BOUNTIFUL, Utah — Over the past decade, only two people have been awarded the Citizen Service Award by the Bountiful Police Department, and the latest was a man who has dedicated 20 years of his life to being a crossing guard.
For Jim Wheeler, his crossing guard job meant more than just the rules of the road.
“Because of the children. The children were fantastic," he shared. "They said hello to me and thanked me every morning and afternoon. The parents did, too.”
Wheeler first put on his bright yellow vest at 68 years old. Now 88, he took it off for good.
“I realized I was getting old and clumsy,” Wheeled said.
After a few falls, Wheeler decided it was better to be safe than sorry. On his last day as a crossing guard, he was shown just how special he was to this community.
“We just don’t see people who are crossing guards do more than a handful of years, so we definitely felt that was significant enough to award him the Citizen Service Award,” explained Lt. Andrew Smith with the Bountiful City Police Department.
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Smith shared how being a crossing guard can be a thankless job, but without them, the community’s safety would be at risk.
“Throughout Bountiful, while we’ve been lucky, we’ve had several close calls," he said about potential incidents. "We’ve replaced several dozen cones that have been hit by cars that could’ve been a child, if not for the crossing guards being there.”
“The drivers are still just as bad," added Wheeler. "A lot of times there was a policeman sitting there watching. The worst part, which I disliked, was when they went through my stop sign. I would be up right in the middle of the road, and they would go right by.”
The sometimes-thankless job was often filled with gratitude for Wheeler.
“I was surprised that I got this award," he said. "I wasn’t expecting it.”
It’s going to be hard to fill Wheeler's shoes on the Bountiful sidewalk where he stood for decades, but his 20-year legacy will continue beyond the pavement.
