New emergency manager hits the ground running

By Terry Murry on Friday, May 5th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

UMATILLA COUNTY – Umatilla County’s new emergency manager started work Monday and Sage Delong is not letting any grass grow under his feet.

“There is a full plate of project that he’s got going already and he’s hit the ground running,” Commissioner John Shafer said in an interview Thursday. “In fact, I was talking to somebody from the sheriff’s office just this morning. They received an email from him at 12:36 this morning.”

Commissioner Dan Dorran, the board’s liaison to emergency services, says he couldn’t be happier with Delong, who comes to the county after serving as a field representative for Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario).

Delong has outreach, wildfire, and grant review experience and studied emergency management in college. He will be providing support to everything from search and rescue to grant applications for the Office of Emergency Management.

Shafer said he’s the type of person that can develop connections quickly. Delong played football for Eastern Oregon University and can stand out in a crowd.

“You can’t miss this guy,” Shafer said. “He’s probably six-foot-six. He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.”

Photo provided by Umatilla County