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Vale Hall of Fame to induct three – retired judge, two retired coaches

VALE – A retired state judge and two retired coaches will be inducted into the Vale Hall of Fame this fall, the Vale Alumni Association has announced.

They are Frank Yraguen, retired Malheur County Circuit Court judge; Ray Barnes, former baseball coach and principal at Vale High School; and Arnold Lewis, former football and wrestling coach at the school.

This will be the second induction to the Hall of Fame. The association inaugurated the Vale High School hall last with with inductees Bob Bement, Dave Wilcox, and Merle Saunders. The 2018 Hall of Fame banquet is scheduled for Oct. 27 at the Malheur County Fairgrounds.

The new inductees:

Frank Yraguen

He was born in Ontario, graduated from Vale High School in 1958 and Oregon State University in 1962. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps until 1966, leaving with the rank of captain. He served as Malheur County district attorney from 1971 to 1976 and became a state circuit judge in 1977. He retired in 2002 and took status as retired judge.

He has been involved in a host of local organizations, from the Treasure Valley Community College Foundation board the Basque Club of Ontario. He has been involved since 1992 in the Vale Heritage Reflections Society, which is responsible for 33 murals displayed throughout Vale.

Yraguen and his wife Patty provide mediation and arbitration services throughout the state, teamwork that started in 2005.

“There are many others more deserving of the honor,” Yraguen said. “There may still be time, God willing, for me to justify the honor.”

Arnold Lewis

He was born and raised in Weiser, lettered in four sports in high school, served in the Army and then attended the College of Idaho. He moved to Vale in 1954, coaching football under Melvin “Dutch” Kawasoe. He took over as head football coach in 1958, a job he held for 25 years. In that time, his teams ran up a record of 184-59-6, including four state titles. He also served 13 years as head wrestling coach.

“Arnie’s coaching and teaching touched the lives of hundreds of students and athletes, including those who went on to play college and professional football and those who went on to coach,” according to his family.

He retired in 1989 and in 1997 was named Vale Citizen of the Year.

Ray Barnes

He moved to Vale when he was seven and to this day considers himself a Viking. He graduated from Vale in 1952, earned a bachelor’s degree in education and began teaching at Adrian in 1960 and moved to Vale High School the following year.

He was head baseball coach from 1961 to 1975, with his teams winning the district title 13 out of 14 years. “Those kids were tough and they were winners,” Barnes said.

He also was assistant basketball and football coach, became high school principal in 1975, retiring in 1990.

“Ray just celebrated his 84th birthday and still attends school and community events,” his family said in a note. “You can always spot him in the crowd by either talking with friends or cheering the team on while wearing a Vale Viking baseball cap with pride.”