The Olympia Washington Kiwanis members and their friends have cost the Washington State taxpayers over $50 million dollars (so far), because of their willful ignorance of long term, merciless and well known, child abuse that occurred at the Olympia Kiwanis Boys Ranch.

October 2006 note: This Olympia Kiwanis stuff is old news. I've left this information on the web, because I like the thought that someone will say to one of these Kiwanis friends or members: "Grandma, (Grandpa), are you still friends with those Olympia Kiwanians?"

Back to the 2011 or 2009 or 2007 or 2005 or 2003 or 2001 or 1999 or 1997 or 1995 or lbloom.net State of Washington Employees Salaries List

1994 Olympia Kiwanis Members List
2007 Thurston County employees list (pop 207,355)(1,332 employees)(includes gross & overtime wages, hire date)
2005 Thurston County employees list (pop 207,355)(1,257 employees)(includes hire date)
2002 Thurston County employees list (pop 207,355)(1,569 employees)
2002 Port Of Olympia employees list (pop 42,514)(40 employees)
2009 Oly Evergreen St Col employees list (938 employees)
Olympian Newspaper 2010 Thurston employees list
2006 Olympia School District employees list (Includes Benefits)
2002 City of Olympia employees list (pop 42,514)(685 employees)
Olympian Newspaper 2010 city of Lacy employees list
2002 City of Lacey employees list (pop 31,226)(226 employees)
2009 South Puget Sound Com Col employees list (1,001 employees)
Name search of Wash. State voters includes our addresses (and birthdays)
Name search of Wash State Court filings Traffic, Criminal, Civil, Domestic, Juvenile Offender, and Probate/Guardianship
Back to the beginning OKBR Home Page(http://lbloom.net/indexok.html)

More Board Ranch Minutes

       O.K. Boy's Ranch, Inc.
Meeting of the Board of Directors
7:00 a.m., 13 July 1983, Rib Eye Carriage Inn, Olympia
    Board Members Present: Clarkson, Zittel, Maxwell, Forrester, Childs, Kerslake, Olson
    Board Members Absent: Ziegler, Hedges, Halverstadt, Yarbrough, Earl
    Others Present: Tom VanWoerden, Executive Director - O.K. Boys' Ranch
    President Clarkson opened the meeting at 7:15 a.m.
    Executive Director's Report
    I. Law Suit:  Immediately Prior to the trial, the law suit was settled with  payment to the plaintif as follows:
$11,000 - State of Washington
$19,000 - O.K. Boys' Ranch Insurer
$15,000 - Foster Parents
$45.2000 - Total Settlement
    2. Painting of Group Home:  VanWoerden announced that the Local Painters' Union has agreed  to donate the labor required to paint the exterior of our group  home. Negotiations are now in progress with local painting con tractors regarding donation of materials.
    3. Summer Work Program:  Progressing satisfactorily. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co.  is planning to present awards to the boys on completion of their  work.
    4. Director's Vacation:  VanWoerden announced he would be taking a two week vacation commencing July 18. Colette Queener will be in charge of the group home during that period.
    5. Replacement of Van:  VanWoerden outlined a plan for obtaining a re-built van through  Government Surplus Property and Washington State Prison Industries  that was acceptable to the Board of Directors. It is contemplated that two vehicles will be used in the future when transporting  our boys as a group.
    6. Cash Flow Statements:  VanWoerden distributed cash flow statements for the months of  April and May (copies attached).

    Other Business
    1. O.K. Homes for Youth, Inc.:
Clarkson announced that this organization would be meeting tomorrow (14 July) at noon and would welcome attendance from our Board at their meeting. Zittel, Childs, Clarkson, Maxwell and Kerslake agreed to attend. 'Items our Board wished to be' brought to that meeting included the following:
     a. Forbes Lake Property:
         Since the law suit has been settled, it would now seem to be an appropriate time to contact the former owners regarding removing the restriction in the deed relating to use of the property for youth services only. It would be desirable to clear the Title of all restrictions which could handicap' 'sale of the property to any interested party. We must assume that development of the property for use by O.K. Boys' Ranch Youth will never be accepted by the neighbors of the Site. Further improvement of the access road to the property by O.K. Homes for Youth, Inc. seems also to be inappropriate unless required to enhance the sale of the land.
    b. Dissolution of O.K. Homes for Youth, Inc.:
     Director Zittel indicated that dissolution of this organization might be on the agenda for discussion and he asked  for a statement from our Board regarding this matter. After  considerable discussion, the following statement was unanimously approved by O.K. Boys' Ranch, Inc. Directors Present:  "O.K. Boys' Ranch, Inc. would not object to dissolution of  O.K. Homes for Youth, Inc. if they disposed of the Forbes  Lake Property prior to their Dissolution."

    The meeting was adjourned at 8:01 a.m.
    Submitted by (Robert T. Olson signature)
    Accepted by  Board of Directors (Virgil Clarkson signature)
    Attachments: Cash Flow Statements; April, May.

Below is an e-mail I received from a former Olympia, Washington resident.

From: ~~~~~~~~@aol.com
To: Louis Bloom manaco@whidbey.net
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 1999 11:34 AM
Subject: OKBR
Just came across your pages and felt the urge to respond... In the early 80's (81-83) I was at the OKBR frequently as a young kid walking to/from school, I became friends with some of the boys. At one point a small boy confided to me that he was being raped by another boy in the home. The abusing boy talked about it openly!
Days later I walked the victim to OPD where we both gave statements. Later that evening I began to receive these incredibly threatening phone calls from a woman employee of the ranch who's name I believe was Paulette at my home. She kept calling over and over screaming at me calling me names. It was horrible. I thought I was helping someone. Nothing came of it. Then all these years later, it all comes out ... one of the boys that I had known there left as a young adult and still couldn't get it together, he eventually killed himself. As an adult now I don't often think back to those times but it still saddens me. All those boys that needed a safe nurturing place to be, and how many of them were better off for having been taken there? It's not about money. It cost these boys their lives, their souls, their trust. Those people who knew, who didn't care, they should feel such shame. Just my opinion.

From: louis a bloom manaco@whidbey.net
To: ~~~~~~~@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 1999 7:30 PM
Subject: Re: OKBR
thanks for your e-mail. from what i've read, dshs, the olympia police department, and other "authorities" didn't consider child on child rape to be against the law. it was considered "normal experimentation". The "paulette" you mention, may have been Collette Queener who was an assistant director at the OKBR. Collette, OKBR Director Tom Van Woerdan, and OKBR counselor Laura Rambo Russell were ineptly charged by Wa. St. with "criminal mistreatment for failing to stop abuse". The charges were dismissed by Thurston County Judge Daniel Berschauer on technicalities. The lawyer who represented Collette Queener said, (Nov. 14, 1996 Olympian), that it was a "witch hunt", and that " a more innocent person (than Queener) you could not have for a client. She's an ex-nun ..... I don't see how you could view her in an evil or negative light."
I congratulate you for doing the right thing, when all those adults looked the other way. I repeat on most pages that the " OKBR has cost the Washington State taxpayers over $35 million dollars (so far)", because I think most people don't care about the kids involved, but they may care that it has cost them (taxpayers) money.
louis bloom

There were many obvious and long-term warnings about the 1970-94 OKBR.

  • DSHS knew since at least 1977.
  • The OKBR staff certainly knew.
  • The abused kids told staff, schools, counselors, police, caseworkers, therapists, ect.., about their abuse at the OKBR, but nobody investigated.
  • Olympia Police Chief Wurner came to an Olympia Kiwanis meeting in 1986 and told the Kiwanis about the troubles at the OKBR. Chief Wurner was ignored. Maybe he should have done more, but he probably wanted to keep his job.
  • It was well know by the Thurston County courts. These kids were constantly in and out of the Thurston County legal system.
  • The OKBR was written about in the Kiwanis Komments newsletters, and the Kiwanis Board Ranch minutes.
  • All the OKBR Board Members had a legal oversight of the OKBR.
  • Were all Olympia Kiwanis Attorneys & Judges and/or Politicians uninformed?
  • It's amazing how blissfully ignorant some people were about the OKBR. You can read about their guiltlessness in some of their Washington State Patrol and Office of Special Investigation statements.
  • Here's Wa St Patrol Olympia Kiwanis member lists of 1987, 1990, 1994
  • Here is a 49 page index of 5,223 pages of documents that the WSP collected about the OKBR. Anybody can order any of those public documents by following the instructions on that page.
  • The OKBR sent kids for weekend visits to child abusers who donated land to the Kiwanis. The Kiwanians sold the land in 1993 for $125,000.
  • Can the Olympian Newspaper claim ignorance?
    manaco@whidbey.net