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CARIE CLELAND

SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

Darwin Sharp became the fifty-second mayor of Franklinton in a ceremony held on Friday, Dec 21 at the Franklinton Fire Department. Mayor Sharp and the five newly elected aldermen; Lee R. Dillon, Randy Reed, Seth Descant, T.J. Butler and Patrice Crain were sworn in by Judge Bill Burris. Mayor Sharp says that he is “looking forward to serving you as your next mayor” and thanked those in attendance for their support during the election. The mayor spoke about having a good board behind him and that together they can move the town of Franklinton forward.

During his acceptance speech, the Mayor spoke about about the items that he has on the agenda during his term such as addressing the towns water line problems and the development of the industrial park. One of the main things that he plans to address is the creating a master water plan for the town. According to Mayor Sharp, many of the pipes in Franklinton were laid in the 1940’s and are now deteriorating. He made a special point of thanking the towns public works employees the work they do to main-tain the towns water lines. Secondly, Mayor Sharp hopes that more jobs will be created with the development happening at the industrial park. Furthermore, there are many charter updates that need to be made for the town to become up-to-date with 2025 such as updating policy and procedures, job descriptions, and ordinances.

Mayor Sharp is a Franklinton local, having graduated from Bowling Green, he went on to serve in the National Guard. Sharp previously served as police juror, alderman, justice of the peace, constable and town councilman.