McKinney: 'It's been a good ride'

After nearly 16 years and countless cases, Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney passed the baton to his trusted undersheriff Rick Lang to continue the job that McKinney put his heart and soul into.

“This is the man I wanted in the sheriff’s office,” McKinney said at his retirement party at the Stephens County Courthouse last Friday. “He’s very competent, capable, and he’s going to take it to the next level. I feel a lot better knowing that it’s in his hands.”

Lang was sworn in as interim sheriff on Monday. He will be sworn in as the sheriff in January after winning the election earlier this month.

McKinney thanked the employees who have served alongside him during his time in office.

“I am also grateful for every employee of this department - jail staff, deputy staff, administrative staff,” McKinney said. “We’ve had some good times and we’ve had some bad times, but it’s been a good ride.”

He also gave a big thanks to his wife, Julie.

“Julie stood with me over four different campaigns and believe me, and I think Rick realizes this now, it’s a very tough job to campaign for a political position,” McKinney said. “It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work with you and your family.”

McKinney was presented his service revolver to keep as a gift from the county. Julie McKinney presented him with a metal detector.

“One of the travel places is going down to the Gulf of Mexico,” Julie McKinney said. “The last time we were down there you mentioned how fun it would be to have a metal detector. I thought this was the perfect time to give him this metal detector.”