Black Butte Ranch swears in new police chief

Denney Kelley has taken the reins as the new police chief at Black Butte Ranch.

Carl Burnham, Jr., chair of the Ranch's police managing board, swore Kelley in Thursday morning in a small ceremony at the Ranch's administrative office.

Kelley, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, comes to the Ranch from the Portland Police Bureau, where he served as a sergeant in the transit bureau, overseeing 60 personnel from 14 different agencies. It's a big change to come to Central Oregon to lead a six-officer department - and that's what Kelley was looking for.

"I've been a cop for 30 years, and you've gotta slow down at some point," he said. "The only way I was going to slow down was to change my environment - and this is a great place to slow down and change your environment."

Kelley acknowledges that he is inheriting a well-equipped, well-trained department with good morale.

"My predecessor, Chief (Gil) Zaccaro, has put together quite a department," Kelley said.

He said that most small rural departments serve as training grounds for officers who quickly move on to bigger departments, taking with them the investment the community makes in training them. That is not the case at Black Butte Ranch.

"Turnover is nil," Kelley said. "Black Butte Ranch has found a way to entice these guys to stick around. We're at a point where the Ranch is getting the return on the investment they've put into these officers."

BBR officers, in addition to their work on the Ranch, provide vital back-up to officers and deputies in the Sisters Country - and often provide first response. They also engage in traffic enforcement on Highway 20 running past the Ranch.

Kelley says that the needs and desires of a community like Black Butte Ranch are different in some respects from metropolitan communities and he relishes the opportunity to work in such an environment.

"I'm a think-outside-the-box kind of guy, and working in an environment like this - this is not a traditional department," he said.

Kelley recognizes that there will be some changes simply due to his presence.

"With a change in managers, you're always going to see some changes," he said. "But I don't anticipate any major changes at this time."

Kelley has some roots in Central Oregon. His family owns a home in Sunriver and has gone there from Gresham to vacation for many years. For now, Kelley will commute from Sunriver, where he has moved with his 19-year-old daughter. Two high-school- aged children will stay in Gresham with their mom, a nurse, to complete at least one more year.

Other adult children are out on their own.

Captain Tim Edwards of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office assisted in the candidate search, and handled background investigation. Ranch staff thanked the sheriff's office for the help, and Kelley expressed eagerness to work with partners in the sheriff's office and with Oregon State Police.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
• Phone: 5415499941