DAYTON-The Columbia County Sheriff's Office has a new deputy in the making.

Since he was hired on July 1, 32-year-old Caesar Rivera said he has been getting to know the ropes. "It feels good," he said. "I'm trying to remember names."

Rivera is a 2002 graduate of Pasco High School and attended Columbia Basin College in 2005-06. When he was a student at CBC, his uncle, Jesse Romero, who is a Pasco Police Dept. detective, suggested he try a career in law enforcement.

Rivera said after a ride along in Romero's patrol car, he decided law enforcement would be his career of choice. "I experienced...