|
Eight running for county prothonotary
May 15, 2009 (The Blairsville Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Indiana County voters will have plenty of choices to consider Tuesday as they trim a field of eight hopefuls down to two nominees in the race for a two-year term as county prothonotary and clerk of courts.
The prothonotary oversees the documentation and filing of civil complaints brought before the Indiana County Court of Common Pleas, while the clerk of courts provides the same function regarding criminal cases. Other duties of the office include issuing passports.
Voters in the Republican primary will choose from six candidates, including three people who currently are employed in the prothonotary and clerk of courts office.
Judy A. Wolfe, of Glen Campbell, joined the prothonotary's office as a clerk in 1970 and has served as the first deputy in the office since 1980 -- mainly overseeing civil casework. She also took on the role of acting prothonotary and clerk of courts in October 2007, following the untimely death of Linda Moore-Mack, who had served many years in that post.
Wolfe cited her 38 years of experience in her decision to seek the prothonotary post on a permanent basis.
"Our most important function is keeping the paperwork all in proper order for the judges and the attorneys," she said.
She noted the office's civil caseload exceeded 2,000 last year, about double the number of criminal cases that were filed.
Judith A. Woods, of Clymer, was hired as a part-time employee in the office in 1987 and became full-time the following year. In 1992, she was appointed second deputy in charge of the office's criminal division, where she said she currently oversees three other employees.
She also holds down a second job on evenings and weekends at Indiana's Ninth Street Deli.
Woods noted the office work includes collecting court fees and, since the fall of 2005, serving as the record-holder in juvenile court cases.
Helen D. Henry, of Cherry Tree, has worked for 13 years as an administrative clerk/bookkeeper in the prothonotary and clerk of courts office.
She said her work includes processing cases that are referred to the office from the county's four local magisterial courts.
She has worked at the county courthouse in several different departments since 1994, including planning and development and voter's registrations. She began conducting tours of the courthouse in 1997.
Previously, Henry operated a children's clothing store for five years and worked for a short time as a secretary/bookkeeper at Indiana's Mountain Greenery until its closure in December 1992.
The Republican ballot also includes two other courthouse veterans.
Randy Degenkolb, of Marion Center, is seeking the two-year term as prothonotary and clerk of courts, which would mark a return to public service after recent years working in the private sector and in higher education.
After serving as a county auditor for two years, Degenkolb was elected as a county commissioner in 1995, serving two four-year terms.
In 2004, a new board of commissioners hired him as the county's financial manager.
Beginning in 2006, he served 2 1/2 years as financial and general manager of Dedicated Distribution Services in Indiana. Most recently, he has taught mathematics at Westmoreland County Community College.
Degenkolb served with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard from 1982 to 1988. He is president of a local non-profit, community development organization and of an educational foundation at a local school district.
Another candidate, Helen D. Clark, of Indiana, is in her second term as an elected county auditor, having served in that capacity for six years. She currently chairs the three-member board of auditors.
Clark previously held positions with the Internal Revenue Service in Cleveland and the accounting firm of Ernst and Young in Pittsburgh. She also served as treasurer of the First Baptist Church of Glen Campbell for 20 years.
She was administratrix of the T.H. Murray Estate, managing properties in Clearfield and Cameron counties. She has served as executive director of Downtown Indiana and has worked with the business group's capital campaign.
She has served as president of the Indiana Arts Council and the Indiana Hospital Auxiliary. She also has served on the boards of the Greater Indiana Endowment, New Growth Arts Festival, Indiana Healthcare Corporation, Red Cross, Welcome to Indiana, Citizens' Ambulance and the Indiana County Humane Society.
Rounding out the Republican field is Beverly D. Moore, of Rochester Mills.
Retired from 25 years of service in state government, she is co-owner and president of Moore Associates in Punxsutawney, which employs a staff of 26.
Moore cites extensive experience dealing with personnel, budgets, purchasing and other business activities.
She is secretary of the Pine Grove Cemetery Association and a past East Mahoning Township Republican committee woman.
Moore said she is running for prothonotary because of a family tradition of community service and a desire to "bring back the professionalism and integrity of the office."
Clark said she would like to follow in the footsteps of Moore-Mack, who served as a county auditor before switching to the role of prothonotary.
The latter post, she noted, provides for greater visibility and interaction with citizens.
Clark, Wolfe and Henry were among candidates who expressed the need for increased visibility of the officeholder to those seeking assistance at the prothonotary's office.
Wolfe said all the office's employees should have greater visibility from the front desk, so they can help provide prompt service to the public.
Degenkolb and Clark agreed that a team leader is needed to direct the prothonotary and clerk of courts staff, and each cited an ability to provide such leadership.
Clark said that office would provide a setting where she "can better utilize my administrative skills ... You really need someone who can work well with people."
Upgrade and modernize
A number of the candidates expressed a need for upgrading and modernizing the prothonotary's office.
Wolfe said the office should soon be in line for gradual remodeling efforts that have benefited other courthouse departments.
She said she would like to add at least one new computer terminal that would allow members of the public to view scanned versions of case documents, something only the office staff currently can do.
In addition to enhancing public convenience, she said the move would cut down on staff time required to retrieve paper case documents requested by citizens.
Degenkolb said the office's technology update should go much further.
"There are no abilities to view documents online," as there are in other counties, he said.
He cited the neighboring Indiana County register and recorder office as an example for the prothonotary's office to follow. The former office, he said, is "up to date on technology, instead of having 10,000 filing cabinets."
He said he can provide leadership for such an update, noting he uses desk top and web-based software on a daily basis and has managed the purchase, implementation and use of office software systems.
Noting his past responsibility as the county's financial manager, Degenkolb said he is also suited for balancing the budget at the prothonotary's office.
Woods agreed that the office could use an update. But, she said, given the current state of the economy, the staff should make use of existing computers as long as it can.
She stressed the need to catch up on transferring old case records to microfilm and clearing away past documents that are eligible for disposal under the guidelines of the office's retention manual.
Woods said, if elected, she would refuse annual cost-of-living pay hikes approved for the post.
"This is the job I love to do," she said of her work in the prothonotary's office. "I enjoy the people."
In her campaign, Henry is stressing the accountability, effectiveness and efficiency she said she would bring to the role of prothonotary and clerk of courts.
Democratic voters have two choices in the race for the row office: Tammie J. Shetler, of Robinson, or David C. Noker, of Indiana.
Like many of the GOP candidates, both Democrats cited modernization as a goal for the prothonotary's office.
Shetler, who has taken a leave of absence from chairing Indiana County's Democratic Committee, has served four years as a committee person for West Wheatfield Township Precinct 1. She completed a four-year term on the United School Board, including a stint as president.
She has served as local secretary and state regional director for the Federation of Democratic Women and president of the State Independent Correctional Officers of Pennsylvania. She is a certified coach and referee and regional commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization.
Shetler has worked for 24 years at the Indiana County Jail, currently serving as records officer.
Shetler said her work with records at the jail has made her familiar with procedures used in the clerk of courts office. "Everything I do at the jail starts at the magistrate level and works its way up through the court," she noted.
If elected, Shetler said she would like to bring the prothonotary and clerk of courts office "into the realm of modernization."
"I see what needs to be done, and I'm up to the challenge," she said.
While computer systems are in place to manage records in the office, Shetler suggested more training may be needed to make the staff comfortable with using the technology.
She said the phone system in the office is outdated, with several people sharing a single phone line and no provision for voicemail.
"The filing systems are so antiquated," she added. "You could put in systems that wouldn't take half the space."
An Indiana native, Noker was a practicing attorney in Philadelphia, specializing in complex civil litigation and appellate law. In 2002, he moved back to Indiana to take care of family matters.
Since then, he became banquet manager for the Coney Island Restaurant.
Noker noted he is the lead article editor for the Law Review and continues to take an interest in activity at the county courthouse.
He is a member of the local Elks club and Downtown Indiana and serves as a Democratic committeeman for Indiana Borough Precinct 3/1.
Noker said he decided to throw his hat in the ring for prothonotary when others suggested he run.
"I feel I'm well suited for the task," he said, adding, "I want to get back into a quasi-legal realm. It gets me back to what my education and professional experience taught me."
If elected prothonotary, he said he would like to address some of the concerns local attorneys have expressed to him, including a push for "more timely gathering of documents to go to the judge."
Like Degenkolb, he praised Indiana County's office of register and recorder as being "highly modernized. That level of organization and availability of information needs to be brought to the prothonotary's office."
Noker said he is capable of leading modernization efforts for that office, noting he supervised paralegals at his former Philadelphia law firm and developed a computer program to manage the caseload.
To see more of The Blairsville Dispatch or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/blairsvilledispatch/. Copyright (c) 2009, The
Blairsville Dispatch, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or
847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group
Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To Contact Center Solutions Community's Homepage ]
|
Activate Email 
INDUSTRIES
A New Approach to Business Process Automation
