As the 2019 comes to a close, there are changes coming in several of our county offices, and newly-elected officials will be joining those elected for another term for the official swearing-in of elected officials next week.
In Montgomery County, a new sheriff, tax assessor/collector, prosecutor and District 5 Supervisor, along with several familiar faces will pledge to uphold their office and follow the guidelines and laws of the State of Mississippi.
Sheriff-elect Jeff Tompkins, Tax Assessor/Collector-elect Laurie Middleton-Lockett, County Prosecutor-elect Ryan Taylor, and District 5 Supervisor-elect Ronald White, will be sworn in on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 10 a.m. in the Montgomery County Courthouse, along with several incumbents who were re-elected for another term.
And in Carroll County, Southern District Justice Court Judge-elect Tinesha Erve-Earnest and Chancery Clerk-elect Casey Carpenter will be sworn in on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at the Carrollton Courthouse. Judge Erve-Earnest and Carpenter will be sworn in early because their predecessors Judge Dorothy Branch and Sugar Mullins are retiring on December 31.
District 2 Supervisor-elect Josh Hurst and those re-elected officials of Carroll County will be sworn in at 1:30 p.m. on Friday Jan. 3 at the Carrollton Courthouse.
Also, Carroll County Superintendent James “Jim” Ray will officially begin his new position at the helm of the district on Wednesday, January 1. Ray, a native of Mantee in Webster County, is currently the principal of East Webster High School.
Ray has been in education for 32 years. He’s worked in Mississippi for 30 years in Ackerman, Philadelphia, Neshoba Central, Louisville, Guntown, West Point and Noxapater in various positions, from a football coach to an assistant principal. He also worked two years in Ripley, Tenn., at Ripley High School and was also the former principal of East Webster Elementary School.
