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Taking care of the outdoors
Source:
Butler Eagle
Written by:
John Enrietto
Published:
June 20, 2009
ZELIENOPLE — Retired from his duties as a deputy wildlife conservation officer 12 years ago, Oran Deemer has not been forgotten.
Nor has he stopped working.
Deemer, 82, of Zelienople, was one of six living individuals honored recently by the Northwest Region of the Pennsylvania Game Commission for 40 years of volunteer service.
All deputy WCO's are volunteer positions.
"I got started in 1958," Deemer said. "I grew up on a farm, so I guess that's where I got my love for the outdoors."
He's never lost it. Deemer is being honored July 8 in Harrisburg for 50 years of instructing a hunter education course.
In a previous evaluation of Deputy WCO service, it was determined that the deputies contribute nearly 160,000 hours annually to the Game Commission. To replace such service with fulltime officers and associated vehicles and equipment would cost nearly $6 million annually.
The deputy WCO program began in 1903, only eight years after the creation of the Game Commission.
"Deputies are often well-rooted and long-term members of the local communities in which they live and work, and frequently serve as the public's first point of contact with the Game Commission because of this relationship," Keith Harbaugh, Game Commission Northwest Region Director, said in a released statement.
Deemer served the Zelienople area and points north during his years as a volunteer.
"The hours vary from week to week," Deemer said. "One week I might have worked 40 hours, the next week maybe eight.
"There were times I'd get off night patrol just in time to change clothes and go to my regular job."
Deputy WCO's receive some compensation for their expenses, but still pay out more than they receive.
"We had to buy our own uniforms 20 years ago," Deemer said. "Now they get uniforms issued to them.
"Still, there's the cost of a two-way radio and your sidearm, and you're using your own vehicle and gas when you're out on patrol."
Deputy WCO's need to know game commission laws as well as fulltime Wildlife Conservation Officers because at times they are called upon to enforce them.
Just becoming a deputy WCO is quite a process. Applicants must accrue 20 hours of ride-along time with a WCO prior to taking an entrance exam, attain a minimum score of 70 percent on that exam, then attain a minimum score of 80 percent on a certification exam.
Basic training is conducted in Harrisburg and requires 75 hours over the course of a week. Applicants must pass medical, hearing, physical, strength and agility tests as well.
First-year deputies spend a minimum of $850 for equipment.
"You don't get paid for it, so people always asked me why I did it," Deemer said of being a deputy WCO. "Why do people become volunteer firemen? You do it because you believe in it."
PA Game Commission publicist Regis Senko said most applicants used to be in their early 20's years ago.
"Now most of the applicants are in their 40's," Senko said. "People want to be settled down and established in their lives before taking on this type of commitment."
Deputy WCO duties include enforcing game commission laws and speaking before civic groups, and handling nuisance wildlife complaints such as road kill.
"Basically, we exist to regulate and promote hunting, fishing and trapping," Deemer said.
"The initial and follow-up training is extensive," Senko said. "Not everybody can make that commitment or have the flexibility to do so.
"Believe me, we appreciate those who do. Our organization couldn't run effectively without them."
There are 14 deputy WCO's in Butler County, most in the Northwest Region.
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