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✍️Behind the Bars: Female Deputy Insights✍️ By Deputy Vierck, Eight years, two months, and twenty-five days. In a jail, everyone counts time. Adults in Custody mark the days and “wake-ups” until release. Deputies count the hours until the weekend or the years until retirement. I could recount every shift I worked at the Coos County Jail—the triumphs and the traumas—but no single page could hold them all. My first and best lesson came before I ever put on the uniform. My aunt, a long-time correctional officer in California, told me, “Your words and your time cost you nothing. They’re still people. It never hurts to listen or to offer a kind word.” I have carried that advice like a compass through every corridor and crisis of my career. It is the greatest gift I was ever given. Both deputies and those we supervise will admit that the job can breed an “us versus them” mindset; it’s practically baked into the design of the place. Yet treating every person with basic respect is the only way to keep our own humanity intact in an environment that can be hazardous, stressful, and, at times, deeply traumatic. We work among individuals society has labeled the worst of the worst. We read the charging instruments, hear the details of unimaginable crimes, and sometimes witness people at their lowest. Still, I have used my aunt’s advice to build genuine rapport across the bars. More than once, an Adult in Custody has stepped in to protect me—from physical attacks, verbal threats, even insults from their peers. We never count on that kind of loyalty, but when it happens, it is a quiet reminder that respect can travel in both directions. Being a woman in a male-dominated profession brings its own challenges. Society—and sometimes the people we supervise—assumes I am smaller, weaker, less capable. Those assumptions are not universally true or false; they simply miss the point. Women are indispensable in corrections. Some of us are exceptional firearms instructors or defensive-tactics trainers. Others excel at jail inspections, ensuring compliance with Oregon Jail Standards. Some are fierce fighters. I see myself as a strategist and a de-escalator—skills rooted in an upbringing where violence was absent, and words were the first line of defense. That background left me unprepared for the raw aggression I would eventually face, but it also gave me tools many of my male colleagues do not possess: the ability to calm an enraged man with the steady tone of an exasperated mother, or to search a female inmate with the dignity the law and basic decency require. People are always surprised when they learn where I work. “Wait—you work with men, too?” Yes. Murderers, rapists, people arrested for DUII—everyone who comes through the sally port. The shocked look on their faces used to bother me. Now it fills me with a strange pride. I don’t look like their mental image of a jail deputy, and I have learned to be proud of that mismatch. I have served as Watch Commander, running an entire shift of four to seven deputies when the sergeant is off. For the last three years, I have been a Field Training Officer, shaping new hires and praying they carry forward the same empathy my aunt gave me. When George Floyd was killed, I posted publicly about my disappointment in bad policing. Someone replied, “You only care because bad cops make you look bad.” That remark missed the mark by a mile. No one lasts long in this profession for ego or glory. I have missed holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. I have been cursed at, spit on, and assaulted. Some mornings, it takes everything I have just to walk through the staff door. There have been days I nearly turned in my badge for something safer, softer, saner. Yet I stay—because I believe I am here for a reason. I mentor rookies. I talk people down from the edge of suicide. I have knelt in someone else’s blood, applying pressure and praying the ambulance hurries. The job is brutal on bodies, minds, and relationships. But it has also given me a second family unlike any other. You hear it said that it’s not where you work, it’s who you work with. In law enforcement, that cliché is gospel. I know deputies who will drive across the county at 3 a.m. to check on a struggling coworker. I know others who crochet blankets and stuffed animals for every baby born into our extended family. I know men and women who have run into danger to save a life—sometimes the life of the very person they arrested the week before. We are protectors. We are human beings capable of profound empathy. My greatest hope is that one day the public will look past the uniform, past the headlines, and see us clearly for who we are. Featured News by Coos County Sheriff
✍️Behind the Bars: Female Deputy Insights✍️ By Deputy Vierck, Eight years, two months, and twenty-five days. In a jail, everyone counts time. Adults in Custody mark the days and “wake-ups” until release. Deputies count the hours until the weekend or the years until retirement. I could recount every shift I worked at the Coos County Jail—the triumphs and the traumas—but no single page could hold them all. My first and best lesson came before I ever put on the uniform. My aunt, a long-time correctional officer in California, told me, “Your words and your time cost you nothing. They’re still people. It never hurts to listen or to offer a kind word.” I have carried that advice like a compass through every corridor and crisis of my career. It is the greatest gift I was ever given. Both deputies and those we supervise will admit that the job can breed an “us versus them” mindset; it’s practically baked into the design of the place. Yet treating every person with basic respect is the only way to keep our own humanity intact in an environment that can be hazardous, stressful, and, at times, deeply traumatic. We work among individuals society has labeled the worst of the worst. We read the charging instruments, hear the details of unimaginable crimes, and sometimes witness people at their lowest. Still, I have used my aunt’s advice to build genuine rapport across the bars. More than once, an Adult in Custody has stepped in to protect me—from physical attacks, verbal threats, even insults from their peers. We never count on that kind of loyalty, but when it happens, it is a quiet reminder that respect can travel in both directions. Being a woman in a male-dominated profession brings its own challenges. Society—and sometimes the people we supervise—assumes I am smaller, weaker, less capable. Those assumptions are not universally true or false; they simply miss the point. Women are indispensable in corrections. Some of us are exceptional firearms instructors or defensive-tactics trainers. Others excel at jail inspections, ensuring compliance with Oregon Jail Standards. Some are fierce fighters. I see myself as a strategist and a de-escalator—skills rooted in an upbringing where violence was absent, and words were the first line of defense. That background left me unprepared for the raw aggression I would eventually face, but it also gave me tools many of my male colleagues do not possess: the ability to calm an enraged man with the steady tone of an exasperated mother, or to search a female inmate with the dignity the law and basic decency require. People are always surprised when they learn where I work. “Wait—you work with men, too?” Yes. Murderers, rapists, people arrested for DUII—everyone who comes through the sally port. The shocked look on their faces used to bother me. Now it fills me with a strange pride. I don’t look like their mental image of a jail deputy, and I have learned to be proud of that mismatch. I have served as Watch Commander, running an entire shift of four to seven deputies when the sergeant is off. For the last three years, I have been a Field Training Officer, shaping new hires and praying they carry forward the same empathy my aunt gave me. When George Floyd was killed, I posted publicly about my disappointment in bad policing. Someone replied, “You only care because bad cops make you look bad.” That remark missed the mark by a mile. No one lasts long in this profession for ego or glory. I have missed holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. I have been cursed at, spit on, and assaulted. Some mornings, it takes everything I have just to walk through the staff door. There have been days I nearly turned in my badge for something safer, softer, saner. Yet I stay—because I believe I am here for a reason. I mentor rookies. I talk people down from the edge of suicide. I have knelt in someone else’s blood, applying pressure and praying the ambulance hurries. The job is brutal on bodies, minds, and relationships. But it has also given me a second family unlike any other. You hear it said that it’s not where you work, it’s who you work with. In law enforcement, that cliché is gospel. I know deputies who will drive across the county at 3 a.m. to check on a struggling coworker. I know others who crochet blankets and stuffed animals for every baby born into our extended family. I know men and women who have run into danger to save a life—sometimes the life of the very person they arrested the week before. We are protectors. We are human beings capable of profound empathy. My greatest hope is that one day the public will look past the uniform, past the headlines, and see us clearly for who we are.
Behind the Bars Female Deputy Insights By Deputy Vierck Eight years two months and twent... More

12/01/2025

Oregon man living in car with pig, dog gets fresh start in Chicago Featured News by Oregon Today News
Oregon man living in car with pig, dog gets fresh start in Chicago
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12/01/2025

Asking Eric: Family, friends don’t seem to appreciate time I put into tedious Christmas cookie tradition Featured News by Oregon Today News
Asking Eric: Family, friends don’t seem to appreciate time I put into tedious Christmas cookie tradition
Dear Eric My late mother made a special Christmas cookie that required tedious decorating ... More

12/01/2025

Dear Abby: His Christian wife says she’ll divorce him if he doesn’t give up hosting his weekly live podcast Featured News by Oregon Today News
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DEAR ABBY Ive hosted a live podcast for years Its my creative outlet my therapy Recently m... More

12/01/2025

🍁 Last Fall 2025 painting 🍂 Warm tones, candlelight, and the cozy spirit of the season.Photos from Peruvian Cultural Festival's post Featured News by Peruvian Cultural Festival
🍁 Last Fall 2025 painting 🍂 Warm tones, candlelight, and the cozy spirit of the season.Photos from Peruvian Cultural Festival's post
Last Fall 2025 painting Warm tones candlelight and the cozy spirit of the seasonPhotos f... More

11/30/2025

Winter Is a Great Season to Go Bird Watching in Portland Featured News by Oregon Today News
Winter Is a Great Season to Go Bird Watching in Portland
Whether its on Sauvie Island or in your own backyard our guide to urban birding will have ... More

11/30/2025

🍂 Last Fall 2025 artwork — colors that warm the soul. 🎨Photos from Peruvian Cultural Festival's post Featured News by Peruvian Cultural Festival
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Last Fall 2025 artwork colors that warm the soul Photos from Peruvian Cultural Festivals... More

11/30/2025

‘Story of the year.’ Shorthanded Blazers test Oklahoma City, but fall in 4th Featured News by Oregon Today News
‘Story of the year.’ Shorthanded Blazers test Oklahoma City, but fall in 4th
The broken record skipped some more Sunday night at the Moda Center More

11/30/2025

School bus driver knits beanies for students to spread warmth and love Featured News by Oregon Today News
School bus driver knits beanies for students to spread warmth and love
Tina Hutcherson the school bus driver knits beanies for students ensuring theyre warm and ... More

11/30/2025

2 Killed in Klamath County Crash on Highway 140E Featured News by Oregon Today News
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Driver and passenger killed in two-vehicle collision on Highway 140E in Klamath County on ... More

11/30/2025

Dear Annie: We were excited to move to a new neighborhood, but now just feel left out Featured News by Oregon Today News
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Dear Annie Earlier this year my family moved into a new neighborhood after decades in our ... More

11/30/2025

🚨SCINT press release🚨 As a member of SCINT, I would first like to thank the community for their continued support with our ongoing efforts to stop the drug and gun problem within our community. As I sit here writing this with family and friends over Thanksgiving, I am reminded of several families that I know to have been affected by the drug problem within our community. SCINT will continue to work day and night, holidays or not, in an attempt to stop the drug problem within Coos County. For the past year, SCINT has been investigating several controlled substance dealers within and outside the Coos County area. This investigation has led to the seizure of over twenty pounds of methamphetamine, over two pounds of fentanyl, various amounts of heroin, xylazine, pills, and over ten firearms have been seized from these dealers. These seizures have yielded about half a million dollars in cash and the street value of the controlled substances. SCINT has been assisted by local and federal authorities and is continuing to investigate this drug trafficking organization. SCINT would also like to mention that Matthew Medeiros has again been arrested by the Coos County Sheriff’s Office and lodged on additional drug charges. SCINT is working closely with the Coos County District Attorney's office on Matthew Medeiros’s cases, leading to Matthew Medeiros being held at the Coos County Jail. Attached to this release are some of the photos of what has been seized over the last year, as words cannot describe how vast the drug problem is within Coos County. I hope those who read this understand a little more about how active SCINT is within Coos County and believe that we are doing everything we can to stop this from continuing to plague the county.Photos from Coos County Sheriff's Office's post Featured News by Coos County Sheriff
🚨SCINT press release🚨 As a member of SCINT, I would first like to thank the community for their continued support with our ongoing efforts to stop the drug and gun problem within our community. As I sit here writing this with family and friends over Thanksgiving, I am reminded of several families that I know to have been affected by the drug problem within our community. SCINT will continue to work day and night, holidays or not, in an attempt to stop the drug problem within Coos County. For the past year, SCINT has been investigating several controlled substance dealers within and outside the Coos County area. This investigation has led to the seizure of over twenty pounds of methamphetamine, over two pounds of fentanyl, various amounts of heroin, xylazine, pills, and over ten firearms have been seized from these dealers. These seizures have yielded about half a million dollars in cash and the street value of the controlled substances. SCINT has been assisted by local and federal authorities and is continuing to investigate this drug trafficking organization. SCINT would also like to mention that Matthew Medeiros has again been arrested by the Coos County Sheriff’s Office and lodged on additional drug charges. SCINT is working closely with the Coos County District Attorney's office on Matthew Medeiros’s cases, leading to Matthew Medeiros being held at the Coos County Jail. Attached to this release are some of the photos of what has been seized over the last year, as words cannot describe how vast the drug problem is within Coos County. I hope those who read this understand a little more about how active SCINT is within Coos County and believe that we are doing everything we can to stop this from continuing to plague the county.Photos from Coos County Sheriff's Office's post
SCINT press release As a member of SCINT I would first like to thank the community for t... More

11/30/2025

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 26, Thunder hold on to beat Trail Blazers 123-115 Featured News by Oregon Today News
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 26, Thunder hold on to beat Trail Blazers 123-115
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points Chet Holmgren had 19 points and nine rebounds and... More

11/30/2025

'Thanksgiving was pretty much ruined': Volunteer has car stolen while serving meals to the homeless in Portland Featured News by Oregon Today News
'Thanksgiving was pretty much ruined': Volunteer has car stolen while serving meals to the homeless in Portland
Cheryl said she couldnt believe her car was stolen after parking in the lot that she alway... More

11/30/2025

Oklahoma City uses dominant 4th quarter to beat Trail Blazers: Rapid Reaction Featured News by Oregon Today News
Oklahoma City uses dominant 4th quarter to beat Trail Blazers: Rapid Reaction
Portland Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter promised that his shorthanded team wou... More

11/30/2025

Oregon WR Benson puts ‘stamp’ on Washington rivalry with electrifying TD Featured News by Oregon Today News
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SEATTLE - Malik Benson a senior wide receiver who transferred to Oregon last offseason rec... More

11/30/2025

Seahawks blank Vikings for 1st shutout victory in 10 years Featured News by Oregon Today News
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SEATTLE Ernest Jones IV returned an interception 84 yards for the first touchdown of his ... More

11/30/2025

Here are 3 takeaways from Seattle's 26-0 win over Minnesota Featured News by Oregon Today News
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The Seahawks dominated rookie quarterback Max Brosmer and the Vikings from start to finish... More

11/30/2025

'Home Improvement' star faces sixth arrest in 5 years, fiancée also arrested Featured News by Oregon Today News
'Home Improvement' star faces sixth arrest in 5 years, fiancée also arrested
One of the stars of the classic sitcom Home Improvement was arrested for the sixth time in... More

11/30/2025

Amazon’s AI Data Centers Strain Oregon Water, Fuel Health Crises Featured News by Oregon Today News
Amazon’s AI Data Centers Strain Oregon Water, Fuel Health Crises
Amazons data centers in eastern Oregon fueling AI growth strain local water supplies taint... More

11/30/2025

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