Columbus County commissioners toured the courthouse Tuesday evening to assess the condition of the 92-year-old structure.

Staff photo by Mark Gilchrist

• Safety, space, and structural issues cited.

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Ninety-two years of history have unfolded under its roof.

It’s one of the most historical buildings in Whiteville and Columbus County and a landmark like no other.

But the Columbus County courthouse is also in poor shape, as commissioners saw firsthand Tuesday. Clerk of Court Shelia Pridgen led the board on a quiet 6 p.m. tour through the vacant halls, courtrooms, offices and bathrooms of the aged building.

The tour comes on the heels of a recent walk-through by an Administrative Office of the Courts representative and an incident last month in which ceiling tiles fell in the district court judges chamber.

The first stop was Pridgen’s office where a bookshelf was peculiarly tilted at a backward angle.

“As you can see the floor is sloped,” Pridgen said and pointed out the bookshelf is propped in such a way to keep the books on the shelf. “Otherwise the books slide off.”

Estate files, which must be kept for 60 years, are housed in a nearby room. “They’re not fire proof or in a vault,” Pridgen said, but added that the records are microfilmed and a copy sent to the AOC in Raleigh.

Several stained places in various areas of the ceiling showed signs of old leaks.

“Didn’t we put a roof on here a few years ago?” Chairman Sammie Jacobs asked.

Public Utilities Director Leroy Sellers who is also over Solid Waste and Maintenance director, pointed out that some of the areas being shown “were never renovated.”

“We took the money out when the budget got tight,” Sellers explained.

“This is where the termites were so bad,” Pridgen said of another office she showed the group.

Ceiling discolorations were again pointed out and Jacobs again asked if there are still leaks.

“Because we did put a roof on it,” Jacobs said.

A damaged place at one of the main entrances of the courthouse’s uneven and settling floor was missing a tile and sunken in a little. “If somebody trips over that they are liable to sue the county – there isn’t a way to patch that up?” Commissioner Ricky Bullard asked Sellers.

On a quick walk through the district attorney’s office, Pridgen pointed out that four assistant district attorneys and three support staff share the small area. “We are out of room—the DA’s office –the people are not here for you to see just how cramped it is.”

“Just about most days there’s water in the lights,” Pridgen said as she headed to the courtroom.

“It’s condensation,” Sellers added, and pointed out the building was very cold at times.

Upon entering the courtroom Pridgen pointed out it was “pretty good” but commissioners asked about vents located close to lights and questioned if there was in fact any water in lights.

“There’s three ceilings,” Sellers pointed out.

“If we could get some insulation and ventilation that would probably take care of that problem,” Commissioner Ronald Gore said.

The most heated moment came when the group entered the jury room where it seemed no cool air was circulating. Pridgen said some days it was 80 or more degrees in the room.

“The judge let the jury go home because of a cooling problem in the jury room,” Pridgen pointed out. “It’s just that section.”

One bathroom beside the jury room is designated for jurors and last week a judge put it in the record that the facilities were inadequate and slowed down the murder trial being heard.

An empty closet-like room extending into what appeared to be an attic-like area was bare and housed a breaker box. “The fire marshal made us take files out of there because of a fire hazard,” Pridgen said.

“We scheduled 30 minutes for this – maybe we should have scheduled a little longer,” Jacobs said after declining Commissioner Bill Memory’s suggestion the group take a look at the basement too. “It’s been at the backs of our minds,” Jacobs told Pridgen. “We do take it seriously.”