Article published Mar 20, 2008 Public records soon to hit the Web By Greg Hilburn ghilburn@thenewesstar.com Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court Bill Hodge said more citizens come to his office than any other local government agency for public records. "The history of Ouachita Parish is right here, from marriages to lawsuits to property records," Hodge said. And Hodge is about to make it even easier for people to trace their genealogy or property titles or even find out how much their neighbors paid for their houses. Much of the information now available in Hodge's Ouachita Parish Courthouse office will soon be on the Web. "This is something that we've been working on for the past few years," Hodge said. "We've been scanning documents, and before the end of the year we should complete the project and make them available online." Hodge said that records from 1980 forward will be available on the Web by the late summer or fall. "We believe that it will be a valuable tool, especially for people who live outside the area," he said. Hodge said his office will charge an undetermined monthly fee for complete Web access, but the indexes will be available for free. All records at the clerk's courthouse office can be viewed for free in person, other than juvenile and adoption records, which can only be seen with a court order. In fact, Hodge's staff is available to help people with their searches, especially novices who may need help navigating the clerk's office. "That's what we're here for to help the public," Hodge said. "A lot of times when they come here they're already distraught, so it's our job to make sure we guide them to what they need. These are the people's records." Janet Pritchett has been a deputy clerk in Ouachita Parish for 25 years. "We do what we can to be helpful," Pritchett said. "We see a lot of people every day." Deputy clerk Kathy Hodge, who is no relation to Bill Hodge, has been working in the office for seven years. "You meet so many different people here," she said. "You don't realize just how much information is down here and how far back the records go until you spend some time in this office."