Waterline failure closes probate court, documents damaged

MEDINA — A waterline failure over the weekend has forced the Monday closure of the Medina County Probate and Juvenile Court. A statement from the court on Sunday said the waterline issue sprung up sometime the previous day with county maintenance workers and building staff working quickly to clean up wet areas. Some documents — said to include wills, marriage certificates, estate files, and Job and Family Services records — were damaged by water. "This is an unfortunate way to begin the year but thanks to quick action and assistance from our team, we have been able to quickly dry and save countless documents and files," said Probate Court Judge Kevin Dunn. "Staff spread out in courtrooms and at desks placing paper towels between individual pieces of paper in each file. While most documents have been dried and restored over the weekend, staff will spend the working day Monday to ensure that everything is back in order. Any documents that were not salvageable will be noted and necessary parties will be contacted by the court for further action." "We will be sure to contact everyone in a timely manner as needed," he added. "This year threw us a curve ball already but we have proven our resiliency and will overcome this obstacle as well."