Ohio State Highway Patrol celebrates 90th year
Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Jeremy Border, left, and Trooper Shane Tysinger with Bijou the police dog were at the open house to talk about their role in OSHP Criminal Interdiction. They’re called in for vehicle searches that may involve stolen cars, drugs, guns, money and human trafficking. They cover District 7, from Licking County to West Virginia on I-70 and from Stark County to West Virginia on I-77. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
Special Response Team Trooper Josh Bumgardner, left, discusses SWAT equipment with Dennis Gomsi, Vienna. Gomsi retired as a sergeant from the Marietta Post in 1996 when, he said, “we didn’t have things like this.” Bumgardner, stationed in Columbus, is one of 26 SRT Troopers who cover the state of Ohio. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
Lt. Matt Boyd, left, talks to former Marietta Post dispatcher Brenda Cobb and Auxiliary OSHP Maj. Dave Waterman. Boyd is supervisor of the commanders of six OSHP posts and is stationed in Cambridge. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
Lt. Chris Chesar, Marietta Post Commander, talks with visitor Bill Stacy of Stacy Family Farms LLC, the patrol’s neighbor on Ohio 7 in Reno. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Jeremy Border, left, and Trooper Shane Tysinger with Bijou the police dog were at the open house to talk about their role in OSHP Criminal Interdiction. They’re called in for vehicle searches that may involve stolen cars, drugs, guns, money and human trafficking. They cover District 7, from Licking County to West Virginia on I-70 and from Stark County to West Virginia on I-77. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
Special Response Team Trooper Josh Bumgardner, left, discusses SWAT equipment with Dennis Gomsi, Vienna. Gomsi retired as a sergeant from the Marietta Post in 1996 when, he said, “we didn’t have things like this.” Bumgardner, stationed in Columbus, is one of 26 SRT Troopers who cover the state of Ohio. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
Lt. Matt Boyd, left, talks to former Marietta Post dispatcher Brenda Cobb and Auxiliary OSHP Maj. Dave Waterman. Boyd is supervisor of the commanders of six OSHP posts and is stationed in Cambridge. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
Lt. Chris Chesar, Marietta Post Commander, talks with visitor Bill Stacy of Stacy Family Farms LLC, the patrol’s neighbor on Ohio 7 in Reno. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)
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There were a lot of smiles and handshakes at the Marietta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol Tuesday as the post helped to celebrate the patrol's 90th anniversary with an open house for the community.
The guests could tour the post, talk with troopers and professional staff and visit firsthand with Special Response Team and Criminal Interdiction specialists who have area and statewide responsibilities.
There were family reunion aspects to more than a few of the conversations. Several visitors had worked at the Marietta Post and were either retired or serving in OSHP positions elsewhere.
And in case there were any civilians who gave a thought to talking to the on-site recruiter about careers in the Patrol, there were three life-sized cardboard figures dressed in Patrol outfits and propped on the front porch. A person could step behind one of the figures, poke their face through the cutout area above the uniform, and see if it was a look they'd like to keep.
A press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol says the law enforcement agency began Nov. 15, 1933, when the first 60 patrolmen earned their commissions following training at Camp Perry and began patrolling Ohio's roads.