A pair who defined public services

By Doug Page | Thursday, May 7, 2009, 05:08 PM

When you work for the public’s dime, you can always expect scrutiny, criticism and censure.

Comes with the territory.

Nobody likes to pay taxes. We all love to complain about our government and our public servants. The common belief is government wastes money, and public servants are lazy, often forgetting whom they serve.

Former Englewood mayor Michael “Doc” Bowers served the city and its citizens for almost 30 years. When he died last year, he was praised to the skies for his service to the community.

All of it deserved. It’s impossible to please everyone in life. It’s hard to please anyone in public service. Doing the right thing is often not the wise political choice.

Somebody’s ox is going to get gored.

Doc’s own ox got gored when the city planning commission rejected the plans for his optometrist office back when he first moved to town.

“I think initially he was a little bit suspicious of government,” City Manager Eric Smith told a Dayton Daily News reporter after Doc’s death. “But like a lot of people, when he got a chance to see how it really worked, he got interested.”

Seeing how things really work can be a dirty sight.

Jamie Faulkner saw things that would turn your stomach. Cops get to see people at their worst. A 13-year veteran of the Trotwood Police Department, Faulkner also saw some good with the ugly.

He built a connection between the police and the youngest residents of his city. He started a program designed to keep kids out of the juvenile justice system. He gave them a second chance.

He worked in the schools and lent an ear to anyone and everyone. That’s a thing many people never see. Schools are more than test scores or basketball championships. It’s where kids get some of their first life lessons. The most important is that someone does, indeed, care.

Faulkner’s final assignment as a detective was to investigate the sexual abuse of children. It remains one of the unconscionable horrors of society.

Faulkner did not shy away in disgust. He dealt with it. The last several years, he taught young doctors at Wright State how to look for and determine the signs of such abuse.

He sought to protect the weakest among us. On April 23 at 2:22 a.m., he died of cancer, unknown to most. His obituary says he was “received by a host of heavenly angels.”

We can but hope.

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