In The News

Van Buren County Courthouse gets metal detector

By Anita Tucker

Democrat Editor

The Van Buren County Courthouse in downtown Clinton now has a working metal detector courtesy of Little Rock District Court.

Circuit Judge Rhonda Wood said when she heard the district court had new detectors and were looking to sell or donate the old ones, she thought of the Van Buren County Courthouse.

Wood said she worked with Pete Hollingsworth, director of court security for the state, to obtain the donation. She also credits Little Rock District Judges Vic Fleming, Alice Lightle and Mark Leverett as well as Little Rock Traffic Court Senior Probation Officer Sheila K. Farley for helping Van Buren County get the detector free of charge.

County Judge Roger Hooper and County-Circuit Clerk Ester Bass picked up the metal detector in Little Rock a couple of weeks ago.

The Courthouse previously had metal detectors, but they did not work properly.

The donated detector has lights that glow red or green as people pass under it. The detector will alert to metal objects such as coins and watches. The device will be manned for now by a court bailiff.