By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

In a hallway so packed with people that many had no chair to sit in, a former sergeant who left the sheriff’s office in 2008 to become a railroad detective was sworn in as sheriff.

District judge Susan Robson administered the oath of office to Jeff Soyez, elected by Republican precinct committeemen and committeewomen to serve after former sheriff Rob Craft’s death.

Undersheriff Larry Starkey and all deputies and reserve deputies also were sworn in, one at a time, by Soyez.

A November general election will fill the last two years of Craft’s term.

During a commission meeting immediately after Soyez’s swearing-in, a Marion couple asked whether a memorial bench for Craft could be donated.

Karen and Robert Konarik and other donors are proposing a memorial bench that reads “In loving memory of Sheriff Craft.”

The couple thought the bench might be installed on the grounds of the sheriff’s office.

“I really think because it’s in the city limits, although on county property, we probably should consult the city,” county clerk Tina Spencer said.

Commissioner Randy Dallke said that while he was not against the bench, he wasn’t sure about putting it on the sheriff’s office property.

“There are a lot of memorials out at the county lake, and we generally allow memorials out there,” Spencer said.

Commissioners voted unanimously to accept the memorial bench, contingent upon approval from the city planning and zoning commission.