(Talk of the Town photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) A Wabash crew, below, began assessing leak damage to the Whitley County Courthouse dome Monday and found problems a bit more extensive there than originally expected.

When you’re talking about an old house, there’s bound to be projects. And when you’re talking about a house that belongs to everyone and is in many ways the symbol of the community – you fix them.

Earlier this week, Whitley County Commissioner Mike Schrader told the Whitley County Council that when a Wabash crew began assessing damages to the dome of the Whitley County Courthouse Monday morning, they found problems a bit worse than they anticipated. The extent of the damage is not fully known at this point.

Earlier this summer, Council and Commissioners discussed and ultimately approved several restoration projects involving the Whitley County Courthouse and annex building.

At that time, Commissioner Tom Rethlake estimated the cost of repairs as follows:
$4,630 for the annex building, $2000 to repair external leaks to the courthouse dome and the cost of a crane to reach the damaged areas of the

In the near future, another project that will need addressed at the courthouse includes the installation of new windows to improve efficiency. Rethlake added that steps would need to be retread in the courthouse at a cost of $15,000.

In all, restoration work for the courthouse and the county’s annex building on Line Street could cost approximately $75,000.

“Right now, the only thing we know needs taken care of is the courthouse dome,” Rethlake said in August.

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