Hank Ray with Kern County (Bakersfield) Sheriff Donny Youngblood. I met Sheriff Youngblood at the unavailingly of the Buck Owens post office. Photo by Dr. BLT.
HANK RAY TALKS MUSIC WITH  Sheriff Donny Youngblood

DATA FROM SHERIFF'S WEB SITE:
"Sheriff Donny Youngblood is a life-long native of Kern County. He attended East and West High Schools, and graduated from Bakersfield College.

He enlisted in the United States Army in 1968, serving 14 months in South Vietnam. Following his return stateside, he spent his last year in the military as an Army Drill Sergeant preparing young men to defend the United States of America. He left the military service in 1971.

Sheriff Youngblood joined the Kern County Sheriff’s Department in 1972 as a Correctional Officer assigned to the Lerdo Facility. Two years later, he entered the Basic Academy to begin training to become a Deputy Sheriff.

During his 30-year career with the Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Youngblood worked in all areas of the department, promoting to the rank of Commander by the time of his retirement in 2002. His duty assignments included the Patrol Division, Court Services, Narcotics, Boron Substation, East Kern Substations Commander, Watch Commander, Air Support Division Commander, and Detectives.

Along the way, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Administration of Justice in 1982, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University in 1983. He is a 1986 alumni of the 144th class of the FBI National Academy, and is also a 1989 graduate of the POST Command College Class X.

Following his retirement in 2002, Sheriff Youngblood held the position of Vice-President of Sonitrol in Bakersfield, California. After a campaign fought on the issues of leadership and experience, the citizens of Kern County elected him to the Office of Sheriff-Coroner in 2006.

Sheriff Youngblood holds a commercial pilot’s license with instrument and multi-engine ratings. In addition to flying, he is an avid golfer, hunter and horseman."