No typical days for deputies

They are the people that catch us when we speed, help us when we need help and watch out for the best interest of the community. They are the men and women of the Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Department, and their priority is to keep the members of the community safe.

In a typical day, Deputy Josh Grasseth may have lots of contact with violators.

“Sometimes, I can spend a whole shift stopping cars,” he said.

Grasseth, a 1997 graduate of Wahkiakum High School, said he didn’t intend to become a cop.

“Undersheriff Jon Dearmore got me involved,” he said, adding that he likes the excitement of the job. “You move, move, move.”

During a shift, deputies will travel from one end of the county to the other, often on side streets checking areas of frequent crime or areas of reported thefts and break-ins.

Summer is a busier time than winter, “but you can’t base it on one year to the next,” Grasseth said.

During the summer Grasseth said he will do bar checks--walking in to make sure that everyone is behaving and no one is violating probation.

Officers will respond to anything from collisions to animals in the road; dead and alive, especially dead deer.

“Most of the time, when a car hits a deer, the deer dies,” he said.

Officers will also respond to courtesy calls. A recent call came in from a Kelso couple who ventured up Middle Valley Road to play in the snow. When they got stuck, they called for assistance. A courtesy transport brought the couple to Cathlamet where they were able to call family members for a ride home.

Deputy Helen Coubra has been with the department for about a year and a half. She began her career working for the Tacoma Police Department working 40 hours a week with them, and working up to 90 hours a week at a bakery she owned in University Place.

Coubra eventually left TPD to work the bakery full time and when the bakery closed, she wanted to get back into law enforcement. She said she contacted Dearmore, applied and “here I am.”

Tacoma is quite a bit different than Wahkiakum County.

“There is always back up here,” she said, “even if we have to call someone at home.”

In Tacoma, it isn’t unusual to have one major call a night, sometimes four or five.

“Here, you can step back and try to make a difference. Try to help somebody.”

Coubra said there really isn’t a typical day. She said that anything can happen--car wrecks, cows on the road, property disputes, etcetera.

“You never know which will come what day.”