WHEATLAND - With the elected county attorney sitting quietly but defiantly just a few feet away, the attorney hired by the Platte County Commission to temporarily take over the county attorney's duties began her work Friday.

Mary Eikenberry, who was elected to the job last fall, left about five minutes later as Tillie Routh met with local law enforcement to discuss various pending cases.

The uncomfortable scene was the latest development in a drawn-out struggle over Eikenberry's job performance since she took office in January.

A legal battle loomed as Eikenberry vowed not to give up the office, while the county commission moved ahead with finding a permanent replacement after accepting her resignation on Thursday and hiring Routh in the interim.

Eikenberry maintains she is still the county attorney because the commission failed to accept her resignation in a formal meeting before she rescinded it.

Eikenberry showed up for work about 7:50 a.m. Friday at the office building across the street from the county courthouse, but couldn't get in to the county attorney's office because the door locks had been changed.

Commissioner Tim Millikin arrived shortly thereafter and asked her to leave without making a scene.

Eikenberry declined to leave the small sitting area outside the county attorney's office and debated with Millikin about whether she was still county attorney.

"I have tons of work; this is my office," Eikenberry said, patting the locked door.

She left only to head to the courthouse for three cases that had been scheduled on her calendar. However, she returned, saying "there's nothing on the docket when there clearly was."

After speaking with Eikenberry privately in a dark side hallway, Sheriff Steve Keigley said he told Eikenberry that if she tried to get into the office she would be interfering with government business and he would escort her out of the building.

Eikenberry said she wouldn't "breach the peace, but I'm still the county attorney."

Keigley then escorted Routh to the office door at about 9:40 a.m. and stood between the seated Eikenberry and the open door. Routh and Eikenberry didn't' speak to each other, and Eikenberry left the building about five minutes later.

Routh's only comment was that she was "here trying to do what the county commission hired me to do."