Roger Mills Building

The Omak Telecom building is named the Roger Mills Building in memory of Roger Earl Mills, a PUD employee killed in an accident April 10, 2001.

Born April 7, 1977, Roger attended school in Okanogan. He was very active in baseball from Peewee through High School, and was considered one of the best catchers that ever played for Okanogan.

Roger loved the outdoors, and was an avid deer, elk and bird hunter.

In 1995 Roger graduated with honors from Okanogan High School. He attended Northwest Lineman’s College in Meridian, Idaho, and graduated third from the top in a large class. He went on to work in Texas on a line construction company working on high lines, storm rebuilds, and then installing fiber optic cables.

He returned to Okanogan and went to work for the PUD as a temporary groundman where his duties involved tree and brush clearing. Roger’s aptitude and enthusiasm led the PUD to hire him under a limited duty assignment to help install the PUD’s new fiber optic telecommunications system. It was planned that Roger would be offered the next available lineman apprentice position.

During a brief pause in installing fiber optic hardware, Roger was working on the removal of an abandoned cable TV system in Conconully. The pole he had climbed failed at the base, carrying him to the street.

Roger’s loss has been deeply felt by his co-workers. All who had the pleasure of working with Roger know that he would have been an outstanding lineman. He was an excellent worker, and a devoted father to his two daughters.

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