Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
J.C. O'Steen has just been appointed Interim Clerk of Court, following the arrest of former Jefferson County Clerk, Kirk Reams, who was arrested Wednesday on allegations of fraud and theft involving hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars.
O'Steen has practiced law for over 40 years, including 30 years working full-time as a Certified Court Mediator. Before accepting the position as Interim Clerk, he worked at private law practice in Tallahassee that specialized in personal injury/wrongful death cases, probate, real estate, civil litigation and governmental law.
While he has graciously accepted the request to fill in as Interim Clerk, he admits the request caused quite the wave of change in his life.
“In less than 24 hours, everything in my life has been completely changed,” he said, chuckling. “Here I was, semi-retired, with my life in order, my wife and I had travel plans, and I was happy and at peace. Then I got a call from Judge Allman, and all that changed!”
While Reams' arrest and the subsequent appointment of the new Interim Clerk came swiftly and without warning, O'Steen has hit the ground running, and is already busying himself with getting familiar with his new position, and wants to assure the people of Jefferson County that he will work hard to fulfill his duties to the best of his ability.
“My goal as Interim Clerk for the Clerk of Court's office,” stated O'Steen in a brief interview with a Monticello News reporter Thursday afternoon, “is to work hard to honor and support the staff of the Clerk's office so that we can best serve the citizens of Jefferson County.”
While this position is currently a temporary one, O'Steen is committed to working hard, in the hopes of restoring trust between the Clerk's office and the community. While he was unwilling to discuss the matters of his predecessor's actions, he did offer the following statement: “We're moving forward from this. We are going to keep moving, and are going to take it one day at a time.”
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