Fiscal Court Hires Local Company To Build New County Website That Will Include County Offices and Organizations

Studio DD Media, a local creative art design company, will be creating a new county website.

Edmonson Voice Staff Report
The Edmonson County Fiscal Court voted to hire local company, Studio DD Media, to build a brand new website that will serve as a central hub of information for all county offices and organizations.

Studio DD, a music, web, and graphic design company located in Chalybeate, has already created several local popular websites such as EdmonsonVoice.com, EdmonsonChamber.com, ECParksandRec.com, and EdmonsonSheriff.com. 

Over the past couple of months, Judge Executive Wil Cannon and County Clerk Kevin Alexander have exchanged ideas about the need for a site that includes not only the fiscal court and officers, but all elected officials, local utilities, and other county offices like Industrial Authority, Tourism, Chamber, Law Enforcement, and more.

​The only county-based sites available now are maintained through state offices in Frankfort and still have N.E. Reed listed as Judge Executive, Butch Carroll as Clerk, and B.J. Honeycutt as Sheriff. Multiple attempts have been made at a local level to have this information updated but red tape in Frankfort has prevented the changes.

"We've got people that call our office each week and are just looking for general information about our county government, where to go if they need to sign up for water or electric, or other basic info," said County Clerk Alexander. "Everyone looks to the internet for information today and I feel like this is something that's greatly needed here. Right now, if you start searching for Edmonson County offices on Google, you only find information prior to 2014. That's not how we want to be represented."

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Studio DD owner Darren Doyle, who is also the editor of the Edmonson Voice, spoke of the importance of updated information available on the web.

"I know first hand how much this is needed. The Edmonson Voice has over 50,000 visits per week. People want information immediately and they want it to be current," he said. "When the only information available on the web is over two years old, it makes the entire county look bad and it looks like no one cares. We intend to change that by building a current site that's easy to use that will be very attractive to all ages."

Chamber and Tourism Director Rhonda Clemmons said their new website, also created by Studio DD has been a major improvement in their office. "We have a wonderful website that has helped us do some great things and with the features we now have on the site like being able to pay fees and dues directly, we've really been able to move forward," she said.

Doyle said the site will be easy to find and the Edmonson County Fiscal Court and the Judge Executive's office will serve as the center of the site. Within it, a reader will be able to find info or gain instant access to:

• Sheriff's office
• Parks and Rec
• Chamber of Commerce
• Tourism Office
• County Attorney
• Circuit Court Clerk
• County Clerk
• Planning Commission
• Industrial Authority
• Ambulance Service
• Property Value Administrator's Office 
• Utility companies and other county-run organizations

Magistrate Joe Durbin spoke first in support of the new website. "I think this is a good idea and we need something like this," he said. "We need updated information on the world wide web and I'm in favor of this."

Durbin made the motion to move forward and Magistrate Mark Woosley seconded. The motion passed unanimously and the site is expected to be up and running within a month or so. ​

To find out more about services offered at Studio DD Media, visit their website at studioddky.com.