Benton Co Sheriff issues temporary jail commissions

The turmoil at the Benton County Jail is over, at least for now.

Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher has temporarily extended the limited commissions for jail staff for 30-days.

"I have to extend a little bit of my liability out there by giving them these commission cards back in order to fulfill their job", Sheriff Hatcher notes. "My hope is in these 30 days, that we can work together on a much smoother transition plan."

A week ago, the County Commissioners voted 2-to-1 to pull oversight of the jail from the Sheriff's Office, and create a new Corrections Department.

Complicating the issue, the person in charge of the transition is now on administrative leave, replaced by another county staffer.

"And, he's a very good individual to work with. He came from the Planning Department, but he absolutely no experience running a jail, so I'm very concerned that we are going to be still in a mess in 30 days. But, we are going to try to work to get him up to speed to make sure he understands that he has our full support and cooperation as we move forward here", Hatcher adds.

The interim Benton County Administrator has been placed on paid leave. Loretta Smith-Kelty had been put in charge following the retirement of David Sparks, but now Benton County Planning Manager Jerrod MacPherson will take over the jail transition.