By Helen Hollyer

Joan Kelley, 80, who moved first from Maryland to Colorado and then, in July 2008, to Springfield's Woodside Assisted Living Community, was hesitant about voicing her wish when she was first offered the opportunity to participate in the senior care facility's "Ageless Dream Program."

Her reluctance lessened after she observed other residents fulfilling their wishes and dreams, especially after her friend Retta Morrison took a ride in a fire engine.

Eventually Kelley wrote a letter asking if she could spend a day with a "policeman," including riding in a police cruiser, explaining that her grandfather had been a police officer in Washington, D.C.

After a Woodside staff member who had become acquainted with Lane County Sheriff's Office Deputy Alysoun House when House performed on the sousaphone during an Oregon Tuba Ensemble Christmas Concert at Woodside contacted House.

House made the necessary arrangements for Kelley to accompany her recently during one of her shifts as Creswell's daytime contract deputy.

"I would have pursued a career in police work if I hadn't stopped to have a family," Kelley said after her ride-along. "Instead, I raised four children.

"I had lots of questions answered that I had wondered about," she said. "It was very interesting to see how police work in the West is different from that of the East.

House commented that Kelley had asked numerous intelligent and relevant questions.

"I was also very interested in all the new equipment and resources here. Everything was so well organized in their work and system. All in all, it satisfied my every question and thought on the subject of local police work," Kelley said. "I would do it again in a minute."