By Warren Scott, The Weirton Daily Times
WELLSBURG, W.Va. — Many attending the grand opening Tuesday of the Brooke County Judicial Center commented on the three-story building’s elegant wood trim and furnishings and its spacious courtrooms, offices and meeting rooms.
But in addressing them in its main courtroom, A.J. Thomas, president of the Brooke County Commission, said it should be more than brick and mortar and its many other physical components.
“Let this building serve as a beacon of hope and a symbol of this county’s dedication to justice,” he said.
First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo noted on the exterior of the building is engraved the preamble to the West Virginia State Constitution, an element suggested by Thomas.
Through it, the state’s founders affirmed their belief that divine providence had allowed them to enjoy civil, political and religious liberty and their intention, through their faith in God, to govern the state “for the common welfare, freedom and security of ourselves and our posterity.”
Cuomo noted the former courthouse, built in 1849 and replacing a previous one established in 1799, had been expanded to serve a growing number of county services until very little space remained.
“We were literally bursting at the seams,” said the judge, who noted the use of the commission’s meeting room for court matters and storage of election equipment had forced the panel at times to meet in the furnace room of the basement.
Read more: https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2024/03/brooke-officials-open-new-judicial-center/