Trailers, people, politics etc………
By the time most of you read this the election will be over and I shudder to think what will happen. Since I am not allowed to show support to any political candidate in connection with my job I will not say who I voted for but I will say it was with everyone I know in Cimarron County. I guess we will soon see……………..
October marked three years since I moved here so I thought I would reflect a little. One thing I like about Cimarron County, Boise City and the other communities here is simply the people. Cimarron County needed a “road trooper” who wanted to be here. I suppose I needed a small community that wanted a trooper like me as well. Those two things were a big motivation for me to move over 500 miles from the part of Oklahoma I always called home until three years ago. I have never regretted moving here and now more than ever I hope to work and live here as Cimarron County’s “road trooper” until I can retire.
I have heard a lot of things said about Cimarron County. Most is always good but even locals, especially young ones who are natives sometimes complain that there isn’t much to do here. That is very true I suppose depending on what you feel you need to do. Most people work hard all day and many every day then go home, take care of the kids, their yard or whatever community activities they are active in. In the case of many all the above.
I grew up in the community of Nashoba, Oklahoma which is simply a place. Not a town. We drove about 13 miles to Clayton, Oklahoma to get groceries etc. and I attended school there K-12. Clayton is about half the size of Boise City. It was an hour to Wal-Mart most of my life so moving here was no culture shock in that regard. My home area is not a friendly place to local law enforcement and I must say I would not want to ever work there as a trooper again. Going home to work where you grew up is always tough. I was the first trooper to ever live in Nashoba however. That was tougher than I ever imagined. I still have many dear family and friends there and can visit without having to do so under cover of nightfall but I am proud to simply say Boise City and Cimarron County are home now. Thanks to everyone who has made me feel that way. You can not have my job and be universally loved if you do it as we are expected to. Something I appreciate very much is even though I can have differences of opinion with some, the people I know here with only a handful of exceptions are respectful with their arguments and critisisms. Even the worst people here are not all that bad…………
As most of you can imagine I stop people every day on US 287 from just about everywhere. I manage to talk to many of them with a great number being from either metro Denver or metro Dallas. Some of them ask why I am here or say something like “Man, there is nothing here”!!! Well, Starbucks may not be just around the corner or a mall a few blocks away but I like to tell them that simply this is the most peaceful place I ever lived. It truly is. We have an occasional crime but if anyone can tell me of a more peaceful place I’d like to visit there. To sum all this up I will say that until I moved here to Cimarron County I seldom knew what it was like to leave on vacation or for a few days training and be able to really enjoy myself for fear of coming back to a burglarized home. I had neighbors who always asked me to keep an eye on their home when they were gone but still sometimes just came home early because they worried about their place. Most who live in Cimarron County have no idea what that kind of worry feels like. Please remember that if you sometimes feel like you have nothing to do. The peace, quiet and peace of mind is worth a lot…………
I hope someday to write and have a book published about my career and life experiences in general but when I think of the last three years since I came here in October, 2005 there have actually been a few things memorable happen. There have been a few “high-speed chases”, countless interesting “traffic contacts” and a few interesting arrests. I also saw the Beaver River run and the worst blizzard in 50 years. During that time I saw the members of this community who truly are the pillars who hold it up. They step forward in a crisis and that is wonderful to know they are there and who they are. You also see who doesn’t step up and it is good to know that also. I’ll take the challenges and excitement when it comes but it is OK when they don’t too. Patrolling the remote areas of Cimarron County is very enjoyable to me. One of our former OHP dispatchers in Guymon told me she always liked Cimarron County because of the “Old West feel”. I could not agree more. Perhaps growing up watching “Gunsmoke” had someting to do with that…….
I knew last weeks column about trailers would bring a few questions and comments my way in regards to trailers and their equipment. O.S. 47-12-405.1 A states the only legal exception to the safety/stay chain requirement of a pulled trailer is more clearly a semitrailer drawn by a truck-tractor type. ”Little fifth-wheels” such as in a one-ton pickup pulling a fifth-wheel type trailer are not considered semis. As I stated last week I don’t see a big push coming to aggressively enforce that statute but I mention it because it is the law and a safety issue. I simply hope some who read this will comply with the law because it is the right thing to do.
As for the water tanks being pulled without lights this MUST be fixed. It is not an unreasonable request. They also need mud-flaps and/or fenders. The time has come that enforcement shall start on that one. If I can put lights on my utility trailer anyone can. Not that big a job…….
As for brakes on water tanks over 3,000 lbs I know that is a tough one but at least SLOW DOWN when pulling them. Especially in town…….
Many thanks to the kind people in this community who sometimes respectfully disagree or question me on issues from this column. I truly appreciate it……
Trooper Duane Johnson #280
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
