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Outgoing clerk Cope honored
September 7, 2006
HUNTSVILLE — Calling him “one of the greatest public servants in the history of Scott County,” General Sessions Judge James L. (Jamie) Cotton, Jr. presented outgoing Circuit Court Clerk Verda “Buddy” Cope with a plaque honoring his service to Scott County during a ceremony at the Scott County Courthouse on Wednesday (Aug. 30).
The ceremony, which was attended by several county officials and members of Cope’s family, was held prior to the start of the Sessions Court docket on Wednesday morning. Cope’s contributions during his tenure in public office in Scott County were acknowledged by both Judge Cotton and Assistant District Attorney Tom Barclay, on behalf of Attorney General Wm. Paul Phillips.
Cope, who served as a state trooper for the Tennessee Highway Patrol before being elected as Scott County Judge in 1966, an office he held for 16 years, was named by Scott County Commission to fill the role of Circuit Court Clerk following the death of Jan Burress in 2004. Cope held the position until Donnie Phillips was elected in the August 3 general election. Phillips officially assumed the clerk’s duties on Friday.
“Judge Cope was the last county judge and the first county executive,” Cotton said during Wednesday’s ceremony. “He was the first judge I practiced law under in 1980, and it didn’t matter what part of the county you came from, you would be treated with common sense and respect in his coutroom.
“I don’t know of another public servant in the history of Scott County who was capable of serving both as the third branch of government and serve the people; Judge Cope was able to do both,” Cotton added. “It’s been an honor for me to be affiliated with Judge Verda Buddy Cope.”
Cotton said that Cope is “interwoven into Scott County history in a way that cannot be changed.”
When asked if he plans to enjoy retirement now that his duties in the clerk’s office are finished, Cope said that he has not decided what he plans to do next.
news@ihoneida.com
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