Photo by Zachary Siebert / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Four St. Joseph residents and two pugs enjoy great weather Wednesday morning with a walk on the serene trails along Northeast Parkway.

Armed with pepper spray, a cell phone and a golf cart, volunteers for the Trail Watch Program patrol the bike and walking trails of St. Joseph. This year marks the fourth year for the program, and after two much needed donations the program continues to pick up speed.

The driving force to launch the program happened four years ago when a woman was assaulted while jogging on the Parkway System.

The program started with three vehicles but after some equipment malfunctions volunteers were only able to use two. Luckily for St. Joseph Police Department, Sgt. Greg Gilpin, who coordinates the program, an anonymous donor and the St. Joseph Health Department decided to help out.

Mr. Gilpin was able to purchase a red Club Car in July after an anonymous St. Joseph resident made a $4,600 donation. Just before that, on June 3, the St. Joseph Health Department decided they would share a vehicle they have but rarely use.

Now the program is armed with four vehicles, but with expanding trails across St. Joseph Sgt. Gilpin is finding a need for more volunteers.

“We have some great volunteers now but when you lose some due to vacations this time of year it gets hard to make sure someone is out there,” Mr. Gilpin said.

Volunteers patrol on four-hour shifts beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at dark. Last year, many volunteers could be found still patrolling the trails in mid-November, Mr. Gilpin said.

One of Mr. Gilpin’s biggest concerns is also what drives him to continue expanding the program.

“I just hate it when I see a woman jogging alone and then she has headphones on,” Mr. Gilpin said. “So she wouldn’t be able to hear what was going on if someone were to approach her.”

Jannessa Thornburn walked the trail near Bartlett Park Friday evening. “I didn’t know they had that program but it makes me feel much better knowing they are around,” Ms. Thornburn said as her daughter sat on her bicycle nearby. “You never know what could happen and sometimes she gets far enough ahead of me that I worry if something were to happen.”

Larry Veatch uses the trails sometimes twice a day and often bumps into a Trail Watch volunteer. “If they (trail users) don’t know they’re (volunteers) out here, they must be asleep,” Mr. Veatch said.

Mr. Veatch feels completely safe, even knowing that the volunteers aren’t trained to do the work of a police officer.

“They can handle anything they need to,” Mr. Veatch said.

While they can’t make arrests, they can be an extra set of eyes, ears and hands with a cell phone and pepper spray if an emergency happens.

Mr. Gilpin asks that anyone interested in volunteering be over the age of 21. He also said there is a short training session involved before being allowed to operate the vehicles.

Megan Tilk can be reached

at megantilk@npgco.com.