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  1. #21
    Registered User tawa's Avatar
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    Had a friend that was a park ranger at a particular state park. He once told me. "Im not doing my job unless I kick out a couple of campers each weekend."
    Well he was there for nearly twenty yrs. and the majority of campers felt he was very fair in carrying out the duties of his job. However, those that had to be removed because of excessive drinking which lead to noise, loud music etc thought he was a horses ass and used his authority to harass them !
    Fast forward --friend retires and new ranger hired. New guy was very hands off of day to day park operations and wanted to basically be an office manager. When there were problems and situations involving conflict he could never be found!!
    Sooooo the campground is now out of control and the good responsible , respectful campers refuse to go there.
    Now everyone is saying what the hell happened to our park and saying they wish my friend was back!
    You get the picture!
    Sooo---be careful in what you wish for!

  2. #22

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    All to often a life of public service is nothing more than a career baby sitting job...congratulations on your retirement.

  3. #23
    Registered User BuckeyeBill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Starchild View Post
    I love the comment someone made that one of achievements was computerizing the reservation system in the last 30 years, so somewhere from 1997-2017 he gets credit for switching it to a computer system. Even most old coots have made that switch kicking and screaming, because they really have to.

    And that's what it seems like Jenson is, a old coot who was set in his ways and his(, not Baxter's) way of running the park, and a false belief that it was Baxter's way.

    The park staff has been very helpful and welcoming to thru hikers, and I hope and pray that they are realized as part of Baxter's vision for the park by the upper management and welcomed and embraced.
    I think you need to recheck your math. 30 years ago would have been 1987 and yes there were several "Old Coots" and "Cronies" still around at the time. Computers were finally showing their capabilities and soon took off. Gone were the days of refrigerator size main frames, as they were replaced by the microchip and large storage disks replaced the big tape reels. Today they say that every home and business "should" have a computer to help organize and reduce the amount of paper used. Well they got one right, but if you ask me they have generated a lot more paper work.
    Blackheart

  4. #24
    Registered User BuckeyeBill's Avatar
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    Oh and good luck to Mr. Jensen on your retirement.
    Blackheart

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Offshore View Post
    I really don't see any of this as anything particular remarkable. He did nothing more than would have been expected of any competent park manager who came to work and did his job - no more, no less. It actually sounds like he had a pretty sweet deal for 30 years. Name a privy after him, but no canonization or trophy for showing up is warranted.
    Sometimes, staying the course and NOT doing more is the harder option to take.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by BuckeyeBill View Post
    I think you need to recheck your math.


    to put it into perspective---great smoky mountains national park, which I would guess gets thousands more backcountry campers, just switched to computer based reservations 4 or 5 years ago...


    the front country camping had computer based for a while (not sure date) but it took a while before backcountry got it...

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by tawa View Post
    Had a friend that was a park ranger at a particular state park. He once told me. "Im not doing my job unless I kick out a couple of campers each weekend."
    Well he was there for nearly twenty yrs. and the majority of campers felt he was very fair in carrying out the duties of his job. However, those that had to be removed because of excessive drinking which lead to noise, loud music etc thought he was a horses ass and used his authority to harass them !
    Fast forward --friend retires and new ranger hired. New guy was very hands off of day to day park operations and wanted to basically be an office manager. When there were problems and situations involving conflict he could never be found!!
    Sooooo the campground is now out of control and the good responsible , respectful campers refuse to go there.
    Now everyone is saying what the hell happened to our park and saying they wish my friend was back!
    You get the picture!
    Sooo---be careful in what you wish for!
    as you would know, just like a school - someone has to be the heat or things will always get out of hand

  8. #28
    Registered User tawa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by George View Post
    as you would know, just like a school - someone has to be the heat or things will always get out of hand
    Exactly---whenever I took a new position as high school principal--one of my favorite statements was "there is a new sheriff in town "" lol
    It was quickly determined who was going to be in charge and how we were going to do business. Under no circumstances were the kids or parents going to run the school. lol
    By the time I retired it was getting more and more difficult to run the school in the above manner---so had the opportunity to retire early and I took it!
    So--Im very slow to criticize anyone in a position of authority that is doing their best to run a good organization. Basically only criticize lazy individuals that run out of control parks, schools etc.

  9. #29

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    The Bangor Daily News covers Jensen's retirement announcement:
    Baxter State Park Director announces retirement after 30 years
    Teej

    "[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.

  10. #30

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    http://mainepublic.org/post/retiring...areer#stream/0

    "During his tenure, Bissell and the board approved a permit system for a growing number of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers seeking to complete their trek by scaling the summit of Mount Katahdin. The limit now stands at 3,150, but Bissell says requests for access will likely increase as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument attracts more visitors to the region.

    Still, he says, the park can only accommodate so many people to ensure the type of experience that Gov. Baxter had in mind.

    “We operate the park and have for several decades under a limited-use model,” Bissell says, “where on any given day, we’re only going to allow so many people to get to Baxter Peak. That creates a tension because generally there are more people who want to get to Baxter Peak than we will allow.”

    The responsibility for balancing those demands will now fall to a new director. The Baxter State Authority will launch a national search in the new year."
    Teej

    "[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.

  11. #31
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Those denigrating upgrading a software system probably don't work in IT. :O Egads...I had a full head of black hair and no gray in my beard when I started my IT career. Just sayin'....
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
    http://pmags.com
    Twitter: @pmagsco
    Facebook: pmagsblog

    The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau

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