Thursday, May 10, 2007

Lopez ready to kick back in retirement

by Sara Peterson-Davis

When Joe E. Lopez joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he was aiming for an eventual assignment at Truman State Lake in Missouri to be near family.

Joe E. Lopez

But his law enforcement background caught the attention of the
management at Perry Lake
and he was assigned to Jefferson County.

“It’s a good place to work and a
good place to live,” said Lopez,
who lives on the west side of
Perry Lake. “We got settled in
and we didn’t want to leave.”

Last week, the natural resource officer retired from the corps of engineers after nearly 28 years at Perry Lake.

A Texas native, Lopez joined the U.S. Air Force in 1969 as a member of the service’s law enforcement arm. After a tour in South Korea, Lopez was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base near Kansas City. At Whiteman, Lopez worked security in the missile fields in central Missouri.

While he was there Lopez met his wife, Bette.

Lopez attended the University of Central Missouri and majored in recreation and public safety.

After stints with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Springfield, Mo., and the Sedalia, Mo., Police Department, Lopez joined the corps of engineers in December 1978. His first assignment was at Harlan County Lake near Kearney, Neb.

“I liked the outdoors and I liked to hunt and fish,” said Lopez, about why he was interested in joining the corps. “Most of the people who join the corps have an interest in the outdoors.”

Lopez was looking forward to pheasant hunting season in Nebraska, but before the season opened he transferred to Perry Lake.

During his tenure at the lake, Lopez was also a member of the Air Force Reserve. He spent 17 months back at Whiteman Air Force Base as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He retired after 34 years in the reserve in August 2003.

The duties natural resource officers perform at the lake aren’t always readily apparent to the thousands of visitors that come to the lake every year, Lopez said. While the work of the maintenance staff is something visitors can see and use, he said the officers’ work is subtle.

“We provide that sense of security and safety that they may not see at the end of the weekend,” Lopez said. “The maintenance department may put up a building that everybody sees. The rangers patrol and the visitors don’t see anything.”

Often when people visit the great outdoors at Perry Lake, they bring with them the problems that plague many towns during the weekend. Lopez complimented the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol and other area law enforcement for supporting the natural resource officers over the years when problems did arise.

In retirement, Lopez plans to continue to work as a part-time officer for the Meriden Police Department, something he’s done since the mid-1990s. He also plans to hunt, fish and travel. Some of the travel will be to visit the couple’s two children and their spouses.

Lopez’s son, Joseph II, lives in Muscatine, Iowa. Their daughter, Amanda Lopez Goheen, is currently in Kenya, but will move to Vancouver, British Columbia, in the fall.

Lopez also plans to spend more time at his hobby, action pistol shooting and competing in practical shooting events. In practical shooting, competitors shoot on obstacle-laden courses and are measured on their ability to shoot rapidly and accurately.

Since taking up the sport in 1991, Lopez has shot in area club, state and even national matches.

This fall, Lopez hopes to once again compete at the United States Practical Shooting Confederation Nationals in Tulsa, Okla. At nationals, Lopez said, professionals and amateurs compete together.

“In this sport you can go out and talk with them (the professionals),” he said. “They are more than happy to talk with you and give you advice.”

Until now, attending matches wasn’t always easy for Lopez because he worked nights and weekends at the lake. Now he plans to be a regular on the course.

“I figure I’ll do this until I get tired of it and then I’ll find something else,” Lopez said.