Recommendations for 30 something year old in Law Enforcement for Coast Living? (Bend: home, employment)

[jenniferyan3565]

Hey all. Well, hopefully to nobody's demise here, I am a Cali girl wanting to make Oregon my home. I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Here's my deal; I am a 32 year old single mother, as in totally single mother with just my son and I and am a 911 police dispatcher. I live in a small town near Sacramento, California of about 8k people but dispatch for a much larger city. What I would love, is to move to the Oregon Coast to a town that’s a smaller town, but that is close to a bigger town/city where there would be several law enforcement departments I could look into dispatching for. I saw the Oregon trooper website but their centers are not near the coast Of course I would secure a job prior to moving.Hoping my commute could be about 30 minutes max to work but still allow me to live on the coast. I’ve been researching a lot about Waldport, Brookings, and Bend etc. My son is 5 years old and will just be starting kindergarten, so a place with access to a great school system would be important for me as well. I have my own transportation so that is not an issue. I'm super outdoor oriented; hiking, fishing, diving, you name it, and I do it. Ideally, I would just like to remain in a small community (that is not depressive like I hear/read Coos Bay is these days?) but yet is close to a larger city for work or play. I am from Santa Cruz originally, so to me, the coast is my home and I am not worried about any weather at all. If anyone knows where this fairytale of mine may be, please let me know. Oh, one more thing, I am also Native American, so if there would be any sort of tribal police departments that any of you may be aware of, please let me know. I appreciate anything you can offer. Thanks again

[jenniferyan3565]

OOPS, also, very important for mountains/lakes to be nearby as well!

[Larry Caldwell]

The north coast is your best bet. The south coast counties are nearing bankruptcy because of the federal forest shutdown, and if Congress doesn't renew replacement funding, they will be dead in the water. So far nothing has passed this year. 911 call centers sort of depend on emergency responders, and there won't be many on the Southern Oregon coast next year. Josephine County just dropped sheriff staffing to 19th century levels, and released half the jail inmates because of staffing cuts.

The Indian casinos on the coast have their own security, but tribal lands are measured in city blocks. There are casinos in North Bend and Lincoln City on the coast, and one not too far inland at Valley Junction (Grand Ronde).

[jenniferyan3565]

Thank you Larry. I just last night researched Lincoln City as well. I appreciate your info.

[hamellr]

Unfortunately for you, Oregon consolidated many of it's 911 Centers almost two decades ago as a cost savings measure. And the future is not looking bright even then: Central Oregonian - Prineville, Oregon

Maybe you have enough skills to be a regular dispatcher? There are a few attractive positions in McMinnville, and another at $27/hr+ for Kaiser. Dispatcher Jobs, Employment in Oregon | Indeed.com

[Random_Walk]

For what it's worth on the North Coast? I can stand on a beach, next to a large lake, or at the foot of a mountain - all in less than 10 blocks' walking distance from my front porch.

Not sure offhand who is hiring, though it's fairly easy to find out.

Most towns around here of 1,000 or larger in population usually have about 2-3 full-time police officers on the payroll, and the pay really isn't the greatest. I think Seaside, Tillamook, and Astoria are exceptions due to being larger towns.

Some other options to being a town cop in the area is to look into working for the Tillamook or Clatsop County sheriff's departments, as they pitch in not only on the roads, but actually take the place of town cops in the smaller towns (e.g. Bay City, Garibaldi, Nehalem...) Other options would be looking into the state Highway Patrol, and/or the state wildlife enforcement agencies (both in the woods and on the waterways/bays/rivers/etc).