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?"

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Washington Journal September 5, 1996 Judicial Profile Susan A Dubuisson Judge: Thurston County District Court  Appointed By: Thurston County Commissioners 1984 Law School: University of Washington 1976 Age: 46 Olympia Jurist Cares for People Demeanor Is Exceptional By Carol Angel Washington Journal Editor Olymia

Judge Susan A. Dubuisson says the joy of district court is that the people who come to court are,  for the most part not hardened criminals. "They are people you see in the grocery store and in your neighborhood, and your brothers and sisters, friends. who have made a mistake in their lives." notes the Thurston County District Court judge. "They come through district court, they take their punishment, they go on with their lives. " Dubuisson adds. "The ones we tend to think of are the ones we see over and over again. But when you look at the whole picture, that's very few people. I keep reminding myself of that."

Michael Hanbey of Ditlevson,  Rodgers & Hanbey in Olympia, has known the judge for about 17 years. During the five years he was a contract public defender (1985-90), he appeared before her at least two or three times a week. Hanbey says, Dubuisson "shows concern  for people who appear before her in court without favoring either side. She is bright, understands legal issues, and is flexible enough to apply punishment in a way that’s appropriate for the individual defendant." Dubuisson's courtroom "is fairly formal" adds Hanby.  "Lots of people are there on a first-time basis, and they need to recognize it's a serious activity. Especially in the summertime. when people come into court in tank tops and 'bubba' hats - she lets them know that's not appropriate. She has an extremely professional demeanor."

Jay S. Fuller of Olympia's Fuller & Fuller concurs. "She runs a very professional court:" he says. "in terms of formality,  she's right about in the middle, in the sense that she's not somebody  who's an absolute stickler for not talking in the courtroom,  ect.. - but on the other hand, she insists on proper decorum."

Dubuisson was the oldest of eight children.  Her father worked for an oil company and was transferred regularly every two years. "From the South, where I was born we lived all the way up the Eastern Seacoast to New Jersey -that's where I ended up until I left home to go to college in Iowa." Following her 1971 graduation from Clark College in Dubuque,  she worked as a customs inspector for the U.S. Customs Service in Chicago. "I came to the Northwest because I met some people in the Customs Service  who were from here, and they loved it here. They were the only people I ever met who really loved where they lived." Making a couple of visits to the Northwest. she loved it too -- "because i came out in the summer. I quit my job and moved out here. And it was February, and it was just awful!  I could not believe how gray and gloomy and drizzly it was. But i think if you can make it through a year and still want to he here, you’re OK." When she moved to Seattle, she had no job and was looking for a career. "I'd always thought about going to law school The University of Washington was there and I applied - it's the only place I applied to - and got in, and I went. That's basically it." The choice of profession didn't come out of nowhere, however. "My father is a lawyer by training, although he’s never actually practiced law - he's a businessman now retired. So I think that’s why law  was always at the back or my mind." And, she adds, "I realized I needed a career I could support myself in.  Law seemed like a good career for a woman, that at some point in the future you'd probably he paid equal to a man." It’s a point we haven't really gotten to yet in the private sector. she adds, "but the idea was there."

During law school she worked as a legal intern in the King County Prosecutor's Office. Then, following her 1976 graduation, hired on as a deputy prosecutor in Gray's Harbor County. Four years later, she recalled, "I decided to make a geographic move up to Olympia." Going into private practice in her new location, she worked in two law firms, for two years  each. "I did everything a new lawyer does. I did a little domestic relations - although I quickly decided I didn't want to do that. My practice was mostly criminal defense and a little civil business work, some bankruptcies,  adoptions -just a general practice. While in private practice she also worked for the Thurston County District Court as a pro tem   commissioner.  Then, in 1984, two district court positions came open,  Dubuisson notes.  "People said, 'You should put your name in.' So I thought, 'Well, why not? I was getting tired of private practice. The opportunity came open,  and I was sort of  in the right place at the right time."

She was appointed to the bench by the Thurston County Commissioners. She was lucky, she  says, but she also had some experience behind her, and the judges were very supportive. Since then. of course, I've had to run for election every four years, but I haven't had any challengers--that saves some money!" Mason County District Court Judge Victoria Meadows says Dubuisson is an excellent judge, very well-organized. who puts a lot of reasoning and thought into her cases.

Dubuisson has been of great assistance to Meadows as her "mentor judge," she says.  Under a program set up by the state District and Municipal Court Judges Association (DMCJA),  new judges in less-populated areas are assigned to a more experienced judge in a nearby county, so they have someone to call on when they have questions or need help. "On the occasional times when I have an issue that’s unusual. I call her and bounce ideas off her, and utilize her ideas. She’s very good," says Meadows., who sits in Shelton. Meadows and Dubuisson also exchange benches about once every two month, under the DMCJA’s judge-training program. 'That gives each of us an opportunity to see how other courts operate," Meadows notes. When Meadows was in private practice, she sometimes appeared in Dubuisson’s court. "I always enjoyed the experience. and knew my client could expect a fair hearing. She always made a well-reasoned decision based on the evidence."

The Thurston County District Court,  with only two full-time judges and a court commissioner who works on a contract hourly basis, has been short-staffed.  However,  the County Commissioners recently authorized a regular three-quarter-time commissioner. As a result, says Dubuisson,  "We will be fully funded for what we need. We'll be working steadily all day but we won't be inundated and drowning." The  court's major caseload increase has been in the area of domestic violence. "That’s partially a function of the law changing over time. And it’s, also a function of heavier population growth - as is the increase in drunk driving," she says.

Jay Fuller says that in domestic violence and driving-while-intoxicated cases,  Dubuisson "is very forthright with the defendants. She takes the attitude- that those behaviors are rot going to be tolerated in our community." Fuller say the judge "is somebody who has an attribute of being courteous to the people appearing in front of her In situations where there are 30 to 40 cases stacked up, she treats everybody the same.  When you get to 4 o'clock in the afternoon. there might be a temptation to speed it up - but she takes her time with each person." With a caseload that doesn't include as many criminal matters as formerly,  Fuller no longer appears often in Dubuisson's court. But he recalled,  "If I had a briefing I had submitted, it was a given that it would have been read and she would have a lot of questions to pose. She’s very hard-working."

One of the biggest problems the district court currently faces is lack of space. "We are not adequately housed, not by a long shot, she says. "For example, our jury room is also the clerk's break room. We have only two restrooms for everybody who works there - plus, sometimes two jury panels. The jury facilities am very, very inadequate - they are not separated from the rest of the court. The clerks don't have enough space, and our court commissioner office is really small." Dubuisson has served on several space committees,  trying to come up with a solution. "Recommendations have been made,  but it’s very expensive," she notes.

The  judge is involved in several professional organizations in addition to the DMCJA. Including Washington Women Lawyers. She also is a member of the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct,  the body charged with enforcing the state's Judicial Conduct Code. An instructor at the annual Washington State Judicial College in Tacoma,  she teaches judicial ethics and the judicial conduct commission process. "Hopefully I can keep going back,  because I really enjoy it," she comments. Dubuisson is active in the local community, too. Currently a member of the Olympia YWCA Board of Directors and the Kiwanis Sponsored Youth Committee, she lectures in the local  "Judges in the Classroom"  program and serves as a judge for the YMCA High School Mock trials. She believes it's important for judicial officers to help educate the public about justice system issues.

Jay Fuller notes that Dubuisson "is an athlete of renown in our community, with her cycling." "I love bicycling,"  Dubuisson confirms. "What I really like to do is ride in the mountains - uphill. and long ways. That’s a stress-reliever for me, and it has other benefits- in my life. It's a social thing, and I do it for the exercise." She's taken bike tours all over the world and this summer spent a week touring in Colorado and Wyoming, "it was a very large group - about 800 riders  she says. "The tours I've done in Europe are smaller usually about 12 to 20 riders, and I've done some rides with just a small group of friends." Dubuisson his ridden in the Pyrenees in Spain,  the Alps in Italy,  a couple of times in France, and on the West Coast of Ireland. In the Western United States, in addition to Colorado, and Wyoming.  She’s also taken rides in Idaho, New Mexico, and most of Washington.  "I'm hoping next year to go to Portugal," she says. She also runs, and lifts weights.

She likes her job, despite its frustrations. And sometimes, "it’s a very rare event," she notes---"someone will come in and say, "I just came back to Iet you know,  I got through my treatment program and I’m doing OK."  I will not usually remember the person. But the fact someone takes the time to do that is very touching to me. And I like to think there are more out there than the few I ever see." Recently she had such an experience. "I was walking down the street and a fellow in his pickup truck came alongside me and said, ‘You're Judge Dubuisson. aren't you? I Just want you to know that you made me go to this program and I haven't had a drink in three years and five days . . . and so on.' " She adds. "If I relied upon that for my job satisfaction, I probably wouldn’t make it, because it doesn't happen often. But when it does, it tends to make you a little uplifted about what you do on a daily basis."

Her term is up in two years. Dubuisson,  who is unmarried,  says. "I will run again I'm not ready to retire."

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 child abusing Olympia Kiwanis Boys Ranch.