Thursday, February 26, 2009
Imagine getting called at six in the morning to help pull someone out of a toilet.
David Rhoades, park manager at Clinton Lake, had to do just that. A man had fallen into the septic tank of one of the park’s bathroom facilities. Rhoades and the fire department rescued the man, who had been trapped for several hours.
Only you can stop forest fires: Or, if you need some help, you can call up Clinton Lake park ranger David Rhoades.
Clinton Lake gets two million visitors a year, and Rhoades, with two other full-time park rangers, acts as an “adult babysitter.” Most of the time, people are civil, Rhoades says, but drunk people can be difficult to deal with and often endanger themselves. Once, a drunk man dove into six inches of water at the beach and broke his neck, he says.
Rhoades’ work is not just with people; he helps with the upkeep of Clinton Lake’s natural resources. Rhoades updates weather readings for the National Weather Service, conducts controlled grass burnings and checks on the three bald eagles’ nests at the lake with the other rangers.
As the park manager, Rhoades works mainly at his computer and manages the other rangers. Because the federal government owns Clinton Lake, Rhoades must make sure all regulations are met.
“There’s lots of paperwork involved with spending the government’s money,” Rhoades says.
Rhoades says that a modern park ranger must be a Jack of all trades because of the influx of technology. Rangers have to know how to work in an office and outside, Rhoades says.
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