VIDALIA — When the polls closed Feb. 9, only one vote separated 10-year incumbent Vidalia Police Chief Billy Hammers and challenger Ronnie G. “Tapper” Hendricks.

But this Saturday voters will decide if they are going to stay the course or elect a new police chief.

In the primary election, both Hammers and Hendricks garnered approximately 42 percent of the vote. Two other candidates, C.A. “Sam” King and “Ricky” Williams divided the other 16 percent of the electorate.

And now, after three-and-a-half weeks of campaigning, Hendricks said it has been a lot of hard work.

“It’s non-stop,” Hendricks said. “You work late nights and early mornings. We’re still going around (town), and I have personally been around three times myself.

“I see it as more of a regroup than as a run-off.”

Hammers said he, too, has been hitting the pavement distributing fliers and talking to citizens.

“We haven’t claimed victory or defeat yet, but we have worked very hard,” Hammers said.

During the interim period between the primary and the run-off, the voters seem to have taken more interest, Hendricks said.

“People are concerned with burglaries and the visibility of patrol officers,” Hendricks said. “They definitely want to see officers out more. They want community policing.”

Other concerns Hendricks said citizens have addressed to him were traffic control and loud music.

“That’s a big concern citywide,” Hendricks said.

Citizens have also complained to Hammers about speeding on Carter Street, and he said the Vidalia police have already begun to address that issue.

“We were working on that before the election and we will work on it after the election,” Hammers said. “There were some other concerns people expressed to me, but I’m at a disadvantage because I’m not going to tell the bad guys what I’m going to do.”

As for plans for the future, if elected Hendricks said he would like to implement a few citywide programs.

“I know there is an uptown and downtown problem with the youth, and we need a program for kids to educate them about drugs and violence issues,” Hendricks said. “As a citizen myself, my concerns are there because I have three children.”

Working toward getting a camera system to help with citywide surveillance is one of Hammers’ goals for the future, but he said it was a long-term goal.

“It’s not an overnight thing when you go to do something like that,” Hammers said. “Even if we can’t get that done, of course we’re going to keep adapting and progressing for the future. Crime is getting higher-teched, so we are going to get higher-teched with them.”

For the voter still sitting on the fence, Hendricks said they should vote for him because of his youth and determination.

“I am a part of a younger generation and I feel that I have the energy, the enthusiasm, the willpower and the want to make the types of changes voters want to happen,” he said. “Vidalia is my home, and I want to make it a better place for my family. July 1, if I am elected, we are going to hit the ground running.”

To that same voter, Hammers said he would tell them what he has always said.

“My biggest asset is the only promise I have made in the last 10 years as chief is I would be fair and honest, and I have stuck to that,” Hammers said. “The only guideline I have is to keep this town like it is or to make it better.”