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The Town of Kenbridge announced a couple personnel decisions following Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting.

Ben Barnes, who grew up right outside Kenbridge and attended Kenston Forest School had the interim taken off his title as the council named him the police chief for the town. Barnes joined the Kenbridge police force in 2017 and had been serving as interim police chief since August of this year.

In an earlier story profiling Barnes, the graduate of Southside Virginia Community College and Central Virginia Justice Academy explained why he decided to go into law enforcement as a career.

“I believe in myself and my ability to help the community, and that’s why I really did it,” Barnes said. “Growing up here, I was quickly able to trust the citizens and they trust me. Over the past three years now, that’s grown a lot, and I’ve met a lot of people I didn’t even know lived in town – a lot of good people.”

In another personnel move, the town announced the Rebecca Puleo had accepted a full-time position as an administrative assistant for the town.

“Becca has worked part time for us and has gained much knowledge in her tasks and we look forward to her serving the town,” the email from the town said.