Late last week, retiring Sheriff Larry Plott took a few minutes break from cleaning out his office in the jail administration building that bears his name.

After 28 years in office, Plott had accumulated several boxes full of memories that he wanted to take with him.

But tucked away in a safe area of his office, there was an old Stetson cowboy hat that he just couldn’t take with him.

“I got that hat from James Hovater when I took office in 1983,” Plott said.

Hovater was elected sheriff in 1962 and 1966.

“It has been in the sheriff’s office for almost 50 years now. I wanted to keep it here.”

Plott gave the hat and a handcrafted wooden sign bearing the sheriff’s logo on it to new Sheriff Shannon Oliver.

Oliver was sworn in as the county’s new sheriff before a courtroom-filled audience at the Franklin County Courthouse Sunday afternoon.

“It means a lot to me that Sheriff Plott was pass this down to me,” Oliver said.

“He has left big shoes for me to fill but he has been very helpful making this transition easier.”

The wooden sign that Plott presented to Oliver was made by inmates who worked to get the old jail up to standards after a federal mandate was issued as Plott took office.

As Plott looked over his career, he was pleased with what he was able to accomplish.

“If you go back to 1982 and look at the vision we had and the statements that I made about that vision, I think you would see that we accomplished many of those goals.”

Oliver said he has how own vision and goals and looks forward to working for the people to accomplish those.

Plott issued a warning, though, that accomplishments are not always easy.

“He will need the support of the community and the county commission,” Plott said.

“It takes everyone working together to have a successful department.”

As Oliver looked over a standing room only crowd Sunday as he was sworn into office, he stopped to thank the supporters he had there and encouraged them to continue helping him in his new role.

“I want to be a sheriff that you can all be proud of for doing what I can to help Franklin County,” he said.