Clinton County Sheriff-elect Jim Guffey was apparently still working to obtain bonding just prior to elected officials being sworn in earlier this week.

Although Guffey could not be reached for comment prior to an early press deadline late Monday morning, December 29, other local officials reported that as of that time, the new sheriff had not, to their knowledge, been bonded.

County Attorney Michael Rains could only confirm that as of mid-morning Monday, Guffey still had not obtained the necessary $1 million bond the sheriff requires and that the sheriff-elect had not contacted him to this point with any official information. He did say Guffey was apparently continuing to work with bonding companies to try and secure a bond prior to officially taking office.

A swearing-in ceremony was held for all local elected officials on Tuesday morning of this week (too late for this week’s press deadline), January 30 in the circuit courtroom.

Attorney Rains noted that even if Guffey had not been bonded as of Tuesday, he could still be sworn in. However, if not bonded by January 5, the day in which the new elected terms begin, he could not officially take office, according to Kentucky statutes. He added, however, he hoped the matter could be resolved prior to the January 5 date.

The issue came to light back on December 17, when the county attorney requested a special meeting of Clinton Fiscal Court to discuss the issue when the sheriff-elect was unable at that time to obtain a bond. During that meeting, and a subsequent meeting a couple of days later, it was reported that there were some positive prospects for the new sheriff to obtain the necessary bond, but apparently not had been obtained as of Monday of this week.

Additional information on the issue will be published in next week’s Clinton County News.