Outgoing Adams County Circuit Clerk Fred Ferguson is no stranger to transition. Ferguson, who lost the November election to M.L. &uot;Binkey&uot; Vines, now sees his life heading in a new direction.

&uot;This will be my final transition,&uot; Ferguson said. &uot;We are not planning on moving from Natchez. We love Natchez.&uot;

He and his wife, Kate Junkin Ferguson, may take advantage of the free time to travel. &uot;My wife is getting ready to retire. In (about) a year and a half or so, we will both be retired,&uot; Ferguson said. &uot;We hadn’t thought about it, but we’ll probably make a few trips,&uot;

Ferguson, a former teacher for the Concordia Parish School District, admits he is not as eager to retire as his wife.

He would like to keep busy by working part-time in a school system.

&uot;I don’t want a full-time job,&uot; Ferguson said. &uot;I would be content if I taught a couple classes a day.&uot;

This time in his life makes him reflect back to his early 20s, when he worked at International Paper’s Natchez mill. After serving in the military, Ferguson came back to Natchez and attended two-years at Copiah-Lincoln Community.

Afterwards, he began working at the Natchez mill until it went through a staff reduction.

&uot;I went from a $100 a week to a $30 or $40 a week job,&uot; Ferguson said.

For this reason, Ferguson enrolled in Delta State University and got his education degree.

If it had not been for that staff reduction, Ferguson thinks he may have kept working at the paper mill never finished school and never ran for election. &uot;I think I wouldn’t be here, if I had not gone back to college,&uot; he said.

Ferguson first ran for the office after retiring from the Concordia Parish School District in 1991.

During his tenure, the office became more computerized and has been able to cut back on the number of docket books, which are $60 each.

Such measures have saved taxpayer money. &uot;I take great pride in that we reduced the budget every year,&uot; Ferguson said.

Overall, he views the last eight years of his life as an enjoyable experience.

&uot;I enjoyed working with the judges,&uot; Ferguson said. &uot;I enjoyed working with the people. I certainly met a lot of people in my tenure here.&uot;

Even though he was not reelected, Ferguson said he is not ashamed of anything he did, while serving as circuit clerk.

&uot;It’s not the end of the world for me,&uot;&160;he said. &uot;I accept the will of the people, of course.&uot;