The two candidates for sheriff of Tift County spoke to Kiwanis Club members Friday. The race will be decided by Tuesday’s primary election since both incumbent Gary Vowell and challenger Raleigh “Chip” Coarsey are Republicans.

Each candidate had the opportunity to speak and then they fielded several questions from Kiwanis members.

Vowell has been elected to the seat three times and said Friday that his experience as sheriff and his 20 years with the Georgia State Patrol prior to that gives him the experience needed to continue in the job. He cited several awards the department has been given by the International Association Chiefs of Police and the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

Vowell said that the department makes between 1,600 and 1,800 arrests; serves 2,000 warrants; and delivers 3,000 civil papers annually.

“It’s been an honor for me to serve you and I hope I’ve proved over the last 12 years that I’ve served you well,” Vowell said.

Coarsey, a 14-year veteran of law enforcement, resigned his position as a criminal investigator with the Tifton Police Department to seek the sheriff’s post. Coarsey graduated from the ABAC Police Academy in 1993. He served over seven years as a state alcohol and tobacco special agent for the southeastern region that covers approximately 15 counties.

“People came to be last year and asked me to run,” Coarsey said. “I want new openness and accountability in the sheriff’s office.”

One of the most controversial issues recently, Vowell said, is his deputies and Tifton Police Department officers working traffic on the interstate.

“After chasing taillights for 20 years and writing tickets, I know how important traffic is,” Vowell said.

Vowell said his department issued 450 tickets in June for people who were traveling 17-20 mph over the posted speed limit in construction zones on the highway. The department employs 115 em-

ployees.

Coarsey said that he believes deputy sheriff’s should assist the Georgia State Patrol on I-75.

“What I’m hearing from people is that they had rather see officers patrolling rural areas and businesses and county roads and streets,” Coarsey said.

One club member said he owned land in Tift County and Worth County and asked for comments on the use and production of methamphetamine here.

Vowell said he had noticed a drop in the production of the drug because one of the main ingredients, anhydrous ammonia, was being kept away from thieves who steal it to make the drug. He said those businesses who use the chemical, mainly farmers, are taking better precautions, such as buying sophisticated alarm systems, to keep the chemical from thieves.