WGNS Radio: Sheriff Kenneth Barrett Builds Experienced Leadership Team for Rutherford County

Sheriff Kenneth Barrett Builds Experienced Leadership Team for Rutherford County

A new chapter has begun at the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office as Sheriff Kenneth Barrett takes office and assembles a leadership team focused on public safety, accountability and community trust.

Sheriff Barrett was elected on August 6, 2026, after serving Rutherford County for more than 28 years. He began his career at age 20 as a detention officer before moving into patrol, narcotics and interstate crime enforcement. He later supervised several specialized units, including K-9 operations, Mounted Patrol, Marine Patrol and the Special Response Team.

A lifelong Rutherford County resident and Oakland High School graduate, Sheriff Barrett has pledged to lead with integrity, transparency, accountability and servant leadership. His experience at nearly every level of the Sheriff’s Office gives him a strong understanding of the challenges facing law enforcement officers and the concerns of the citizens they serve.

Sheriff Barrett has surrounded himself with experienced professionals, including Chief Deputy Todd Sparks, Deputy Chief David Hailey, Deputy Chief Tony Hall and Deputy Chief of Legal Counsel Patrick McMurtray. Sgt. Laura Kunce, the Sheriff’s Office public information officer, also plays an important role in keeping citizens and the news media informed about emergencies, criminal investigations and public-safety programs.

Yesterday, I invited our new sheriff and Chief Bernard Salandy, who serves as jail administrator, to join WGNS host Bryan Barrett and me on “Rutherford Issues.”

I was first introduced to Bernard when I was a younger Rutherford County commissioner by the late Tony Campbell of Smyrna. Tony and Bernard had worked together at the jail several years earlier. I was glad to have Sheriff Barrett and Chief Salandy on the program to discuss some of the serious challenges facing our community, state and country.

Rutherford County will eventually need to build a new jail, with the estimated cost ranging from $320 million to $430 million. I have also mentioned in the Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Committee, on which I serve, that the state may need to construct another prison. That concern echoes comments made by House Majority Leader William Lamberth about overcrowding in our county jails.

Prisons and jails are extremely expensive to build, staff and maintain. You do not have to be an economist to understand that the path our community, state and country are traveling is economically unsustainable. We cannot simply continue building more jails and prisons without also asking what we can do to change lives, reduce repeat offenses and help people return to their families and communities prepared to live responsibly.

That is one reason I am such a big supporter of Chief Salandy.

I once asked him, “If there were one program that could turn a man’s—or woman’s—life around and help that person get on the right path, what would it be?”

He responded, “The Gospel. The Bible. I’ve seen more men change for the better through that program than through anything else.”

Last Tuesday, I attended the funeral of the late Sheriff Truman Jones. There are many things for which Sheriff Jones deserves recognition, including his commitment to his deputies, employees and the people of Rutherford County. One decision that deserves special attention was his request that Chief Salandy oversee the jail ministry.

Chief Salandy recalled being perplexed when Sheriff Jones first approached him. He thought to himself, “I’m not carrying around a Bible. I’m not a minister.”

Then he reflected on the tragic death of his daughter, who was killed in an automobile accident while traveling to Tuskegee University. He also considered the enormous responsibility before him.

“I’m overseeing 900 men who are in our jail,” he remembered thinking. “There are 900 men who need help.”

That realization helped give new meaning and purpose to his work.

During our WGNS program, I asked Sheriff Barrett and Chief Salandy, “How much does that Gospel program cost the taxpayers?”

Their answer was simple: “Nothing.”

The program may not cost taxpayers anything, but its potential value is immeasurable. When faith-based volunteers help an incarcerated person accept responsibility, find purpose, repair family relationships and choose a better path, the entire community benefits. One changed life can mean one less victim, one restored family and one person who does not return to jail.

Just to be blunt, there are far too few advocates focused on saving taxpayers money. Our national debt is approaching $40 trillion, yet government spending continues to grow. I don’t know about you, but this fiscal irresponsibility and political dysfunction make me angry. Ronald Reagan said it best: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

Did you realize that some lobbyists are paid with taxpayer dollars? Folks, I cannot make this stuff up. Some of them also earn more than nearly all your elected officials. That should cause every taxpayer to ask: Who is really running things?

Have you noticed how rarely the mainstream media reports on this? I wish more elected officials would ask these taxpayer-funded lobbyists and the organizations employing them three tough questions:

1. What measurable return have your services provided to taxpayers?

2. What efficiencies have you identified or helped implement? Please provide specific examples.

3. What creative solutions have you proposed to lower costs and help government do more with less?

These questions should be asked during public budget committee meetings, with the answers placed on the record. Citizens deserve to know how their money is being spent, what results they are receiving and whether these services provide genuine value to the taxpayers footing the bill.

I wholeheartedly appreciate the men and women of law enforcement who serve and protect our community, including Sheriff Barrett, Chief Salandy and their entire team. At a time when some continue to promote “defund the police” policies or advocate releasing offenders without considering the consequences, our already overburdened criminal-justice system needs thoughtful leadership—not slogans or political extremes.

Public safety is not simply about making arrests and locking people away. It also involves prevention, accountability, communication, rehabilitation and treating every person with dignity while protecting victims and law-abiding citizens.

Sheriff Kenneth Barrett and his new leadership team now have both the responsibility and the opportunity to set that tone for Rutherford County. Their experience, combined with a commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility and faith-based rehabilitation, can help create a safer county and offer hope to people who are willing to turn their lives around.