Friends, family and colleagues of retiring Sheriff Joe Nichols gathered Friday evening in the historic Newton County Courthouse to acknowledge his decades of service to local law enforcement and wish him well in the next stage of his life.In a packed room with standing room only, well wishers watched prepared slide shows of Nichols in uniform through the years as well as the evolution of the county’s SWAT force, on which Sheriff-elect Ezell Brown served with Nichols on the first team.Most who know Nichols know he is a man of few words and that was no exception Friday, as he allowed others to