Stoneage Ramblings

By John R. Stone

Like many others, I took time Saturday to attend services for Pope County Deputy Joshua Owen at Minnewaska Area High school.

It was a solemn service and it became pretty clear to me, as a person who had never spent any time personally with Deputy Owen, that he was loved and respected by those with whom he served.

I was also impressed by the Law Enforcement Memorial Association and it’s efficient and effective organization of everything from getting people in and out of the school to such things as parking law enforcement vehicles in a way they could leave most efficiently.

Entering the school I was impressed with the quietness. The gym seats around 2,000 people and as those people moved in the only sound you heard was the occasional bumping of a chair. There was no chatter or rumble of a lot of whispering, just silence.

I figure there must have been over 1,000 police officers attending the service. There were close to that many in the gym and other school rooms like the auditorium were used as well. Pope County had a huge delegation, county commissioners, city officials, city law enforcement officials, fire department members, Glacial Ridge Hospital System EMTs and others.

It was probably the largest gathering of law enforcement personnel in Pope County ever.

It showed a person how many people respected and loved Deputy Owen. I wish I’d had the opportunity to get to know him. It was sure clear that those who did know him were experiencing a major loss.

            -0-

There a few people a person meets in a lifetime who are just natural leaders. They quickly earn your respect. You know they have your back. If they said let’s do this, or let’s do this this way, you go along with them because you know it will work out. They make you a better person. That’s what I learned Saturday, Josh Owen was one of those leaders who brings out the best in others.

          -0-

One of the first things I noticed when I got to the school was the parking lot full of law enforcement vehicles. They were in long lines running east to west versus the normal north south arrangement. I counted 16 rows of nothing but police cruisers and two more rows that were a mixture of cruisers and other emergency vehicles. There were also vehicles on the exit road to Highway 28-29 from the school plus vehicles in other lots to the west and behind the school. I figured just in front of the school there were at least 800 vehicles!

When we left all those vehicles had to leave first. Our bus back to parking in Glenwood followed all those cars; it was a solid line from the school exit to downtown Glenwood.

Ford Explorers are typical squad cars and they are 198.8 inches long which is a little less than 17 feet. Of course some vehicles were pickups that are longer. Just to be conservative, 800 vehicles 17 feet long, bumper to bumper, is 2.6 miles. If you add just one car length between them it becomes twice as long. The distance from the MAHS exit road on Highway 28-29 to the stop light at Franklin and Minnesota is 4.6 miles.

While all those vehicles exited the school lot, traffic was largely stopped, especially for eastbound traffic. Even so it was bumper to bumper to Glenwood. It was impressive to ride in the bus and see people along the intersections with Highway 28-29 and in downtown Glenwood with their signs of respect.

As interesting as that was I would have preferred it had not been necessary. Chief Deputy Nathan Brecht told us Saturday, “Don’t focus on the darkness, keep looking for the good.” He’s right, of course, but it’s hard to see right now.