OSKALOOSA — “I grew up around a lot of strong women — aunts, grandmothers — who encouraged me to develop opinions and to go after what I wanted.”

Though not lawyers themselves, the women surrounding Rose Anne Mefford in her formative years profoundly influenced her outlook on life and her sense of her own potential.

Growing up in Wapello County, Mefford originally wanted to be a veterinarian. However, she opted to put a career on hold while she and husband, Jim, raised their four children, Mike, Suzi, Chris and Colt, on a farm near Hedrick where her husband farmed. Sometime during that process, her focus shifted from veterinary medicine to the law.

“I did all this after the kids were born. I was a ‘nontraditional’ student. I don’t know if I could do that again,” she said with a laugh. “All this” included her associate’s degree from Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Iowa in 1991, and her law degree, also from Iowa, in 1994. She didn’t start law school until after Colt, their youngest, was in kindergarten.

“I had a very supportive family. My parents and my husband’s parents all lived very close. And my husband was still farming and was able to help also,” she said. Mr. Mefford has since gone to work for John Deere in Ottumwa.

“My first real interest was in environmental law,” Mefford explained. “But I had an internship in the Attorney General’s office and it was a great experience. When I graduated and passed the bar, there was an opening for an assistant county attorney at the Wapello County attorney’s office and I found that to be my life’s calling.”

Then in 2001, she decided to try her hand a private practice, but “it wasn’t for me.” What Mefford had come to enjoy about working in the county attorney’s office was the continuity of the process.

“I like to be in on it from the beginning, to follow through and see that justice is done. I feel good when I go home at night. I also like working with victims,” she said.

When an attorney was needed to fill the vacancy created when the Mahaska County attorney retired early, Mefford applied.

“I love the Oskaloosa area. And here, I can set my own policies. I plan to run next term,” when the current term expires, she said.

Mefford has, as one of her main goals in office, to “work with local law enforcement to stay on top of the drug problem.” Asked if she considers that to be the main problem in this area, she said, “No, but it relates to almost every other case we have,” pointing out that burglaries are often committed to obtain money for drugs, and that most child abuse and assault cases also involve drug use.

Asked where she is on her career path, Mefford replied with conviction, “I’m right where I want to be. I hope I’m here for 20 years.”

Herald staff writer Sue Salisbury can be reached via email at salisburys@oskyherald.com