New memorial in Elgin honors fallen Union County deputies
By Joe Hathaway on Thursday, June 20th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ELGIN — A new memorial has been unveiled in Elgin to honor two fallen deputies from the Union County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO).
Sheriff Cody Bowen and UCSO deputies gathered to celebrate the installation of the Fallen Deputy memorial, a project spearheaded by local Eagle Scout Kelton Shoemaker.
The memorial honors Union County deputies Michael Cheney and Raymond Williams, who were killed in the line of duty on November 5, 1980 when their patrol pickup was hit by a drunk driver.
Shoemaker, an incoming senior at Union High, undertook the creation of the memorial as his Eagle Scout project. “It feels really good to see it finished and see that people are happy about it,” Shoemaker said. “It’s definitely a monkey off the back for sure. It’s taken quite a while to get through it, and I’m so happy it’s finally finished.”
Initially, Shoemaker says his scout project was to create a memorial sign for a crashed B-17 bomber near Elgin, but after two years of progress, the project fell through due to forest service regulations. Shoemaker pivoted to the idea of honoring the deputies after a friend’s suggestion.
“They just renamed the highway in Elgin for the two fallen deputies, so I thought it was the perfect time to put a sign up so that people know what that renaming of the highway is about,” he explained.
The project took approximately a year and a half to complete. “We had to build the sign, which took quite a bit of planning and assembling,” Shoemaker said. “The hardest part was trying to get everyone together, make schedules, and get approvals so that we could do it right and not have anything fall through like the last project.”
Now that the memorial is complete, Shoemaker is set to complete the final steps to earn his Eagle Scout rank and expressed his gratitude for the community’s support.
“Honestly, it really puts a smile on my face. The fact that people appreciate what I did means a lot,” said Shemaker. “I hope it puts a smile on the deputies’ families faces and I hope a lot of people see it to remember and honor them.”
