VALDOSTA, GA (WTXL) -- Ashley Paulk has returned to the position he held for many years in Lowndes County.
Paulk served as sheriff for four straight terms from 1993 to 2009. He then served as county commission chairman for a term -- deciding to retire from public office in 2013.
Paulk told WTXL that retirement wasn't really for him and that he's seen a lot of changes in law enforcement since he was in office, but now he's back and hoping to implement programs to help the community.
In November, he beat out Incumbent Chris Prine, the man who succeeded him.
Paulk said something he'd like to bring back is the jail inmate work program.
"It got people out of jail, got them a job, got them on their feet. Not everybody that goes to jail is a bad person. Good people make bad mistakes," said Paulk. "I love the job. I love the people of the county, and I just wanted to come back and make it a better place."
Paulk said he's been "making inroads" after his first week back as sheriff.
Paulk won the November election with 57 percent of the vote. He'll serve Lowndes County through the end of 2020.
