SCOTT COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: LAW ENFORCEMENT COUNTRY STYLE

BENTON -- Sheriff Bill Ferrell rolls into work daily in his patrol vehicle: a Chevrolet Silverado extended cab pickup truck outfitted with a police radio and flashing red light. On this day his dog Pat is riding shotgun on the steel toolbox in the truck bed.

He steps out of the truck wearing the only uniform anyone would recognize him in -- blue jeans, cowboy boots and a white cowboy hat.

A picture of his father shaking hands with former President Harry S Truman looms above Ferrell's cramped office -- a veritable shrine to the two things he holds closest to his heart: his family and his job.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department consists of Ferrell and 22 loyal followers, most of whom have worked for the department for years. He and his deputies work to protect the 40,000 people of Scott County spread across its 444 square miles.

In addition, the department runs the county jail, transports prisoners, serves court orders and provides bailiffs and security for court activities.

"We're a small, country sheriff's department," said Ferrell. "It's not Mayberry, U.S.A., but it's close.

"I've never had an unlisted phone number and don't plan to," he said. "People in this county know that they can call me any time they need to."

Ferrell's father was a Scott County sheriff's deputy from 1952-58, when the sheriff still lived in the building that now houses the department.

"I can remember playing in the courthouse and around the jail as a boy," said Ferrell. "That is why, when I was first elected sheriff in 1977, everything felt so natural -- like I was home."

The road deputies of Scott County, which number seven, including Ferrell, are often overextended.

"Being a third-class county, we have so many small communities in our county that don't have their own police departments," said Ferrell. "In all those instances we are their police department."

During the day, when most if not all of the department's deputies are on duty, response time is reasonable, Ferrell said.

"We don't have the manpower to have someone on duty all night," said Ferrell. "Depending on where the call is, and who is on call that night, it could take a good piece of time to get there."

Cities that do have their own police force make up for the shortfall in manpower, Ferrell said.

"The Missouri Highway Patrol is always there to lend a hand," said Ferrell. "And it's not uncommon for a Chaffee, Sikeston or Scott City officer to leave his city limits to assist with something until we get there."

Unlike many other sheriff's departments in the state, Scott County has no internal hierarchy.

"I've told my deputies that they can all be colonels if they want to, but I'm the general," Ferrell said. "We wear a lot of hats down here; everyone has to be cross-trained to do everything.

"To be successful in this type of department, you really have to be a self-starter," said Ferrell. "We don't have enough people to spare someone to be looking over your shoulder all the time."

That goes for the sheriff, too. It is not uncommon to see Ferrell transporting a prisoner to Jefferson City, pulling bailiff duty in the courthouse across the street, or even checking up on the inmates in the jail next door.

"I work on all the major cases," said Ferrell. "We all do. In fact, when we have a trial, my whole department gets subpoenaed.

"I don't know how many hours I put in to this office every week, but I make myself accessible to this office and the people of this county 24 hours a day."

The department's dedication has paid off: In the past 18 years the department has not had an unsolved murder, Ferrell said.

"That's excluding a girl who disappeared from Scott City on April 17, 1979," said Ferrell. "Her name was Cheryl Scherer. No one ever found out what happed to her."

Ferrell keeps a picture of her and a "missing" sheet next to his desk -- a sacrament to the one that got away.

Under the glass atop his desk Ferrell has a picture of Joshua Kezer, who will stand trial this month for the killing of Angela Lawless at the top of the Benton exit ramp of Interstate 55 last year. It took investigators about five months to catch up with Kezer.

Aside from law enforcement duties, there comes a certain amount of warehousing responsibilities as keeper of the Scott County Jail.

The dungeon-style jail has 48 beds, but can hold a few more than that in the hallways and dayrooms.

"We're at capacity almost all the time," said Ferrell. "We house prisoners for Sikeston, the county and other counties as well."

During the day three sheriff's department employees watch the jail. At night there are only two. But perhaps the most unique aspect of the jail is the way it is run.

"In the 18 years that I have been sheriff I've never hired a cook or paid anyone to mow the lawn," said Ferrell. "The trusties here do the laundry, maintenance work and the cooking. It's saved the county all kinds of money and it gives the inmates something to do."

On any given morning inmates wearing bright orange uniforms are seen scuttling about the sheriff's office, often with little supervision.

"In all the years that I've worked here we have never had an escapee," said Ferrell. "That's not to say it couldn't happen; just that it hasn't."

In the small kitchenette just off the cellblock of the jail, inmates were busy putting the finishing touches on a remodeling project they did themselves. Ferrell said the department received a $7,800 estimate for new kitchen cabinets. The inmates put shelving up over the sink and repainted the walls for less than $100.

As the trusties paint the walls, another inmate begins lunch for the prisoners.

"The quality and nourishment in the food is a constant," said Ferrell, "although, I must admit, the taste will vary greatly with the chef. But cooking for the jail is no small task; they make an average of 120 meals a day, seven days a week. That could tire anyone out.

"We see a lot of bad things every day in handling people's troubles," said Ferrell. "But there's also a good side: I feel we've helped a lot of people through this office."

On those rare occasions when he takes time out to get away from it all, Ferrell travels around the region to team-roping competitions -- a hobby he has had for years. But the sheriff's heart is never far from his Benton office.

"I really love this job," he said. "There has never been a morning that I can remember when I've dreaded coming to work.

"Of course, some days are better than others. But I enjoy what I do here and the fine people I work with.

"People have asked me why I haven't moved up in politics over the years," said Ferrell. "I tell them this is as high as I want to go. Anywhere else would be a step down from here. This is what I am."