Muskingum County Courthouse Implements New Security Measures

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum County Courthouse is about to
become a little more secure. Sheriff Matt Lutz says new security
measures will be put into place on Tuesday; including the presence of
law enforcement officers.

“We’re basically
going to limit the access into the courthouse down to one door; and
that will be on the Main Street side. Obviously, you will go into the
basement of the courthouse; which is going to be really different for
a lot of different people. And so, in the basement we will have
officers there and a scanning machine that they will have to walk
through— kind of similar to what you see at the airports. And,
we’ll also have an x-ray machine.”

The new equipment is
being funded through the general fund of the Muskingum County Board
of Commissioners.

“This has been a
talking point for quite a while and our three commissioners just made
it a point to finally say, you know—we want to do this. And so, I
think we’re kind of following suit with a lot of different
courthouses in the state of Ohio right now; and with everything going
on in the world today, I guess—just trying to make a safer
environment for our employees to come to work. And also, just a safer
environment for the public to come into the courthouse.”

Authorities are
advising those planning to visit the courthouse to allow themselves a
few extra moments to undergo the new security process.