the new sheriff ( he had been in office going on eight years , but alan pangborn had decided he was going to be 'the new sheriff ' at least until the year 2000 - always assuming , he told his wife , that he went on running and being elected that long ) had n't been in castle rock then ; until 1980 he had been in charge of highway enforcement in a small-going-on-medium-sized city in upstate new york , not far from syracuse .