Courthouse opened Monday, closed Wednesday for cleaning

Two days after Wahkiakum County officials opened the courthouse to the public, they closed it again.

The officials learned that their janitorial contractor lacked sufficient personnel to provide the schedule of cleaning required under the state Department of Health guidelines to deal with the covid-19 pandemic.

The board of commissioners voted Tuesday to close the courthouse again until the required cleaning can be provided. People needing to access courthouse offices again need to phone the office to set up an appointment.

However, the county commission later scheduled a special meeting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday morning to reconsider the motion (the meeting occurred after The Eagle had gone to press; check The Eagle's website, http://www.waheagle.com, for an update).

"After the meeting, Commissioner (Dan) Cothren was contacted by a department head who requested to keep the building open and suggested discussing alternate ways to do so safely," commission Clerk Beth Johnson explained in an email. "Commissioner Cothren then called for a special meeting . . . to address the topic again."