GOODING — Twenty years have passed since Shaun Gough took an oath, a badge and a gun.

Much has changed in Gooding County since then: the population grew by more than 2,000, and dairies replaced potato crops as the main agricultural industry, to name a few.

One thing hasn’t changed. The same mantra the Gooding County sheriff adopted as a deputy still holds strong: treat ’em right.

“Criminals are still people and deserve respect,” Gough said. “I teach that of all my guys. Treat ’em right.”

Gough’s blue eyes are sharp and intense compared to his office’s drab, brown uniform, but they are also compassionate eyes able to show empathy for his fellow man. The respect he has shown in his dealings with the people of Gooding County, including criminals, became a staple of the department in 1997 when Gough first took office as sheriff.

Gough became a deputy in July 1990, when then-sheriff Robert Aja asked him to run a boat up and down the Snake River for the office’s marine program. He was hesitant to get involved in law enforcement at first, knowing mostly a life of farming as a third-generation Gooding resident. That fact also posed a dilemma for him: could he arrest friends and family if called to do so? He wasn’t sure, but he took the job with the intention of treating people well.

“I learned that you can still do the job,” he said, referring to maintaining relationships with community members, “even if you do have to arrest them at some point.”

He quickly became chief deputy to Aja, knowing one day he would run for Aja’s office, though not against his friend and mentor. Aja lost his office and was replaced by Jim Jax in a 1992 election. Gough was made a patrol sergeant.

“I just wanted to do the job regardless and do a good job,” he said. He owed it to himself and to the people of Gooding County, he said.

In 1996, Jax decided to retire, and Gough thought he had something to offer the community. He ran for sheriff, not even 30 years old, and won 51 percent of the vote.

So far, county voters have approved of Gough’s style of law enforcement. He ran unopposed in 2000 and 2004, and in 2008 defeated former Wendell Police Chief Kirtus Gaston by nearly 1,000 votes.

Through his years with the office, Gough has seen good and bad. The office faces budget issues brought on by the economic downturn. There have been suicides in the county jail, which isn’t as adequate a facility as everyone would like, Gough said. He crosses paths with the survivors of a 1995 car crash which took the lives of three high school students, and said he still feels like crying with the ones who lived.

“I’ve seen a lot of tragic things,” he said, “but you have to get through it.”

But the job also puts him in a position to help people change their lives, if they’re sincere about it like Matt Lemire was.

In 2002 Lemire and two other males set fire to a house to create a distraction while they robbed a gas station. They were caught and prosecuted for arson, robbery and grand theft. Only 20 years old, Lemire faced 20 years in prison.

“It’s definitely safe to say my first carved-in-stone memory of Shaun was when he arrested me,” Lemire said.

Gough put up with a lot of name-calling and disrespect, but he remained patient. He knew there was a chance to piece Lemire’s life back together.

As Lemire moved through the court system, Gough attended every hearing. Lemire said it made him nervous, but only at first. Eventually Gough’s presence was a comfort, Lemire said.

He pleaded guilty to the crimes but was given a suspended sentence. Gough was still there.

“I’m not sure what Shaun’s exact job description entails, but I don’t think it has anything to do with following the case of a misguided youth for almost eight years,” Lemire added.

The two continued to talk about what Lemire wanted to do with his life, his choices made and how to make amends. Determined to make good for his crimes, Lemire worked to pay back approximately $40,000 in restitution. For that, the state recently lifted his probation without objection from Gough or the Gooding County prosecutor’s office.

Meanwhile, one of the other convicted robbers is serving 20 years in prison.

“I’m proud of him,” Gough said of Lemire. “That’s where I get the satisfaction out of this job.”

The two remain close to this day. Lemire is a foreman for Western Line Builders, a power-line contractor, and competes in natural bodybuilding competitions.

“Thanks for not clocking out when your shift was over,” is Lemire’s message to Gough.

While not every encounter is as profound as Lemire’s situation, Gough keeps up a relationship with the county residents through his children’s 4-H activities or rodeos. He drops by local coffee shops every morning. When responding to a call at the West Point restaurant in Wendell recently, he stuck around for a burger and some conversation with owner Jeannie Arrendondo.

To Gough, it doesn’t seem like it’s been 20 years, he said. “As long as the citizens keep me in, I’ll stay.”