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(Thanks to Moooksta for the heads-up 
)
)Is courthouse haunted?
by: Jon Mayhew
(12/13/2006)
(Click to enlarge - you can watch a report here)
People were concluding their day on Nov. 16 at the Lincoln County Courthouse when someone noticed what looked like a woman in the second floor cashier’s office around 5:15 p.m.
She appeared to be writing something down on a pad. A security guard and a bailiff walked upstairs to the business office, entered through the back, passed along the front of the office when something strange happened.
They walked right through the woman.
Moments later – on digital surveillance tape – what some have called a ghost appeared.
“We hear stuff in the building all the time,” said Lincoln County’s emergency management director, Susan Spake. “We all joke around that there’s a ghost in here after hours.”
While Spake said that the building is so old it “makes noises,” she admitted she hasn’t seen anything like this in the seven years she’s worked in Lincoln County.
Security guard David Blackburn said he’s been in the courthouse alone when he has heard footsteps.
“I knew I was the only one in the building, turning on lights,” said Blackburn, adding he watched the incident unfold in amazement from a security monitor.
“You hear about stuff like this all the time,” said Blackburn. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Blackburn said that there wasn’t anyone else in the office that day but himself; three officers; Register of Deeds Elaine Harmon; and bailiff Jeep Ford.
Robin Grigg has worked in the courthouse for 23 years and agreed with Blackburn.
She hasn’t seen anything like this before.
During the days when she would stay in the building late at night, she would hear humming and other noise.
“You’re the only one there,” said Grigg. “When I saw this on the tape, it was extremely eerie.”
Since news of the ghost flowed through courthouse offices, many people have asked Grigg if the courthouse is haunted.
“I’ve told them to see for themselves,” laughed Grigg. “Stay all night. That’s certainly something I wouldn’t do.”
One skeptic in the crowd who also saw the footage is district court judge Ali Paksoy.
He thought the image was actually burned on tape, until he learned the courthouse surveillance system is digital.
“I don’t know what explanation would be for this. I just don’t know,” said Paksoy, who’s in the courthouse two weeks out of each month. “I’ve never seen an image like this before.”
Paksoy said he doesn’t believe the courthouse is haunted.
Courthouse employee Barbara Jones respectfully disagreed with Paksoy.
She works in the office where the image was seen on camera and believes the courthouse is haunted.
One day, she came into work and discovered something unusual on her desk.
“My calendar had been moved several months back one day,” said Jones. “When I saw the image on the screen, that particular day popped back into my head.”
While she holds to belief that the courthouse is haunted, seeing the image on tape didn’t affect her one way or the other, even though the image was seen directly across the glass.
“The woman looked like she was standing there and writing something down,” said Jones. “I’ve named the ghost ‘Sally’ because I thought that was a nice name.”
Security guard Jerry Ervin is skeptical as well. Jeep Ford and himself actually went up to the second floor to be sure it was secure.
“We were making sure all the doors were locked and knew everyone had left,” said Ervin. “I asked Jeep to check the office out with me, so we walked in and out.”
Ervin and Ford were later told they walked right through the middle of the ghost. Ervin said he didn’t feel anything.
“I don’t believe it,” said Ervin. “All I know is when I went into the office, there wasn’t anybody there.”
lincolntimesnews.com
