Best Western Plus

Fellow Members,

Here comes spring! Another year and the end of another legislative session. It looks like we are still doing well. You’ll read more in this issue by other members and reporters about legislation that may affect us. Please read their reports and pass the information on to other retirees.

The one thing that I’m impressed with is that our membership has been more active with their State Representatives and Senators. It’s very important. They need our input regarding issues that directly affect our livelihood and the livelihood of our dependents. They realize that not only you and your wives/husbands depend on our retirement system but other family members are involved in our well being and if our retirement system is damaged, voters will look at the legislator’s performance.

The other thing that I’m impressed with is our Executive Board. Besides keeping me on my toes they continuously are looking for ways to streamline the association and keep the membership informed of changes in the system and keep our membership information up to date. Additionally, the website must be updated and information sent out via email or U.S. mail to keep you informed. For those who don’t have a computer you might check your local library. Someone will even assist you in learning about computer use.

The Corona Virus is the big news of the year and it looks like it will be necessary for us senior citizens to be extremely aware of the methods to protect ourselves from the deadly disease. It looks like we might be required to cancel our meetings and possibly our annual convention. Only time and science will tell the outcome. Be sure to listen to the health professionals, their advice seems to be more accurate than the politicians.

We lost our past Vice President Ralph Waddle recently. He will be missed. Ralph was in my 1966 academy class in King County but had some experience with the department as a Provisional Deputy. His sense of humor, devotion to the Association and sense of direction will be missed. After he stepped out as Vice President I still relied on his counsel.

Once again, as a parting reminder, share your retirement system information with those close to you. It’s important for them to know what your health insurance and LEOFF system covers should you become disabled or pass away. We publish contact information from time to time in the Hot Sheet but if you or your loved ones need help, we are always just a phone call away.

Joe Dawson President

THE OLYMPIA REPORT

Bill Dickinson, LEOFF 1 Coalition President

If you haven’t already seen it on our website or heard it from Seattle Police Retiree Jerry Taylor, the LEOFF 1 COLA for this year is 2.14 % for anyone who retired prior to April 2, 2018. See our webpage for retirees after that date.

The legislative session has just concluded as I write this. There were a couple of bills that went through the legislature with impact on LEOFF members. The first is house bill 1888 which affects all public employees and retirees when it comes to the release of public records. This bill was generated by public employee unions in an effort to preclude the release of virtually all our identifying information subject to the Public Records Act and responding to a public records request from the Freedom Foundation as well as a request from the Seattle Times. The legislation effectively removes release of your date of birth from the information released to the public. The media however, continues to receive all the information except your street address. We hope to introduce legislation in the next session which would make a distinction for retirees who are no longer public employees and should not be subject to the public records act exactly the same as those who are still working in a public position. Philosophically, we think senior citizens (particularly those in public safety) should be offered more protection from the release of personal information by the Department of Retirement Systems. We will be working on drafting a bill in the coming months and then see if we can find some legislators to propose it for us.

The second bill of interest is House Bill 2051. This is a bill which would expand the eligibility of persons who want to run for election to disability boards around the State of Washington. While there are different kinds of disability boards, when the LEOFF RCW (41.26) was initially crafted, it called for disability boards comprised of 2 government representatives, a citizen selected by the government representatives and 2 other LEOFF members so that there would be members with a vested interest in looking out for the LEOFF member’s benefits. The employer representatives have the majority but at least 2 of the 5 board members are there to defend the employee’s rights under the law. HB2051 was created at the behest of Richard Warbrouck, the President of the Retired Firefighters of Washington who has expressed concern that certain jurisdictions have not been able to find LEOFF 1 members in their community to serve on the local disability board. Since LEOFF 2 members can already serve on the local disability boards, it seems it should not be that difficult to find currently-serving LEOFF members to run for the positions.   That said, the legislation is well-intentioned to expand the eligibility to fill these positions if there is a retired law enforcement officer or fire fighter who has moved into your jurisdiction to become eligible. I received a number of calls from LEOFF 1 members expressing their concern that the legislation was written so broadly that ANY retired police or fire person from anywhere could sit on their local board. The members were concerned that if they don’t have a locally employed fire or police member, they at least want their disability board representatives to have an understanding of, a vested interest in, and a history as a LEOFF member from Washington State. Consequently, I testified last year to our concern and we were able to work with Senator Schoesler to narrow the field of eligible candidates to LEOFF members from anywhere in Washington State.

The bill died last year without action and it was brought forward again this year. Once again, I testified in favor of the bill but only on the condition that it includes an amendment requiring service in the Washington LEOFF system. Surprisingly, Mr. Warbrouck and 2 of his associates testified AGAINST our effort and insisted that ANYONE with prior police or fire service regardless of where they are from should be allowed to run for the board positions that represent our LEOFF 1 members. This conflict between our different organizations certainly makes it more difficult for legislators to know what we really need. Joyce Willms communicated with the legislative members including Senator Rolfes who asked the very good question, “Can spouses serve on these boards?” When we considered her thought, it made perfect sense that the next best persons to represent LEOFF 1 members other than ourselves would in fact be our spouses or domestic partner! So Joyce proposed that HB 2051 be amended to specify that disability board members can be any Washington State LEOFF member and/or their surviving spouse/domestic partner. Senator Rolfes placed our amendment on the original bill, it has passed both houses and is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature as I write this.

I think it important to acknowledge that Mr. Warbrouck’s intentions were good and we think that our amendment efforts on feedback from you, made his legislation even better for our LEOFF 1 members. While I have made multiple overtures to work collaboratively with him and his organization, he has steadfastly refused my efforts and recently gone so far as to attack our organization and our Executive Director/Lobbyist (Joyce) in his most recent newsletter. Please know that the LEOFF 1 Coalition is a registered 501 C 5 organization. We have never asked people for dues, subscriptions, or anything other than a freely given donation to help us pay for attorney bills, mailings, and the services we contract for lobbying and running our office in Olympia. The board members are strictly volunteers who are not paid anything except travel expenses to attend a meeting (most of our meetings are now done by teleconferencing and some of the board members refuse any reimbursement at all). Our board members come from Spokane, Seattle, Yakima, Renton, Olympia, Cle Elum, and Chehalis. We have firefighters (3), law enforcement officers (5) and one beneficiary spouse who provide representation for all the affected elements of the LEOFF 1 retirement system. As time goes by, we expect more beneficiaries to become involved. We have been criticized for not having member-elected board members but that is because we have never before asked people to become an official dues-paying member. It seems to me that most folks have been content to have our volunteers attend to the matters that could affect our retirement system. We don’t have monthly social gatherings or Christmas parties. We just stand guard in an effort to protect our retirement, our members and our benefits.

By now, LEOFF 1 members have received a mailing paid for by the Retired Firefighters of Washington and the Retired Seattle Police Officers Association sent through the Department of Retirement Systems. They aspire to gain your mailing address via your response to their survey so they can solicit your membership in their organization. I wish we could use the DRS mailing list to reach out to all the other LEOFF 1 members who are not already on our mailing list, but because we are not currently a dues-paying retirement organization with formal membership such as theirs, we are not allowed to do so (you may be interested to know that the legislation that makes this requirement was proposed by Mr. Warbrouck of the Retired Firefighters organization). We currently communicate with nearly half of the LEOFF 1 members through our newsletters but there are many others who do not receive our information. Consequently, we are discussing trying to formalize our organization into a true membership group that represents all LEOFF 1 members as well as their beneficiaries. We do not aspire to become a social organization as there are already several good ones in the state. There definitely needs to be a state wide organization that will represent and defend our members until there just aren’t any of us left. We think the LEOFF 1 Coalition is the existing and best choice as we already have volunteer representation from all over the State to include beneficiaries, a contracted lobbyist, and a long history of defending the LEOFF 1 retirement laws. I sincerely wish the Seattle retired firefighters and police officers would consider joining WITH us, rather than standing against us as recently demonstrated at the legislature as well as their desire to create yet another state-wide organization that is Seattle based. I stand ready and willing to work with them at any time and genuinely hope that we can unite rather than create yet another divisive entity amongst ourselves. If their real concern is the way the LEOFF 1 Coalition is organized, why then don’t they work with us to address their concerns? We are already here and have been for 19 years. In fact, they both once belonged to the Coalition and then with their size of the largest city in the state, struck out on their own. Let us know what you think.

Fraternally,

Bill Dickinson

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GOOD NEWS

The following gun bills did not make it through this year. HB 1010, WSP destroying confiscated guns. HB 2305, would be able to remove your firearms for up to 5 years without due process. HB 2623, takes away your firearm for illegal discharge. This bill included air guns and sling shots. HB 2947, would have banned magazines greater than 15 rounds.

GOODER NEWS

OK, OK, I know, no such word. But I’m pretty excited. LEOFF 1 folks, Bill Dickinson already told you your COLA news. LEOFF 2, your 2020 COLA based on these retirement dates:

DUES

Just reminder for those who have not paid their dues it’s that time again. Dues are $30 per family. Send checks to:  WSRDSPOA, P.O. Box 13265, Spokane Valley, WA 99213

How to check your DUES DATE. On the website check Profile under your name. On your mailed copy of the Hot Sheet check the address label. Just above your name is a year, i.e. 2020. That means you are paid through that year.

As of April 15, 2020, if your Dues have not been paid since 2018, you will be removed from our membership.

FRACTURED

Soggy Green Thumb

Overcoming the Challenges of Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest
By Hermione Merriweather

Just kidding!

How about:

Masters of Mayhem, the Seeds of British Special Operations 

by James Stejskal

If you are interested in military history, mid-eastern politics, or just want to know the ‘real’ story of Lawrence of Arabia, you will find this a worthwhile read.

While T.E. Lawrence certainly played a significant role in attempting to coordinate an uprising by the various tribes in the western Arabia peninsula during WWI, this book details those actions not as an independent fight for Arab self-rule, but rather as means of tying up as many Ottoman Turk troops as possible in order to help facilitate the larger objective of General Edmund Allenby’s British Military Mission to drive through Palestine and capture Damascus.   This was accomplished by cutting railroad lines, blowing up bridges and generally harassing the Turkish troops with hit and run tactics.

The author, a veteran of U.S. Army Special Operations and the CIA, describes himself as a military historian and conflict archaeologist. This shows in his detailed, sometimes dry, descriptions of the operations and their effect on the success of the overall mission. The first three quarters of the book covers the mission and gives particular attention to the evolution of the tactics, logistics, and organizational structures developed to achieve success within the constraints of the limited resources in this remote theatre of the war and its ever changing internal and external politics.

The final one fourth of the book is made up of six appendices that give more detailed coverage of the organization, armament, and equipment used in the operation. The one I found particularly interesting was the one on the armored cars. Picture, if you will, Rolls Royce touring cars with their elegant bodywork replaced with armor plating, beefed up springs to handle the extra weight, dual wheels front and rear, and a .30 caliber Lewis machine gun mounted behind the driver. The cars could approach the enemy silently with mufflers intact, then, when needed, exhaust cutouts could be opened by operating a lever in the cab thereby allowing the cars to roar across the desert at speeds up to 60 mph.

Maybe the subtitle should be “the Seeds of American Hot Rodding”!

RBO

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HR218 QUALIFICATIONS

Right now there are three HR218 qualifications scheduled, one in Chehalis, Steve Nelson 360-846-3535, contact person. One in Centralia, Brad Reynolds 360-520-6562, contact person. One in King County, Zbig Kasprzyk 206-818-7476, contact person. All three are still planning on being run. Chehalis on May 9, Centralia on May 16 and King County April 9. Due to COVID-19 things may change at any time. If there are any changes Don McCabe will send out an email to our membership. As of March, 25th Governor Inslee issued a “Stay At Home” directive. If this order is still in effect at the time of the shoots, they will be canceled.

 AROUND THE BEAT

Ralph Claire Waddle Sr.

Retired King County Deputy. Recently from Sumner, WA, Ralph passed away peacefully in Seattle on February 23, 2020, at the age of 85. He was born July 20, 1934, in Bottineau, ND to Claude and Celia Waddle. Ralph was youngest of 5 siblings who all pre-deceased him. He was a graduate of Class of 1952 Sunnyside High School and active in sports.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Joe Dawson, President: jsdawson@comcast.net  (425) 392-4361 (C) (206) 817-8376

Ronnie Johnston, West Side Vice President: r7t9@aol.com  (206) 595-6819

Don McCabe, Vice President East Side & Website Administrator: don.mccabe41@gmail.com  (509) 951-0399

Dawn Morrow, Secretary: queencat13@aol.com (509) 928-7182 (C) 509 464-9773

Jim Hill, Treasurer: wsrdspoa@gmail.com (509) 362-2025

Zbig Kasprzyk, West Side Executive Board Member: zkkasprzyk@gmail.com (206) 818-7476

Brent Beden, West Side Executive Board Member: brent.beden@comcast.net (C) (206) 550-2809

Dennis Hooper, East Side Executive Board Member: derickson024@gmail.com (509) 496-0110 (C) (509) 255-9156

Doug Partlow, East  Side Executive Board Member: dougpart@aol.com (C) (509) 406-1017

Zbig Kasprzyk, Hot Sheet Editor: zkkasprzyk@gmail.com (206) 818-7476

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Please fill out this membership application form if you would like to become a member or to renew your expired membership. Print out your application using the Print button.

W.S.R.D.S.P.O.A.

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

NAME ____________________________________ SPOUSE ____________________________________

ADDRESS ___________________________CITY ______________________STATE _____ZIP ________

Phone (____)_____-_____________                                                    Cell (____)____-_________________

Retired from (Dept) ______________________________________________________________________

Retirement Date _____________ LEOFF 1 ___ LEOFF 2 ___ Surviving Spouse ___ Associate Member ___

Hobbies, Activities, Comments about family etc:

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Member E-mail ____________________________Spouse E-mail__________________________________

 I agree _____ to add my e-mail address to the association directory which list only Name, e-mail and Dept.

Sponsored by: _____________________________________________

New member: _____ Renewal: _____ Dues run from January 1st to December 31st and are $30 per year for ALL memberships.

Associate Member: ____ NOTE – Associate members (persons other than LEOFF 1 or LEOFF 2 active or retired) must be approved by the Executive Board.

Make your check payable to W.S.R.D.S.P.O.A.

Mail to: W.S.R.D.S.P.O.A.   P.O. Box 13265   Spokane Valley, WA 99213

Once we receive your application, you will be notified via email of your Username and

Password for you to enter our website. Thank you!