County elected officials sworn in

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press 

The Hon. Billy Ray Stubblefield, presiding judge of Texas’ Third Administrative Judicial Region, conducted the swearing in of newly elected and reelected Coryell County public officials on Wednesday morning at the Coryell County courthouse in Gatesville. 
Coryell County’s leadership has a new judge at the helm with Roger Miller, who was elected in a runoff after John Firth announced his retirement last summer. 
Miller said a few words after taking his oath, as did the other office holders.
“I’m blessed, and beyond that I am humbled. It’s an incredible feeling to have the trust you have bestowed on me to lead our county,” Miller said. “I don’t want to say make it great again, but make it greater. Coryell county is a great place to live. I’ve traveled a lot of places in this world, and those of us who call Coryell county home, ewe truly are home. It’s a great place because of you, the people.” 
Also taking their oaths office were new District Court Clerk Becky Moore, new county treasurer Randi McFarlin, and new Justice of the Peace for Precinct 3, Jim Caldwell. 
Others sworn in included Daren Moore, county commissioner for precinct 2, who begins his fourth term in office; County Commissioner for precinct 4, Ray Ashby, who is now in his first full term of office. County court-at-law judge John Lee was also sworn in, along with Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 John B. Guinn, now in his 36th year in office; Justice of the Peace precinct 4, Coy Latham; County Clerk, Barbara Simpson, who has been in office for 26 years. 
Judge Stubblefield, who presides over a 26-county region, shared some advice with the elected officials, advice that stems from his more than 40 years in public service. 
Stubblefield first talked about what he sees as the importance of the sanctity of the oath of office. 
“The last words are ‘so help me God.’ I feel like those words are a contract with the people that you serve,” he said. “I’ve two bits of advice, as I’ve spent over 40 years in public service. The first came from my first boss, a county attorney. He said, ‘Bill, the main thing is, don’t get excited.’ It was very good advice for an elected official. Another bit of advice came from Tim Mayer, district attorney and then county judge, the words of Shakespeare, ‘To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not be false to any man.’  
“Every morning when you wake up, say a little prayer and ask your creator to have a servant’s heart. We are servants of the people, and they look for us to exemplify good character and to be an inspiration, and be good citizens. That’s my advice.”