By Chief Officer Dennis Welch
If you’re already following our Park Police Facebook page, you’ll see that we enjoy sharing information about our parks, pictures of wildlife, programs and more. We try to keep the topics light and enjoyable. But I feel the need to comment on the issue at hand – COVID-19.
I’m reaching out to you, our visitors, to ask for your assistance. To keep our parks open during this pandemic, we’re going to need to work together. How can you help? First, continue to practice physical distancing from those outside your household. Keep in mind the number one rule that we’ve all seen – stay six feet apart! In order to properly practice physical distancing, please limit the number of people in your group. We have seen larger groups of more than ten people meeting at our parks. We all miss family, friends and social interaction but during this time we need to follow the social distancing guidelines. The decision to close our restrooms, shelters, playgrounds, etc. was based upon public health concerns. Please respect these closures and do not enter areas like shelters or playgrounds that are closed. Please be respectful of others using the trails and do not stop to socialize on the trails. Finally, as always, please continue to follow our park rules, available on our website.
Just like other first responders, our park officers are still patrolling. This allows our parks to stay open and our visitors to have places to recreate. When there are violations, our officers must still deal with those situations. As the Chief Officer, my goal is to keep our officers safe, healthy and protected during this time. Numerous public interactions for our officers is a concern for me. When our visitors follow park rules, public interaction for our officers is reduced; helping us accomplish this goal!
Currently, outdoor recreation is a positive activity for those following Ohio’s “stay-at-home” order. Nature can provide us with so much in the way of recharging mentally and physically. A hike around the trail at Char-Mar Ridge, bird watching at Deer Haven, seeing the deer on the primitive trail at Shale Hollow; these things feel good to the soul after days of being indoors. But the concern is, if those using parks do not follow physical distancing guidelines, we may see our facilities and others across the state be closed to the public. Again, remember the number one rule and stay at least six feet apart.
With your help, hopefully we will continue to keep our parks and trails open!
