Work continues at courthouse following flood – WYMT News (press release)

WHITESBURG, Ky. (WYMT) - Nearly six months ago, a water leak flooded portions of the Letcher County Courthouse.

The Circuit Court Clerk's office was so damaged they almost lost hundreds of case files being used in active court cases.

"We open our door to the office and it looks like Niagara Falls running down the side of the elevators", said Courtney Baker, Sanitation Billing Clerk.

Portions of the Letcher County Courthouse were flooded after a sprinkler line in the ceiling burst.

"So many thousands of gallons were just pouring from third floor, to second floor, and even eventually went into the jail", said Courtney Baker.

The office with the most damage was the circuit clerk's office.

"It did a lot of damage real quickly before we could figure out what was wrong and shut it off", said Larry Adams, Letcher County Circuit Court Clerk.

The damage from the flooding was so extensive, Adams said almost 300 court files were nearly destroyed.

"When I saw we had that many wet, to go back and reproduce from the beginning, and some of our files are thick in major cases, would be a nightmare", said Larry Adams.

Adams said all of the files were salvaged, however the office is still being repaired. Despite advice to shut the office down for a few weeks, he said he wanted it to remain open.

"I've figured out a way to reroute our computers and I've taken them over to driver's license. I will have extra personnel there so that I can stay open", said Larry Adams.

He said patience from the public is important while they work to restore the office to it's original state.

Several repairs are still being done in the office. Carpet is being replaced with tile in case the courthouse were to flood again.

Adams said all renovations to the circuit clerk's office should be completed by Wednesday.

Courthouse officials said that repairs to the rest of the building to protect it from mold will take place over the next month.

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Work continues at courthouse following flood - WYMT News (press release)