State ranger caught dozing with beer between legs

[Amanda R]

A California State Parks ranger was placed on leave after he was found intoxicated and asleep in his patrol car with a beer between his legs, officials said.
A passerby stumbled upon the ranger, Tyson Young, on the afternoon of Aug. 15 in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which is off Highway 101 south of Eureka, according to the California Highway Patrol.
After trying unsuccessfully to wake up the ranger, the passerby snapped a picture of Young, who was sleeping soundly with a Keystone Light snugly tucked between his legs. The tipster photographer wished to remain anonymous, said theLost Coast Outpost, which published the photo.

The whole article http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2014/aug/28/state-park-ranger-found-patrol-car-unconscious-bee/

 

[Cappy]

Hard for me to be critical, Peg found me in the same position in my recliner last night.

 

[ppine]

This kind of stuff happens more than people want to admit.
I used to work for several environmental consulting firms. Some of our field work was very rigorous and we could be out working everyday for 2-3 weeks. People tend to get restless, especially if the work is repetitive.

We had a fisheries biologist/limnologist that was fired on the spot when a helicopter pilot sam him fly fishing in Alaska.
We had an archaeologist fired one fine summer morning when he was spotted in shorts and flipflops with a beer in his hand working in Utah.

 

[Simplify]

This type of goofing off on the job has become very commonplace in our society and I believe is evidence of societal decline in general. People don't even care about the quality of their work anymore and just want to stand around and pick up their paycheck.

Then they whine about how they are not 'paid enough' to do what they do.

 

[ppine]

There is no doubt that some people are lazy and need supervision.
Some people just need some time off. My whole environmental career we were pushed hard and away from home a lot. After working 12 hour days plus commute time to some bad motel for 10-15 days in a row, people are going to get grumpy and not very efficient. You have to plan ahead and give them some R&R.

I learned this lesson the hard way. I had a contract on the Navajo Res in AZ that I have mentioned before. I used to plan on a hike in BBQ on the edge of the mesa one night, knocking off early to see petroglyphs, and one day off when we would drive all the way to Page and go to a steak house. I got more done in less hours by giving people time off, than by pushing them straight through. And it was a lot more fun.

 

[Cappy]

Try working on a 50 ft long boat for 12 hours then staying on same little boat for 12 hours to do it again for sometimes months at a time. In the old days, no phone for weeks at a time only to walk down a dock for a mile to see some one had cut the receiver offn the pay phone. Havin to hand a note to the lock master along with an address and a 5 dollar bill hoping he would mail it and not throw it away and get him self a 6 pack on the way home. Think we didnt cheat and let our hair down a little? Guess what we were better because of it. If you fired every one offn a boat that fished or walked to the store for a beer when they could there wouldn't be any one left to tie it off.

 

[Grandpa]

Back in time, the kids were small, money was tight so I worked off the farm at a nearby Lazyboy factory. These factories pay on incentive scales so its a sweat shop if you want to make money (and a hard worker can make a bundle) or a social party if you are content to just make minimum. They do extensive time study on performance and they always seem to pick the fastest teams to time. We had a big order for a sister plant for wood parts and they were debating hiring extra or letting us work overtime. They started with the overtime. Instead of balls to the walls for eight hours, we went for 9. That extra hour didn't gain us a thing except being away from home one more hour. We were too used to giving all we had in eight and had nothing left for the last hour.

You can only give 100 % concentration and physical effort for so long. Now I don't know if that ranger had been giving it all or was just taking advantage of a shady spot and a cold beer. That is up to his supervisor to determine. But that is a very dangerous situation in this day and age because now the rangers are armed (you can see his mag holsters) and need to be in complete control of themselves and the situation at all times. If long shifts or hard work led up to this then a supervisor needs some tuning up. If the guy was on a normal shift then he needs to find another line of work immediately with loss of all benefits and separation pay.

 

[dinosaur]

Yeah, I remember when I had my first beer.

 

[ppine]

A lot of people in the recreation business are just loafers. Especially if they work for an agency, they can just disappear. In my career there was always a big difference between government workers and private company workers. We worked a lot more hours and with a sense of urgency. Many government workers see no need to really get anything done.

 

[Grandpa]

Yeah, I remember when I had my first beer.

I don't, but I can remember my last

 

[oldsarge]

Alcohol and weapons...a bad mix; especially on duty! Can you just imagine what would have happened if this guy had to be pushed to the limits in a critical situation. Even if he performed admirably and to standard; if he was tested after the fact, it could changed the entire outcome of a criminal investigation.

 

[jason]

That is what I was wondering Oldsarge. Does he have a weapon on him. The drinking and guns would be my biggest issue with this.

 

[Grandpa]

That is what I was wondering Oldsarge. Does he have a weapon on him. The drinking and guns would be my biggest issue with this.

Yes, you can see the two magazine pouches on his belt.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...The beer was one thing...but being DRUNK also is a potential problem that should be dealt with harshly...IMuHO.

I can remember my first taste of beer...I was around ten or twelve...didn't care for it. Was talking to dairy farmers taking a break from haying at the time...!!

But, I'm not sure that I can remeber when, or where I had my last beer. I like beer, but rarely drink anything alcoholic (unless you're buying)...!!

 

[carmen]

I get that most jobs can be over demanding but sometimes you really just need to take responsibility for your actions. I remember seeing this image but I did not have a story to go with it so I just kind of forgot about it. If I stumbled across a guy like this I would feel pretty bad knowing the long hours that he must work but I would also feel a little unsafe with him being drunk on the job, with guns and being completely passed out.

 

[jason]

Yes, you can see the two magazine pouches on his belt.

Laziness got the best of me and just skimmed through and did not really look at the picture.