Hulon sworn in as new Dillon County sheriff

Major Hulon is sworn in as Dillon County Sheriff on Tuesday morning at the Dillon County Courthouse. Presiding is Judge James Lockemy, and Hulon is joined by his wife, Cynthia.

By: Rusty Ray | SCNow
Published: January 06, 2009

DILLON — Dillon County welcomed its first new sheriff in 21 years Tuesday as Major Hulon took the oath of office in front of family and friends at the Dillon County Courthouse.

Hulon defeated incumbent Harold Grice in the Democratic primary in June to become that party’s nominee, then went on to defeat petition candidate and Grice’s chief deputy Douglas “Humbunny” Pernell in November.

Hulon, 56, said he decided to wait several years to pursue his goal of being Dillon County sheriff because he did not want to run against Grice. His father once worked for Grice as a deputy.

Hulon said he had too much respect for the incumbent to run against him. But he said he decided to continue his campaign even after Grice said he would seek re-election. Hulon said he did this because he had made a promise to his supporters that he wouldn’t drop out of the race.

“Anytime you have a change in office, people expect things to take place and some good things to happen,” Hulon said after he took office. “Change is something that’s been talked a lot about, and we certainly want to do that, and do it in a way that we’ll make some positive changes, and certainly improve our efforts as a department.“

During a breakfast to honor Hulon on Tuesday morning, Dillon residents reflected on the change.

“Dillon is a very close-knit community,” lifelong resident Bonnie Fore said. “For us to move forward in this technology world, we need somebody with a vision for the future, and Major has that.”

Hulon talked briefly Tuesday about the challenges facing his new department, including the ongoing war on drugs.

“We’re going to make (fighting illegal drug activity) our No. 1 priority,” he said. “We have the same problems other people have, and we’ll be working hard on those.”

Hulon is a retired S.C. Department of Natural Resources game warden who worked as a project coordinator for Northeastern Technical College’s continuing education program before his election.

“This is something that’s been a dream of mine for many years,” Hulon said of becoming Dillon County sheriff in an earlier report. “I was born and raised in Dillon County. I love law enforcement.”

— Morning News Staff Writer Jamie Rogers contributed to this report.