DAWGS BEAT PASCO, FALL TO KENNEWICK » PAGE A8
Wednesday, december 18, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
$1.50
INSIDE
The Wild West lives, in the heart of
SWEATER PARTY
Recording artist Cale Moon to
perform at The Pheasant’s ugly
Christmas sweater party in
Hermiston.
A4
NEW GROUND
Developer breaks ground
on the second phase of the
Cimmaron Terrace subdivision
in Hermiston
A3
GAS TAX
Oregonians will see another
gas tax increase in January.
A13
BY THE WAY
Herald to
publish on
Tuesday
for the next
two weeks
In honor of Christ-
mas and New Year’s, the
Hermiston Herald offices
will close at noon on Dec.
24 and Jan. 31 and will be
closed completely on Dec.
25 (Christmas Day) and
Jan. 1 (New Years Day).
The newspaper will also
be delivered to homes and
newsstands a day early the
next two weeks, arriving
on Dec. 24 and Jan. 31.
• • •
The Umatilla County
Cultural Coalition is
accepting
applications
for 2020 grant funding
for local arts, heritage
and humanities projects.
Applications are available
at www.umatillacounty-
culture.org and are due
Friday, Jan. 24. For more
information, email uma-
tillacountyculture@gmail.
com.
Funding for the grants
is received from contri-
butions made to Oregon
Cultural Trust. In 2019,
15 Umatilla County proj-
ects received a total of
$14,385.
To make a tax-credit
contribution to Oregon
Cultural Trust, first make a
See BTW, Page A14
staff photo by ben Lonergan
Umatilla County Sheriff’s Deputy Roy Drago, 90, cuts his birthday cake as Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan watches on at a birthday
party for Drago on Friday. The 90-year-old sheriff’s deputy was born in Yonkers, N.Y. on December 13, 1929.
At age 90, Umatilla County deputy is one of the oldest in the U.S.
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
he year was 1985. Then-Morrow
County Sheriff Roy Drago spotted a
white 1966 Plymouth— reportedly
stocked with thousands of dollars worth
of stolen Eastern Oregon Bank receipts—
heading north on Ella Road in Ione.
Drago went in for a high speed chase,
and fired a shot at the vehicle, according
to a historical account published by the
Oregon Sheriff’s Association.
“Rural Oregon then was quite differ-
ent than rural Oregon today. It was more
like the old west days,” Drago said.
The chase eventually culminated in
the arrest of two escaped prison inmates,
including John William Krebs, grand-
T
son of the bank’s founder. Just two years
prior, Krebs pleaded guilty to charges
surrounding a robbery of the same bank
according to the Heppner Gazette-Times.
Drago was there for that too.
And while Drago retired from his
four-term reign as Morrow County Sher-
iff in 1999, he’s still a staple in the East-
ern Oregon law enforcement community.
He celebrated his 90th birthday at the
Stafford Hansell Government Center Fri-
day afternoon and went back to work
Monday morning as a court security dep-
uty for the Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office in Hermiston.
“He’s one of the oldest active deputies
in the U.S.,” Sheriff Terry Rowan said.
“He’s had quite the career.”
Of course, life is slightly mellower
now.
“I don’t do a whole lot anymore,”
Drago said.
When he’s not working, he enjoys
fishing with his son who lives in Board-
man and seeing his grandchildren. He
used to hunt, but gave up the sport almost
three decades ago.
And after a law enforcement career
spanning almost 50 years he’s grappling
with the modern era of policing.
“My observations are that the pendu-
lum has swung so far to the left in terms
of laws and how criminals are treated.
We seem to have lost our perspective on
punishment,” he said. “I wouldn’t rec-
ommend a law enforcement career for
See Drago, Page A14
Heavy smoke closes City Hall
Building will remain closed
Wednesday because of smoke
damage, city officials say
HERMISTON HERALD
Several fire trucks rushed to
Hermiston City Hall on Tuesday
evening as staff reported smoke
coming from the vents.
Occupants of the building evac-
uated about 4:45 p.m., and 25 fire-
fighters responded to what Uma-
tilla County Fire District 1 stated
was a fire inside the building.
They climbed onto the roof
and did an “interior attack” as
they searched for the source of
staff photo by Jessica Pollard
See Fire, Page A14
8
08805 93294
2
Firefighters from Umatilla County Fire District 1 prepare to enter Hermiston City Hall following reports of smoke
coming from vents inside the building before 5 p.m. Tuesday.