A series of swearing-in ceremonies will be conducted Thursday afternoon in Hopkinsville for local judges, and city and county officials to recite the oath of office from the Kentucky constitution.
Arnold Lynch, a retired judge, will preside in the swearing-in ceremony for the county’s current district and circuit judges at about 12:45 p.m. at the Christian County Justice Center.
Then at 1 p.m., Circuit Judge John Atkins will swear in Hopkinsville attorney Katherine Hicks Demps, who will become the judge in a newly created circuit division of Christian County Family Court.
Atkins will also preside in the follow swearing-in ceremonies at the justice center:
- Sheriff Tyler DeArmond and his deputies and staff members at 1:30 p.m.
- Coroner Scott Daniel and his deputies at 1:30 p.m.
- Lincoln Foster, who will become county attorney, and his assistants and staff members at 2:30 p.m.
- Adam Smith, the new county jailer, and his staff at 3 p.m.
- The new judge-executive, Jerry Gilliam, and the county magistrates at 3 p.m.
- Constables and deputy constables at 3 p.m.
Melinda Humphries, the newly elected county clerk, will be sworn into office with her staff at 4 p.m. in the Christian County Courthouse’s Fiscal Courtroom.
Ceremonies will shift to the Hopkinsville Municipal Center at 5 p.m., where Circuit Judge Andrew Self will preside as James R. Knight Jr. takes the oath as mayor and the city’s 12 council members also take the oath.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
