Jones retires from Cheboygan Police Department after 42 years of service
CHEBOYGAN — After serving the Cheboygan community for more than 42 years, Cheboygan City Police Chief Kurt Jones officially retired from law enforcement on Thursday.
Jones was born and raised in the Cheboygan area and graduated from Cheboygan Catholic High School. He worked at his family's business before attending Ferris State University. Growing up, he always wanted to be able to help people, so he earned his degree in criminal justice.
"I had this big desire to want to help people and solve all the problems and keep them safe," he said.
After graduating from Ferris State University, Jones worked for a little over three months as plant security at Pontiac Motors. Every week he had leave days and when he was off of work, he would drive up north and put in applications for jobs anywhere south of M-20.
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While Jones was working plant security, Cheboygan County Sheriff Joe Anthony called him and said he had an open position available.
"Then I came up, started on the road," said Jones. "Two and a half years there and the city called and said they were looking for a police chief and wanted to interview me. Then I came here in January 1980, and sometime today (Thursday), I'm finished."
Over the last four decades with the city, Jones has made a number of memories with the department. Some have been of the major events taking place in the city, while others involve the people who were part of the cases he worked.
"Probably the most recent favorite was designing and overseeing the addition to our current facility, finished in 2005," said Jones. "Then before that was the designed plan to merge police and fire into public safety, at the request of the mayor and council."
Jones said there have also been a number of different little things along the way throughout his career that have been memorable. He has had the opportunity to handle a number of cases throughout his career and help members of the community.
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"It's kind of rewarding when some of the people you maybe issue citations or arrest along the way come back and thank you for saving their life, which has happened a few times for me," said Jones. "The biggest thing is just being able to help the people along the way."
He has always told his officers, if they give someone a citation and they say "thank you" at the end, the officer knows they did a good job.
The camaraderie with the officers of his department and other local law enforcement agencies is one of the things Jones will miss the most as his career comes to a close. He also said he would miss going out on patrol, being out and about in the community, solving cases and helping to bring justice to crime victims at the court level.
Jones said he always tried to set a good example in his personal and professional life and he hopes the community was able to see that.
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Retiring from law enforcement, Jones will now have more time to be able to take care of his family and grandchildren. He also plans on taking some extra time to do some hunting and fishing throughout the year.
Although he is stepping away from law enforcement, Jones plans on continuing to serve on the city's fire department, which he has been a part of for the past 43 years. He has already been in contact with Cheboygan Fire Chief Don Dailey to express his interest in continuing to serve.
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His plans are currently to stay in the Cheboygan area after retiring, although he does have plans to take a few trips with his wife.
"And I may get out west one more time to hunt with my son in Colorado," said Jones. "I'm not leaving."
At Tuesday's Cheboygan City Council meeting, the council unanimously voted to recognize Jones with a formal resolution of special recognition, thanking him for his 42 years of service to the community as police chief.
The city also hosted a retirement party for Jones before the council meeting on Tuesday. Mackinaw City Police Chief Todd Woods and Alpena City Police Chief Joel Jett presented Jones with a certificate of appreciation and a plaque recognizing him for his many years of service to the community, on behalf of the Northern Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
Contact Reporter Kortny Hahn at khahn1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @khahnCDT.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: City Police Chief Kurt Jones retires after 42 years with department
