ORV trails get close watch

Michael Jones

CHESTER TWP. — As of Wednesday, Otsego County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) new ORV deputy Kevin Nugent said the almost 50 miles of trails designated for off-road vehicles “has been pretty quiet since the start of the Memorial Day weekend but with the first day of summer this week and the Fourth of July next weekend I expect it will get busier.”

Sheriff Jim McBride said funding to hire Nugent and purchase an ORV patrol vehicle was made possible through a $15,600 grant from the State of Michigan.

Nugent, who was hired last month to work as the OCSD ORV deputy, will divide his time between the position and the department’s marine patrol deputy, which McBride said is also funded by a state grant.

The ORV grant provides funds for Nugent to patrol the complex of county ORV trails which are found in the southeast portion of Chester Township off Old State Road.

One year after the county approved an ordinance allowing ORV traffic on designated county roads, county commissioners approved a request at their June 8 meeting to open all county roadways in Chester Township to ORV use. When the ordinance was initially passed last year more than 20 of the township’s roads had been off limits to ORVs.

Nugent, a life-long resident of Otsego County and 2006 graduate of Gaylord High School, is an October graduate of the Kirtland Community College criminal justice program and worked in Roscommon County last year as its ORV deputy.

“After high school I attended North Central Michigan College for one year here in Gaylord and during that time I joined the fire department where I discovered I liked working in the public sector,” Nugent said of the spark which prompted him to enroll in Kirtland’s criminal justice program. “It was the best choice I could have made. It’s been very enjoyable.”

Since he was hired by the OCSD, Nugent said he has not received any complaints concerning ORV riders disregarding the county ordinance or state laws regulating ORV use. “Most riders display a lot of common sense and do a good job of patrolling themselves. The big thing people have to keep in mind when they are on the trails is to remember to obey the traffic signs — stop signs at intersections and signs which designate where they (ORVs) are allowed.”

Nugent said lumbering operations have access to a number of miles of ORV trails in Otsego County and riders need to be aware they share the trails with loggers.

“They are pretty good about putting up signs where they are working, but riders need to watch out for safety sake.”

Nugent said while his marine patrol duties will end around the Labor Day weekend, he expects to remain active on the ORV trails until “the snow flies” when he will trade in his ORV for a snowmobile and begin patrolling the county’s snowmobile trails.

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Source: http://www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2010/06/25/news/top_stories/doc4c24e9fe021fc473327064.txt

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