PHOTO BY JOHNNIE DANIELS/THE DILLON HERALD

By Betsy Finklea
Two outgoing Dillon County Councilmen were recognized on Wednesday for their service to the county.
Prior to Wednesday’s regular meeting, a reception was  held where county employees, local officials, and others had the opportunity to thank Andrew “Deboy” Graves and Joe Johnson for their service.
At the meeting, Vice-Chairman Harold Moody made special presentations to Graves and Johnson. Each received a plaque commending them on their loyal and faithful service to the citizens of Dillon County.
Graves, who is currently the chairman of the Dillon County Council, has served on council for 12 years, but he has many more years of service to the county. Graves also served 27 years as a Dillon County Sheriff’s Deputy and finished his career as Chief Deputy serving under Sheriff Harold Grice. He has a combined total of nearly 40 years of county service. While on council, he was involved in a number of things that helped move the county forward including voting for the spec building where Wyman-Gordon is locating, expanding the detention center, constructing a new Justice Center, building two fire departments, and adding a recycling site among many other things.
Joe Johnson was recognized for his four years of service on council. During his four years on council, Johnson also voted for the spec building, strived to  make the county finances more accountable, worked for improvements for the fire service including more fire hydrants and a new fire station, and worked to promote school safety by providing funds for the School Resource Officer program.
Both men helped accomplish a great deal during their time on council.

PHOTOS BY JOHNNIE DANIELS/THE DILLON HERALD