A friend was in the basement of the Vital Records section. They have changed to new computers. These are no good unless you know the Date. It is only good if you have the right date for birth, marriage or death! Often my clients do not know the exact date of a death, etc. Is there anything we can do to change the county's mind? George said he tried to tell them, it was NOT a good idea! But they did it anyway!!!! Ugh!!!!!! Liz Myers -- Have a great day and a better tomorrow. Brian Smith, News-Enterprise

I also was there yesterday and found out the same thing. Tested out the system by using my son's birth and it is correct. First Name, Last Name and Date are required to get the certificate number. No additional information is displayed. George says this is the same for marriages and deaths. I also asked if the certificate numbers displayed are the same as the other ones we have looked up in the years past and he says they are. One can still search the books for anything that pre-dates the computers, tho. Vitalsearch & Ancestry indexes will be come more important, but even they do not have anything more current. One can still pay the search fee on the first floor and they will do the search for you. I believe the search fee is the same as the cost of purchasing the certificate. Such a sad day for us genealogiest. Deborah Story

Are they wanting to cut down on in-person visits to seek records? Are they plumping the budget with 'search fees'? If they do the search, do they provide the record, or do you now pay double? I'll vote for any politician that promises birth-marriage-death record easy access. S Alberts