By KEN MILAM
POTEAU – After nearly three decades, Melba Hall is closing the file on her tenure as LeFlore County Court Clerk.
Hall’s resignation, effective June 30, was accepted Monday by county commissioners.
Hall said the decision to leave office was difficult, and one she had been considering for almost a year. She said the opportunity arose for her to take the post of secretary-bailiff to Judge Jon Sullivan and she decided to make the change.
Hall took the position of court clerk in January 1993. In the years since, she never drew an opponent for her re-election.
“That means a lot to me,” she said.
Hall said she believes one reason she never had an opponent is because her staff was trained to “treat people the way you want to be treated. When people come in here, they already have problems and we don’t need to add to them.”
She first worked in the clerk office at age 19 and said she loved the job. After that, she worked in the county Child Support Division, then spent eight years working for the Sanders and Sanders Law Firm before seeking the elective court clerk’s post.
The clerk’s office is responsible for maintaining all records that are filed in the court system.
She said the biggest change and her biggest accomplishment has been computerizing the office.
“There were no computers here when I first took over,” she said.
The machines make the filing more efficient and help the workflow move more quickly, she said.
For several years, she has served on statewide committees that gave her the opportunity to have input into improving the court system statewide. “I’ve made some good friends all over the state.”
Her deputy Mindy White will take over as interim court clerk until an August election.
“Mindy has worked for me for 22 years and you won’t find a harder worker. That made my decision easier, knowing the office was in good hands.”
Hall said she considered retiring in 2015, “but I wasn’t ready then … I’m still not ready.”
She said taking the job in Sullivan’s office would allow her to continue working in the legal field and with the many fellow courthouse employees she has known for years.
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