Carson City man’s long juvenile probation career ends today

Today is the last workday in the 29-year career of John Simms, Carson City’s chief juvenile probation officer.

“It was just time,” Simms, 53, said of his decision to retire. “I’ve been an administrator here for 16 years, and I think that takes its toll on you. It’s a long time to be an administrator.”

Simms was an intern with the Carson City Juvenile Probation Department beginning in 1982 and joined the department full time in 1984, after graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno. The Reno native moved to Carson City two years later.

His decision to pursue a juvenile-justice career wasn’t random.

“It’s just been something that’s kind of stuck to me,” he said in an interview. “In college, I wanted to do something helping at-risk kids. I like kids — I like hanging out with kids, I like working with kids, I like playing with kids. Working with kids was the best thing I could think of.”

In his retirement, Simms hopes to ride his motorcycle more with his wife, Karen. However, “I’ll stay involved in community activities that I’ve been involved with. … Some of them will be related to this field I’m in right now,” he said.

He acknowledges that today will be emotional.

“Most of the people in this hallway, I’ve hired,” Simms said. “Saying goodbye to those people … they mean a lot to me.”

Mayor Robert Crowell honored Simms with a proclamation of appreciation at Thursday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.