County bids adieu to Sharp County’s longest serving sheriff

Tammy Curtis, Managing Editor

Sharp County recently lost a living piece of law enforcement history with the passing of TJ “Sonny” Powell. Powell was the longest-serving sheriff in Sharp County history and never lost an election. He left a legacy in the many men he provided a start in law enforcement. 

Sonny is fondly remembered for his friendly nature and ability to bring experience to the sheriff’s office from the day he took office on Jan. 1, 1981 after defeating incumbent Sheriff John Goodwin. Besides working for Cherokee Village security before it became a city, he also served as a deputy in the very county he would one day serve as sheriff.  In those days there were only two, Sonny on the South End, and Ernie Rose on the North End. 

 It was while Burton, who rode along with Sonny in those days, had his patrol unit backed in at the old Poughkeepsie store, that Sonny revealed his plans. He told his lifelong friend and the man who would be one day be his Chief Deputy, Dennis Burton, he planned to run for sheriff in the next term.

Sonny, from Martin Creek, made the decision, and Burton was asked to be his chief deputy if he ran and won. Burton agreed instantly. “I said, yes, I would. So he said, ‘Well, I want you to go over to Salem and apply over at Salem, because they’ve got a place open over there for a patrolman for the city.’” Burton was hired, putting valuable patrol experience under his badge for the next two years. 

Sonny stated in a May 1980 Batesville Guard newspaper article during his candidacy that he believed the most significant need for the county was to establish a good working relationship between the sheriff’s department and citizens of the county, especially the younger generation. He also addressed the need to resolve a long-standing issue between the county and the City of Cave City. This and Powell’s idea of establishing an auxiliary for the county were among the platform topics on which he based his first campaign. 

The three-way race was between Powell, his boss, Sheriff John Goodwin, and Tommy Estes, who would later become the county clerk and serve Sharp County alongside Powell for decades. 

Powell came out on top, bringing 2345 votes to Estes, the other front runner’s, 1666 votes.

That fateful night in Poughkeepsie paved the road for over two decades of law enforcement for Powell and 40 plus years of law and state service for Burton. The men forged a lifelong friendship and a legacy left within Burton and the many others he mentored during his service to the county. 

“Sonny and I walked in the back door at the sheriff’s office, which was in the back of the courthouse at that time at midnight on January 1, 1981, and got sworn in by Carmack Sullivan. It was, it was me and Sonny for the next three months. We didn’t have another deputy. It was just me and him,” Burton said of the man he loved like a brother. 

Sonny, a lifelong Sharp County resident’s first words after the election that put him at the helm as sheriff 44 years ago, spoke volumes about the 11 terms and 22 years he served as sheriff. “I am just elated with the vote of confidence the people gave me. I had substantial support all over the county. I intend to work hard for the people of the county.”

Within hours of being sworn in and before he could head to the Sheriff’s school in Camden, Sheriff Powell and Burton faced a break-in at Poughkeepsie. 

Burton explained that when he went to work, he was the youngest chief deputy in the state. Stan Witt, who was working in Lawrence County, where he later became the youngest sheriff in the state before becoming a State Trooper, was the next youngest, and Mack Thompson was the youngest State Trooper in the state.  

Burton served as Powell’s Chief Deputy for 11 years before being offered a state probation officer job. He even remained housed in Powell’s office until the program expanded. Burton became emotional when discussing leaving his position to better provide for his family. Still, he explained that he and Sonny had remained close friends for the rest of his life. 

He even sang at Sonny and Jane’s wedding, and one of the requests for his funeral that Powell left was for Burton to sing the same song, Ricky Van Shelton’s “You’re Perfect Just the Way You Are, I Wouldn’t Change You if I Could.” 

He shared fond memories of the pranks the two pulled on one another through the years, including Sonny secretly entering him in a talent contest at a Sheriff’s convention.  

Many received their law enforcement roots during Powell’s administrations. Thes included long time lawman David Huffmaster; Dennis’ brother, Kevin Burton, Mike Zeiger, Rick Crook, Doug Bozier, and long-time Sheriff Dale Weaver, among others. This speaks to Sunny’s mentorship and commitment to building a strong team around him.

That many years of service wouldn’t be real without a few funny stories. Dennis told of the time an inmate had hung himself in the jail with the sheriff was in the hospital for a minor surgery. Burton and Sonny’s wife, Jane, held down the office, and Dennis was fielding the obvious media calls. Sitting in his hospital bed, Sonny’s intuition told him something was wrong and not wanting to upset him, the two handled the situation the best they could. 

When they went to visit him, Sonny continued to inquire, yet was under the influence of morphine from the surgery. Burton explained to him “Well, we’ve had a little problem, but we got it all worked out. Sheriff.” He chuckled as he said, “He just raised up in the bed and told me and Jane, ‘Both of you, you’re fired; just go to the house.”  Burton just said, “Okay, I’m gonna go to the house. He then said, ‘Wait a minute. Come here.’”

During his over two decades of service, several high-profile crimes occurred in Sharp County on his watch. Burton recalled one the first year. “We had a birthday party for Sonny at the sheriff’s office that night, and I got the call just after midnight.” The murder of Arthur Garner and his wife. The crime sent three men to prison, Ralph Bussard, John Moss and RB Smith.”Two of the men died in prison, and one remains. 

During his first year, another man known to many, also came to work for the sheriff. Freshly retired Investigator Joe Stidman moved from Arizona to Arkansas in 1980. Sonny hired him in August 1981, swearing him in as a special deputy. He worked for Sonny on and off from reserve to full-time in an investigative capacity for 24 years. 

“I finally retired from the county again, and then I went back a couple of times after that, and when Dale Weaver was elected sheriff, he wanted me to be his chief deputy, and I worked for him for two years.”  Stidman also served 21 months of Judge Harold Crawford’s term after his untimely death.  

Stidman explained he and Sonny remained close through all the years, talking on the phone regularly. “We have been close friends all this time. Sometimes, we’d argue. Sure, he could have fired me a dozen times. But, he never fired me. He’d get mad at me, and then he’d come back around, I’d come back around, and we’d still work our job.” 

He recalled working many death cases with Sonny where body decomposition smells were nearly unbearable. “We didn’t have gas mask and all that stuff. He’d bring me a cigar, and he’d have one too. We didn’t even smoke.  But, of course, we would get out of there as soon as we could.” Among his favorite memories of Sonny were fish fries, when he was campaigning for the next election.

Stidman was sure to give due credit to Mrs. Jane during his years working for Sonny and later, Dale Weaver. “I know one of the wise things he did is he tried to hire people with experience, but he also had Jane. She was our chief executive secretary. And she really took care of business and took care of us all then. We ended up calling her  ‘Mama Jane’. She would cook for the staff and jail inmates  before the county hired a cook.”

Stidman also investigated several high-profile crimes during his administration, including the Garner, Watts, Morgan and Whitlock murders, among others. 

Through the years, Sonny drew several opponents from Ernie Rose, to Bob Lashley, Bob Rikard, Boyd Estes and a few others. 

It was in 1991 that Sonny was able to get the county computers linked with the FBI. He also was responsible for getting the new jail built, and later, an extension onto the jail. He also got the Arkansas and National Crime Information Centers computers linked to the county to look up warrants and driver information as well as establishing  the Victims Notifications system, all vital communications methods still in use today. 

Sonny was also very transparent and wanted the people who put him in 11 terms to always know what was going on in his office. He maintained very good relationships with the media. 

 A new local reporter at that time, Angelia Roberts, spoke of her years with Sonny

“I was new to reporting in those days, but I was a quick study and learned really quick that the way to a good news story was having connections. It was under his leadership that I was pretty much given carte blanche and while I had an official office at Areawide Media, I spent the bulk of my time in Sharp County.  I was just one of the crew. It wasn’t uncommon for Mel to call from dispatch and let me know what Miss Jane or Miss Rae cooked for lunch and I was Sharp County bound. I constantly harassed Stan Witt and Mack Thompson with the Arkansas State Police for a news story, and I’d always find time to pester Dale Weaver and Joe Stidman.But I always left with a front-page story or two for that week’s edition. Sonny never told me no.I was at every major crime scene or drug bust or interesting arraignment that was newsworthy.One thing Sonny excelled at was letting everyone have their share of the credit. He didn’t micromanage because he had a good solid crew. It wasn’t uncommon for me to just pick up the phone and talk to an officer of someone in dispatch who gave me details without having to clear it with the sheriff.He knew that one of the key factors was staying in the public eye. Letting his officers and staff take center stage from time to time just garnered him more votes.In all our years of working together we had one knock down argument, which if I’m honest was more about my self-inflated ego than anything else. We had arrived a death scene and I was expecting to be the only reporter there, and when my competition showed up, I had a little meltdown.  It was a big Rand fit.  Sonny explained he was just trying to be fair, but I was the golden child and that was just unacceptable.  After a few choice words on my part, and him saying he didn’t care if I ever graced his office again, divine intervention in the way of Miss Jane took control of the situation. That’s when the bouquet of flowers arrived at my office.  The card read, “from Sonny.”I swallowed my pride and headed to the SO. Miss Jane was in the front office, and I thanked “her” for the flowers that Sonny didn’t send. He was not that excited to see me, but I told him Miss Jane had decided we needed to make up, and I was there to make Miss Jane happy.  The one thing he loved more than being sheriff was Miss Jane.So, we did. All of these people  were like family to me. I could write a book on just my days in Sharp County and all those who worked there. Miss Jane and Miss Rae kept me fed, the officers let me tag along on all kinds of interesting rides, we hung out of helicopters, burned large amounts of marijuana and poured out tractor-trailer loads of beer. I was blessed to work closely with law enforcement from Izard, Fulton and Independence counties.But Sonny raised me. He gave me free reign to work with so many people from local, state, and federal agencies that served me well in 30 years of reporting. And for that, I will always love him.”

Powell’s retirement party on Dec. 7, 2002 was filled with the many people from all walks of life who had somehow shared his lengthy 22 year career. 

His early years involved numerous marijuana eradication  and confiscations. In his later years, methamphetamine labs became more prevalent as the opioid crisis began that is still ongoing today. 

It was during the party, that he admitted he was green when he first took office, but he grew with those he worked with over the years. 

Retired Arkansas State Police Sgt. Mack Thompson, who also worked many years with Sonny said, “I was a young 24 year old Trooper when Sonny took Office in 1981. As a young trooper and a new sheriff we butted heads a couple of times but then sat down and got together. From then on we worked great together for years.  Sonny knew the folks in the county and was good at getting information about cases.  He was the longest serving sheriff in county history. But I have to say that the partnership he had with his wife, Jane, made it all work. Not only did she run the office,  but she was a great cook who a lot of folks who ate there  on circuit court days can attest. I’ll miss him.”

Sonny was never beaten in a sheriff’s race, and when he retired, Dale Weaver took office. Weaver also had many fond memories of his years working with Sonny. “I worked in law enforcement 12 years before going to work for Sheriff Powell. I knew he had a reputation of being meticulous concerning the work of the Sheriff’s office. I found he had a great desire to serve the citizens of Sharp County in an honest and professional manner and expected his department to do the same.  I spent most of my time with his department as an investigator. Sheriff Powell gave me the support to do my job and always stayed apprised of how the cases were going. If I had a concern in reference to my job, I could always work with Sheriff Powell for a resolution.  Sheriff Powell was respected by fellow law enforcement throughout the state, and while he served as president of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association, he worked tirelessly on issues affecting law enforcement and the citizens of Sharp County. I always respected Sheriff Powell and valued his friendship. 

Burton said, “Sonny always said you have to surround yourself with good people. If you surround yourself with good people, you can stay as long as you want. And that’s what he done. That’s why he stayed 22 years and honest to God, he could have stayed another 22.”

Burton said there has never been a person in his life that he has ever been closer to. 

The legacy left in Sharp County law enforcement from Sonny’s service is something that will live on in the hearts and minds of all who knew him and all who began their careers due to his mentorship and leadership style. This was evidenced with the many past and present sheriffs and law enforcement officers both current and retired who attended his funeral services on Sat. Jan. 11. 

He was a member and past president of the Arkansas Sheriffs Boys and Girls Ranch, member and Worshipful Master of the Wilson Masonic Lodge #432 of Hardy, Arkansas, member and past president of the Cherokee Village Kiwanis, and past president of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association. 

He will be sorely missed.