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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2019)
JUNE 1, 2019 smok signflz 9 From bagging groceries to bagging criminals credit card fraud case in Newberg where the sus- pect ended up going to prison for several years. In an interesting twist, he was arrested after By Danielle Frost trying to use a fake card Smoke Signals staff writer at the Thriftway store Clint Cardwell went from scan- Cardwell worked at for ning groceries to taking calls on a so many years. police scanner. Cardwell said his fa- Cardwell is Grand Ronde’s new- vorite aspect of being an est police officer, replacing Ron officer is helping people Wellborn, who joined the Tribal in need, but also the in- Security Department in April. vestigative piece of law The 29-year-old had worked at enforcement work. Knapps Thriftway in Newberg for “I like putting the piec- Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez several years, first as a cashier and es of the puzzle together Officer Clint Cardwell joined the Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department after serving with to obtain the end result,” then in loss prevention, helping apprehend shoplifters. He became he said. the Newberg Police Department. interested in police work after sev- And the most tedious “It was difficult living there and eral interactions with local officers. and was hired by the Newberg Po- aspect of Cardwell’s job? being an officer,” Cardwell said. “I’d always had a lot of respect for lice Department in October 2017. “Right now, it’s solidifying myself “The familiarity made it a chal- law enforcement and the work they Next came the six-month Depart- as an officer,” he said. “You spend lenge.” do,” Cardwell said. “When I went ment of Public Safety Standards time with another officer and having After talking with family friend into loss prevention I really got and Training in Salem. someone looking over your shoulder Steve Warden, who also is the Tribe’s to know the officers and decided I However, the newly minted police can be nerve-wracking, but it’s im- Emergency Operations coordinator, wanted to be involved on a grander officer soon discovered working in portant. Even the smallest mistakes Cardwell applied for an open officer scale.” the town he’d grown up in had its on reports or citations could mean position in Grand Ronde. Cardwell put in an application challenges. they are thrown out of court.” “Law enforcement across the Although he’s only been in Grand board is fairly similar so the tran- Ronde for a month, Cardwell has sition hasn’t been difficult so far,” noticed a level of respect the com- Cardwell said. “I’m figuring the ins munity has for its police officers. and outs of things. One difference “It’s a really nice community,” is that we assist a lot with Polk and he said. Yamhill County calls. Back in New- During his leisure time, Cardwell berg, if the county needed help we enjoys golfing at various courses in would go, but we generally didn’t the area and spending time with leave our area. Here we will go out his girlfriend, Syara Thorsen. The to Willamina or Dallas to assist.” couple lives in Newberg. Police officers typically have Tribal Police Chief Jake McK- their share of unusual traffic stop night said Cardwell fits in well at experiences, but Cardwell said the station, and even beat him on nothing too strange has happened the golf course. to him yet. “So far he is doing great,” he said. “So far I really like it,” he said. “I think he’ll be a great part of the “In Grand Ronde, we have a great community. He really likes to help group of guys and I’m getting to people. The cultural part is new know them. Sometimes, you are to him, but he is learning. … I’m the only officer on duty so that is not sure I’ll ever get him in golf something I’m getting used to. Ev- though.” eryone here is pretty level headed Cardwell said his long-term goal and things seem to be going in the is to excel at his new job. right direction.” “Grand Ronde has given me a The biggest case he has worked great opportunity to be here,” he on during his relatively short ten- said. “I will do the best I can to Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez ure in law enforcement was a earn that.” From left, Brayden Fox, Kai Barton and Hudson Hubbell, students in the Tribal K-12 Afterschool Program, work on planting one of the new garden boxes outside of the Education Building on Wednesday, May 22. The Education Department has been working with leaders at Marion-Polk Food Share, the local iskam mfkHfk haws food pantry and Natural Resources Department staff to develop garden beds and revitalize the greenhouse next to the Youth Education building. Tribe’s newest police officer was a longtime grocery store employee Box blessing A child in the Tribal K-12 Afterschool Program finishes planting in one of the new garden boxes outside of the Youth Education building on Wednesday, May 22. Ad created by George Valdez
