PARIS — The Oxford County Sheriff’s Department’s newest deputy is back from Afghanistan and ready to patrol the streets of Bethel.

Matthew Noyes of Rumford, until recently a corporal with the Rumford Police Department, will be focusing on Bethel at night.

Noyes, 29, served six years with the Rumford police. Before that, he was an officer with the Dixfield Police Department and worked in corrections for the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office in Auburn. According to his biography from the Rumford Police Department, while working for Androscoggin County he attended Basic Corrections Academy, Field Training Officer School and the Law Enforcement Pre-Service Academy.

He has served in the U.S. Marines, and just weeks ago returned from a yearlong tour of duty in Afghanistan as a member of the Army National Guard, serving in the Paktia Province near the Pakistan border.

“I wanted to serve my country overseas,” Noyes said of his time in Afghanistan. He was never sent to battle as a Marine. “I wanted to be part of what was going on overseas so I saw (the National Guard) as a good opportunity.” Noyes is an E5 sergeant in the guard.

Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant said Noyes’ training made him a great candidate. He said he was interested in Noyes even before he left for Afghanistan.

Noyes will cover the night shift in Bethel, which pays for Sheriff’s Office coverage since voters there elected to dissolve their police department in June.

Gallant said that as ski season ramps up, deputies will be busy with more traffic and calls in the area. He said there have been 11 people charged with operating under the influence in Bethel since the Sheriff’s Office took over in July, and he expects that number will increase as the amount of traffic rises.

“We’re trying to keep the highways as safe as possible,” Gallant said, calling Noyes “well-trained in OUI detection.”

Noyes lives in Rumford with his wife and two daughters.

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