By Katie Bohannon, News Editor
The Etowah County Courthouse will close at noon on Friday, August 6.
Etowah County Chief Administrative Officer Shane Ellison discussed the closure during Tuesday’s Commission meeting, which will allow Alabama Power to replace a utility pole on 8th Street that was damaged during a recent vehicular accident.
The pole’s replacement will require Alabama Power to disconnect power to the courthouse, hindering typical operations within the building. While Ellison contacted Alabama Power to schedule the replacement (and necessary power outage) for a weekend, that was not possible, resulting in a compromise with Friday’s partial closure.
Ellison noted that full-time courthouse employees will receive up to four hours of administrative leave for Friday. Though the courthouse is the only building that will lose power, Ellison and the commission wanted to inform courthouse employees and the public of the closure.
“Hopefully, we will have everyone out of the elevators, if not the building at that point,” he joked, referring to when noon on Friday arrives.