When the pandemic was first beginning to be felt in Central Texas and most court proceedings were put on hold, Hays County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Beth Smith feared a tsunami of evictions would hit her office once landlords were allowed to file the required notices.

Though the doors to her office remained closed, her employees never stopped going to work, in part to be able to get ready for what would come.

The office is now again accepting cases, but as Smith told the Hays Free Press last wee...