Collins retiring after 30 years with Barry County Sheriff’s Office
Chief Deputy
Major Leonard Collins
August 21, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Major Leonard Collins began his career as deputy for the Barry County Sheriff’s Department in 1995 after serving eight years with the Cassville Police Department. Since, he rose through the ranks to become Chief Deputy. On August 31, Collins is hanging up his badge and officially retiring from the sheriff’s department.
Collins received his peace officer training from the Missouri Southern State University Police Academy. An Oklahoma resident at the time, Collins spent five years working as an auxiliary police officer in Tulsa. During this time, Collins worked various other jobs before moving to Cassville.
“I had some prior experience with the Tulsa Auxiliary Police down in Oklahoma for about five years. After that, I got hooked on it,” said Collins. “I worked as a salesman for a while. Then, I worked driving charter buses for a little over eight years before moving here.”
After moving to Cassville in the 80’s, Collins soon had a destined meeting with a member of the Cassville Police Department that would change the course of his life dramatically.
“When I moved up here, I met Corporal Harris, who was working for Cassville PD at the time. He learned of my prior experience and said they needed some officers, so he talked to Lonnie McCollough, who was chief at the time, and they hired me part-time,” said Collins.
Collins began working part-time for the department in 1987, but it wasn’t long before he realized that the department needed him more than they had initially said.
“I was working 40-plus hours a week on a part-time basis and decided to talk to Lonnie and tell him that if I was gonna be working 40 hours a week, I might as well be getting vacation time out of it,” reminisced Collins.
In 1995, Collins joined the ranks of the Barry County Sheriff’s Department under sheriff Ralph Hendrix. He would go on to serve under three different sheriffs in his 24 years with the department.
Collins said in that time, he feels like he’s made a difference in the lives of the people of Barry County; so much so that some of the people he was in charge of pulling over have since sought him out to tell them how he changed their lives.
“I know that I have helped some people,” explained Collins. “There have been a few teenagers that have come to me and told me that I probably saved their lives by keeping them from drinking their beer. It changed their life to some extent for the better. That’s a great feeling: to help someone do that. I feel like I have made a difference in some people’s lives.”
While he is ready to slow down and have some time to himself, Collins said that there were more than a few aspects of the job that he’ll miss in his downtime.
“I’ll miss most of the people I work with. Also, the people I work for, the citizens,” he explained. “I’ll miss the excitement of some of the things that I did in the past. You get that excitement, that adrenaline rush when certain things are on the downhill slope and you’re trying to help somebody, or you’re trying to make an arrest for some violent crime that has been committed. That adrenaline rush will really get you high.”
Collins plans to use this time in his life to take it easy with no distinct plan for his retirement.
“You never know what you’re going to do once you get to do whatever you want to do. I plan on playing it by ear,” he said. “I haven’t got any actual plans really. There’s a lot of work to do around the house that I’ve been neglecting over the years. Some painting and stuff needs to be done.”
Collins also plans to visit and reconnect with family, especially his two sons who have moved away from Missouri.
“I’ve got a son who lives in Oklahoma that’s invited me out, and I may take him up on that and travel with him a bit. He does handicapped golf tours. He’s handicapped after he lost a leg in a car accident. So, he travels those tours playing golf,” Collins stated. “I’ve also got a son that lives out in Florida, and I may try and take a trip out there to visit with him and his family.”
While Collins’ time as Chief Deputy is coming to a close, the department has one final assignment before he goes. On Wednesday, August 28, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the department will host a retirement party for Collins in the commissioner’s room of the historic Barry County Courthouse in Cassville. Cake and punch refreshments will be served, and both the public and members of the local police force are welcome at the event.
Collins’ official retirement will begin on Saturday, August 31, after over 30 years of dedicated service to the men, women and children of Barry County.
Vinnie Roberts
Major Leonard Collins began his career as deputy for the Barry County Sheriff’s Department in 1995 after serving eight years with the Cassville Police Department. Since, he rose through the ranks to become Chief Deputy. On August 31, Collins is hanging up his badge and officially retiring from the sheriff’s department.
Collins received his peace officer training from the Missouri Southern State University Police Academy. An Oklahoma resident at the time, Collins spent five years working as an auxiliary police officer in Tulsa. During this time, Collins worked various other jobs before moving to Cassville.
“I had some prior experience with the Tulsa Auxiliary Police down in Oklahoma for about five years. After that, I got hooked on it,” said Collins. “I worked as a salesman for a while. Then, I worked driving charter buses for a little over eight years before moving here.”
After moving to Cassville in the 80’s, Collins soon had a destined meeting with a member of the Cassville Police Department that would change the course of his life dramatically.
“When I moved up here, I met Corporal Harris, who was working for Cassville PD at the time. He learned of my prior experience and said they needed some officers, so he talked to Lonnie McCollough, who was chief at the time, and they hired me part-time,” said Collins.
Collins began working part-time for the department in 1987, but it wasn’t long before he realized that the department needed him more than they had initially said.
“I was working 40-plus hours a week on a part-time basis and decided to talk to Lonnie and tell him that if I was gonna be working 40 hours a week, I might as well be getting vacation time out of it,” reminisced Collins.
In 1995, Collins joined the ranks of the Barry County Sheriff’s Department under sheriff Ralph Hendrix. He would go on to serve under three different sheriffs in his 24 years with the department.
Collins said in that time, he feels like he’s made a difference in the lives of the people of Barry County; so much so that some of the people he was in charge of pulling over have since sought him out to tell them how he changed their lives.
“I know that I have helped some people,” explained Collins. “There have been a few teenagers that have come to me and told me that I probably saved their lives by keeping them from drinking their beer. It changed their life to some extent for the better. That’s a great feeling: to help someone do that. I feel like I have made a difference in some people’s lives.”
While he is ready to slow down and have some time to himself, Collins said that there were more than a few aspects of the job that he’ll miss in his downtime.
“I’ll miss most of the people I work with. Also, the people I work for, the citizens,” he explained. “I’ll miss the excitement of some of the things that I did in the past. You get that excitement, that adrenaline rush when certain things are on the downhill slope and you’re trying to help somebody, or you’re trying to make an arrest for some violent crime that has been committed. That adrenaline rush will really get you high.”
Collins plans to use this time in his life to take it easy with no distinct plan for his retirement.
“You never know what you’re going to do once you get to do whatever you want to do. I plan on playing it by ear,” he said. “I haven’t got any actual plans really. There’s a lot of work to do around the house that I’ve been neglecting over the years. Some painting and stuff needs to be done.”
Collins also plans to visit and reconnect with family, especially his two sons who have moved away from Missouri.
“I’ve got a son who lives in Oklahoma that’s invited me out, and I may take him up on that and travel with him a bit. He does handicapped golf tours. He’s handicapped after he lost a leg in a car accident. So, he travels those tours playing golf,” Collins stated. “I’ve also got a son that lives out in Florida, and I may try and take a trip out there to visit with him and his family.”
While Collins’ time as Chief Deputy is coming to a close, the department has one final assignment before he goes. On Wednesday, August 28, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the department will host a retirement party for Collins in the commissioner’s room of the historic Barry County Courthouse in Cassville. Cake and punch refreshments will be served, and both the public and members of the local police force are welcome at the event.
Collins’ official retirement will begin on Saturday, August 31, after over 30 years of dedicated service to the men, women and children of Barry County.
