Pink themed oaths

Pink was the theme as the Columbus County Board of Elections was sworn Thursday, the first all-female panel in the organization’s history, Elections Director Carla Strickland said. Clerk of Court Jess Hill administered the oaths. From left are Brenda Blanks Ebron, Katherine Horne, Bonita Blackney, JoAnn Garrell, Bonnie Inman, Strickland, and Hill. Board chair Blackney, appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper, Ebron and Horne are Democrats; Garrell and Inman Republicans. Garrell was elected secretary by the board, a post she held in 2018. (Deuce Niven, TLT)