FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS IS PRIORITY FOR CANDIDATES

2002 General Election

The race for Muhlenberg County sheriff is two years and several clashes in
the making.

But both incumbent Jerry Mayhugh and challenger Jody Hawkins agree on the
county's top need -- eliminating drugs, especially methamphetamine.

"That's the number one priority on my list," Mayhugh said. "I feel we're
beginning to get a handle on it."

Mayhugh said the new county jail has more space in which to house offenders
and the county has started a drug court to help avoid repeat offenders.

The sheriff's department is already "at the next level" as far as fighting
the meth problem. He and Deputy Eddie Perry are certified by the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency, and Perry is qualified to disassemble a meth lab, he said.

"We've been educated by doing," Mayhugh said.

The county "is probably the drug capital of western Kentucky," Hawkins said.

Hawkins, who wants to have a full-time deputy working only drug cases,
blames some of that on what he said is a lack of a real drug policy in the
sheriff's department.

Honesty, not drugs, is the top priority of his platform, said Hawkins, who
readily says he and Mayhugh do not like each other.

"I'm a public servant; I serve the people," Hawkins said. "He's built him a
kingdom."

In newspaper, radio and television ads, he has questioned Mayhugh's hiring
of his wife and sister as deputies and the practice of paying mileage to
deputies for using their vehicles for work.

He also claims Mayhugh is under investigation by Kentucky State Police and
the FBI.

Asked to respond to the remarks, Mayhugh said he knows of no such
investigations. He said he has been contacted in the past by agencies who
have received anonymous complaints about the sheriff's department.

Mayhugh said the nepotism accusation was unfounded because his wife and
sister were grandfathered in before a county ordinance banned it.

He also said the car policy was in effect when he took office. The
Muhlenberg Fiscal Court increased the per-mile reimbursement to 37 cents
without a request from his office, he said.

Mayhugh said his lack of respect for Hawkins stems from past disagreements
over control of the sheriff's department's radio channel when Hawkins was
Muhlenberg County 911 Dispatch director.

"When I have to run around telling you I'm honest . . . a red flag goes up"
and raises doubts, Mayhugh said. "If people didn't feel I was honest, they
wouldn't have put me in here."

Hawkins said he plans to "professionalize" the department, starting with
having the county own patrol cars and installing on-board computers. He
said he would use money from his salary, if necessary, to buy the first two
vehicles.

That would save money, and maintenance work and gas is available at the
county Road Department, Hawkins said.

Hawkins wants to put into each high school a deputy who would provide
security while running programs at elementary and middle schools.

He plans to assign a detective to work only assault and property crime
cases and create an office manned 24 hours a day.

And all of that will be done on a smaller budget with fewer deputies, said
Hawkins, who plans to trim two positions in the first year.

The money would then be used to pay remaining deputies more, he said.

"We can run it on less," Hawkins said.

He also wants to install a "closest unit" policy, which would send the
nearest law enforcement officer, regardless of agency, to an emergency call.

Hawkins said the policy would improve relations with other agencies while
providing quicker response.

Mayhugh said his department is available around the clock and has a rapid
response time. He said a deputy can be on the scene anywhere in the county
in 16 or 17 minutes.

Mayhugh also wants computers in patrol cars. He has been looking into two
pieces of technology, too, he said.

The automatic vehicle locator can tell where a patrol car is at any given
moment, and computer aided dispatch allows a dispatcher to route a 911 call
to a patrol car.

Paying for the new technology "will have to happen through confiscated drug
funds," he said.

Mayhugh said he has already bought three digital cameras, anti-drug
literature for children and three computers with such funds.

"I'm looking, reading and shopping," Mayhugh said

Jody Hawkins

Party: Republican

Age: 54

Address: 1466 Cornette Road, Greenville

Family: Wife, Dr. Susan Hawkins; sons, Carson and Craig; daughters, Robin
and Joy

Job: Retired

Education: 1966 Hancock County High School; 1968 graduate of Lake Sumter
Community College, Leesburg, Fla.; Kentucky State Police trooper training
course

Elected offices: None

Leadership positions: Former director of Muhlenberg County 911 Dispatch and
Muhlenberg County Emergency Management; former president of Muhlenberg
County Fair Board and Greenville Chamber of Commerce

Top two issues: Honesty and eliminating drugs

Jerry Mayhugh

Party: Democrat

Age: 57

Address: 101 Mayhugh Lane, Central City

Family: Wife, Carolann; daughters, Kim Oliver and Kelli Rose

Job: Muhlenberg County sheriff (1994-present)

Education: 1963 Drakesboro High School graduate; law enforcement academy at
Eastern Kentucky University (1996); labor management courses through the
University of Kentucky

Elected offices: Muhlenberg County sheriff

Leadership positions: Chairman of the Muhlenberg County 911 Dispatch
Advisory Board; member of the Madisonville Technical College Law
Enforcement Advisory Committee

Top two issues: Eliminating drugs and involvement with, and fitting in to,
the community