget was unanimously approved by the court. Next, it was county clerk Chris Horn's turn to present his quarterly figures for revenues and costs in his office. Horn said the lack of fees collected in certain areas remains a concern through the beginning of the calendar year.