NATCHEZ — Two men are in the running to protect and serve Adams County in the upcoming county elections.

Incumbent Sheriff Ronny Brown, a Democrat, and Natchez Police Department Public Relations Officer Charles E. Woods Sr., also a Democrat, are campaigning to serve the Adams County people.

Both said they want to focus on children and youth if elected.

“I’m proud of what we’re doing for our youth,” Brown said. “I have a basketball team and now a baseball team going. And we were able to get the D.A.R.E. program started again, one of the main things we wanted to see accomplished.”

Brown said he hopes to see those programs continue under his administration for another four years.

“We’ve done all of them, and now we’re trying to expand on them,” he said.

Woods said if elected, he would work closely with the school system to keep children and teachers safe. If it meant putting more of his deputies in schools, no expense was too great, he said.

Even though most of the schools are in the city limits, the sheriff’s office still had jurisdiction, he said.

“Regardless of whether the school is in the city or not, it’s within Adams County,” Woods said. “We would probably work with the police department, too.”

Another topic both men said they care about is drugs in the county.

Brown said his administration has changed the way they fight drugs.

“We’re still after the ones who are bringing drugs in, but we’re also after the people buying drugs, Brown said. “The ones who have to steal to buy drugs. We’re after those people, trying to get them at their first offense so they can get through rehabilitation and become taxpaying, productive citizens.”

Woods said he would try to stop the problem at what he considered its origins if elected.

“Most of the crime in Natchez-Adams County is drug related,” Woods said. “We’ve got to stop the supply of it. If we stop them from bringing it in, we stop the drug problem. And if we stop the drug problem, we can stop the crime.”

Brown said although his office and the Metro Narcotics Unit made drug arrests every day, the drug problem was ever-present.

“There’s always going to be a drug problem in the world, there’s so much money involved in it,” Brown said. “We’re trying to get them off drugs and get them away from the problem.”

Among his office’s accomplishments, Brown said is especially proud of the inmate trustees program.

“For the first time, prisoners are out doing things and giving back to the community,” Brown said.