Cronyism and nepotism is the normal way that most people get their jobs and get promoted. (That's how I got my job, by taking over my dads small business.) I'd like to see more government people get hired and promoted by merit. The 36 person Washington State DSHS nursing home audit section listed below was blatant about their cronyism and nepotism hiring practices, by having three married couples (6 people) in a 36 person office. If people didn't condone the small corruptions they have knowledge of, the larger corruptions like the Kiwanis of Olympia Boys Ranch would not have happened.

I believe that it is important that the public and media be able to know the names and salaries of their taxpayer supported employees. If numerous relatives and friends, of any hiring boss, have been hired to work for Washington State, and some of them are paid exhorbant salaries, how would anybody know? Sometimes, internal gossip and whistleblowing could prevent croynism and nepotism in the hiring and promoting of government employees, but we all know what happens to "whistleblowing" and "malcontent" employees.

The City of Lacey reluctantly sent me the last names and salaries of their employees. The letter I received from them on July 2, 2002 lists a Kenneth Ahlf as city attorney, and Scott Ahlf (relatives?) as an assistant city attorney, but they only list one Ahlf as a city employee.

I think that State Commissions like the 2 person African American Affairs Commission, or the 75 person Washington State Historical Society and many others are kept alive so patronage jobs can be given to political cronies like Doug Sayan or Derek Valley.

The below 36 person Washington State DSHS nursing home audit section had three married couples (Finnerud-Tamm, Arnie & Shirley Olsen, Phouc & Yeu Huynh), working in the same office. I believe this cronyism and nepotism is common throughout Washington State government. There's no law against it.

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)

google is the best search engine, and you can make a detailed search of just this site.

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The below 36 person Washington State DSHS audit section had three married couples (Finnerud-Tamm, Arnie & Shirley Olsen, Phouc & Yeu Huynh), working in the same office. Below is a list of the Washington State DSHS Office of Nursing Home and Hospital Audit Employees as of February 4, 1994
Sandra Libbey was the boss of this audit section and Kiwanis of Olympia Person Rosemary Carr was her boss. Sandra Libbey and Rosemary Carr would hire their friends to work for them. This 36 person DSHS audit section had three married couples (six people) working in the same office. Here's a photocopy of the February 4, 1994 document.

 1 ARTH-WHITE, AMY  
 2 ASETRE, SOSTENES   
 3 BERKLEY, CHARLES   
 4 RUSSELL, CLAUDIA   
 5 CRUZ, JAIME   
 6 CRUZ, MERNILO   
 7 ESTRELLA, MARCELO   
 8 FINNERUD, HAL   
 9 HARRISON, FRED   
10 HERRERA, LINDA   
11 HILL, MEL   
12 HOWE, SCOTT  
13 HUYNH, PHOUC   
14 HUYNH, YEU   
15 JACKSON, GLENDA  
16 LAGASCA, BERNARDINO   
17 LIBBEY, SANDY   
18 MARTIN, LAUREL   
19 MILLS, WALTER   
20 MINZEL, CRAIG   
21 NGUYEN, HIEN   
22 OLSON. ARNIE   
23 OLSON, SHIRLEY   
24 REED, TOM   
25 RICE, TOM   
26 ROUSH, JANE   
27 SANBORN, PAT   
28 SOWERS, JENNIFER   
29 TAMM, KRISTINA   
30 TIBBS, REGINA   
31 TU, CAM BO   
32 VENOIT, BERT   
33 VOLO, CHRIS   
34 WANG, BEN   
35 WOODS, RON   
36 ZUCHLESKI, TOM  

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 Kiwanis of Olympia Boys Ranch.