In this corner...
Landmen, Newman square off
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Newsboy photo/ Sharon Kerr COUNTY CLERK DEBBIE NEWMAN told commisioners on Monday that DFW Scanning is taking more than their alloted space and creating hazards in violation of the 15-point resolution the court adopted a week earlier.

Days after the Jasper County Commissioners' Court adopted a 15-point resolution standardizing access to county records, DFW Scanning arrived to set up shop in the county clerk's office.

For years, Newman has required people who need copies of county records to pay $1 per page to have a county employee make copies. Landmen, who spend months in the county clerk's office, may need up to 800 copies for one contract.

This should have been the last chapter of a long battle that County Clerk Debbie Newman has waged ever since she took office; instead the fight heated up, with Newman calling in County Judge Mark Allen and District Attorney Steve Hollis on Friday.

Monday, she reiterated her complaints in the commissioners' court special session on Nov. 19, and was assured she had the backing of the court to enforce the rules of the resolution.

Newman told the commissioners that the county receives in the neighborhood of $25,000 per month income from the copies, but the process also guarantees that the records are kept in order and properly preserved for future generations.

Newman had already told the court when they adopted the resolution Nov. 9 that space would be a problem. Newman said she wanted to assure the public that everyone, not just the big companies, would have the same access to records.

Therefore, the court limited space to a 3x3' area with access to one plug, and stipulated that people who bring their own electronic scanners do not create a fire or safety hazard. The resolution also says that pages cannot be removed from the books. This should not have been a problem for hand-held rechargeable scanners that DFW told Allen they would use.

Instead, DFW set up two large sheet-fed scanners that require pages be removed from the books. They balanced two computer towers and keyboards on cardboard boxes at the end of the aisle, and plugged an octopus-like tangle of wires into one extension cord.

Under the public information act, Texas requires that everyone from individuals to big oil companies have equal access to the records, but it allows counties to set reasonable regulations to preserve those records, according to Hollis.

Hiring in the halls

Allen said when he spoke with DFW president George Contos, he was assured the company had a long track record of scanning county documents and that not once, in 50 million scans, had DFW's experienced staff mixed up pages and gotten them out of order.

"They didn't make it through the first dozen books without getting them out of order," Newman said.

The problem became obvious when Allen learned the company was conducting job interviews for scanning positions in the courthouse hallway, and the "experienced" staff on Friday had their first training session the Wednesday before.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Willie Stark told Newman, "We approved these 15 points so we would have an equable solution for everyone... You have the authority and the backing of this court you need to enforce these regulations. This court will stand behind you."

Allen said he would reinforce two points with DFW: 1, to "preclude them from using our courthouse for hiring, firing, or conducting interviews," and 2, "all pieces of equipment should be removed anytime they leave the office."

Damage to records

Diana South, one of Newman's clerks, told the court, "The biggest problem is that when they are running documents through the scanners, it's taking a piece off them. These old records are brittle and it's damaging them."

Newman said it bothers her most that these records that county taxpayers have paid for (to create and maintain) are being abused and damaged through mishandling.

Upon review, the commissioners decided on Nov. 19 that no new action was required, but that the court would inform DFW or any other entity seeking to copy records of their intention to enforce the 15-point resolution.