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Show Ron Gale named trooper of the year By Gayle Gale Ronald Gale, trooper assigned as-signed to the BeaverCounty i area, was recently named Trooper of The Year by his fellow troopers and Highway Patrol personel in six southern Utah counties. He was honored for his exemplary ex-emplary police work and for his outstanding service to his fellow men both in and out of police duties. A granduate of Beaver High School, Ron attended BAC in Cedar City and earned earn-ed his journeyman ma-chanic ma-chanic certificate. He served with the Utah National Nation-al Guard during the Korean Conflict and on the front lines in Korea. He was honorably discharged as a sergeant. Ron began his police career ca-reer with his appointment as City Marshal for the City of Milford and worked here ! for four and one half years, two of those as chief. While I here he was instrumental in securing the first drivers education car and setting up the classes in ! driver training in the Mil ford High School. Milford was one of the first schools in the state to have drivers education. He served as instructor the first year. He coached Little League Baseball and won the cham -pionship, four out of four years. He also co-coached co-coached the All Stars who took second in state play one year. He was appointed to the Utah Highway Patrol in 1958 and assigned to Daggett County as the first full time law enforcement to ever be employed there. Many times throughout the construction con-struction of the Flaming Gorge Dam, Dutch John, the community which they lived, was isolated from civilization. civiliza-tion. It was necessary to cross the Green River on the ice or ford it at its shallow point when an emergency emer-gency arose on the other side. This was done in the patrol car many times for medicine for someone in town. At times the Gales were the only medical help for the entire area, especially es-pecially when the dam was finished and the hospital closed. Thousands oftour-ists oftour-ists came to enjoy Flaming Gorge and many of them were given first aid on the Gales kitchen table before they were transfered to the doctors in Vernal. An old time jail housed in a trailer was the detention deten-tion facilities so the juveniles and lady prisoners prison-ers were brought home so they would riot be abused by being detained in the "dungeon" "dun-geon" as Ron called it. All prisoners were fed from the Gale kitchen until they could be . transfered to an appropriate facility. While in Daggett County, Ron was named Outstanding Lion for ordering, selling and installing seat belts in over half of the vehicles in Daggett county as a Lions safety project. This was before seat belts were standard equipment. In 1968 the Gales moved back to Milford, leaving the busy routines of that assignment, as-signment, but the activity did not stop for Ron as he became involved in the communities of Beaver County. His routines involve more than just enforcing speed limits, in fact he writes less tickets than any trooper in the district. He believes that he must make contact with the offender, but that education, a little lec -ture and a lot of good public relations do far more good than the ticket. "Some people only respond however, when their pocket-book pocket-book is involved." In order for him to be the type officer of-ficer he feels is effective, trooper Gale has given a large portion of his life to public service. He has been an authorized American Red Cross First Aid Instructor for 15 years, and has just been re -authorized to teach the new extensive course. He has taught over 500 people from all walks of life at least 20 hours of first aid. Some of them over 100 hours t He was Chairman of the Uintah-Daggett Uintah-Daggett Red Cross First Aid and is Co-Chairman with his wife for the Milford Chapter. He organized the housing and trained the personnel per-sonnel for an authorized First Aid station between Dutch John and Vernal, Utah, where there is a busy tourist tour-ist highway, but no medical med-ical services for miles. Ron is a Director of the Utah Peace Officers Association Associ-ation and has served previously pre-viously in that capacity and as pistol chairman. He has been a member of the pa trol pistol team for 16 of his 18 years on the patrol. He won numerous first places in both team and individual in-dividual competition. He was on the Championship Team that represented Utah in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1972 Championships. He is a NRS Instructor and helps instruct local hunter safety courses each year. Being a president seems to fall hand in hand with his idea of civic involvement. involve-ment. He has served as President: for the Tri -State (Utah, Nev., Ariz.) Peace Officers, Of-ficers, Milford Lions Club (twice), Milford Jaycees, Colorado River Storage Em -ployees Association (The only non-federal employee to do so). He has served on various board positions in all of these organizations. organiza-tions. He has been a member of the Standing Committee of the Milford City Youth committee since its beginning, begin-ning, immediate past Zone Director for Utah Lions Club and is presently vice president for the Milford Valley Ambulance Team. Trooper Gale believes in teaching old dogs new tricks and is constantly Improving himself through schools and seminars. He is a certified Police Science Instructor through SUSC and Utah Police Officer Standards and Training. He teaches police subjects to different depart -ments throughout the state. Still interested in giving the best care at the scene of an accident, Ron has cert -t if led as an Emergency Medical Med-ical Technician and is an . Instructor. Trooper Gale, orDeadeye as his C.B. friends have m onickered him , finds time to work with the youth through his church affiliation. affilia-tion. He has served as Branch President, Ward Clerk, Counselor in Bishopric Bishop-ric and is presently serving serv-ing as High Councilman in Beaver Stake for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -Day Saints. He is merit Badge Counselor for the Boy Scouts in First Aid, Safety, Fingerprinting, Automotive Au-tomotive Safety, Emergency Preparedness, andRifleand Shotgun. Ron and his wife, Gayle, have six children; their oldest, old-est, Brad, ' who is called to a mission to Texas, Nancy, studying nursing at SUSC, Brian and Tara, Milford High School students and Tricia and Tonya both preschoolers. pre-schoolers. The have had foster children in their home on two occasions and recently hosted a Japanese foreign exchange student. What makes a man get so involved with so many projects? His "love for people," says Trooper Ron Gale. He hopes to be able to continue his way of being a 'fuzz' for many more years in just the same manner. To really be involved with those that he needs to reprimand rep-rimand each day in his t ravels, he feels he can em -pathize with them and see their side of the story ,too. Ron's cool head and quick thinking were credited with the saving of his own life when he was taken at gunpiont .and put into the trunk of his patrol car. "He could of be en brave and valiant and dead and the murderer could be loose in the state or he could have done just as he did and acted cool and returned home to his family, making it possible for other officers to do so, also," said one of his fellow officers. of-ficers. "If he had of killed kill-ed Ron he would have shot it out until the end!" Ron has apprehended five stolen vehicles in the past two years and is now considered con-sidered an "AC E". The five lightening bolts on his patrol car stand for five possible brushes with tragdy; to Ron they are a reminder that inside each automobile Is a potential criminal. He hopes that his only procedure on this contact con-tact will be "just a friendly friend-ly lecture." |
