County, state offices moving out of Turner Co. Courthouse

PARKER, S.D. (KELO) — Turner County Commissioner Mick Miller said this might be the biggest issue Turner County has ever faced.

The structural issues in the court room and Clerk of Courts office have already forced some employees out.

“We decided to move our offices out to the court offices. Fairly recently we had had to move all of our court proceedings to Salem because the courtroom is not safe to be occupied,” First Circuit Court Administrator Kim Allison said.

Court Services are moved to Olivet until further notice. Office hours are Monday, Thursday and every other Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. While their mailing address remains the same, their phone number while in Olivet is 605-387-4222.

Clerk of Courts office hours in Parker have been cut down to two days a week: Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Clerk staff will work remotely on remaining days. A lock box now sits outside for any drop-off forms. Their mailing address remains the same.

“We are also very concerned with people who might need to file protection orders. If they need to file a protection order, when the Clerk of Court’s office is closed, unfortunately, they’ll have to go to one of the surrounding counties,” Allison said.

All Turner County Court matters are being handled in McCook County.

The Turner County Commissioners purchased a building on Main Street in Parker to house some of the employees who currently work inside of the courthouse.

The Sheriff’s Department, State’s Attorney’s Office and other court related services are projected to move there as soon as possible. Offices not housed in the new building will be spread throughout Parker. Owners of office spaces have been contacted, but those agreements continue to be negotiated.

“Some of the employees were more concerned than others about the potential collapse of the building. There are supports, there are beams, but there’s definitely very serious structural issues in that building,” Allison said.

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