Treatment Court celebrates first graduates | REGION, A3
E O
AST
144th Year, no. 59
Veteran deputy
enjoying new
role as SRO
REGONIAN
THUrsDAY, JAnUArY 9, 2020
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
SCOTT FAIRLEY
JULY 24, 1966-JAN. 7, 2020
Community Mourns
Darrin Parsons started
as Milton-Freewater
school resource officer
in October
By SHEILA HAGAR
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
MILTON-FREEWATER — The
compass needle of Darrin Parsons’
heart naturally swings toward helping
children.
Parsons has worked
in law enforcement
for 20-plus years —
much of that with the
Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Office — but time
outside of the job has
Parsons
included
coaching
youth sports, volun-
teering with the faith-based Young Life
youth organization and parenting four
children at home in Pendleton.
“I have always liked working with
kids, I enjoy it,” the deputy said. “Kids
are important.”
So when Umatilla County Sheriff
Terry Rowan asked Parsons if he would
like to work as a school resource offi-
cer for the Milton-Freewater Unified
School District, Parsons was happy to
jump into the position, despite a daily
commute of about 70 miles round trip.
“I think I’ve always just wanted to
do this,” Parsons said with a grin that
comes easy and often.
The gig started in October, filling a
hole the district had left vacant for at
least 15 years.
Having an armed officer on campus
is becoming more necessary for school
districts across the nation, said Super-
intendent Aaron Duff.
“It’s not just about school violence
… it’s about preventative things. It’s
about officers being able to identify
things, a student being able to share
something with an officer that they
can’t share with another person,” he
said.
Although his district’s emphasis
is on the positives, there’s no going
around some basic truths, Duff said.
“With an issue like smoking or vap-
ing, if you have someone with a badge
who can write a ticket, that brings it to
a whole new level.”
A resource officer on duty is similar
to knowing a police officer is parked on
the highway in the same location every
day, he said.
“You slow down at that spot, don’t
you? You know when someone is there
to help you make good decisions,” Duff
said.
The Milton-Freewater school board
and budget committee identified the
need to employ a trained, certified
officer, and devoted about $100,000 a
year in the budget to do so. That cov-
ers vehicle use, specialized training
and Parsons’ presence at some extra-
curricular events, Duff said, add-
ing he doesn’t anticipate using all the
See Deputy, Page A7
Photo contributed by Dan Haug
Scott Fairley looks out across the Imnaha River on April 7, 2019. Fairley, a Pendleton city councilor, died Tuesday while vacationing
with wife Kimbra Cook and their son, Lieden, in Mexico. A rare aneurysm of the hepatic artery burst, killing Fairley at the age of 53.
Friends, family
remember Fairley’s
energy, intellect
and good cheer
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Other well-wishers included state
Rep. Greg Smith, state Sen. Bill
Hansell, and Umatilla County Com-
missioner George Murdock.
Those who worked closely with
Fairley almost universally high-
lighted his advocacy for Eastern
Oregon, whether it was through his
work as a state employee or his time
on the city council.
“We are like family at our city,”
Mayor John Turner said in a state-
ment issued by the city. “To say
we’re shocked and pained at the loss
of Scott is a serious understatement.
His friendly, good-natured manner
EnDLETOn — Kimbra Cook
rejected the overtures of her future
husband for months.
A mutual friend wanted to introduce
Cook to a really great guy named Scott
Fairley, but the newly divorced single mom
simply wasn’t ready. Fairley called to ask
if she would meet him for coffee. A month
later, he called again. Finally, she went.
When the pair met at Raphael’s for cof-
fee and dessert, lightning struck quickly.
They talked and talked. Finally, the wait-
ress told them the restaurant had closed
half an hour earlier.
“It seemed like just a few minutes,”
Cook remembers. “It was like a time warp.”
The couple was married in 2002.
Fairley, who has served on the Pendle-
ton City Council for three years, died Tues-
day while vacationing with Cook and their
son, Lieden, in Mexico. A rare aneurysm
of the hepatic artery burst, killing Fairley
at the age of 53.
Those who knew Fairley are reeling.
“He was so energetic, so healthy, so
smart,” said Dale Primmer, friend and fel-
low city councilor. “There’s a lot of shock
right now.”
Primmer and other friends described
Fairley’s way of navigating the world
as kind, optimistic and nonjudgmental.
Everyone seemed to know him. Walking
downtown with Fairley took time.
“He knew every single person he ran
across,” Primmer said. “He made everyone
feel like they were his best friend, and to
some degree they were.”
If Fairley was a dog, he’d be a golden
retriever, said Judge Eva Temple.
“He loved everyone and assumed every-
one loved him,” Temple said. “Therefore it
was true.”
Temple remembers Fairley back in
Pendleton High School as “a skinny, straw-
berry blonde with a letterman’s jacket.”
Fairley, who graduated in 1985, ran track
and cross-country, played trombone in jazz
band and was a member of the French club.
Lifelong friends Joe and Jill Deutz
See Colleagues, Page A7
See Good cheer, Page A7
P
Staff photo by Kathy Aney, File
Kimbra Cook, left, Carolyn Frasier and Scott Fairley gather around a little li-
brary they placed in Cook and Fairley’s front yard to honor Roberta Anderson
in 2017. Fairley died Tuesday evening while on vacation in Mexico. He was 53.
Colleagues mourn
Pendleton city councilor
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — Pendleton
City Councilor Scott Fairley
died Tuesday evening while
on vacation in Mexico. He
was 53.
According to his wife, Kimbra
Cook, Fairley was admitted to the
hospital on new Year’s Eve, where a
doctor informed him that he needed
surgery to repair an aneurysm. A
week later, the aneurysm burst as he
awaited surgery, killing him.
As the shock of Fairley’s sud-
den death began to wear off, his col-
leagues from across the state began
to pay tribute.
“Scott’s creativity and can-do
attitude were an incredible combina-
tion that he leveraged for the bene-
fit of the people of his community,”
Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement.
“His work on the Canyon Creek Fire
to support local residents and help
them navigate state resources was
just one example of how he went
above and beyond, showing in the
process how state government can
be nimble in serving her people.”
“TO SAY WE’RE
SHOCKED AND
PAINED AT THE
LOSS OF SCOTT
IS A SERIOUS
UNDERSTATEMENT.”
John Turner, Mayor of Pendleton