PRAIRIE CITY – Randy Oxford is getting settled into the small-town Eastern Oregon lifestyle.

Finally.

Since taking the helm July 1 as Prairie City’s new chief of police, Oxford, has had to spend a considerable amount of time at trainings in Salem, keeping him away from his new duties here.

A longtime resident of the Portland and Vancouver, Wash. area, Oxford has spent his entire career – over 30 years, 25 of them with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon City – in law enforcement.

Oxford started out as a reserve officer in Lake Oswego in 1972. Also under his belt – and badge – he worked as an officer with Portland Public Schools in West Linn and Hubbard, and most recently served one year as a special deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service.

Oxford also holds a couple of certifications. One is through the FBI as a bomb technician; he served on the Portland Metro Bomb Squad for 10 years. The other is with the Marshals as a hazardous materials technician and instructor.

He has logged over 2,500 training hours and holds two degrees, a basic law enforcement degree from Portland Community College and a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University in criminal justice administration.

Earlier, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, spending two years at Camp Pendleton as a personal valet.

Law enforcement runs in his family.

Oxford’s wife, Jessie Leader-Oxford has been a deputy sheriff in Multnomah County for 18 years. An on-the-job injury delayed her planned retirement, although they hope she can soon move to Prairie City too and join her husband.

He is glad to have his 93-year old mother, Jean Oxford, living with him in Prairie City and said she’s doing well here.

The couple also have three daughters and four granddaughters.

Oxford explained that the trainings he has been attending in Salem are required by the state’s Board of Police Standards and Training for those who attain management positions, as well as those who have been retired for more than two years. Oxford retired in 2004.

There are various levels of training required; Oxford is working on the last one – Executive Certificate – and should be finished after December.

He said his reasons for going into law enforcement, “are pretty much the same as you’d hear from most police officers, as well as doctors, nurses and firefighters … to give back and help people.”

As for hobbies, he concedes that “my hobby is pretty much my work.” He does enjoy trips to the coast when he has time.

And as for life on the dry side of the state, after so many years in Portland, Oxford said he has definitely been enjoying the clear skies of Eastern Oregon. He said he does “miss all the green” and is eager to see a little more rain around here.

But he quickly added, “I never realized how many gray days there were over in the metro area.”