New and returning Tallahatchie County elected officials recited their oaths of office Thursday morning, Jan. 2, during a ceremony in the courtroom of the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Charleston.
Circuit Judge Jimmy McClure administered the oaths to all but one of the officials as family members and other well-wishers looked on.
Circuit Judge Smith Murphey V administered the oath to fellow Eagle Scout, Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly.
Pictured seated (from left) are returning officials, Coroner Ginger Smith Meriwether, Tax Assessor/Collector Dorothy M. Martin, Chancery Clerk Anita Mullen Greenwood, Circuit Clerk Daphane Neal and County Prosecuting Attorney Carol Jones Turner. In the second row (from left) are returning District 30 state Rep. Tracey Rosebud, returning District 1 Supervisor Kenneth “Buck” Havens, returning District 3 Supervisor Larry Cole, returning District 5 Supervisor Eddie J. Meeks, returning District 4 Supervisor Marcus Echols, returning District 1 Supervisor Johnny Goodwin, newly-elected Sheriff Jimmy Fly, newly-elected District 1 Constable Jimmy N. Manues and returning District 2 Constable Clifton Bailey. Seated at the judges’ bench in back is returning District 2 Justice Court Judge Denise Washington, and standing behind her (from left) are returning circuit judges Jimmy McClure and Smith Murphey V, and newly-elected District 1 Justice Court Judge Steve Ross. Rosebud has served in the state House of Representatives since winning a special election for the post in May 2018. Fly and Ross have served in their respective positions since being appointed by the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors in August 2018. Ross is a veteran of nearly 45 years as a justice judge, having retired at the end of 2015 before being appointed to his former post. Manues is a former longtime constable who won back his seat after opting to sit out the past term. (Photo by Clay McFerrin)
