Noreen Nickolas
MNJ Correspondent
On Sept. 27, 2024, Janet Cook retired after 18 years as Mitchell County’s Clerk of Superior Court, and her retirement party was abruptly canceled in response to unrelated events.
And while life is still a little hectic post-Hurricane Helene, once things have calmed down she and her husband Phillip Cook plan to spend more time together, watching their four grandkids play sports and traveling.
Cook began her career as a deputy clerk in 1992. After years of on-the-job training and several continuing education classes, she ran for the Clerk of Court seat in 2006 and won.
“I started out working in criminal and juvenile court and handling all the paperwork. I was a deputy clerk starting out and then in 1998 I moved up to assistant clerk,” said Cook, a lifelong resident of Mitchell County.
With the help of two assistants, four deputy clerks and three magistrates Cook was able to manage the task of processing all the paperwork that would come into the office.
“The clerk is actually the hub of the court system,” Cook said. “We handled any paperwork or anything that came through the court system. It is a stressful job because there is so much paperwork that comes into the office and it’s nonstop. It’s never the same on a daily basis the volume of things that come in.”
Some courts in the country have more than one court clerk sharing the workload between those who work behind the counters and those who work in the courtroom. In North Carolina, there is only one clerk per county.
The Mitchell County clerk’s office “is a small office . . . I was a working clerk we have never had a large enough staff,” Cook said. “That part of it is stressful. But I had a good staff throughout my career, they know their job so that helps.”
Handling the administrative duties of civil and criminal cases ranging from a seat belt ticket to murder is the duty of the court clerk’s office. And these cases have an impact on people.
“We deal with people’s lives on a daily basis,” Cook explained. “You’re dealing with families that have lost loved ones, you’re dealing with foreclosures . . . you’re dealing with matters where families’ loved ones are in trouble. Like in juvenile matters you know families can be separated or children are being taken. It’s a huge responsibility. And I just always tried to strive to do the best that I could.”
Since retiring Cook said that she does not miss the work but does miss the people.
“Over the years I have worked with some wonderful people. The judges and district attorneys and of course my staff. I guess I’m a people person and just being able to work with the public and help where I could. … I miss that part of it,” Cook said.
Charles Pittman, chief magistrate of the district court of Mitchell County has worked with Cook for almost 25 years.
“She had a good temperament for what we do as far as dealing with the public. She’d catch people when they’re not in the greatest of moods . . . she could deal with situations that sometimes other people would get so frustrated with but she had patience with it,” Pittman said. “Working for her I always said if you couldn’t work for Janet I don’t know who you could work for.”
Both Cook and her husband Phillip are retired and will be celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary in March.
Their favorite pastimes are watching their grandchildren, Piper, 16, Jonah, 14, Sawyer, 12, and Saylor, 6, playing sports and spending time with their sons, Ryan, assistant director at Mitchell County recreation department, and his wife Shane, and Kasey, Spruce Pine’s chief of police and his wife Cara.
Cook is also looking forward to having more time to do the things she enjoys.
“We love to work around the house and going out to eat. So, I’m hoping . . . that we’ll be able to take some trips. We like going to Pigeon Forge. We like to go to Goodwill stores and thrift stores and just take our time. I have not been able to do that in a lot of years,” Cook said.
Being able to work closely with Mitchell County residents for over 30 years, Cook feels, has been a privilege.
“I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve,” Cook stated. “And of course I want to thank my family.”
“The people of Mitchell County,” she continued, “are just the best. They put confidence in me and I was very thankful that I was able to serve them for as many years as I did.”