Round 3
DFW Scanning not happy with Newman's stance on landmen scanning issue
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

DFW Scanning is not happy that Jasper County Clerk Debbie Newman is not happy, according to a letter The Jasper Newsboy received from DFW president George Contos.

That letter was in response to the Nov. 14 headline, "Newman not happy with state ruling on landmen, scanners." No word yet on his response to the Nov. 28 story, "Landmen, Newman square off."

The issues at stake are preserving county records for future generations, while providing state-required public access to documents on file.

Newman has required people who need copies of county records to pay $1 per copy. Landmen who are researching deeds for oil leases will frequently require up to 800 copies for one deal. Income from copies is about $25,000 per month, according to Newman's estimate.

Contos' letter states, "By having these documents in an electronic format the Oil and Gas companies can research the property records much more quickly than they can by going to the courthouse and doing their research manually.

"The faster they can research mineral rights the quicker they can start leasing property and therefore begin drilling."

Contos goes on to predict that his "service" will cut unemployment and help foster a more prosperous Jasper economy.

Contos says, "People can afford to buy new cars, go out to eat more often, spend more on Christmas."

What Contos is not saying is that scanning is big business. His company has scanned records for eight counties in Texas so far.

The records are available online, but not for free.

Countyscans.com charges a $300 monthly fee plus $2 per page view, if you set up automatic deductions with Paypal.

Why would someone pay $2 for what they can obtain from the county clerk for $1? Speed of access and not having to station a person in Jasper are two draws the website promotes.

Newman points out these are real people who are working (and spending money) in Jasper every day, whose jobs may be eliminated. Besides the occasional resident who needs a copy, oil and gas companies, title companies, attorneys, landmen and real estate agents all currently frequent her office.

"What they really will be losing is the expertise of my staff," Newman says. "We help them, all of them without playing favorites, to find what they need. All of my staff are Jasperites. Diana South's father was a constable, and another girl's father was a preacher, and when you start adding it up, between us we know everybody and every family.

"Often times we can help the landmen because we can say we know that family, we know where they live, we know who the daughter married and what her name is now," Newman said.

"They can't digitize the personal knowledge we've been able to give, and we do it freely. I don't allow my girls to accept tips or take any money for helping. They are getting paid to do that job, and many of the landmen have thanked us for what we do."

Jasper County adopted a 15-point resolution that is designed to give "equable access" as required by recent state rulings, while preserving documents that taxpayers have paid to create and maintain.

DFW is continuing to scan documents, now with the assistance and supervision of a county employee to ensure that the books and records are kept in proper order.