ELLENDALE (AP) - Petitions seeking to recall Dickey County Sheriff Jim Bohannon have been filed with the county auditor.

If Dickey County Auditor Bev Kuska finds the signatures valid, the sheriff will have 10 days in which to resign, State's Attorney Gary Neuharth said. If he does not resign, the County Commission may schedule a recall election.

"We don't know what the sheriff is going to do," Neuharth said Wednesday. "We don't know if the petitions are valid. We don't know if anybody's going to run against him. Everybody's holding onto their hat until we see what happens."

The Ellendale City Council voted last month to authorize recall petitions.

The sheriff and council have been at odds over Bohannon's opposition to renewing a contract in which the sheriff's office provides police services for Ellendale. At one point, the sheriff said he hated Ellendale but later apologized. He said deputies are needed elsewhere in the county.

Bohannon has been the Dickey County sheriff for 14 years. Last year, he ran unopposed for a four-year term.