Ranger now patrolling Madison County parks

Johnny Jines is a retired 30-year retired officer at the Jackson Police Department.

He has a new assignment now, and that is Madison County Park Ranger.

The park ranger program for the County is a new initiative from Parks and Recreation Director Matthew Martin, who took office last fall.

“This is something I did at my previous job in which we had two rangers who were able to be at different parks to ensure safety and things are going well at the parks,” Martin said. “Not that our parks are unsafe, but it’s always good to see someone there overseeing the area and ensuring that if anything comes up that they can take care of it.”

Martin said Jines was the ideal candidate for the position when it was posted because he wanted someone with experience in law enforcement and dealing with people, and also someone who knows the local area.

“This is something that I’ve enjoyed doing so far,” Jines said after having begun work about a month ago. “I’m working with the rest of the parks and recreation department, and I’m working with the sheriff’s office, and we’re working together well.”

There are 10 parks and a recreation center that Madison County takes care of, every park in the area that’s not inside Jackson city limits, and Jines is learning about the traffic patterns at each one and when are the peak times he needs to be visible at those places.

Also since Jines began working as a ranger, his responsibility of being visible at the parks has become easier.

That’s because the department was able to secure an older car from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office to use as the Jines’ patrol vehicle.

It’s a 2015 Ford Taurus with about 180,000 miles on it that Martin said he’s glad to take care of if it means Jines has a patrol vehicle.

“They took care of it because it doesn’t look like it’s got that many miles on it,” said Martin, who also had a park ranger logo posted on both sides of the car.

Sheriff Julian Wiser, who worked with Jines at JPD before they both retired to work for the County, said he’s glad to have a familiar face in this strategic position with the parks and recreation department.

“I know Capt. Jines well and know he will do a good job working with our department,” Wiser said. “He’s respectable and hard-working and is good at handling anything that might come up, so I’m glad to see him come join us and help us.”

Martin said he hopes to be able to have two park rangers next year.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news