Carbon clerk of courts takes office

Carbon County officials, friends and family gathered in Courtroom 1 Monday morning to watch as the newly appointed clerk of courts took her oath of office.

Francine Heaney of Nesquehoning was sworn in by senior District Judge Edward Lewis with her husband, Pat, holding the Bible as her children Patrick and Ryan, and grandson, Finn, looked on, ending a vacancy that has been open in the clerk of courts office since May 1, when longtime clerk of courts William McGinley retired.

“The finality of all this is something that I have been waiting for for a long time,” she said. “I really do enjoy working in that office and wanted it for a long time so I am happy it finally came through from the Senate.”

She thanked her family, friends, co-workers and both Democratic and Republican parties for their support through the whole process during the past several months.

She will serve for the next year and two months. In 2019, the position will be on the ballot for a two-year term.

Heaney said that now that she is the new clerk of courts, she plans to speak to the staff and see where they are with processing the backlog that exists before determining how they need to move forward to resolve the backlog and get everything back on track.

The next step will be to “prioritize and get the cases moving forward,” she said. “There is a lot that needs to be done.”

The county has aired many frustrations with the backlog in the clerk of courts office that has been building for years, going so far as to call the condition of the office a mess, hostile environment and a nightmare in July.

Last week, Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said there is over $100,000 in revenue that the county hasn’t received this year because the paperwork was never filed with collections after defendants’ sentencings.