||| BY MIA KARTIGANER, SPECIAL TO theORCASONIAN |||
I’d like to talk about the waning rigor of the hiring protocol and practices at Orcas Island Fire and Rescue (OIFR). It used to be a 3 day process that included multiple oral boards, skills assessments with the County Medical Program Director and agility testing. Stakeholders and volunteers would be invited in to meet applicants. That is the process through which Scott Williams was hired as a FF/Medic years ago.
During my interview with the Chief I mentioned my curiosity about them not hiring RJ Meyers, a long time local FF/EMT volunteer. The chief said they had to go with the person most qualified. In this instance, that person was Alex Conrad. Conrad, then a close friend of both Commissioners Fuller and Helminski, was lined up to be sent to Harborview to be trained as a paramedic. (Alex graduated from Harborview among the top of his class and in his capacity as a paramedic has been a valuable asset to this community, refuted by no one) Conrad had spent a good deal of the previous months working full time, predominantly as a volunteer, covering the shifts of FF/EMT Seth Ybarra while he was in training at Harborview. RJ Meyers was still available and fully qualified for the FF/EMT position that was later filled by FF/Medic Kasey Jo Weigly.
FF/Medic Kasey Jo Weigley was initially hired as an EMT though she was already a paramedic (the previous listing for an EMT had been altered to include “Paramedic Credentials a plus”). She had filled shifts at OIFR as a Per Diem Paramedic, but not as a volunteer. At the time of her hire the job requirements included volunteer experience with the department. There were four qualified local EMTs available for hire at the time.
The board hired a recruiter to help fill the Assistant Chief (AC) position. They went through multiple interviews in a tiered process with the Chief, board members and the recruiter. Two final candidates were selected for internal interviews with staff and volunteers invited to fill out rating sheets on both. The only career responders in attendance happened to be in the building on shift. Paramedic Kasey Jo Weigley, one of the responders on shift, didn’t sit in on Holly vanSchaick’s interview because she knew her and had trained her as a paramedic. Weigley said she knows vanSchaik to be a good paramedic but felt the other candidate would have been a better fit for the needs of the department.
The other candidate for the AC position was Jeff Edmonds. Edmonds has 34 years of experience as a firefighter and recently retired as Assistant Fire Chief in Everett. He has extensive experience in command, labor management and team building. He is widely regarded as a training guru.
I did brief interviews with a number of people who were present for the AC interviews. I concluded that for them, AC Holly vanSchaik being a paramedic was pivotal. With approximately 65% of our annual emergency calls being for emergency medical services, this is understandable. So why not hire her to fill a paramedic role?
On December 8, when I arrived at the fire station for my scheduled interview with the Chief, he was in the conference room along with the new Assistant Chief Holly vanSchaick.
vanSchaick was hired on December 1, yet eight days later she answered half of the questions I directed to the Chief – about incidents that occurred prior to her arrival.
I questioned the chief about the three different sets of requirements for positions the station has filled in the last few years. I pointed out that the requirements appeared to be altered to dis-include locals already involved with the department. The latest listing required three years of full time paramedic experience. That excluded long-time volunteer Dr. Greg Ayers who paid for his own paramedic training with the intent of further serving our community.
I was told that on this day, the morning of our interview, they had hired the most experienced person to fill the paramedic slot left by paramedic Nick Kiniski’s departure.
They only interviewed one person. The new hire was an associate of AC vanSchaick from Anacortes.
Several days after our interview they hired a new FF/EMT. He was the only person interviewed. Also an associate of the AC from Anacortes. The Daily Dispatch, one of the standard sites for listing open positions in fire departments, found no posts for Orcas since that of the assistant chief position.
5.3 in the union contract reads: Source of Employees:
The Employer shall have the exclusive right to determine the source or sources of applicants for employment. The Employer, with the recommendation and approval of the County Medical Program Director, shall be the sole judge of the requirements and qualifications of such applicants.
Our County’s EMS responders operate under the license of current County Medical Program Director Dr. Josh Corsa. Dr. Corsa was not included in the interview panel of our newest FF/Medic & FF/EMT hires or the Assistant Chief.
On December 10th there was a meet and greet for the new AC. The Union was specifically informed that they were not invited. It was from volunteers that were present that the Union learned of the new full time FF/Medic hire.
For some Union members, days after her arrival, their first introduction to the new AC came in the form of receiving notices from her that they were under investigation.
When any organization fosters adversarial relationships within its ranks, chaos will ensue. Ever shifting hiring and promotion practices have been a destabilizing contribution. Leadership sets the tone for what follows. With vanSchaick it seems the opportunity to have a fresh set of eyes and perspective on the organization has been passed up.
I struggle to balance the community’s right to know what is going on at the fire department with concern for our responders’ wellbeing and maintaining their jobs. The administration has proven to be more concerned with leaks of information than with the failings of its leadership. Despite being checked for leaks, our responders have remained steadfast in their commitment to us.
During the course of writing this segment I have learned that Commissioner Marlow has handed in her resignation effective immediately. Dr. Josh Corsa has given notice to end his contract with Orcas. The contract covers his First Line Medical Control (the doctor that EMTs and Medics can call when at a scene), the monthly run review and annual wellness checks for members.
He will remain the County Medical Program Director.
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Thanks, Mia, for bringing more information to us. However, I got confused about the positions you were talking about: what positions were open, who was applying for them, who was chosen, and what the process was for different positions. I think this clarification is important to understanding the complexities. Would you please add those details?
Many thanks.
Thank you Mia, for your excellent research and getting this vital info to our community.
I have been remaining informed via various means of the complete turnaround ( destruction) of our vital and heretofore
remarkable OIFR.
Scott and the new AC are
setting new standards for nefarious nepotism-& in so doing , negating all the good will, the pride we all had i. our FF/EMTs/paramedics. Patrick Shepler and Nick and the others,
including volunteers, who responded so readily to our calls; whose experience and dedication could be relied upon for their expertise and knowledge——sadly,
gone.
I ask you, who in their right mind, would remain in the employ of the OIFR in its’ present —& yes widely known—incompetence and narrowness of mind.
If our community wants to be assured that when they call 911,
competent OIFR folks will show up, we need to rise up , get involved and straighten this mess out.
My husband and I are alive only because of the competence of the former OIFR; several times, including a miraculous lifesaving diagnosis by them of Bob’s septicemia and speedy treatment/ flight to Bellingham—where he arrived near death, in deep shock. Their rapid assessment and treatment kept
him alive.
I would hesitate to trust the present hires with my life.
This island, I thought, wouldn’t allow this kind of shenanigans to take place!
Color me disappointed.
Things are getting curiouser and curiouser, the more that is revealed. Are there no legal means to prevent such as what is happening to blast apart everything that OIFR built with care?
I appreciate the investigative digging and ferreting out of these truths- though troubling, it should give every taxpayer in the district pause. Don’t we want the whole truth to come out and any nefarious behavior to be not only stopped, but the course righted? There should be repercussions. Our vote last Nov. is the beginning of righting the course.
When a taxing district board does not do its duty to keep an overreaching employee in check – even a manager or a chief – it leaves the Public with little recourse but to show up and demand the truth. The board’s job is oversight of all its employees – especially if there are complaints and good staff and volunteers leaving in numbers. That should have clued in the board that something was wrong; they’ve had plenty of time to see this.
Recalls are a last resort, but it’s looking as though we are heading there with little other recourse. How sad that we have already lost so many good people, and missed out on people who should have been hired. The Port of Orcas did an admirable job of hiring their new manager, open to the Public with zoom meetings. The commissioners really considered things carefully and rationally, knowing what was needed. They also let the public ask questions of the candidates. They chose well.
I hope there are people willing to step up for commissioner seats – this is exactly why elections must not go unopposed; otherwise, you get what you get. But citizens are also needed to be regulars at meetings. I’m sorry I have been unable at this time to commit to that as I would have liked. I’m grateful to Mia for taking this on. I know how thankless it can be.
We voted in overwhelming numbers for Patrick Shepler – the people have spoken. Now he is alone in standing for us, in a potentially hostile situation – but this is where and how change starts. How frustrating for us when a board goes ahead against the overwhelming majority who have said ‘enough.’ It’s appalling to read about these so called hirings – yet I’m glad this is coming out. It may not be consdered “journalism” by those of differing opinions- but this is exactly what investigative journalism is all about, and why so many in power would like to silence it.
Not going to call this “fake” news. As with much news it is misinformed. The Commissioners are restrained because they cannot divulge confidential personnel matters.
I don’t know about anyone else but I am tired of public servants hiding behind confidentiality. And it goes beyond personnel matters. This situation is
tinhorn dictator behavior and I am amazed got accepted by Orcas Island residents.
Dig a little deeper into the relationship with one of the former Anacortes “associates”. Won’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how he jumped the line after you connect those dots.
While I appreciate that Eric Gourley began his comment to Mia’s article by noting that he was “not going to call this ‘fake news’”, he went on to say that the piece was misinformed and that the “Commissioners are restrained because they cannot divulge confidential personnel matters”. I’m assuming Mr. Gourley didn’t attend the December or January OIFR Commission meetings, because there was no restraint or professionalism to be found among some of the acting Commissioners in the divulging of either personal or personnel matters. While the lack of “restraint” shown by Commissioners is troubling, what is even more troubling are the gag orders and investigations being done with taxpayer money against members of the Department who are just trying to do their jobs. The Commissioners actually have a platform to set their narrative, while members of the Department risk losing their jobs by simply speaking out.
Complete nepotism of the new AC to hire her “associates” from Anacortes, while bypassing any qualified candidates from the island by changing the requirements to ensure her “associates” were the only ones that met the requirements.
Let’s just stop saying “associate” and call it what it is, one is her boyfriend to be perfectly clear for everyone here.
Wait, what’s going on? Something about shady hiring, investigations and a hot mic? I didn’t expect this so soon. Someone let me know when that transcript comes out.