He’s not the honorary mayor or the oldest driver. So how did Joe Malay get the No. 1 license plate?

Weiser resident Joe Malay gets asked a lot of questions about his “No. 1” license plate.
 The questions are usually from strangers. They want to know if he is the mayor. They ask if he’s the oldest driver in the county.
 There is a story behind how Malay, who has lived in Weiser his entire life, acquired the No. 1 license plate in Washington County.
 He’s had it for more than 25 years, but it didn’t always belong to him.
 For many years, the No. 1 license plate in the county went from mayor to mayor by tradition. That is, until it stopped with one mayor.