Courthouse's plaster ceiling replaced with drywall

Work on repairing the second-floor ceiling of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson is about halfway complete.

Plaster above the associate circuit clerks' office crashed through a drop ceiling onto their workspace the evening of Aug. 8. No one was injured, and the collapse was likely caused by fatigue.

Workers have been replacing the remaining plaster above the drop ceiling with fire-protecting drywall to prevent further collapses, county public works director Don McQuay said.

While McQuay said there was no set timeline for completing the project, he speculated the work was about 50 percent complete.

On Wednesday, the operation moved to the ceiling above the Division III courtroom where Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp holds court.

The judge's docket for the day was moved across the street to the second floor of Jackson City Hall in the aldermen chambers, Kamp said. Inside Kamp's courtroom, about half the ceiling plaster had been removed.

All that remains in the associate circuit clerks' office is to have the drop ceiling replaced. Currently, the clerks are working out of a basement courtroom that normally houses the Division V docket.

The clerks will return to their office space when the repairs are done, and clerks for the circuit clerk will move to the basement as their office ceiling is repaired, McQuay said.