DEESE ANNOUNCES BID FOR PEACH COUNTY SHERIFF

FORT VALLEY - Maj. Terry Deese said Tuesday that a bid for sheriff is the
next step in his 21-year career at the Peach County Sheriff's Office.

Deese, 49, second in command as chief deputy at the sheriff's office,
announced his candidacy Tuesday. Long-term Peach County Sheriff Johnnie
Becham is retiring.

The run for sheriff will mark Deese's first entry into the political arena.
He'll run on the Democratic ticket in the July 20 primary. Qualifying is
April 26-30. The sheriff's election is Nov. 2.

Deese doesn't consider himself political-minded, preferring that the
sheriff's office be nonpartisan. A bill to make the office nonpartisan was
defeated in the Legislature last year.

Deese is focusing his campaign on his law enforcement experience, which
began in 1983 as a deputy on patrol for the Peach County Sheriff's Office.
Before then, Deese worked in the family masonry and construction business.

At the sheriff's office, Deese worked his way up through the ranks from
deputy assigned to patrol to investigator, to head of investigations to one
of two majors under Becham, and then chief deputy. That experience, Deese
said, enables him to know what should be expected from every employee of
the sheriff's office.

As for a campaign platform, Deese already has identified two areas that he
said need to be addressed: drug abuse and communication.

If elected sheriff, Deese plans to combat the growing drug problem through
the use of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in schools and other
youth-based organizations. Intervention is crucial to combating drugs,
Deese said, which is why he is such a staunch supporter of DARE programs.

Deese also plans to target the arrest and prosecution of drug offenders.
However, putting someone behind bars for drug use isn't always the best way
to combat the problem, Deese said.

With increasing jail and prison populations, Deese said he is proposing the
implementation of a drug court in Peach County similar to one in Macon. The
drug court offers a strict, 12-month probation for first-time offenders in
which successful completion of the program allows for the offense to be
stricken from the offender's record, Deese said.

This gives first-time offenders the incentive and opportunity to get off
the wrong path before it's too late and before a drug conviction mars their
chances of employment, Deese said.

To improve communication, Deese said he plans to step up efforts to work
with other public safety agencies in Peach County.

Deese said he'll also have an open-door policy, and his home number will
remain published in the local telephone directory.

Deese also touts his community service. He is a graduate of the last
Leadership Peach Program, past chairman of the American Cancer Society's
Relay for Life of Peach County, a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of
Peach County and a charter member of the Byron Rotary Club.

His professional associations include FBI Academy Associates, Georgia DARE
Officers Association, Georgia Gang Investigators Association, Georgia State
Intelligence Network, National DARE Officers Association, Georgia Sheriff's
Association, Peach Officers Association of Georgia and co-chair of the
School Safety Committee of the Peach County School System.