By Billy Davis

Panola County’s interim sheriff will drop the temporary label Thursday when he is sworn in as county sheriff.

The swearing-in ceremony for Otis Griffin will be held at 2 p.m. at the county courthouse in Batesville.

Circuit Judge Andrew C. Baker will administer the oath.  

Griffin, 54, won a special election last week to finish the remaining term of late sheriff Hugh “Shot” Bright. The term ends January 1, 2012.  

Griffin defeated retired state trooper Dennis Darby 6,736 to 6,301, according to official results from the Nov. 23 runoff.

The Panola County Election Commission certified the election results Nov. 24, said commission chairman Ronald McMinn.

Griffin, 54, has worked at the sheriff’s department as a jailer and more recently as a deputy.

He was serving as chief deputy under Bright when the Panola County Board of Supervisors appointed him interim sheriff.