Bannock County swears in new commissioners

Monday was a historical day for Bannock County. For the first time in its history, three new commissioners were sworn in and will begin their term all on the exact same day.

The new commissioners were sworn in and given the oath of office Monday afternoon. The oath of office was given by Judge Thomas Clark.

The three new commissioners are Ken Bullock, representing district one. Evan Frasure represents district two and Terrel Tovey representing district three.

Bullock was appointed to the position by Idaho Gov. C.L “Butch” Otter on Jan. 6 to replace Karl Anderson. Anderson decided to retire in December due to health reasons.

Tovey said some continuing issues the new commissioners will be focusing on are the jail expansion and budgeting for maintaining and operating the Portneuf Wellness Complex.

Tovey said a few new things to work on will be other budgetary issues and moving the commissioners’ chambers back into the courthouse.

Tovey said while having all new commissioners will be a little challenging, it will be a good opportunity for fresh ideas for the county.

“It’s a little bit different without having that institutional knowledge to go forward and be able to pull off of,” Tovey said. “But it does give us an opportunity to bring in some new ideas and new perspectives that you might not necessarily have with having an existing commissioner there.”

All commissioners spoke at the swearing in ceremony and each said they are excited to work together and to get started with their new positions.

Besides the new faces in the commissioners’ chairs, there were some returning faces for the county as well. Stephen Herzog was also sworn in for a second term as the county prosecutor. Sheriff Lorin Nielsen was sworn in for a sixth term as Bannock County Sheriff.