OFF PAGE ONE
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Colleagues: ‘His heart was
always in the right place’
Continued from Page A1
will be greatly missed.”
In an interview Wednes-
day, Councilor Dale Prim-
mer recalled the banter they
would share on city issues
outside council chambers.
“His heart was always in
the right place,” he said.
Along
with
Turner
and Primmer, Fairley was
elected to his first term on
the city council in 2016, fil-
ing for office just ahead of
the deadline.
Fairley made up for his
late entry on the campaign
trail, quickly turning his
North Hill ward into a sea
of green and gold campaign
signs.
In a three-way race that
included a repeat candidate
and former city councilor,
Fairley won nearly 3 out of
every 4 votes by election
night.
As a councilor, Prim-
mer said Fairley was laser
focused on finding a way to
repair and maintain the city’s
street system and creating
sustainability for city ser-
vices and infrastructure.
Fairley spearheaded a
successful effort to reform
the council’s goal-setting
process so that goals were
more directly tied to the
annual budget.
Turner said the council is
set to meet soon to use the
process for the first time.
A Pendleton High School
graduate, Fairley returned
to his hometown in 2002
and embarked on a lengthy
career in state government.
Phil Hodgen remem-
EO file photo
Scott Fairley, second from right, is sworn in as an elected city
councilor by Judge William Perkinson on Jan. 3, 2017. Fair-
ley was elected to his first term on the city council in 2016.
Fairley died Tuesday evening while on vacation in Mexico. He
was 53.
bers when he and Fairley
both worked in the Oregon
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality’s regional com-
munications office out of
Pendleton.
Hodgen retired in 2009
and lost contact with Fairley
until the pair had a chance
encounter in Walla Walla,
Washington, about a year
ago. Hodgen said it was the
first time he had seen him in
10 years, but Fairley’s con-
geniality made it feel like no
time had passed at all.
“It was nice not to be for-
gotten,” he said.
Fairley would go on to
work for the governor’s
office in economic develop-
ment, changing titles as gov-
ernors came and went.
Annette Liebe directly
supervised Fairley from 2014
to 2017 when he worked for
the state office of regional
solutions, and she couldn’t
remember a time when he
didn’t come into work with a
smile on his face.
Liebe said this sense of
positivity combined with his
breadth of knowledge gave
him a knack for bringing
people together and advocat-
ing in Salem for the commu-
nities of Eastern Oregon.
Hansell said his work his-
tory with Fairley extended
all the way back to Hansell’s
days on the Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners,
when Fairley helped the
county secure funding for
water projects.
“He was the kind of guy I
wanted in an economic bat-
tle,” Hansell said. “I wanted
him in my foxhole.”
He continued to do that
in his most recent role as the
regional development officer
for Business Oregon, where
he worked with John Day
City Manager Nick Green.
East Oregonian
A7
PAYING TRIBUTE
Readers who knew Scott
Fairley or were familiar with
his contributions to Eastern
Oregon reacted with an out-
pouring of tributes to him
Wednesday morning after
news of his passing began
to spread. Below are a few
of the comments left on the
East Oregonian’s Facebook
page or sent to the news-
room.
———
“Shame to hear. I didn’t know
him well but when he was
campaigning he went door
to door by himself getting
familiar with those he would
represent in our part of the
town. Respectful, nice, and
appreciated for his short
time on the council.”
Jason Lange
———
“I am so very sorry to hear
this. He did so much in his
short life to try and make
Pendleton a better place to
live. My heart goes out to
Kimbra, his mom and the
rest of his family. He will be
missed and remembered.”
Shannon Cimmiyotti Collins
———
“I am shocked and saddened
to hear this. Scott was so
active in the community and
such an asset. He will certain-
ly be missed. My condolences
Green said Fairley played
a big part in helping John
Day secure $343,800 in
grants and $1 million in
loans for local projects in
their three years working
together. Just earlier this
week, Green said he had shot
off some emails to Fairley to
request help with some new
grant applications.
As Fairley’s friends, fam-
ily, and colleagues process
the void he left behind, the
to his family.”
Charles E. Denight
———
“Scott will always be a sun-
shine. He had the best smile
and warmest personality one
could be so lucky to know.
This is heart wrenching. All
our love to his family during
this most difficult moment.”
Sara Danzelaud
———
“I had the pleasure of work-
ing with Scott in his many
different roles for the State.
I had hoped his enthusiasm,
energy, and positive attitude
would lead him to run for
Governor some day. Our
thoughts are with his family
as they recover from the loss
of a great man.”
Dave W. Wildman
———
“A great man and good
Councilor. He will be missed
dearly.”
Albert Plute
———
“That breaks my heart. He
was truly one of the good
guys, kind to everyone.”
Alice Gilson Hepburn
———
“Scott was one of the most
positive people I know. What
an enormous loss to anyone
he’s ever passed.”
Stephanie Myers
council will need to take
steps to fill his seat.
The Pendleton City Char-
ter requires the council to
declare his seat vacant and
appoint a new councilor to
represent Ward 2, which cov-
ers North Hill, Westgate and
the airport, until Fairley’s
term expires at the end of the
year.
It’s been less than a year
since the city council made
its last appointment, which
———
“Oh, my! What a loss to our
community! Really good
man and always had a smile
and warm greeting. He
did so much for this entire
region. Rest in peace, my
friend, and deepest condo-
lences to his family.”
Dave Tovey
———
“I cannot express enough my
sadness at the loss of Scott.
No words can adequately
convey the heartbreak or our
gratitude for the opportunity
to work with him. Scott was a
tremendous asset to the citi-
zens of Oregon. His expertise
was well-known among the
business sector throughout
the state. Most importantly,
Scott was a devoted family
man and tremendous father.
We respect the family’s pri-
vacy and offer our thoughts
and prayers.”
Rep. Greg Smith
———
“I think we didn’t fully appre-
ciate the number of things
that happened in Northeast
Oregon that had Scott’s
fingerprints on them. He was
somebody who, without a
lot of fanfare, made a lot of
good things happen.”
George Murdock
was spurred by the January
2018 death of Councilor John
Brenne.
In an email announc-
ing Fairley’s death to his
coworkers at Business Ore-
gon, Cummings echoed the
rest of Fairley’s former col-
leagues by lauding his best
qualities before offering a
solemn sign-off.
“I will miss him, Oregon
will miss him,” he wrote. “I
miss him already.”
Deputy: Walking the school safety beat, deputy brings help to M-F
Continued from Page A1
allocated funding.
Sharing Parsons’ salary
and other expenses with the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office means both organiza-
tions benefit, Duff added.
“It’s a great example of
public agencies working
together,” he said. “Sheriff
Rowan has someone available
in the summer, or he can pull
Darrin out if he needs him.”
When the district asked the
community to pass a bond in
2016, parents and others were
adamant that student safety be
high priority, despite the raise
in property taxes a “yes” vote
meant, Duff recalled.
The school district pays
roughly three-quarters of
Parsons’ annual salary, with
the sheriff’s office paying for
the time outside the school
year calendar, when the dep-
uty works patrol and other
duties, said Undersheriff Jim
Littlefield.
Parsons is the only SRO
working out of the Pendle-
ton-based office, Littlefield
said.
With just a couple of
months at his new post, Par-
sons is still busy learning the
lay of the land, he said.
Although his office is at
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Photo/Greg Lehman
Darrin Parsons chats with students at McLoughlin High School between classes recently.
While Parsons spends much of his time at Mac-Hi, he also does safety work at the district’s
other schools.
McLoughlin High School,
there’s work to be done at the
district’s other facilities.
“I’m here for school safety
at all the schools. Today I am
headed to Gib (Gib Olinger
Elementary School) to talk
to a little guy with ‘sticky fin-
gers,’” Parsons said.
He also does some
patrolling in school zones,
especially at Ferndale Ele-
mentary, set in the country-
side outside city limits.
But it’s at the high school
where Parsons needs to spend
the bulk of his time.
Like any high school,
Mac-Hi sees its share of bul-
lying, fights, harassment and
vaping issues, the deputy said.
“I haven’t seen drug and
alcohol use. Yet,” Parsons said.
Parsons works closely with
the building’s attendance and
safety officer, Arnie Alvarez.
Together, the men patrol hall-
ways during student transition
times, greeting kids and keep-
ing an eye on notorious hot
spots.
At other times, they split to
increase rule enforcement.
“I lap the campus and
cruise the parking lot. I check
the doors — sometimes the
kids will prop those open,”
Parsons said.
The area around and
including the boys’ restroom
on the main floor of the school
is one of those, Parsons and
Alvarez agree.
“For some reason, this is
where they come between
classes and just hang,” Par-
sons said with a shrug and
smile. “So sometimes we’ll go
in and hang with them.”
Having a SRO on-site has
been helpful and allows for
more eyes on more square
footage, Alvarez said, return-
ing from tour of duty in the
restroom.
“With Darrin, I feel like I
have a lot of backup and sup-
port,” he said.
Vice Principal Mario
Uribe said having Parsons
in the school is beginning to
show results.
“At the beginning of the
school year, we had 60-plus
freshman and sophomores
with tardies and detention.
Now it’s about 20, meaning
we’ve cut the problem in half,”
Uribe said.
As well, car break-ins in
the school parking lot are at
zero since Parsons began,
he added.
“It’s definitely a team
approach,” he said. “We all
help each other out.”
Working together gives the
three men an opportunity to
steer students into better deci-
sions, they said, such as sug-
gesting a teen walk away from
brewing trouble when they
come upon such a situation.
For Parsons, walking this
beat has opened the door to
a change in attitudes about
police.
“I want to bring positive
interactions with law enforce-
ment. It’s not a traffic stop, it’s
not curfew, it’s not a domestic
situation. We’re not in a neg-
ative situation here,” the dep-
uty pointed out. “We’re here
to help them. We want them
to trust us.”
Duff agrees, noting he’s
witnessed Parsons bringing
an aura of cheer wherever he
goes.
Small mistakes caught in
youth by teachers or a school
resource officer can prevent
bigger mistakes later, Duff
added.
“And it’s nice to know
if you make a mistake, the
person sitting across from
you isn’t going to hate you,”
he said. “They want you to
succeed.”
Good cheer: ‘He made everyone feel like they were his best friend’
Continued from Page A1
said Fairley never stopped
moving. In high school, he
started snow shoveling and
woodcutting businesses and
worked on his 1957 Wil-
lys Jeep. As a young man,
he traveled through Europe,
Asia and the Middle East.
Fairley seemed to nav-
igate the world with easy
humor and grace that
attracted others.
“Scott, more than anyone
else I’ve known, had a gell-
ing effect on whatever group
he was with,” Joe Deutz said.
“The first question everyone
asked when invited to any
occasion, was whether or not
Scott would be there.”
In 1993, he and Pat Tem-
ple — Eva’s husband —
formed a company called
Living Heritage Tours. The
pair took groups in a 16-pas-
senger van to various sites
around Northeast Oregon.
They created an interpretive
center inside the Blakeley
Grain Elevator near Adams
that highlighted the wheat
history of the area. They also
did step-on tours, meeting
tour buses in places, such as
Meacham, and giving local
color. The buses stopped at
prearranged mile markers
and “we would ‘hijack’ the
bus,” Pat Temple said.
Temple played a snake oil
salesman wearing a bowler
and pinstripe suit. Fairley
played a cowboy. Some-
times they were joined by
a floozie, played by Dee
Armstrong.
After the tour com-
pany, Fairley got into public
affairs work with the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion, Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
and later for the Governor’s
Office as eastern region
coordinator. Most recently,
he was regional develop-
ment officer for Business
Oregon.
He worked hard, but
managed to fit in daily
walks, bike rides and trips to
Wallowa Lake, Hells Can-
yon and vacations across the
pond with Cook. He skied
and rode his motorcycle.
Each morning, he walked
his redbone coonhound,
Truman.
“I’m not sure who was
walking who,” Primmer
said. “Sometimes Scott was
on his bike and he didn’t
even have to pedal.”
Dan Haug often accom-
panied Fairley on adven-
tures into the great outdoors.
In January, he, Fairley and
another friend hiked into a
spot near where the Imnaha
and Snake rivers meet.
Haug marveled at Fairley’s
stamina.
“He could out-walk most
people,” Haug said.
They spent one day hik-
ing several miles almost
straight up to a ridge over-
looking the Snake River
where Scott had earlier scat-
tered his dad’s ashes. He
looked at his dad’s photo,
kept there in a Ziploc bag,
and placed it back under a
cairn that he rebuilt each
year.
Fairley
brought
his
energy, intellect and good
cheer with him into the
Pendleton
City
Coun-
cil chambers. Mayor John
Turner came aboard the
same week as Fairley.
“He was always involved
in the discussion,” Turner
said. “He never sat back qui-
etly. He was a good compass
for us. I will miss him.”
Family members describe
a sunny, but complex man
who advocated for environ-
mental responsibility and
public broadcasting. He was
a person who could never
sit still, said his sister Jenni-
fer Peterson. An encourag-
ing optimist who loved his
community.
“His friends and family
are going to miss his happy
spirit,” she said.
His mother, Carolyn Fra-
sier, is still trying to wrap
her mind around a world
without Scott.
“I’m brokenhearted,” she
said. “Everyone who knows
Scott loves him.”
Cook is still in Mexico,
arranging passage home for
her husband with the Amer-
ican Consulate. This morn-
ing, as she talked by phone,
she was operating on about
two hours sleep.
Fairley was admitted
to the hospital in Playa del
Carmen on New Year’s Eve,
she said. His doctor broke
the news he needed sur-
gery to repair an aneurysm.
The couple attempted to call
their insurance company to
get authorization.
“We could never get
emergency authorization,”
Cook said. “By Monday, we
still didn’t have approval.”
They played endless
games of 4 Kings in the Cor-
ner as Fairley tried to ignore
his pain, she said. They dis-
cussed paying for the sur-
gery themselves and set the
wheels in motion. Before
the operation, the aneurysm
burst.
Cook is devastated. She
will miss the guy who made
her coffee every morning,
the man who bonded imme-
diately with her young son
way back at the beginning
of their relationship, and his
joyful laugh. The one who
left crumbs on the kitchen
counter and took her on won-
derful adventures and spent
their anniversary with her
at Raphael’s. She will miss
the husband who stayed cool
when she lost her temper.
“He was the calm to my
storm,” Cook said. “He was
always my rock who kept me
straight.
Cook’s voice broke.
“I don’t know how I’ll do
it without him.”