WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — Ron Craig has spent his life helping others. He’s been a paramedic, a firefighter, and has worked in law enforcement in different departments since 1974.
“I think it’s part of the way I was brought up, to care about others, and do what you can to help others,” Craig said.
He’s 63-years-old now. A few years back, he retired from the Bloomville Police Department and started volunteering with Lake Township when the tornadoes hit in 2010.
Police Chief Mark Hummer offered him a part-time job as a community police officer and crime prevention officer for Lake Township.
As a community officer, there are certain expectations. But in the last eight weeks, Officer Craig is re-writing the book on expectations.
“You don’t know how much it means,” Margie Dempsey said. “If I need something, I can depend on Ron, he’s my buddy.”
Margie Dempsey is a resident out at Woodcreek Village. Ron started checking in with her when she was getting some scam phone calls.
“I didn’t even ask him,” Dempsey said. “He came down because the neighbors told him. He came down and I think he sat with me for two hours.”
“Being a 55 and older community, the seniors definitely call on him for a lot of things that are above and beyond his call of duty,” Woodcreek Village Manager Mary Lou Sellers said. “He never, ever refuses to come out. He comes and sees them, no matter if it’s a dog or they need food, or whatever they need right now.”
But stories like this are just the tip of the iceberg. Craig has purchased groceries with money out of his own pocket for residents. He filled up a gas tank for one woman. He also has a phone list of over 120 residents around Lake Township that he calls to check on, on a weekly basis.
“I’ve got people that will talk to me for half an hour or more each time I call them,” Craig said. “I don’t feel the need to cut them off, because I feel that if they have to talk to somebody for that long, I’ll be the one to provide that for them."
As you might expect, Officer Craig is quick to deflect the praise. He credits Police Chief Hummer for giving him the opportunity to serve the members of the community, even if it is well beyond any job requirements.
“I think as the community policing officer, I owe it to the people of the township, the residents and the tax-payers of the township, to try to do everything I can to help them during this coronavirus problem,” Craig said. “I think that sometimes, I feel better when I get done with a phone call than the person I’m calling is. It’s obvious that they’ve needed that conversation, they’ve need somebody to check on them. I’m very proud to be the one that provides that service to them.”
Craig said he doesn’t think he’s doing anything heroic; I think the people of Lake Township would respectfully disagree.
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