ONTARIO—A Vale school official has been out of the office for three weeks after an intoxicated driving investigation.
Matt Hawley, superintendent of the Vale School District and high school football coach, hasn’t been in the office since Jan. 31. Hawley was not arrested, nor was he given a citation after an investigation. Vale’s school board chairman would not comment.
“I can’t talk to you about that. It’s an employee matter, and we can’t discuss employee matters,” school board chairman Topper Schlupe said. “We appointed Dr. Stephen Phillips as an interim superintendent. He’s filling in until Matt gets back.”
Hawley’s phone number in Vale has been disconnected. He did not return two calls on his cellphone, which went straight to voicemail.
Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe said Hawley wasn’t issued a citation or arrested because he was not on public property when he came in contact with law enforcement.
“When we got there, he’d been on scene on the private property for a while and statements were that he had consumed alcohol after he’d been on private property,” Wolfe said. “In a situation like that, you have no way to prove impairment when he was on the public road.”
“It is not illegal to drink alcohol and drive,” Wolfe added. “It’s unlawful to drive under the influence.”
The Jan. 31 incident began on Smith Road in Vale, where dispatchers told sheriff’s deputies someone had complained of an impaired driver yelling and revving his car engine, according to a sheriff’s report. Deputies Casey Walker and Brian Belnap responded and found Hawley in a white sedan stuck in the mud behind a house on Haul Road, which is near Smith Drive.
The house belongs to Hawley’s girlfriend of more than a year, Nichole Crane, according to the report.
“The operator was moving the vehicle back and forth in an attempt to get unstuck,” the report says. “It seemed to be only making things worse and it appeared the operator was about to back into a red trailer if they kept it up.”
Deputies asked Hawley to step out of his vehicle. He complied.
Walker said in his report he could smell an “overwhelming odor” of alcohol on Hawley’s breath and said Hawley gave contradicting information about when he’d started drinking that evening. The deputy said Hawley had a bottle of “hard alcohol” behind the driver’s seat. Hawley said he had been drinking in his car while parked at Crane’s house, which isn’t illegal.
The deputies also spoke to a neighbor who said he had seen Hawley driving. Todd Applegate said Hawley had driven to Crane’s, then to Applegate’s house, looking for his girlfriend. She wasn’t at Applegate’s home on James Lane, so Hawley drove back to Haul Road.
Applegate said Hawley had appeared drunk.
Malheur County Deputy Sgt. David Kesey arrived on the scene and, after a conversation with Hawley, they obtained permission from Crane to leave Hawley’s car on her property. Kesey gave him a ride back to Hawley’s Vale residence.
Vale School District employees would not comment on the situation after six phone calls inquiring where their superintendent is and how long he will be gone. Wolfe said he didn’t know either.
“I have no idea where he is now,” Wolfe said.
Jessica Else is a news reporter at The Argus Observer. She can be reached at (541) 823-4822 or by emailing jessicae@argusobserver.com. To comment on this story, go to www.argusobserver.com.
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(24) comments
I don't understand the comment from Friday March 6th at 1014. I'm pretty sure everyone who posts anonymously adds to the count and that it's not all the same person. I also think the Sheriff's office screwed this one up.
-Confused
I have no issue that Hawley is a good administrator or a lifetime resident. I am more concerned that our Sheriff felt he had to hold up the officers who made a wrong call. Any person stuck in a field certainly did not get there without driving on our roads intoxicated. The evidence is overwhelming & we are trying to hide it like the good old days. We are all responsible for our choices and mistakes. All citizens in this place need to be held accountable, does not matter who it is. I am sorry our Sheriff made the decision he did. B. Christensen
Dear Anonymous Post # 743, You do realize that you have commented on 743 articles right? In this article alone you posted 14 of the 21. You're like the little boy who cried wolf. We know how you feel about Mr. Hawley, the Sheriff, the deputies, the dirty little town of Vale, "good old boys," and sober clowns who live in town and don't drive sober nearly as well as you who - "ranch on lots of private property where drinking and driving is pretty normal." Two questions: Did you really mean it when you said, "Hate a kick a man when he is down, " and since you ranch - aren't you really a "good ole boy" yourself? I'm beside myself waiting for your "Anonymous post #744."
-Tired of This Thread
In any other jurisdiction Mr. Hawley would have been arrested for DUII. He recklessly endangered others and our sheriff's office tried to cover it up and then when they were questioned they try to appear as if they did all they could. How long are we going to allow this type of poor leadership and ill trained deputies to continue? Look at all of the recent lawsuits they have opened themselves up too because they aren't properly trained or supervised. I think Sheriff Wolfe is a nice man but we will not see a change in how we spend out tax dollars until there is a new sheriff and not anyone currently employed there. That's how we got here.
-LegalBeagle
Wrong is Wrong and Right is Right. Both Mr. Hawley and Sheriff Wolfe's deputies were WRONG. This is such a blatant lack of training and supervision it is pathetic. We know it was a good old boy move and they got caught. If he had run over someone you would be up in arms.
-Anonymous
Vicky Crane adding another comment: At least I say who I am. The rest of you throw Matt, School District and Sheriff under the bus, but post anonymously! Lol.
My name is Vicky Crane. I am Colleen Hawley's sister and Matt Hawley's former sister in law.
I am DISGUSTED that you folks have nothing better to put on the fr point page of your Argus newspaper (or as I call it...The Vale National Enquirer!
Am I condoning drinking and driving? He'll no!
Matt Hawley is an outstanding person who has done great things for the school district. How dare you all start this witch hunt.
I pray that he get the help he needs and deserves. He is a fantastic father, and human being. The rest is his private life!!
Don't forget... he has children who adore their father and family and friends who love him.
I pray for all you "Christian." Hope your life us never out under a microscop, and out on the front page of your newspaper. ..and the police report. That's reporting? No, it's pathetic!
So by the logic provided by the first informed who said they couldn't arrest Mr. Hawley because he was on private property when they contacted him, if someone is driving down a public road and crashes into a field because they are drunk the officers can't investigate a DUII? You sir are a special kind of person..............
-???
Both Mr. Hawley and Mr. Wolfe need to leave. It's sad that our once proud office of Sheriff has fallen so low under our current Elected Sheriff. The lawsuits and mismanagement will not stop until we have a Sheriff with leadership skills and ethics that won't allow "A good old boy" enforcement of us. There is no one internal that will stand up, so they need to look outside. I know a couple of very qualified candidates in Ontario and Nyssa a lot of use would support this election for Sheriff.
-Registered Voter
There is so much more to this story that is not being released. Shame on Sheriff Wolfe for failing to lead his office, he needs to retire. Shame on Superintendent Hawley for being a poor example for students, he needs to retire also. There are still a lot of good men and women serving this county but without new blood a Sheriff, we will continue to be bombarded with "retirements, resignations and lawsuits" under the current regime. Someone run for Sheriff this election, someone who doesn't work there and is a leader!
-Resident
Witnesses saw him driving impaired on a public road in a motor vehicle after he spoke to them. He told deputies he had drank at home and drove there and got stuck. He was unable to provide consistent statements even though the report is vague as to what was actually said. His estimation of time was over 2 HOURS off. The bottle of liquor (UNNAMED BRAND) was on the floor of the back seat. I find it convenient that when the sergeant shows up, everything is shut down and Mr. Hawley is given a ride home. I'm no crack investigator but these are at the very least reasonable suspicion to develop probable cause..........
-Informed
They could not arrest him. No, they could have not arrested anyone else either in that exact situation, or they would have another lawsuit. People, read the report then talk to a lawyer or something. Drinking on private property, no proof he was actually driving impaired, girlfriend refused to press charges. The cops had no grounds to arrest him, they did their job.
If the school board would have addressed these concerns a few years ago (and yes, they were brought up privately to a few board members) instead of replying by saying "its his private life", then this latest development might not of ever occurred. Mr. Hawley has had a free rein with nobody to answer to. The big deal is...Mr. Hawley is *supposed* to be leader of our children, our schools, our teachers....and he acts like this..and has been allowed to carry on this way for a very long time. How can we expect our children to obey laws, respect others, have good values & morals, if our school leaders don't???? This is not gossip..it is FACT. With all the law suits against Malheur Co Sheriff's dept, it appears that they have lost their nerve when it came to Hawley. Anybody else...and they would have been *cuffed & stuffed*.
-anonymous
You guys should actually read the police report, as I did, and then really find out what the law is. There was no proof he was actually driving intoxicated. Anybody can accuse you of anything, cops have to have PROBABLE CAUSE in order to arrest, not just an one's accusation. He was sitting on private property drinking and there was no way to tell when or where he started. Its not illegal to drive after a drink, its illegal to drive while intoxicated. So.....proof? Concerned, if I knew you were drinking, I could just say I saw you driving, the cops could arrest you just by my accusation? Also his girlfriend would not press any charges or he would have been arrested. I think he was out on public roads intoxicated too, but no proof. Read the report. Trust me, I know the cops are Not protecting him. I strongly think Matt needs to resign.
What is the sheriff trying to gain by sending this in as news? Another obvious failure on his part to lead? Thanks for pointing out the obvious, that you have an office full of good old boys who lack proper training and this reflects on you and what you continue to allow. Shame on the sheriff and his office for protecting those in positions of authority instead of holding them accountable. You can point the finger all day about Mr. Hawley being on private property but he drove there on a public roadway and you had evidence of his intoxication by witnesses to support that. Shame on you, good luck in the next election!
-concerned
This is why we need new leadership in the sheriff's office, someone qualified please run for the next election. If this happened in Ontario or Nyssa the suspect would have been arrested no matter "WHO" he is because they don't have "Good Old Boy" clubs. This is poor training by the deputies and horrible supervision from unqualified leaders. How long do these type of issues have to keep happening under the current so called sheriff?
-Voter
Other folks would have gotten handcuffs slapped on our wrists once the cops showed up. to live in this small town I guess you have to have the right last name in order to get away with driving drunk, trespassing, and destroying property. Hawley should get the look of shame just like anyone of us would have, but no instead he got taken home and than taken to rehab. For someone that gets looked up to he really did a crappy job as acting like an adult. Sorry to say but cops should have done their job and ARRESTED him like they would have anyone else. I also think that MCSO should maybe look at the law book again and freshen up on the law.
We ranch, lots of private property, drinking and driving out here on the property is pretty normal. Its the sober people in town that you have to watch out for, no brains behind the wheel. It isn't the teenagers or the older people, its all of you sober clowns!. They, these sober drivers, cause 87% of all traffic accidents, 87 PERCENT!!! So, if a drunk is such a loser on the highway, what is a completely sober persons excuse when they wreck their cars? Not condoning driving drunk in public, just wondering why the rest of you are skating the bad driver issue?!?! Police perform saturations, pull over 100's of us in a weekend specifically looking for impaired drivers and guess what? Most of those hundreds of stops are sober people driving like idiots and are a greater danger to all of us than all the drunks on the road.
-Self Accountability
This may sound like gossip but the truth is that either the Vale School Board is in the dark about the lack of character being shown or they don't care, so they need to be called out.
Nyssa has similar problems with ethics. Either the Nyssa School Board is unaware of the haughty behaviors and unethical ways that money is spent by some of the administrators or they don't care.
Let's assume they don't know.
If the Vale and Nyssa School Boards are unaware of the happenings in their districts, then tell community members how they can get the information to you. The employees of the districts are afraid to speak out.
Please, school board members, let us know. Can we call? Email? Speak to you in person? Anonymously? You might laugh at the idea that employees are unhappy but unwilling to soeak up, but that is the truth!
This is not a NEWSPAPER article. This it's trashy gossip. Shane on the Argus. Why should the sheriff or the board release personal information on this person.
Topper Schlupe said. “We appointed Dr. Stephen Phillips as an interim superintendent. He’s filling in until Matt gets back.”
This isn't the first time something like this has happened. A couple of the school board members need to be on their way out after Hawley.
I sure hope the press follows up on this and really investigates. Mr. Wolfe does know where he is and if this were most people, Hawley would not have been "protected". The school board also knows where he is and it is disconcerting that the board chairman calls the superintendent by first name. Too many "good old boys" in the network. Please also investigate an incident in Canyon county. Hate to kick a man while he is down, but Vale does not need this kind of leadership.
That's so convienant, no citation. Police reports states many other's observed him intoxicated while driving, prior to police showing up. Like I said "so convienant." Too bad law enforcement can't be fair with the law.
Seems like Vale needs to clean up their act. Malheur County Police Department letting a man off because of his name. Thank God he was stuck in the mud that night and wasn't driving. He could of killed someone that night. Going to diversion may help but I think Vale School District needs to appoint a new superintendent for good.
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