An old Highland County jail cell like the one used to hold Johnny Paycheck is now used for storage.



Public Records Info
Under Ohio’s public records law, residents have the right to view upon request the public records of offices.
Q:    What records are public under Ohio’s Public Records Act?
A:    Any record held by a public office, including paper, computer disks and film/videotape.
Q:     What are a person’s rights under the Public Records Act?
A:     Generally, a person’s rights include the right to a prompt inspection of public records and, upon request, the right to copies of those public records within a reasonable period of time.
Q:     Any there any exceptions?
A:     Yes. Certain records are exempt, including medical records, Social Security numbers, trial preparation records, confidential law enforcement investigatory records and adoption records.
Source: Ohio State Bar Association

Some offices that can be found in county courthouses include:
•    Auditor
•    Board of Elections
•    Building Department
•    Clerk of Courts (legal, passport and title divisions)
•    Commissioners
•    Emergency Management Agency
•    Engineer
•    Environmental Services Department
•    Ohio State University Extension
•    Recorder
•    Treasurer

Ohio’s county courthouses provide a wealth of information

Story and photos by Amy Beth Graves

Down a white, sparse hallway of the Highland County Courthouse, a door sticks out. Its shape is irregular and its surface is metal, not wood. The door is kept locked and once it is unlocked, a bit of the county’s history comes alive. The door leads to a decrepit jail cell that was saved after the courthouse underwent a renovation. The cell, complete with urinal, bunks, metal bars and graffiti-filled walls, is now used to store old court books. It also is identical to the type of cell that country singer Johnny Paycheck (of “Take This Job and Shove It” fame) spent time in after he was arrested for shooting a man in the head in a Hillsboro bar.

 

“We like to show this off,” Clerk of Courts Paulette Donley said, unlocking the door as she reminisced about Paycheck’s wild times in Hillsboro, the county seat.

 

The old jail cell is just one of the many treasures found at the Highland County Courthouse, which was built from 1832 to 1834 and is the oldest in Ohio to be continuously used as a courthouse. Nearby is the recorder’s office, which keeps deeds and dozens of different types of documents, some more than 100 years old. Reading the details on the yellowed pages that were painstakingly recorded in neat cursive writing gives you a sense of what life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

 

The courthouse, like all other county courthouses, contains a wealth of information and resources – not just about the past, but the present. It’s a place where you can get a dog license, talk to your county commissioner, get an aerial picture of your property, find out what your neighbor’s taxes are and apply for Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV).

 

“Most people don’t know what to do when they get to the courthouse or what they can find out there. Many think it just contains the courts,” said Janelle Mead, Ohio Farm Bureau’s organization director for Clinton, Fayette, Greene and Highland counties.

 

Last year, Mead helped organize Ag Day at the Courthouse to educate Farm Bureau members about the people behind the desks and what valuable information they can find in their county courthouse. They met with county commissioners, and the recorder, auditor, clerk of courts and manager of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) department.

 

“The GIS division was particularly interesting because they showed us how they have aerial photographs of all properties and can zoom in on a piece of property and show detail down to the type of soil on it,” Mead said. “For example a hunter who has permission to hunt on a piece of property can come in to find out where the property line is so he doesn’t stray onto somebody else’s property.” The GIS department can put detailed information about one or more of the 32,000 county parcels on a DVD, which can be purchased for $10. Some county courthouses have the information available free online.

 

If you’re looking for a deed, mortgage, land contract or some other type of land document, head over to the recorder’s office, said Ike Hodson, the county’s recorder since 1989. The cost to copy a document is 10 cents per page in Highland County. The charge varies from county to county with a maximum cost of $2 per page as set by state law.

 

“A number of people don’t know what the county recorder does. It’s here that the land documents for all the properties in the county are located. We have over 100 types of documents,” said Hodson, noting that since 1989 all records are listed online.

 

Donley, Highland County’s clerk of courts for 20 years, said each county courthouse is unique. They don’t all house the same county offices, charge the same fees or offer all court or other documents online. But she said a courthouse’s function is the same across the state – to provide a wealth of public information. And, she said, the courthouse is not only for those who are appearing in court, paying for a boat title, applying for a passport or looking up a birth or death certificate; it’s also for the nosy neighbor.

 

“Everything is wide open here unless it’s a sealed record or secret indictment. If John Doe is getting divorced, you can see what’s going on by using the public computer we have,” she said, gesturing to a woman tapping away at the computer to access a court case. “People call me all the time to find out all kinds of different information. If the information isn’t here, I probably know where to send you.”

 

Amy Beth Graves is a freelance writer from Franklin County.

 

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