For many Claremore residents, 2008 will be just another year, marked only by a new wall calendar.

For Amanda Fork, it will be a whole new life.

Currently enrolled in the police academy in Ada, the California native will graduate in February and join the ranks of the Claremore Police Department.

“When I graduate from the academy, I’ll come here (at the Claremore Police Department) as a certified officer in the training program,” Fork said. “Once that’s completed, I’ll be a regular uniformed officer, and I’m really looking forward to that.”

Fork’s predilection for law enforcement comes naturally, the daughter of law and military officers.

“My mother was a police officer and both my parents were in the Marines,” she said. “I recently got out of the Marine Corps myself, serving from 1997 to 2004 in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

While in the service, Fork was a sergeant in the intelligence field for the Marines.

“I do wish the media covered more of the positive aspects of what we’re doing over there — the good news — instead of so much of the negative news,” she said. “The majority of Iraqis wanted us there and were grateful we were there, working to help them.”

Following her honorable discharge, Fork moved to Oklahoma, near her sister in Skiatook, and began pursuing her interests in law enforcement.

“Law enforcement was something I was always interested in, and it was the most comparable field to what I was doing in the Marines,” she said. “When I first moved to Oklahoma, I was a dispatcher with the Bixby Police Department, but now, I’m looking forward to being a full-time officer here in Claremore.”

In addition to her new career, Fork will have a new address, as she’s making plans to move to Claremore with her 2-year-old son, Riley.

“Everyone here has been very friendly, very helpful — Claremore is a good community — I’m looking forward to being a part of it,” she said.

“We’re all looking forward to Amanda’s successful graduation at the CLEET Academy,” said Capt. Danny Dobbins, Claremore Police Department. “She’ll make a fine addition to our officers and will serve the City and the citizens of Claremore well.”

So, while the new year may only mean more of the same for many, 2008 will mean a new beginning for soon-to-be Claremore Police Officer Amanda Fork.

“In a way, it feels like I’m starting a new life,” she said. “I’ll be in a new town with a new job — it will be like I’m starting over in 2008, and I’m looking forward to that.”