KEVIN HALPERN, Courier Co-Editor
Monday, June 11, 2012 6:14 am

Most of the time Cannon County Sheriff Darrell Young comes across as a fun and friendly person.

Every now and then, though, he can be an ornery cuss.

The job calls for being both.

The ability to be engaging comes in handy when dealing with constituents, complaints and a certain Cannon Courier writer.

The ability to be stern when needed comes in handy when dealing with crooks, crackheads and, well, a certain Cannon Courier writer.

When Young ran for, and was eventually elected as, sheriff in 2010, there was little doubt he could handle the law enforcement aspects of the position.

After all, he had been with the Woodbury Police Department for many years and had worked his way up to the position of assistant chief.

However, the Cannon County sheriff has many more responsibilities than those of an assistant chief.

• The sheriff is responsible for the operation of a detention facility.

• The sheriff has a larger territory to protect and serve.

• The sheriff oversees deputies, investigators and corrections officers.

• The sheriff has a larger budget to manage and many more expenses.

That's not to imply an assistant chief doesn't have responsibilities. However, unlike the sheriff, the buck doesn't stop at the assistant chief's desk.

Just being sheriff bring with it a certain amount of pressure every day. When something unexpected happens, which can occur at any moment, without warning, the burden increases tremendously.

Last week, Kevin Mooneyham was officially promoted from assistant police chief for the Town of Woodbury to to police chief. All indications were, and are, Mooneyham has all of the qualifications which make him the right fit for that job.

The last person to hold the assistant chief's position was Young. If he had not been elected sheriff, there might have been the possibility he would have succeeded Tony Burnett.

While things didn't work out that way, time has shown that they worked out for the best, because Young has demonstrated he is the right fit for the job of sheriff.