Gilmer County officials continued to be sworn in this afternoon by Gilmer County Probate Judge Anita Mullins.During the afternoon session today, the following officials took thier oath of office: Gilmer County Chief Magistrate Judge Roger Allen Kincaid, Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson, Post 1 Commissioner Randy Bell, Clerk of Magistrate Court Jamie Gibbs, Gilmer County Coroner Jerry Hensley, and Deputy Coroner Melissa Waddell.

“It’s a privilege and an honor to be elected Chief Magistrate,”

Kincaid said. Kincaid will serve his fifth term as magistrate judge, and was unopposed in this year’s election.

Sheriff Stacy Nicholson told FYN he was also grateful to be reelected.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling and the trust that the citizens of Gilmer County put in me to do this job,”

he said,

“The overall feeling is humbling and we are going to go forward and try not to let the citizens down,”

Nicholson said,
Newly elected Post 1 Commissioner Randy Bell, Official Clerk of the Magistrate Court Jamie Gibbs, Reelected Gilmer County Coroner Jerry Hensley, and appointed Deputy Coroner Melissa Waddell were also sworn in this afternoon.

Bell is serving his first term as commissioner this year after serving as a member of the Gilmer County Tax Assessors board. He said he looked forward to serving as commissioner. The new commissioner also agreed to take part in the County Oath, an oath out of the county charter, making him the first ever commissioner in compliance with the new oath. Additionally, he said while he was hesitating to take the oath at first, he decided to take it because he felt it was the right thing to do. The oath made headlines earlier this year in the case of former Gilmer County Chair Commissioner Mark Chastain, when District Attorney Joe Hendricks failed to return a true bill against Chastain for making false statement and being charged with making profit from public work while in office.

Despite Hendricks’ decision not to move forward with the case, Bell says he still wanted to take the oath.

“The charter says that commissioners shall take it prior to commencing their duties, not can take it. It says shall,”

Bell explained, adding

“David Clark informed me that if I took it, I would be the first commissioner in compliance with the full county charter.”

FYN asked Bell how he felt about the other commissioners not taking the oath.

“I don’t have a problem with it,”

he said,

“Like I said, I didn’t think it was necessary to begin with, but if Danny and JC want to take it, that would be fine with me.”

Post 2 Commissioner Danny Hall, and Commission Chairman JC Sanford were unable to be reached for comments at the time.

Gibbs, Hensley, and Waddell were each excited to be sworn in today, they said.

“It’s an honor to be voted back in by the voters of Gilmer County to serve another term as their coroner,”

Hensley said.

Gilmer County will finish with its swearing in of officials soon. Gilmer County Probate Judge Mullins herself will be sworn in, and finally, the new members of the Board of Education.