Newly elected county officials were sworn in with the new year Friday by Madison County Judge Tony Leago in the district courtroom in the presence of friends and family.

Leago offered a prayer at the conclusion of the ceremony and spoke on the difficulties of the last year and the importance of continued unity moving forward into 2021.

“If we are to prevail in the coming year, this is what it is going to take,” said Leago. “There has got to be some unity. One of the things that was so striking about this year, perhaps more than anything, was how they tried to separate us. We are not wired that way, it is not the way we function. This is the way we function.”

Elected officials sworn in Friday included Sheriff Bobby Adams, Commissioner Ricky Driskell (Precinct 1), Constables Jim Jackson (Precinct 1), Charles Turner (Precinct 2), Carl Cannon (Precinct 3) and Tax Assessor Collector Karen Lane.

Steven Jeter was also sworn in by Adams as Chief Deputy for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.