Many have said in recent years that off-year elections for county and state offices are a waste of time for voters, who historically turn out in lower numbers than in general elections when presidents are elected.

While our state legislators may not have recognized it at the time, a decision to make races for county sheriff one of those off-year races is one that serves Hoosier voters better all the time.

The late Rex Harris who served as Cass County sheriff in the 1960s was a link to a different era in law enforcement. In the time Harris served, wives usually worked alongside their husbands and served meals to prisoners. That was one reason Pulaski County precinct committeemen chose Charlotte Ward to succeed her husband, Bane, when he passed away while in office.

County jails were small lock-ups that often served as drunk tanks for sobering up and holding cells for inmates about to appear in court.

Times have truly changed. Sheriffs are among the highest paid — if not the highest paid — county officials. Prosecutors and judges are paid by the state, but sheriffs are still paid from county funds. And they are paid well.

Given the responsibilities they have, they should be. Consider the fact that sheriffs are responsible for the care of inmates 24/7, 365 days a year. Consider all the things that can go wrong in a jail from inmate fights to jailbreaks to accidents. Even inmate health is a concern because the county has to pay for inmate care, and that often is lacking.

Then consider the liability a sheriff potentially has. A sheriff is the only elected official in any county who can legally shoot suspects or arrest them. Sheriffs also are responsible for hiring, firing and disciplining the people who also make life and death decisions. Perhaps most importantly, they, along with their deputies, may be putting their lives on the line every time they walk out of their house, the department office, or a car.

Deputies are more important in rural areas where there often are no full-time town marshals and state police patrols are minimal at best. In Cass County, rural portions make up roughly half the population, and the sheriff also must be responsible for training and coordinating a corps of reserve officers, knowing full well that better pay for those young officers awaits in city police departments and the state police ranks — even private security firms in some cases.

It’s a challenge to be a sheriff, and when deputies do what is expected of them, at some point in their careers, they’ll be sought out to run for sheriff. It’s not exactly like being Andy Griffith with Barney Fife as your chief — and only — deputy. It’s more like being an administrator of a school or small hospital.

Jail prisoners are shuttled between county jails, and the Indiana Department of Correction places hundreds of inmates in places such as the Cass County Jail every year.

Sheriffs have to work with probation officials and work release program monitors to ensure those that can and are willing to provide some community service have the chance. And sheriffs can be sued. Those who have been around Cass County for the past 20 years can recall the jail condition suits that led to the current county government version of the Red Roof Inn at Fourth and North.

This is not to say that the other offices on this year’s ballot aren’t important, but whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican or an independent, there’s no second-guessing the importance of this office. The Cass and White County sheriff primaries in particular should be interesting ones. In Cass, Republicans Randy Pryor, Steve Thompson, Mike Day, Tom Wallace, Gary Armstrong and George Franklin should make this race in particular the most memorable since the 1978 primary which eventually produced a two-term sheriff, Gene Powlen, from a crowded field. Democrats have Randy Rozzi and Bill Roller to think about, and in November, the winners will give voters some questions to answer.

Until then, we’re all duly deputized to find out the subtle differences between the men who want an important, key position in our communities.

• Dave Kitchell is a columnist for the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached through the newspaper at ptnews@pharostribune.com.