Carrabelle Annex Gets Deputy Clerk

By Dale Kingon

Times Staff Writer

The Carrabelle Courthouse Annex can now offer most of the services provided by the Clerk of Courts, Marcia Johnson, in Apalachicola every day of the week.

At the beginning of October Rene Stone, a deputy clerk, began her training that would eventually allow her to assist residents on the eastern side of Franklin County.

Johnson said the idea of offering Clerk of Court services at the annex was on her mind even before she ran for office in 2004. In January of 2005 she started sending Amelia Varnes, a deputy clerk since 1993, over to the annex to provide limited services once a week.

Varnes was instrumental in getting the office up and running for Stone. She said ordering computers was a hassle and led to a delay in opening the office.

"I am very excited. With all of the development on this side of the county it has been an inconvenience for developers," said Varnes who now works back in Apalachicola. "I am very proud Marcia did it."

Stone will now be able to offer recording, marriage certificates, passport processing and information on traffic school. She will also accept payments for traffic citations and is authorized to notarize official documents.

Perhaps most importantly, considering the development in the St. Joe Company's Summer Camp and other development east of the Carrabelle River, people can record deeds as well as view and copy plat maps.

Stone said she is connected to the Apalachicola office through a virtual private network and can access important information there. She can also download forms for customers and walk them through documents.

The annex won't offer a few services like asking for injunctions, for safety reasons, and paying child support.

"We'll try to help anyway we can," said Stone. "We communicate very well by phone."

Monica Lemieux, a banker in Apalachicola and Johnson's sister, said the new service was great because it saved people coming from Carrabelle an hour of driving time. She also said Stone was the right person for the job, if only because she knows everyone in Carrabelle.

Stone is a life-long Carrabelle resident and is married to one of the area's Highway Patrol officers, Anthony Stone. Anthony Stone is immortalized on gas station pumps with verbiage warning people to pay for their gas or risk losing their driver's license.

"If I don't know someone who comes into the office they are new," said Stone.

Johnson said she is very proud of her staff of 19 deputy clerks who, "have a lot of work going through the office."

Varnes said her boss feels very strongly about customer service and makes it her goal to find answers for people without sending them all over the place.

Varnes said during her tenure in Carrabelle about 10 people a week came to seek her assistance when she was open just once a day.

Since Stone has had the office open all week she said about 25 people have come in per week for services. She assumes that as word spreads that the office is open all week more people will stop by.

Clerk of Court services are available at the Carrabelle Courthouse Annex from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. They will be closed from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. everyday so that Stone can get lunch.

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