Looming in the distance is a silent giant, a majestic structure that has seemingly risen out of the ground ever so slowly since a day in October over one year ago. Currently near- ing completion, Clay County's new courthouse stands as a behemoth of a building, stepping up to take the place of the county's current landmark, which has been in use since 1888.

According to County Manager Paul Leek, the court's new residence is slated to be finished and open sometime in the middle of June this year. However, the courthouse is just the one phase of a three-part construction process on the new judicial center, a 22-acre site on old U.S. Business 64.

"When the court's in session right now you've got everybody in a small area," Leek said. "Now were going to be able to provide more space for them to be better served." Leek said that space, service and overall "customer satisfaction " were the biggest improvements over the current courthouse, which is not handicap accessible.

A lone bulldozer rests outside the front of the courthouse. The building sits on 22 acres of land set aside for the new judicial center which will eventually include county offices, a jail, a sheriff's office and transportation department. With millions of dollars poured into its foundation, the design of the entire courthouse is a major aspect itself. The front doors of the building lead to an expansive cathedral-like atrium with an elaborate stairway escalating to the second floor in the center.

The county's tax office will sit on the left side of the lobby while the office for the registrar of deeds will reside on the right, beside a large research work- space. Located directly behind the atrium in the heart of the ground floor is the office for the clerk of courts and beside it, mapping.

The second floor of the new court- house proves even more complex and extraordinary. The district attorney's office is stationed at the front, with a law library in the center. Behind the atrium lies a giant multi-purpose room, able to be split into two separate meeting areas if need be. Next to it is the new courtroom, a spectacle in itself. Fine wood graces the stands for the judge and jury. The new courtroom comfortably seats 150, approximately twenty more than the current. The second floor also houses several probation offices and a community service and criminal justice office as well.

In the heat of the morning a construction worker on site labors to layer bricks outside the loading dock at the new jail. See photos of the interior of the buildings at www.smokymountainsentinel.com. The second phase of the project is a new jail building, which has been under construction since January this year, and is connected to the courthouse by a door in back of the courtroom.

Leek said "security and more space" were the largest improvements of the new jail over the existing one.

"The old jail was built in the seventies. There's none of the newer technology in the jail, so now we're going to have a jail that's going to be very secure with all the latest technology to ensure that we keep our inmates inside the four walls."

"Right now the jail we have here is designed to hold 11 prisoners," Clay County Sheriff Joe Shook said. "I don't know how many are over there today. But the day before...they had 22 in there. So we need this new facility." Leek said that the new jail will be able to hold up to 52 inmates when it is completed in January 2008.

"On the courthouse we had a loan for eight million dollars and that's just for the construction, " Leek said. "It looks like the construction is going to come in about 6.7 million." Leek said that was much better than expected. " As far as the jail, we borrowed 4.4 million dollars." He said that construction was not far enough along to estimate what the total cost on that phase would be, though he promised it would not cost over 4.4 million dollars.

"Construction's going really good.We're about meeting our deadlines and stuff," said Harold Jones, the superintendent for the general contractor. "The whole building's been a challenge, the way it's designed, but it's a good design. And it looks good. Every day's a challenge out here."

The third phase of work, the county administration building, is yet to break ground. The new structure will contain approximately 15 offices in a rectangular building. The grounds will also eventually hold a garage and office for the county transportation department.

"I do hope that somewhere down the road, whether it's next year or in four years, that they do build a new sheriff's office out there where the jail's at so we can all be at the same area all the time," Shook said. "I think there was a lot of controversy over the courthouse and the jail being built, but I think that once it's done, completed and the people see what they've really gotten, I think the people of this county will be proud of it."

To comment on this article, email Harrison at hkeely@gmail.com

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