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Wednesday marked the start of a three-day qualifying period for those running for county or state offices.

To qualify, candidates brought in a certified check and plenty of paperwork before filling out forms to be officially put on the ballot.

Among those candidates was Americus native Lane Price, who is running in the democrat primary for the member at large position on the Dougherty County School Board.

Price, a board-certified radiation oncologist and director of the Willson Hospice House, is no stranger to helping others and hopes to continue this by making the children her main focus. "We've got to focus on their safety in the schools, we've got to focus on their education" added Price.

Price also plans to balance the budget while keeping programs like gym, foreign languages, music and art.

Also present at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers building, which represented the Democratic qualifications, was Dougherty County Sheriff Kevin Sproul.

Sproul, who has been sheriff for the past four years, hopes to be re-elected to serve another term to continue bettering Dougherty County.

"I would like to serve another four years to continue to work on some of the  projects that we have in place and continue to move our agency forward and this community forward" said Sproul.

Sproul says the past four years have been difficult because of the economic downturn we've experienced, but can't believe how quickly they went by.

Keep checking MySouthWestGA.com for a current list of qualified candidates:

Dougherty County:
Chris Warren and Victoria Darrisaw - State Court Judge
Lamar Hudgins -County Commission District 1
Nancy Stephenson - Probate Judge

Lee County:
Non Partisan Qualifiers
John Wheaton - Probate Court Judge
Jim Thurman - Chief Magistrate Court Judge

Republican
Reggie Rachals – Sheriff
Ron Rowe – Coroner
C.F. Taylor – County Commissioner District 4
Rick Muggridge – County Commissioner District 4
Bill Williams – County Commissioner District 5

Democrat
Mary Egler - County Commissioner District 2