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 the2001 or 1999 or 1997 or 1995 Washington State Employees Salaries List
Back to the beginning OKBR Home Page(http://lbloom.net/indexok.html)

By Brad Shannon The Olympian Jume 2, 1995
    Kiwanis Club members thought a settlement had been reached and that the club's insurer would pay the $1 million, but a deal apparently fell apart. The Kiwanis Club of 0lympia may be on the hook for additional damages connected to the O.K.  Boys Ranch sex-abuse claims.
    Kiwanis, which operated the ranch as a standing committee of the civic club since the early 1970s,  was found liable in March for the sexual and physical abuse that occurred at  the state-funded group home for boys on Olympia's northeast side.
    Visiting Superior Court Judge  Thomas Sauriol ruled that the Olympia Kiwanis and its insurers were "vicariously" liable, therefore responsible, for  damages caused by the ranch. Sauriol, a Pierce County judge brought in to ensure fairness in the case, found the ranch's board of directors, which included community leaders such as District Court Judge Susan Dubuisson functioned as a standing committee of  Kiwanis. Sauriol dismissed claims by Kiwanians that the ranch was independent and not accountable to the club.
    Richard Kelley, a lawyer representing 15 former residents who allege they were molested and assaulted by other teen residents, said Thursday that settlements of claims against the state, the ranch and Kiwanis have reached $9.5 million, including a recent settlement with Kiwanis for $1 million. But Kiwanis could be on the hook  for part of the $3 million in judgments entered against the boys ranch, but which the ranch lacked insurance to cover. Because of Sauriol's ruling, Kiwanis is liable.
     But the exact status of the case, which Kelly called a "legal swamp ' has been unclear even to Kiwanis' leaders. Former Kiwanis president Bob Van Schoorl said last week that he understood that a Kiwanis insurer's payment of more than $1 million already had ended his organization's liability in the case a few months ago.     Patrick Sutherland current Kiwanis president and fomer county prosecutor, also said he understood the claims against Kiwanis had been settled long ago. Van Schoorl also insisted the local Kiwanis Club would not have to pay out of its own pockets, contending insurance  would pick up all of the costs. Kelley said he was not so sure.
    Thurston County Superior Court papers include a memo from Kiwanis' excess liability carrier, International Surplus Lines Insurance Co., that suggests Kiwanis would have to pay a $250,000 deductible on its Royal Insurance policy, which was part of last month's $1 million settlemcnt.
    Court records also showed last week that a proposed April settlement by Kiwanis for $1 million fell apart when Kiwanis' lawyers divulged to the suing youths' lawyers that Kiwanis had "discovered" it had the ISLIC excess liability policy covering parts of 1987-88.
    Upset by the late disclosure of the insurance policy David Paul, a Portland, Ore., lawyer working as part of the plaintiff legal team, asked Judge Sauriol to impose sanctions on the Kiwanis legal team for failing to disclose the added insurance coverage in September, when a court order to that effect was laid out. Sauriol last fall imposed $160,000 in sanctions against a boys ranch lawyer,Don Law; for allegedly holding back 20,000 pages of documents from the boys'  lawyers until 10 days before trial originally was scheduled to begin.
    Kelley said Thursday that Paul's sanctions request was withdrawn two weeks ago when Royal Insurance sent him its $1 million settlement check. Until Thursday's filing of a second round of claims against the state, the O.K. Boys Ranch lawsuits dealt with only 15 boys who claimed they suffered sexual and physical abuse at the hands of other ranch youths from 1987 to I992. Of those original 15 claims, all but one have been settled. That one claim, for $2 million, is against Royal Insurance  and is scheduled for trial in May 1996.

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.

Search WWW Search lbloom.net

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
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.