Franklin County Coroner Asks County for Office Space, More Equipment

Franklin County’s Coroner says his office needs…well..an office.

In a presentation to the Franklin County Commission Tuesday evening, Coroner Scott O’Barr said currently he and his assistant are working out their respective homes.

“We need to find some way of developing a building where we can include a cooler. At this present time, I work out of my office at my house, Clayton works out of his office at his house,” he explained. “We do not have anything in this county where there’s a door that I can open that is for the coroner’s office. Not one. When I have to meet with a family, I have to do it at the Sheriff’s office, the Lavonia Police, the Royston Police. That’s not fair to the families, that’s not fair to me or Clayton, and it’s not fair to the agencies we have to deal with.”

O’Barr said they are asking for a split-level building that can house a body cooler, examination room, office space, and storage space.

However, he said lack of office space is not the only issue. O’Barr said there is also a need for more body coolers in the County.

In 2013, the County purchased one body cooler, which was put in the new St. Mary’s Sacred Hospital in Lavonia, but O’Barr told the Board Tuesday there’s a problem with having a cooler inside the hospital.

“There are several issues with us not having a cooler at our disposal. One, I have no control over that (deceased) person once I release that person to that facility. If it’s some sort of investigation with the Sheriff’s office or the GBI, should it be a child or whoever, that body has to be released from my control and turned over to an organization that we have no control over,” he said.

O’Barr cited the 7 fatalities on I-85 in July as an example of the County’s need.

“The cooler that we have at the hospital holds two bodies. So, the first hour at that accident Clayton and I were trying to figure out what we were going to do with seven bodies,” O’Barr said. “Luckily, I found a neighboring County that had the space and was gracious enough to loan me their staff and two of their vehicles to transport the bodies from our county to their county.”

Another issue according to O’Barr is the County’s need for a designated transport vehicle for bodies.

Right now, he said the County coroner must use an ambulance, which he said takes that ambulance out of service for other emergencies.

After hearing from O’Barr County Manager Beth Thomas said she would work on finding space and funding for the Coroner’s office and commended them on their hard work and professionalism.