How many people do you suppose follow through as an adult the career path they dreamt of at 5?

Two? Five? Probably none?

Well, McClain County has at least one. Meet Undersheriff James Goins.

James is from Dibble and pretty much has lived and worked in McClain County his whole life.

With an overwhelming interest in helping people, James set his young eyes on law enforcement and never blinked in the intervening years.

In 1989, he became a volunteer firefighter at Dibble.

His first foray into law enforcement followed in 1992 when he landed his first law enforcement job as a reserve officer in Wayne.

He transitioned to full time in 1994.

Five years later he became Wayne’s police chief.

Then in 1999, he joined the McClain County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy. Don Hewett was sheriff then.

In 2005, James left the sheriff’s department to become a patrolman – and eventual chief – at the Dibble Police Department.

From 2009 until December 2015, he worked at a juvenile mental health facility in Norman.

Then Hewett needed him again and on Jan. 1, 2016, James returned to the sheriff’s office.

He began working his way   up through the ranks until taking his present position of undersheriff.

He’s been patrol sergeant and  lieutenant over patrol.

His work in county law enforcement has included narcotics investigations and he spent three years on the District 21 Drug Task Force.

Those years were perhaps the most memorable due to the abundance of clandestine drug labs churning out ever increasing volume of methamphetamine..

“It was nothing to find a meth lab every shift I worked,” he said.

Those were the early-day meth labs. The ones that required a chemical warehouse of ingredients and copious quantities of water.

Some of the labs had been abandoned. Others were in full operation and there was added satisfaction gained from taking the cooks to jail.

Changing times have simplified production for the bad guys and complicated matters for law enforcers.

“It is so easy to make now,” James said. “Now they can make it in pop bottles.”

Gone are what you might call the glory days for those wearing a badge.

“I remember working one week and making arrests from three or four labs – all within one small town,” he said.

He never personally went undercover, but many  times he did surveillance and through the FBI worked with confidential informants in Grady County.

As undersheriff, James’ main duties are overseeing the operation of the sheriff’s department, including the jail.

He is also over investigations and supervises the contract deputies in Goldsby and Wayne – towns without a police department.

The sheriff’s department also has contracts with Washington and Dibble Schools, as well as Mid-America Technology Center, to staff school resource deputies on those campuses.

Under those contracts, the school districts pay the salary for the deputy.

He is also responsible for scheduling jail inmates for their court dates and arranging transport from whatever facility is holding them for McClain County.

“I do occasionally get out in the field and drive around,” he said. “But not as often as I like.”

James has seen the department change since he first joined it.

The focus now is more on public safety and less on traffic enforcement.

And, of course, civil matters take increasing time and manpower.

Before James ever accepted his first job in law enforcement, he married a woman he’d known since grade school.

James and Tamara Mandrell both attended Word of Life Church and the church-run private school in Dibble.

They graduated in May 1989 and married in December of that year.

They have three adult children. Elizabeth Adamson works for a psychology practice. Michael Goins has a heat and air company and Samantha Goins works for a fast food restaurant while she explored her career options.

Michael is the only one to consider – albeit briefly – following in his father’s footsteps.

“But he changed his degree to construction management at OSU,” James said.

In his present position, James has a unique perspective on the sheriff’s department and its needs.

The most pressing but one which hasn’t yet rung true with voters is a new jail.

James is only too aware of the $35,000 to $40,000 every month that McClain County pays to house county prisoners elsewhere..

The existing jail was built in the early 1990s with a capacity of 53 prisoners.

“We exceed that daily,” he said.

One thing James believes the public doesn’t know or understand is that state law mandates the county jail accept anyone arrested by another jurisdiction in the county.

Lengthy incarcerations for those charged with serious felonies and awaiting trial are the norm.

“A murder suspect may be four or five years in jail before they ever go to court (for trial),” he explained.

As things stand now, McClain County pretty much has contracts with all surrounding counties to house our prisoners.

“Paying another county to house our overflow is almost (cost wise) like building a new jail,” he said.

No job is without problems. And there are always solutions to those problems.

It helps, James said, that the sheriff’s department is on good terms with pretty much every other law enforcement agency in McClain County.

There’s always room for improvement in any job, he believes.

One good example is mental health.

That’s an issue that James said “needs to be revamped.”

“Start at a younger age and not wait until they get older,” he said.

While he is happy with his life so far, James is the first one who will tell you it hasn’t been exactly what he envisioned when he was 5.

“The reality of law enforcement as a 5-year-old and in real life are totally opposite,” he said. “There’s a lot of red tape in the world.