Concerns about costs during tough economic times delayed overdue improvements to surrounding counties aging courthouses, but the recent unsolved murder of a Kaufman County prosecutor is bringing more urgency to the issue. Kaufman County's Commissioners Court announced this week it is resuming plans to build a new courthouse in the vicinity of the Law Enforcement Center on Highway 175 outside of the downtown area. The plans would include more security for county employees when they park and enter their workplaces. Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was gunned down Jan. 31 in the morning after he parked his car and headed for his office in the courthouse complex in Kaufman's town square. Area residents and county employees remain shaken by the murder, which appeared to be an execution and possibly related to county prosecutors' work in connection with bringing members of the Aryan Brotherhood to justice. The search for his killers continues, and a Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of his murderers has reached $100,000. The current courthouse was constructed in the 1950s,which the county has outgrown. Some county offices are housed in another building across from the courthouse. The plan would call for constructing a new building for courts and other justice departments near the jail outside of town and the restoration of the existing courthouse for other county offices. Kaufman County District Attorney Michael McLelland urged county officials to move forward on plans to improve security for county employees in light of Hasse's murder. The Commissioners Court called for a study of previous plans and an estimate of current costs to begin immediately. In Henderson County the courthouse in the Athens town square also is outdated and new security measures are needed. Henderson County District Attorney Scott McKee recently told a meeting of the Cedar Creek Lake Rotary Club that the Commissioners Court in Henderson County also would be discussing new security measures that would be expensive. In Navarro County a long-discussed multi-million dollar renovation of its historic, outdated courthouse is also likely to gain more support from county officials and taxpayers in light of Hasse's murder. Pictured below is the Kaufman County Courthouse.