New Ripley County sheriff takes office

DONIPHAN — Ripley County Sheriff Rad Talburt officially took over his new duties Jan. 1.

Talburt is no stranger to Ripley County, having invested much of his life in the community as both a longtime resident and also formerly as the area’s water patrolman. His career with the Missouri State Water Patrol spanned 29 years.

He retired from the MSWP in 2009, as a colonel. But, at that time he didn’t retire from law enforcement altogether.

Talburt went on to spend four years in Springfield at the federal courthouse, guarding federal judges.

He and his wife, Joanne, moved back home to Doniphan in 2015, and for the next two years he taught criminal justice classes  at the Current River Career Center.

Talburt took off his badge and holstered his pistol for good (or so he thought) in 2017.

“Joanne and I have been enjoying retirement and family time since 2017,” said Talburt.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Talburt said he felt a call to return to public service, this time after being approached by “numerous citizens” who requested that he run for sheriff and “make some changes in the county.”

He said, “Many people came to me complaining that calls were not being answered and reports were not being made by the sheriff’s department.”

Drug and safety issues were “big concerns” for those who appealed to him for help, said Talburt.

As a citizen himself, Talburt said he shared those same concerns.

“After much prayer, discussion and consideration, I felt God was calling me to come out of retirement and go back in public service for the citizens of Ripley County,” he said.

Admittedly, he said, “Drugs and related thefts will be a huge challenge in Ripley County, but with the officers I have in place, our united goal is to start combating the situation. We will also be bringing in outside agencies to help.”

For more than three decades in law enforcement Talburt said he built relationships and rapport with the Missouri legislature and various other government and support agencies, connections that will serve him well as sheriff.

“I intend to rebuild relationships with other departments such as the Doniphan Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Division of Family Services, and SEMO Drug Task Force, etc., which is beneficial in working to resolve crime.

“My staff and I will communicate with and work together with our county judges and prosecutor to hold criminals accountable,” said Talburt.

His department will do its part by “presenting them with good, solid evidence,” he said.

Talburt said he plans to promote tip lines so that citizens can alert officers to problems.

Also, he said, “There were 83 school shootings in 2024. We want to concentrate more funding toward patrol of our schools to keep our teachers and children safe.”

As sheriff-elect, he began laying the groundwork for safer schools soon after the election, working with Gatewood R-III to install a school resource officer in that district. He hopes to also get an SRO at Naylor R-II and Lone Star R-IV.

Since November, Talburt has been busy searching for grants to fund more manpower and equipment, interviewing and hiring deputies, updating his own training, and meeting with the Ripley County Commission to communicate his plans and departmental needs, with a view toward establishing a budget strategy.

Talburt will draw on his 33 years of law enforcement experience, and said he feels well equipped to meet the challenges ahead.

As a MSWP colonel Talburt’s authority was over 97 officers and 17 support staff.

By comparison, as sheriff his crew will include eight deputies: Dave Sutton, John Miller, Earl Wheetley, Rich Medley, Jacob Withrow, Joseph Smith, Clayton Hill and Travis Pulliam; and two office support staff, Sara Davis and Tasha Miller.

“My deputies know that this is not my department, but our department, and we will all work together as a team.

“Each has taken on ownership of the department, to make it better, one the citizens of Ripley County can be proud of,” he said.

Assisting Talburt will be Chief Deputy Sutton, a retired Poplar Bluff Police Department Captain with 31 years of law enforcement experience, specializing in criminal investigations.

“Ripley County is very fortunate to have Chief Deputy Sutton on our team,” said Talburt.

Two veteran Ripley County officers will stay on.

Wheetley has 21 years in, and Medley has had 13 years as an active law enforcement officer, combined with 26 years as a first responder for the fire department and ambulance service, and seven years as a law enforcement instructor.

Withrow, a former Ripley County deputy, has left the Poplar Bluff Police department to return to his home town.

He will serve as field training officer.

“I am very happy and honored to have Withrow back in Ripley County serving our citizens,” said Talburt.

Miller, a Doniphan High School graduate and former Oregon County law enforcement officer with 11 years of experience, is an school resource officer and also a patrol officer.

To round out our law enforcement team, the department has three new officers who have recently graduated from sheriff’s academies: Smith, Hill and Pulliam, whose professionalism and willingness to serve, Talburt said, won him over.

Talburt said, “I am very proud of the team we have assembled and I feel I can assure the citizens of Ripley County that policies will be followed and thorough investigations will be conducted by these deputies.”

Talburt vowed, “My officers will be held accountable for answering calls, preparing timely reports and following up with investigations. They will also be expected to maintain serviceable and presentable vehicles.

“My chief deputy and I will be a constant presence to supervise, oversee and instruct the deputies on all daily contacts and situations, and we will oversee and approve all overtime,” said Talburt.

Budgeting is known to be a challenging part of being a sheriff and that is an area in which Talburt said he will observe diligent oversight.

“As colonel of the MSWP, I handled a multi-million dollar budget for our department and was required to stay within it,” said Talburt.

He added, “The amount of money feasible to run a sheriff’s department of this size is not possible for a third class county that can only produce a minimal amount of money. I will have to prioritize spending to areas of most importance.”

Talburt said his two spending priorities will  be manpower and equipment, but the search for grant dollars will continue.

“We plan to apply for grants for officers’ body cameras, car cameras and MDC docking stations for our patrol vehicles, for both protection and transparency of our officers and to allow them to be out of the office and visible to the motoring public,” he said.

In addition to managing the sheriff’s department, he will oversee operations at the new Ripley County Detention Center, although Dennis Cox will continue as administrator.

Ultimately, Talburt said, “Our staff hopes to rebuild trust and respect of the citizens of Ripley County.”