Shown are office staff, from left, Kathy Jensen, Michelle Hyden, Cheryl McGettrick, Marcia Hollinger, Sherri Rapp, Sheriff Jim Smith and Public Information Officer Doug Light.

Text and Photos
By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — The word “sheriff” resonates with authority and responsibility. As the head of our county law enforcement, the sheriff plays a pivotal role in maintaining order and ensuring the safety of Kosciusko County.

Sheriff Jim Smith took over this role on Jan. 1, just over 10 months ago. This last week, Smith graciously took the time to reflect upon how it’s going and show me the inner workings of his office and the county jail. Come with me into the labyrinth of the Justice Building to see and hear how it’s going.

Sheriff’s Staff

On a dreary Monday morning, I sat at the sheriff’s conference table at 221 W. Main St., on the north side of the Justice Building.

Sheriff Smith introduced me to Chief Deputy Chris McKeand and the Sheriff’s Matron Michelle Hyden. He talked about the 10 months since he took office as sheriff. “We’ve had a lot of learning moments,” Smith said and Michelle and McKeand nodded in agreement. Smith went on, “But, after the first five months of craziness, we’ve got good energy now. Things are moving forward.”

The Chief Deputy

Sheriff’s Matron Michelle Hyden discusses how approachable Sheriff Jim Smith is.

McKeand was the first person to shake my hand in the conference room. He was dressed in full uniform and leaned back with his arms crossed. I could tell he wasn’t entirely sure why a journalist was taking up his valuable time.

Smith promoted McKeand to chief deputy in January when he took office as sheriff. “He’s my right hand,” Jim shook his head appreciatively about McKeand’s service.

The chief deputy makes sure the sheriff’s orders are executed. He supervises staff, runs meetings, assigns duties and basically does “everything that needs to be done.”

The Matron

In Kosciusko, the matron functions as the office manager along with being the contact person for outside agencies, functioning as a notary for the inmates, overseeing the jail food services and helping with IT issues.

Hyden’s desk sits squarely in the center of the sheriff’s office suite. She is surrounded by four clear walls so she can direct the action. A sign stating “FORT MICHELL – Michelle Hyden, the Commander Officer” leans against one side.

In contrast to the official sheriff uniforms, Sheriff’s Matron Hayden wore a fuzzy sweater. She gave me a wry grin. Smith wanted to let me know how important these two people were.

He motioned at both. “You guys are an extension of me,” he said earnestly. “You hold me accountable.” He paused. “They’ll tell you I’m demanding and impatient sometimes. And that’s true. But I say all the time that as leaders, we can’t have bad days. We can have bad moments, but we can’t dwell on them because leadership mood impacts everyone else too. We are a family here. We spend sometimes more time with each other than our actual families, so we have to build trust and communication.”

The other two nodded. Hyden told me the department has 125 paid employees. “Plus, reserve officers and part-time staff,” McKeand added with a friendly nod.

The Main Office Staff

Hyden turned the topic back to Smith. “As a sheriff, Jim is very approachable. He’ll come in and stop at desks and ask about how someone’s weekend went. He’s very much a real person.” I noticed this too.

After we left the conference room, he introduced me to everyone with desks flanking Fort Michell. He told me what their job entailed, how valuable it was to the running of the place, and often how long they had worked for the sheriff even if that was long before he became sheriff.

Michelle’s desk behind Fort Mitchell.

Kathy Jensen greeted me at the reception desk. She has worked in the office since 1999 and helps with fingerprints and gun permits.

Marcia Hollinger works with warrants and has been there for 26 years.

Cheryl McGettrick pays the bills. “It’s more complicated than that,” she told me with a smile. “Audits are crazy when you have to have so many supporting documents for all of our vehicles and credit cards.”

Sherri Rapp started in January working as the deputy report coordinator. She must keep track of when all those vehicles need repairs and service.

After we finished the main office portion of the tour, Smith told me one of the things he was most proud of was getting his people a recent raise. Everyone from emergency people to office staff benefited from this. “And they deserve it too!” Smith declared.

Public Information

While Smith ran another meeting, I spent time with Public Information Officer Doug Light. He showed me software he had learned to put together interesting and informative posts for social media like Facebook and Twitter.

“I’m proud of my design stuff, but I’m definitely not ready for TikTok yet,” Light shook his head. “Nope.” I asked how he created his posts.

“I have to keep it fresh.” His brow creased. “Today’s world requires that we balance information with humor. Sometimes we even poke fun at ourselves a little. People like that.” Sheriff’s Department Facebook posts have ranged from congratulating JCAP graduates to Halloween trick-or-treat information to Deputy (Dan) Buell arresting an alpaca (956 likes when it was posted back on March 30, 2023).

Officer Light also showed me around the jail including the door of the evidence room, the shooting range, the Justice Building gym and training rooms, and Central Dispatch where 911 calls come in. On Oct. 12, one of Light’s Sheriff Facebook posts tells the public that in September Central Dispatch fielded 1,787 calls for help.

Part 2 of this article will focus on Central Dispatch/911 and Jail.