Joann M. Behrens, 263 Behrens Road, Jim Thorpe, has announced her candidacy for re-election to the position of Carbon County Prothonotary. She is seeking the Democratic Party's nomination in the May 17 Primary Election.

Behrens is completing her 32nd year of service in the Prothonotary's office. She began working there in 1979 as a clerk and advanced to the position of second deputy prothonotary in 1988. In 1993, she was appointed to the position of acting first deputy prothonotary and later that year was named acting prothonotary. She was the first deputy prothonotary for 10 years until being elected to a four-year term of office as prothonotary in 2003, and then was re-elected in 2007.During her tenure, she has seen and contributed to many advancements in the office, including computerization and scanning of court records.The Prothonotary's office is the sole receiver of Passport applications for Carbon County and last year processed over 1,034 applications. During her tenure, Behrens has brought the services of a Protection From Abuse Coordinator to the Prothonotary's Office to help assist victims of domestic violence.Behrens is a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Jim Thorpe, where she formerly headed the children's craft night program and is a current member of the decorating committee and the annual picnic committee.She is the secretary for the Jim Thorpe Democratic Association; a member of the Summit Hill and Nesquehoning Democratic clubs and the Carbon County Democratic Executive Committee; a former director and secretary of the Board of Directors of the former Carbon County

Y.M.C.A.; and the Democratic Party's committeewoman in Penn Forest Township Election District 53-01.Behrens is a member and president of the Jim Thorpe Area High School Band Boosters.She serves on the Family Courts Committee of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board for JNET, the Pennsylvania Justice Network, and the Pennsylvania Prothonotaries and Clerks of Courts Association.A daughter of Irene B. (Besek) Nonnemacher and the late Kermit Nonnemacher, she is a lifelong resident of the Jim Thorpe Area, having graduated in 1977 from the Jim Thorpe Area High School.The candidate is married to Josiah "Cy" Behrens, a former Penn Forest Township supervisor and the owner and operator of Bear Creek Dairy, Behrens Road, Jim Thorpe.The couple has two children, Jordan, 17, and Josiah IV, 13, both students in the Jim Thorpe Area School District.