There were many obvious and long-term warnings about the 1970-94 child abusing Olympia Kiwanis Boys Ranch.
manaco@whidbey.net
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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Back to the beginning OKBR Home Page(http://lbloom.net/indexok.html)
Incumbent and challenger point to past term, one describing job well done, the other demanding a change
October 24, 1998
Karen Hucks; The News Tribune
If there's one issue overriding all others in the race for Thurston County prosecuting attorney, it's whether incumbent Bernardean Broadous is running the office effectively.
Broadous, who was elected in 1994, boasts that she is convicting more criminals because she is filing charges in 84 percent of the police reports sent to her, as opposed to the 56 percent in which her predecessor filed charges.
Even with a felony caseload that's tripled, she said, prosecutions are being handled in an average of 86 days - down from 120 to 150 days. And she said the number of juveniles who re-offend has gone from 25 percent to 7.8 percent during her tenure.
Her opponent for the $93,500-per-year job, Olympia attorney Ed Holm, says Broadous' office is a hostile place to work. But she says that's ludicrous.
"There's so much good," Broadous said. "But people - my opponent and people in my office who are disgruntled - are focusing on the narrow and the negative."
Holm said Broadous fires or transfers attorneys to different divisions whenever she gets mad at them. He said she files charges in too many cases and ends up having to accept plea bargains because evidence and witnesses won't hold up in court. He said she micro-manages the 65-employee office and travels too much.
Sixteen employees in the prosecutor's office have resigned or been fired since Broadous took over. Attorneys have unionized during the past year for the first time in the county.
Some attorneys who used to work under Broadous say Holm isn't exaggerating the conditions in the office.
Ken Nichols and Jean Meyn, who now are private defense attorneys, said there were many reasons why working for Broadous was demoralizing.
"Favoritism is, I would say, the biggest problem," said Nichols, who quit last December and now practices in Tacoma. "There are certain people who are her pets and other people - nobody quite knows for what reason - are out of favor. And a professional office should not be run that way.
"You put all those things together and it just makes for a disheartening, discouraging working environment."
Meyn, who practices in Olympia, said she was in Broadous' favor for most of the year and three months she worked there. But she noticed others who weren't.
"It was hard to see people, both support staff and capable prosecutors, so afraid of getting in trouble," Meyn said. "Their judgments were in question. It was a very demeaning environment."
Olympia attorney Michael Hanbey is representing one former employee in a civil suit against Broadous. Betty Benefiel, whose case is pending in federal court, said Broadous forced her out of her position as a victim-witness advocate and made her so miserable she had to quit.
"What I see is just inept management," Hanbey said. "Her attitude appears to be 'It's my way or the highway.' You never know what it is that's going to upset her, and there appears to be a lack of recognition, especially to the support staff."
Colin Jackson, an attorney who supervises the misdemeanor division, said he respects his colleagues, but disagrees with those who criticize Broadous.
"There is favoritism," Jackson said. "But I think Bernardean favors people who do a good job. The people who are complaining about being disfavored are probably not doing a good job."
Broadous laughed this week at the accusations against her.
"That's inconsistent with the results that we have achieved," she said, tapping a long list of programs she started or boosted.
*
Bernardean Broadous
Broadous said her office is a happy place to work - a place where attorneys gladly work late into evenings and on weekends to fight for a safer community, a place where employees get together for picnics and parties.
"The morale is very high," she said. "That's not to say there's not a couple people who are disgruntled."
But if anyone is fearful, she said, it's because they're not doing their jobs.
"I've taken them out of that comfort standard," Broadous said. "I'm not going to back away from that."
Broadous said her law degree, plus her background in welfare and other social services, employment services and probation, give her the broad community perspective it takes to be a great prosecutor.
"I've done a good job," she said.
She boasts a long list of accomplishments: creating a special assault unit; bolstering the victim advocacy program; forming a countywide gang protection unit; eliminating backlogs and delays in prosecution; creating a program in which attorneys talk to middle school students; implementing a drug court; and securing grant funding and expert training.
Broadous said the travel that Holm criticizes is what brought grant funding and money for training and programs to her office. She won five grants for the office, including one that provides free training for domestic violence prosecution, she said.
"I had to go out, but look what I brought back," she said.
If re-elected, she said, she will work for legislation to put teeth into check fraud prosecution. She will assign deputy prosecutors to community policing. She will start a program that can help deadbeat parents find stable jobs; start a juvenile drug court; and add elementary schools to the schools where deputy prosecutors talk to kids, she said.
And, she said, she will fight for more grant funding.
*
Ed Holm
Holm is choosing his words carefully these days. He talks slowly and deliberately. He had a media adviser, a former local radio reporter, with him for an interview.
Holm said he's nervous after an Oct. 14 debate sponsored by the Olympia Master Builders in which people said he became agitated and lost control.
"(Campaigning) makes you nervous," Holm said. "It magnifies the problems I have talking. Normally I don't have any problems talking to groups."
He got nearly 36 percent of the vote in the primary, compared to opponent Reiko Callner's 34 percent and Broadous' 30 percent, but some people say he may be losing ground.
At the debate, Holm attacked Broadous' record and said it was inappropriate for auditor Sam Reed to support Broadous, a fellow Republican. Some people were outraged.
Karen Jerome, a member of the Master Builders, said that before the debate, she was considering voting for Holm.
"He totally lost all his composure," Jerome said. "If he's this out of control just at a dinner, what is he going to be like as prosecutor?"
She was so angry she filed a fair campaign practices complaint with the state Public Disclosure Commission. The commission handles such complaints by asking for a response and making it, and the complaint, public.
Holm said that as a lawyer, he's never had trouble staying calm. In fact, his sometimes aggressive style of talk has aided him in the courtroom.
And he's sure it will serve him well as prosecutor, he said.
"I really believe I've got the background to do this," he said. "I know how to prosecute criminals. I know how to manage people. I know how to get along with other groups of people. I believe I've tried more murder cases in this town than she's tried cases."
Holm said that if elected, he would not fire employees, as Broadous did in 1995. He also would not transfer them "willy-nilly," he said.
He said he would encourage better coordination and communication with courts and law enforcement. He would work to improve technology, and he would file charges in fewer cases so deputies can do a better job on cases.
Holm said most offices file charges in about 60 percent of the police reports sent over, compared to Broadous' 84 percent. He said she is filing charges in too many cases to boost the number of convictions in the county. But she also is boosting the number of losses, he said.
He wants to add more support staff for attorneys, a commercial division to handle white-collar crime and a full-time person to work on long-term follow-up to domestic violence cases. And he would use family mediation and arbitration in juvenile cases, he said.
- - -
* Staff writer Karen Hucks covers Thurston County. Reach her at 1-800-388-8742, Ext. 8660 or by e-mail at kxh@p.tribnet.com
- - -
SIDEBAR: The Candidates
Ed Holm
Olympia Democrat, 59.
Occupation: Lawyer. Started Connolly, Holm, Tacon and Meserve in 1971. Most of his current cases deal with estate planning and probate.
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science from Washington State University. Law degree from the University of Arizona.
Civic involvement: Named Lawyer of the Year this year by the Thurston County Bar Association for outstanding community and professional service; assisted in drafting the courtroom decorum and practice guidelines adopted by the state Supreme Court in 1995; past member of the state Board of Governors, which controls the state Bar Association; presently on the Judicial Recommendation Committee of the state Bar Association.
Family: Married 14 years to Margaret Cunniff Holm, also a lawyer; they have two sons and a daughter. Also has a grown daughter and son from a previous marriage.
Favorite vacation spot: Kallispell, Mont.
Three good books: "Something Happened," by Joseph Heller; "War and Peace," by Leo Tolstoy; "Young Lions," by Irwin Shaw.
I'm running because: "I'm running because I did not feel anybody qualified to do the job was a candidate for the office. ... I don't mean that in a bad way. But I feel like we need a good prosecutor, and I feel like I have a community obligation."
Money matters: Had raised $48,434 and spent $48,515 as of mid-October. Took out a loan for $9,100. His largest contributors were: John and Rebecca Lacy ($1,000); Mark Litchman ($900); real estate agents Dennis and Carol Adams ($600); Shelton attorney George Steele ($600); and Clair Litchman ($595).
How to reach him: Call 943-6747; write P.O. Box 576, Olympia 98507; or e-mail chtm@aol.com
*
Bernardean Broadous
Olympia Republican, 56.
Occupation: Thurston County prosecutor for four years; former staff developer for state Department of Employment Security; former social worker for the Department of Public Social Services in California; worked for Los Angeles County probation department.
Education: Bachelor's degree in business from Chaminade University of Honolulu. Law degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law.
Civic involvement: Board member and volunteer for SafePlace Rape Relief Women's Shelter; founding and current chairwoman of Stop the Violence Thurston County, a violence prevention education program aimed at building strong families and youth; citizen advisory board member to the Junior League of Olympia; and numerous community organizations.
Family: Three grown daughters; three grandchildren.
Favorite vacation spot: Sun Mountain in eastern Washington.
Three good books: The Book of Joshua in The Bible; "Name Withheld," by Judith A. Jance; "The Burden of Proof," by Scott Turow.
I'm running because: "The prosecuting attorney is a leader who can make an impact in the community, and it is an honor for me to be out there as a leader with positive solutions for our community."
Money matters: Had raised $25,248 and spent $20,524 as of mid-October. Her largest contributors were: the 22nd Legislative District Republican Committee ($2,000); Thurston Affordable Housing Council, the political arm of the Olympia Master Builders ($1,325); Thurston County Republican Central Committee ($1,000); Washington Association of Realtors Candidate PAC ($1,000); and Janice Hopton ($500).
How to reach her: Call 438-1307 (campaign) or 459-2911 (home); write Reelect Broadous Prosecuting Attorney, 3725 Saltchuck Lane Northeast, Olympia, WA 98506; or e-mail www.bestcandidate.com/broadous.
© The News Tribune
Until Oct 1999, I believed that the Kiwanians and their friends were guilty of careless neglect or callous indifference. After hearing frightening audio depositions from some of the abused kids, I now believe that these people were involved with an "active collaboration with evil". The OKBR staff was apparently actively involved in long-term molestation and sadistic abuse of these kids. The Kiwanians and their friends could/should have stopped the abuse.
google is the best search engine, and you can make a detailed search of just this site.
OKBR people statements to the Wa. St. Patrol(informative, professional, evasive, amusing)
Here's a long summary of the Wa.St.Patrol O.K.B.R report
Back to the 1999 Washington State Employees Salaries List
Back to the 1997 Washington State Employees Salaries List
Back to the 1995 Washington State Employees Salaries List
Olympia Kiwanis Attorneys & Judges and/or Politicians.
Back to the beginning OKBR Home Page(http://lbloom.net/indexok.html)
Below is an e-mail I received from a former Olympia, Washington resident.
From: ~~~~~~~~@aol.com
From: louis a bloom manaco@whidbey.net
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.
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.
manaco@whidbey.net