By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A few political candidates who were invited to attend Thursday's League of Women Voters - Barton County forum at the Great Bend Senior Center were unable to attend in person. That was not the case for the Barton County Register of Deeds office as candidates Glennda French and Susan Williams were both present to answer two questions each. The second question pertained to how the office can make records accessible to the public. The incumbent French answered first.
"Since taking office, I have added an online document service," she said. "By accessing the portal through the Barton County website, our public records are available through e-search. This allows researchers the ability to access our documents remotely, saving them time of travel to our office."
Williams, a former deputy clerk, agreed the technology is a step in the right direction. She believes it will create more time for staff to work with the public.
"That's what I want to focus on is the people and really educating the public," Williams said. "The attorneys, and the real estate agents, most of them already know how to do research. If we can spend more one-on-one time with them, building them up and teaching them a skill, then everybody is going to benefit from that."
Thursday's forum was for local candidates. A similar forum scheduled for 7 p.m. on July 25 will feature candidates for state and federal offices.
Watch the entire forum from Thursday, July 18 below.