New Hancock County officials take office

BAY ST. LOUIS -- Hancock County's recently elected officials, including four new county supervisors, gathered in circuit court Monday to take the oath of office.

New to the Board of Supervisors are Greg Shaw, serving District 2; Blaine Lafontaine, serving District 3; Scotty Adam, serving District 4; and Darrin "Bo" Ladner, serving District 5.

Also sworn in were the county's re-elected officials, notably Sheriff Ricky Adam and District 1 Supervisor David Yarborough, the only incumbent to hold onto his board seat during the 2015 elections.

Following the ceremony, citizens packed the supervisors' boardroom, leaving standing room only as Yarborough and his four freshman colleagues conducted their first regular meeting of 2016. In their first order of business, the supervisors selected Lafontaine, the former Diamondhead city councilman, to serve as board president and Scotty Adam, the sheriff's younger brother, as vice president.

New to politics, Adam is the third of his siblings to now hold a position with the county. His other brother is Brian Adam, director of the county's Emergency Operations Center.

Scotty Adam recused himself a few times during the meeting as agenda items involving his siblings arose, including Brian's re-appointment and a budget item affecting the sheriff's office.

The supervisors also re-appointed Gary Yarborough as board attorney, Vic Johnson as road manager, Compton Engineering as county engineer and Suzette Necaise as county administrator, though Necaise's appointment will end upon her retirement on Jan. 30. With the exception of Scotty Adam's recusal, all of the appointments were decided unanimously.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 11:00 PM with the headline "New Hancock County officials take office ."