Acting Sheriff William “Rocky” Goshert

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — Acting Sheriff William “Rocky” Goshert today, Monday, June 5, announced his intention to be a candidate at the June 21 caucus to fill the remainder of the term vacated by former Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine.

Goshert, a former two-term Kosciusko County Sheriff, stated he made the decision to run after recognizing a need for experience in the sheriff’s department over the next year and a half. “When I was elected sheriff in 2006, it was a normal general election, so I had the opportunity to go to the sheriff’s school before I actually took office,” he said. “I never would have been able to handle the job right out of the state police or right off my time as a sheriff’s deputy without I.S.A. Sheriff’s School.”

A longtime Kosciusko County resident, Goshert graduated from Warsaw High School in 1975 and from Hanover College in 1979, where he received a B.A. degree in business. In 1980, he began his law enforcement career as a trooper for the Indiana State Police. In 2001, he was hired as a deputy at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and was eventually promoted to the rank of corporal. Goshert was elected Sheriff of Kosciusko County in 2006. He won a second term in 2010. He then became captain of the sheriff’s department when Rovenstine took office in 2015, and became acting sheriff upon Rovenstine’s resignation May 23 of this year.

Indiana Constitution prohibits a sheriff from serving more than eight years in any 12-year period. However, Article 2, Section 11 of the Constitution exempts pro tempore appointments from that prohibition, meaning that Goshert could fill the remainder of Rovenstine’s term without running afoul of the law.

Goshert believes  his previous two terms as sheriff and his time as a captain have prepared him to deal with the complexities of the office, particularly the administration of the jail. “The jail is always a lawsuit waiting to happen,” he said, emphasizing the need to be familiar with regulations regarding the rights of inmates. “That’s something that I didn’t learn in any other area of law enforcement.” He pointed to a recent report from Hall & Marose Silveus showing Kosciusko County to be one of the top performing counties in terms of its liability loss ratio as an example of how experienced administrators can save the taxpayers money.

Goshert stated that the events of the past two years have increased the need for steady and experienced leadership. “The sheriff’s department has just been through a terrible ordeal,” he said, “Now is the time for stability and calm. I believe that I’m the best candidate to accomplish that.”

Goshert resides in Warsaw with his wife, Joy, who serves as assistant superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation. He has three children: Cody, age 27, of Atlanta, Ga; Taylor, also 27, who is working on obtaining her master’s degree from Grace College; and Drake, age 31, who lives in Elkhart.