By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
There is only one job Scott Rike ever really wanted and only one place he wanted to do that job. On Feb. 11 that dream came true when Rike took over as commander of the Bucyrus Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
“It’s a big honor for me,” Rike said. “Being promoted to post commander at Bucyrus has kind of been a lifelong goal for me since I’ve been with the Highway Patrol for 18 years. That was one of my goals, to become the post commander in the town I grew up in. I’m humble to that. I never forget my roots and where I came from. I want to help the community.”
Rike, now 45, was born and raised in the Bucyrus area and family around New Washington. He graduated from Colonel Crawford in 1989 and Tiffin University in 1994. He also went to police training academies in Ohio and Indiana.
“I did my internship with the Bucyrus Police Department and was a special deputy with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office,” Rike said. “With the patrol, I broke in at the Wooster Post in 1998.”
As with a lot of people who make the Patrol a career, Rike has crisscrossed the state with stops in Massillon, Ashland, Marion and then Findlay in 2005 where he was an assistant post commander.
But he always wanted to come home and did as a sergeant where he worked under Bucyrus Post Commander Mike Vinson who has moved to Richland County in the same position. As post commander, Rike has also now attained the position of lieutenant with the Patrol.
Rike explains his career in the Patrol, as well as his life, were nearly cut short while he was at the Ashland Post. He was diagnosed at that time with an auto-immune disorder condition that is often terminal.
“I was actually off work for two years,” Rike said, explaining he was essentially retired.
But when his health improved, he knew where and what he wanted to be.
“The Patrol let me come back, keep my rank, everything just like when I walked out the door,” Rike said, his gratitude evident. “I didn’t have to come back, but I had lots of things I wanted to do.”
Things like having his own family and getting back home.
The first came when he and his wife Tami, a Louisville, Ohio, native were married and had two sons – David and Jax who are now, respectively, 7 and 5. The second was getting back to the Bucyrus Post.
The Rikes literally came home when they moved into the home Scott grew up in and the one his parents built.
“I’m in a good position. I think I’m more mature,” Rike said about starting his family a little later in life than the norm. “Life is good.”
Rike was able to qualify for a promotion to a post commander’s position and placed on a statewide list in 2010. However he admitted he was selective when it came to Highway Patrol posts he would consider.
“I live in the house I grew up in. I don’t want anyone else to live in that house,” Rike said with a determined tone. “It took me about five years to get where I want. I’ve always been a goal-driven person.”
He reached the goal when the commander’s position at the Bucyrus Post came open.
“I can tell you, I have big shoes to fill,” Rike said. “Mike Vinson is a great leader.”
Rike’s appreciation and thanks didn’t stop with his predecessor.
“I couldn’t do this without the support of my wife, Tami, my mom and my family,” Rike said.
The Bucyrus Post covers both Crawford and Wyandot counties. It is also the dispatch center for the Marion Post and serves as the headquarters for the 13-county Bucyrus District in North Central Ohio for the Patrol.
It is typically staffed with 12 troopers and four sergeants.
“We’re always training somebody,” Rike said.
The new post commander has a list of things he wants to do, but at the top priority is what the Highway Patrol is all about.
“My biggest goal is to keep fatal accidents down,” Rike said.
But there are plenty of other things to focus on as well, including alcohol and drug-impaired drivers.
“That’s one of the big things our division is pushing, drug arrests, OVI and seat belt enforcement.”
Rike said if it seems like the Patrol is more involved in drug cases of late, it’s because they are. He also said it is no accident the local troopers are active in city limits and not just the stretches of rural highways.
“I have a good rapport with the other communities. (Bucyrus Police) Chief Koepke wants us in town,” Rike said. “The drugs have to get here somehow. The drunk drivers have to get here somehow. We’re where the activity takes us.”
Rike said shared resources and joint efforts with community police departments and Crawford County Sheriff Scott Kent are absolutely crucial. “I think they’re doing a great job. They’ve made great gains.”
But as Rike noted, the Patrol is much more than traffic enforcement with a crackdown on not only illegal drug activity, but also things like human trafficking.
“I would like to educate people about that,” Rike said of human trafficking. “Could it happen here? Absolutely it could happen here.”
Rike said another goal is for him, as well as the Highway Patrol, to become more involved in community functions and to be seen as a community educational resource where appropriate.
“It’s going to be a challenge, it’s not an easy task,” Rike said. “It’s going to be a challenge.”