MATTAWA - You know the story. It's repeated time and again. The small-town kid can't wait to graduate and leave for the city.

Not so with Maybeline (Pantaleon) Mendoza. The 2007 Wahluke High School graduate got a job with the city right after high school and stayed.

"I like it here," she said.

That doesn't mean Mendoza hasn't spent time outside of Mattawa. She has an AA degree from Big Bend Community College and is a Licensed Massage Practitioner, having studied at the Tri-City School of Massage.

"I do a little massage as a side job," she said. "That's what I always wanted to do. Maybe in the future I'll start a little business."

Or Mendoza could dive deeper into police work. She's planning to study forensic science at Central Washington University.

If the name Maybeline Pantaleon sounds familiar, that could be because of her exploits with the Wahluke High track team. She competed at state for the Warriors four years as a triple jumper.

Mendoza reached a high mark of 33 feet, 11 1/2 inches as a junior and was looking forward to a state title as a senior. She had beaten all but one of the girls in the competition.

But fate stepped in and changed everything. Mendoza suffered a knee injury before state. She competed but finished eighth. She gave up the idea of joining the Spokane Falls Community College team on scholarship.

"You're hopping on your knees all the time," she said.

Mendoza started at City Hall as a customer service clerk right after graduation. She became the city's deputy clerk a year and a half ago.

Last summer Mendoza was offered the newly-formed police clerk position. The department was going through some housekeeping measures and needed another person.

"I like it," she said. "It's something new every day. I'm constantly learning."

One thing Mendoza is learning as a person responsible for the security of evidence is that evidence can be anything.

Recently it was a gas can, the kind you use when you run out of gas.

"There's lots of shoes," Mendoza said. "You never know what will be inside those lockers."

Mendoza is also an English-Spanish interpreter for the department. With Chief John Turley's own bilingual abilities, she's not needed for all language challenges, but she's ready.

The interpreting aspect of her job gave Mendoza a chance to prove herself a while back. She still gets a kick out of the time a defense attorney tried to prove she was not a qualified interpreter.

In a room outside of court, the attorney asked Mendoza a series of questions in English about her interpreting capabilities. She answered them all satisfactorily.

"Then all of a sudden he turned around and talked to me in Spanish," Mendoza said.

Mendoza snapped off her answers in Spanish. The attorney quit the conversation.

"He said, 'We won't be needing you in court,' and got up and left," Mendoza said with a chuckle.

Mendoza is married to Mario Mendoza, who grew up in Royal City. They met at college.

Mario is an X-ray technician and medical assistant at the Pinnacle Pain Center in Kennewick. He is studying at Charter College in Pasco to become a physician's assistant.