New jail administrator takes over in Saline

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Retired state trooper Don Birdsong will now lead the Saline County Jail. Birdsong brings years of experience in crisis negotiation.

The jail has been in the news recently for various complaints, including assaults and abuse. But Birdsong and the sheriff say improvements are on the way.

"We had some bumps in the road, you betcha we have. But we corrected them as soon as they happened. It's like you have a flat tire, we don't run it on the wheel. We fix it," said Saline County Sheriff Bruce Pennington.

The Sheriff says the jail passed a recent inspection with good remarks and he hopes new leadership will continue a positive trend.

"I want everyone in Saline County to know, if they have someone in the jail, we are going to treat them like they were my brother. But we are not going to take disrespect," said new jail administrator Lt. Don Birdsong.

The former jail administrator retired earlier this year.