When Cowley County Sheriff Bob Odell walks out of the sheriff’s office Monday, he will have completed 42 years with the department and over 23 years as sheriff.
That makes him the longest serving employee in the department and the longest serving sheriff in Cowley County history.
Law enforcement officers from across the state gathered in Cowley County Saturday night to share some memories of the Kansas Sheriff of the Year and wish Odell happy retirement.
Not a bad send-off for a guy who wanted to be a cowboy or the Lone Ranger when he grew up. It wasn’t long after then-sheriff Harold Mueller hired him as a deputy in 1966 that Odell knew for sure that law enforcement would be his life’ s work.
"I liked the thought of helping the citizens and working with people," he said.
Odell remembers the first fatality accident he worked. It involved a young mother and small daughter east of Arkansas City on U.S. 166.
"First, you do all you can for the victims and then comfort the families," he said. "It does not get easy but you have to harden yourself and keep going."
Appointed undersherff in 1974 and sheriff in 1985 when then-sheriff Fred Satterthwaite retired, Odell was elected and re-elected by significant margins for five consecutive additional terms. He graduated from the Federal Bureau of Information National Academy and has been active in FBINA activities since then.
The sheriff’s office consisted of the sheriff, undersheriff, three deputies, one secretary, three jailers and two part-time jailers when Odell joined the department in 1966.
In 1985, when Odell became sheriff, he had an undersheriff, eight deputies, one secretary, five jailers and two part-time jailers.
Newly elected sheriff Don Read has undersheriff Bill Mueller, the son of the sheriff who hired Odell, 17 deputies, two secretaries, one jail administrator, and 20 jailers.
The budget has also risen from $50,000 in 1966 to $2 million today, according to public information available from the county.
In 2000, Odell was appointed by the governor to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officer’s Standards and Training and continues to serve as a member of that commission. He has also served on and been chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Commission.
Odell served as host for five Russian officers at the Kansas Law Enforcement Center in Hutchinson. He was later selected as one of eight American officers to spend three weeks in Russia with his wife and four others.
Odell has worked tirelessly to win commission and community approval to replace the old, outdated and undersized sheriff’s office and jail with a new and modern facility.
"When I first took over we had approximately 30 inmates of our own and were holding 30 inmates for Sedgwick County," he said. "One and one-half years later, we had so many of our own inmates, we had to quit holding other jurisdiction’s inmates.
"Today, we have 123 inmates in custody, and they are all ours," Odell said. ‘We have 140 beds today and will have 220 sometime in the next few weeks."
Law enforcement has become more professional since Odell started 42 years ago. Officers are better trained and quipped for the job.
But, are we too soft on criminals?
"Yes, we are, and the reason is we are looking for ways to put the criminals back on the street because of the cost of keeping them in custody," Odell said. "We need to spend the money for rehabilitation or incarceration to better protect our citizens from recurring criminal activity."
Odell has three requests – he’d like to be remembered as compassionate, fair and honest.
That doesn’t seem much to ask in exchange for 43 years of law enforcement service.
