Florence County Sheriff takes oath of office for second term

FLORENCE , S.C. – Florence County Sheriff T.

J. Joye made it official Monday night when he took the oath of office for the second time in a short ceremony at Francis Marion University’s Performing Arts Center in Florence. Surrounded by political supporters and the office’s command staff, Joye’s swearing in likely took less time than the set up to host to it.



Florence County Clerk of Court Doris P. O’Hara called a session of court into order as Circuit Judge H. Steven DeBerry IV took the stage.

The Rev. Merritt Graves delivered the invocation, Rep. Mike Reichenbach the “Pledge of Allegiance” and the sheriff the affirmative as he repeated the oath of office.

Mission accomplished. A man of few words, the sheriff spoke briefly at the end of the ceremony and took a few questions afterward. The sheriff cited the following as some of his first term’s accomplishments: The sheriff’s office made dents in narcotics trafficking on Interstate 95.

“We did a good job on narcotics, I’m proud of that,” Joye said. The office also teamed up with the Florence Police Department to crack down on crime at the interchange of U.S.

52 and Interstate 95. “I’m proud of the work the men and women have done here but we have more to do. It doesn’t stop,” Joye said.

The sheriff has also made law enforcement personal by freely handing out his cell phone number. During the ceremony, Chief Deputy Tommy Sullivan was the sheriff’s cellphone’s guardian and took a call for the sheriff. “I want people to trust me and to trust that we’re doing everything we can,” Joye said of moving forward.

Online/News Editor Matt Robertson is a veteran journalist who has fulfilled just about every role that a newspaper has and now serves as the Editor of the Morning News’ newsroom by maintaining SCNow.com and the Morning News print edition. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Online/News Editor {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items..