Peers pay tribute to retiring conservation officer
Wildlife Conservation Officer Stan Norris, who served in Fayette County for 16 years before heading to Somerset County a few years back, announced his retirement, ending a 30-year career in game and fish law enforcement. Wildlife Conservation Officer Stan Norris, who served in Fayette County for 16 years before heading to Somerset County a few years back, announced his retirement, ending a 30-year career in game and fish law enforcement.
After serving 16 years as WCO for southern Fayette County, which also included working double duty at one time filling in as the Greene County supervisor, Stan moved to Somerset County a few years ago in anticipation of finishing up his career with the Game Commission in his “home” area.
Last Wednesday Stan said, “I’m stepping down for health reasons. I’m just not up to it any more.
“I did what I always wanted to do and hope I made some impact.
“Now I’m going to do a little goofing off and enjoy life a little bit. I have lots of things to do.
“I don’t know how some people retire and say they can’t find anything to do.”
Stan assured me he won’t be short of projects to work on between finishing his house, some fishing trips and spending time with his family and friends, including his seven grandchildren.
Stanley will be missed as a law enforcement officer. To use an old cliche, they broke the mold when they made him.
While one mold may have been broken, Stan spent a great deal of time molding the area’s next generation of wildlife officers, both full-time WCOs and deputies.
When Stan worked in Fayette County, he was not only a good source of news but a friend as well.
Being a workaholic, he was hard to track down at times.
After a while, when I needed to talk with him and could not catch him at his desk, I just drove past his home to see if he was outside working on the house or in the garage building bluebird boxes for the bluebird trail he constructed along the Uniontown Bypass.
Yes, Stan is responsible for all those bluebird boxes that grace our local roadways.
At times, I caught up with him at the restaurant where he ate lunch or at the local magistrate’s office, where he also spent a lot of time dealing with Game Law offenders.
I was sad to see him leave the county, but it was an even sadder day when he told me he was retiring for it will leave a huge void in Southwest Region law enforcement.
He was always honest with me, although there were times he would say, “but don’t print that.”
I believe our mutual trust and respect is why we became friends, not just news-related associates.
Stan showed me my first bear in Fayette County and my first bobcat, ever.
While in the county, he aggressively pursued poachers and brought many to justice.
Along with Game Law violators he was always eager to apprehend persons who dumped garbage along our roadways, sometimes digging through piles of discarded trash for some clue as to who was responsible.
Once he found that necessary piece of incriminating evidence, he arrested and prosecuted the person or persons responsible.
He worked hand-in-hand with Pennsylvania Greenways and organized dump cleanup projects on state game and forest lands.
Throughout the years Stan received numerous citations from the Game Commission, but his biggest honor came in 1997 when he was named North East Conservation Officer of the Year by the North East Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs Association.
When asked to comment at that time, Stan said, “I can’t say enough for my deputies without whom I could not have received the award.”
Stan left lasting impressions on everyone he came in contact with.
Southwest Region I&E Supervisor Joe Stefko said, “Stan was one of the first people I met when I came out of training school.
“He served as a mentor for me for a number of years. We worked a lot of law enforcement together. I had the Greensburg District and had a lot of pressure on me, so about once a month I would take a day off and come down and spend the day working with Stanley.
“Stan is one of the finest people I know. His departure will be a big loss to the agency.
“One thing about Stanley, he arrested a lot of people for obvious violations, but he didn’t demean them or take away from their dignity. People he arrested still had a lot of respect for him and held no animosity toward him.
“People Stanley arrested even came forward later and offered him information about other violators.
“Stanley was one of those officers who worked all the time and did a lot of law enforcement. When patrolling some mountain top in Westmoreland County, I could always pick up the radio at 3 a.m. and find Stanley doing the same in Fayette County.”
Game Commission Southwest Region Director Matt Hough said, “He’s certainly going to be missed. He’s one of the old-time game wardens.
“I don’t know anybody who worked longer or harder than Stanley did as a WCO.
“I worked with him some. He was and excellent conservation officer – one of those guys you didn’t get many complaints on because he treated everyone with respect and fairness. If you were in violation of the law, you received a citation.”
Dave Griffin is the Game Commission maintenance supervisor in charge of Greene and part of Washington County.
He is also a deputy WCO who worked with Norris throughout his tenure in Fayette County.
“I still go over and visit him,” Griffin said. “We worked together about 16 years. At one stretch, we worked 27 days in a row during one fall when he was here. That’s the kind of fellow he is. If something was going on, Stan wanted to be out there.
Griffin has been a deputy WCO since 1970, and he admits that he is past retirement age. With 36 years on the job, he says, “I’m past retirement age, but I enjoy my job too much to quit. There’s not a much better job out there if you like the outdoors.”
One deputy that could always be seen in the field with Norris was Frank Maykuth – except during school hours.
The recently retired schoolteacher said, “He brought me on 18 to 20 years ago. We had a real good working relationship.
“Stan was a real go-getter. He set the tone for all his deputies with his work ethic. Those who stayed on knew what he was like. He was a pretty good boss to work for.
“It wasn’t an eight-hour day with Stanley. He would work 20-hour days two and three days straight. He’d catch a couple of hours sleep and be off again.
“Stan was like a brother to me. We got through some hard times together. He could read people well; and nine times out of 10 his first impression of someone was the correct impression.
“The Game Commission is losing a good man – a real go-getter.
“He was by-the-book. People in Fayette County loved him. He had a good rapport with the people. People he cited often came back and passed on information to him on other illegal activity.”
Deputy Fayette County WCO Mike Shipp was probably one of the last deputies to break in under Norris.
He said, “I always wanted to be in law enforcement. I saw becoming a deputy as a way to do that. Stan took me on, trained me and put me through the program.
“He was good teacher; taught us how to deal with people, the basics of night patrol and all the other aspects of the job. I’ll be forever grateful to him for that.”
We wish Stanley all the best in his retirement, but one thing he won’t need is a rocking chair.
Herald-Standard outdoor writer Rod Schoener can be reached on line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com.