It has been said the biggest export from Blaine County is the youth. Jaylen Flynn is reversing that trend.
Flynn is a 2012 graduate of Watonga High School. Following college, he joined the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation as a game warden. For seven years he served at Ardmore, but when he got the chance to come home, he grabbed it.
“I’m excited to be back in Blaine County to protect and preserve our natural resources,” he told the Kiwanis Club in late July.
Between patrolling the backwoods and highways, from Canton Lake to American Horse Lake, Flynn said there is plenty to keep him occupied.
As a game warden he checks hunters to ensure they are within their legal game or fish limits, as well as making sure there is no poaching, trespassing, or illegal means of taking game in use.
But on top of that, a game warden has most of the same law enforcement powers as any other officer.
Flynn said he and his colleagues often help solve machinery or cattle thefts, find felons in possession of a firearm, make drug arrests and assist with manhunts in rough country.
He also noted they make many arrests for driving under the influence.