[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JUDGE PAT SHAW

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the job of a county judge in an 
Oregon county is a tough one. In addition to serving as the chief 
elected officer and manager of the county, the county judge serves as 
judge of the probate court and the juvenile court.
  There is no other elected official in Oregon that demands so much of 
one person.
  Pat Shaw, of Gilliam County, has served in this role for 6 years and 
during this time she has been a superb example of what a county judge 
ought to be.
  Pat has administered the county, managing the budget with aplomb. She 
has gone toe to toe with State and Federal agencies and made tough 
decisions in juvenile and probate court. No one can claim that her 
plate has not been overflowing and yet she has always taken time to go 
the extra mile for her community.
  Pat has served Gilliam County for 30 years, including 16 years as 
county assessor. Her colleagues thought so much of her that she was 
chair of the Oregon Assessors Association for 7 years. She also served 
a stint as secretary to the Gilliam County Fair Board. Anyone who 
serves on a fair board knows how tough a job that can be.
  Pat has also been part of a three-county group, the county judges of 
Gilliam, Wheeler, and Sherman Counties, which have tackled problems on 
a regional basis. Together, these counties have been among the best in 
the State. Gilliam County houses a regional communications system that 
is the envy of the rest of Oregon. It provides 9-1-1 services and 
communications to law enforcement throughout eastern and central 
Oregon. The system, called Frontier TelNet, also provides education and 
broadband services for their residents.
  The three counties, along with their education service district, 
created the communications system because no one else wanted to provide 
services to these very rural counties. When no one else would help, 
they stepped up and figured out how to get it up and running. And while 
Pat wasn't county judge when the system was started, she has been key 
to keeping it running at such a high level.
  She has also been in the forefront of bringing wind energy to Gilliam 
County, and working to improve her county's economy, education and 
public safety.
  Pat is not retiring because she is tired of serving Gilliam County. 
Oregon requires judges to retire at age 70. As a county commissioner, 
she could serve as long as the voters wished her to serve, but because 
she has judicial duties, Oregon law requires her to step down.
  In this case, that is a shame. In Pat Shaw, we have the very 
definition of what a public servant should be. Gilliam County and I 
will miss her as a county judge, but I am sure Pat will find some other 
way to continue in public service.

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