MEMPHIS, Tenn.– There’s still no sign of Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. The embattled clerk has been under fire for what many call an untimely vacation after a backlog at her office caused a week-long shutdown.
At the main Shelby County Clerk’s Office, some visitors had no idea the entire place was closed. They showed up only to find doors locked. We went by, hoping to find Wanda Halbert at work.
Workers were inside seemingly stuffing envelopes but there was no sign of Halbert.
A security guard said Halbert wasn’t at work Thursday, even though she told WREG she was returning from Jamaica on Wednesday.
We checked other clerk office locations.
At Whitehaven Plaza, things were closed tight and paper was covering the window. Citizens like Ernest Hillman hoping to take care of business were faced with a closed office and a clerk apparently nowhere around.
“It’s ironic that she is unaccounted for and that this is being closed for a week. I see it will be closed for a week. That’s a huge inconvenience,” Hillman said.
We figured Halbert could be back and just at home. We went to a few of the addresses listed for her. But no answer there either.
At the third office we came to at Poplar Plaza on Highland, it’s more of the same. The office is closed. We could look through the window and see at least one worker inside but still no signs of Wanda Halbert.
If Halbert is back from vacation, she’s apparently not interested in being found. Our phone calls and texts also went unanswered.
“Something needs to be done. Something. What can we do is the question. Something needs to be done. Some changes need to be made,” Ernest Hillman said.
WREG will continue to try to get answers about the clerk’s office and Halbert’s whereabouts.