MISSISSIPPI COUNTY MOVES TO NEW COURTHOUSE

It has been less than three years since the Mississippi County Courthouse at Charleston was heavily damaged by a fire authorities say was the result of arson.

In that short time, Mississippi County government quickly found temporary offices from which to operate at nearby East Prairie, and voters approved a half-cent sales tax for three years to help pay for construction of a new courthouse, the fire-damaged courthouse was razed and a new one was built.

Over the past month county offices have been moving into the courthouse, which was constructed on the same site as the old one. It opened for business Jan. 3. And at 1 p.m. Jan. 29 a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially marking the opening of the building will be held. The public is invited to tour the building afterward and again from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 30.

A lot has transpired in the short time since the courthouse was lost Feb. 10, 1997, and that speaks well for Mississippi countians and their elected County Commission, which wasted no time in getting things done and seeing to it that Mississippi County government returned to normal as quickly as possible.

Equally impressive was the fact that the county built and furnished the new courthouse for $2.75 million. That is a lot of money but a very sensible amount considering the design and size of the building.

The old courthouse had been undergoing $800,000 in renovations when the fire occurred. The county got $1.4 million in insurance money that was used toward the new building, and the balance is being paid with money raised by the half-cent sales tax that expires in September and the county's general-revenue fund.

The relocation of offices to East Prairie cost the county about $135,000 for rent and related expenses again, not an insurmountable amount considering county government had suddenly found itself without a place to do business. That expense, of course, no longer will exist, and the county will have gotten through the entire ordeal with about $635,000 in out-of-pocket expenses: the $135,000 at East Prairie and $500,000 from general revenue to meet the expense of the new building.

Mississippi County has demonstrated fiscal responsibility in handling the transition, and the new building will serve the county well into this 21st century.