Folk, Alexander plan to enjoy retirement
Judge will build new home near Magnolia Springs
By SHARON KERR

MANY GOOD MEMORIES go into packing boxes as Jasper County Judge Joe Folk and his assistant, Neva Alexander, prepare to retire this year.

Retiring Jasper County Judge Joe Folk won't be sitting in the rocking chair on his front porch, at least not before he gets a new house built.

He has served as judge for 12 years, during which time the county survived Hurricane Rita, the space shuttle Columbia disaster and the three capital murder trials in the death of James Byrd Jr.

"To me the important thing (about the Byrd case) is that our people worked together through their problems.

"People (from all over the world) came in here thinking this is a redneck area, but they found black people in charge on the city council, the mayor and in DETCOG...We worked together through the trials and came out a lot better, stronger."

Before assuming the role as judge, Folk worked in the school system, as sheriff and with juvenile probation.

He started out as an agriculture teacher right out of the Army in 1956, so he was accustomed to long hours doing projects, shows and summer work with the kids.

He and his long-time assistant, Neva Alexander, plan to spend some of their last month helping newly elected Judge Mark Allen and the two new commissioners, Roy Parker and Vance Moss, "get up to speed."

Being a judge will require Allen to attend 30 hours of training in January, and a mandatory 16 hours a year after that.

Folk says he also went to probate school because a judge can be held personally liable in civil cases, where in criminal cases there is judicial immunity.

Folk will be building a new house on his 35 acres near Magnolia Springs. "I've enjoyed my job," Folk said. "Probably not every day, but mostly...but now I want to get a few cows and work on some fences," he said.