On the Topic of the Courthouse

Today, at 2 p.m., is the official ribbon cutting at the expanded, handicapped accessible Columbia County courthouse, so it's appropriate this morning to consider the courthouse.

On Tuesday, Veterans Day, Jonathan Simons sent Gossips these two awesome pictures of this Warren and Wetmore building.

The second picture in particular is marred by the presence of an air raid siren on the building's northeast corner. Amazingly, the very next day, three days after the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, our own little relic of the Cold War came down.

Now everything is in readiness to cut the ribbon and celebrate the expanded, ADA compliant courthouse, but bizarrely, the man responsible for the project, the man who championed the courthouse and recognized and respected its architectural significance may not be there to take his bows. 

David Robinson, who has been the public works commissioner since 2002, during which time many sensitive improvements have been made to the historic building, no longer holds that position. His term expired on November 3, and he was not re-appointed. In fact, the Register-Star reported yesterday that the Board of Supervisors has decided to do away with the position of public works commissioner altogether.
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