If it had not been for the slow down in the oil patch, David Donovan might not have become a member of the RCMP.
That is what Const. Donovan said during a Dec. 29 visit to the Barrhead Leader office. He came to Barrhead about three months ago after graduating from the RCMP’s training facility in Regina.
Like many people who now call the province home, Donovan came from Ontario for employment, about seven years ago, something he found in Grande Prairie, in the oil patch as surveyor crew chief.
However, when the price of oil dropped he decided it was time for a career change.
“I was just looking for something a little more stable,” he said, adding not only in terms of job security, but shift work.
Donovan said he often worked shifts that often required him to be on site for 24 hours at a stretch.
“To be able to work a shift where you can come home every night is really something that appeals to me,” said, Donovan, who is married with two young sons.
As for his first impressions of Barrhead he is enjoying his time here.
“It actually reminds me of my home town of Forest, which is about 30 minutes outside of Sarnia. They both have this small town, farming feel to them with just a lot of good people. A place where you can go into one of the local shops and people are glad to see you,” he said, adding even though he has only been in Barrhead a short time he can see how tight knit the community is. “You can see how the community is able to get together and work towards something, especially when you look at the beautiful pool we have here.”
In the future Donovan hopes to be able to combine the skills he learned as a surveyor and policing as a traffic reconstruction vehicle accident investigator.
“I still have a lot to learn,” he said, noting most of the time he is paired with training officer Const. Nick Crowther, although when Donovan visited the Leader he was paired with Barrhead’s school liaison officer Const. Robert Hynes.
“There are plenty of opportunities to learn here,” he said. “I know I am coming across things I have never experienced before in my nine years in policing and David has been able to experience them in just his first few months. He is definitely a real asset to the Barrhead detachment,” said Hynes.
When Donovan is not on duty, he said he is pretty low-key preferring to stay at home and spend time with his family or playing video games.
