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State honors three local officers Awards presented to 10 police officers statewide By CHRIS BRISTOL Three police officers from Jackson County were recently honored by the ODOT Transportation Safety Division. The awards were presented to 10 officers statewide as part of an Oregon Department of Transportation traffic safety program called "Looking Beyond the Traffic Ticket." The three local officers are: Dace Cochran , a Jackson County sheriff's deputy, won in the "safety advocate" category for his involvement in a variety of traffic safety and education activities. Cochran makes presentations to DUII victims-impact panels and seatbelt alternative education courses, and he is a certified technician who inspects child safety seats at local clinics and assists with distribution of safety seats to low-income families. He is also an accident reconstruction expert who specializes in fatal crashes. Sgt. Steve Cupernall of the Oregon State Police, based in Central Point, also won in the "safety advocate" category for his support of Oregon's seatbelt and child safety-seat laws. He spent 13 years as an OSP training officer and was largely responsible for Operation Snowflake, an interagency program to reduce Interstate 5 traffic delays caused by bad weather on Siskiyou Summit. Kalen James Taylor , formerly a Rogue River police officer, won in the "dangerous driver" category for stopping an armed felon. On the night of Sept. 18, 1998, Taylor was attacked alongside I-5 by a motorist, Thomas David Downs II, after the officer tried to arrest Downs for possession of a sawed-off shotgun. The young officer won a desperate roadside fight for control of his sidearm and baton, suffering a gash over his left eye. Downs ran into the woods but was soon apprehended. Downs is serving eight years in prison on an unrelated conviction for armed robbery, and faces even more time on federal firearms charges connected to the I-5 incident. Taylor now works for the Sandy Police Department. The goal of the program is to recognize police officers who actively enforce traffic laws and demonstrate a commitment to traffic safety. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA