PAGE 3A
A VERY
SCANDINAVIAN
WEEKEND
145TH YEAR, NO. 250
ONE DOLLAR
DailyAstorian.com //
EMPOWERING PRACTICE
CAMP RILEA SCHOOL JUICES ELECTRICAL WORKFORCE, PROVIDES PATH TO AN APPRENTICESHIP
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
B
etween the retirement of
baby boomers and the
need to build and replace
the nation’s electrical infra-
structure, the demand for power
line workers is surging, with an
expected 14 percent growth rate
by 2026.
The next generation of work-
ers is training in a pole barn and
field of de-energized power poles
inside the Camp Rilea Armed
Forces Training Center.
The Vocational Outside Line
Training Academy, sponsored
by the International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers and
National Electrical Contractors
Association, was started in 2006
to increase the pool of qualified
electrical workers, said Banjo
Reed, director of the academy.
“With the baby boomers
retiring, there’s going to be a
huge need for qualified electri-
cal workers,” Reed said, adding
Camp Rilea is one of between 20
and 30 industry sponsored train-
ing locations throughout the U.S.
The academy, a precursor to a
paid apprenticeship with a union,
offers three $8,500, 10-week pro-
grams a year for 30 students,
mainly pulling from the Pacific
Northwest. The students spend
four days a week at Camp Rilea
learning about electrical systems,
equipment, climbing utility poles
and doing the job safely. Many
bring trailers and stay at Kampers
West RV Park in Warrenton.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
See SCHOOL, Page 5A
Trainees practice working on electrical lines at Camp Rilea.
Lawsuit against mental health agency settled
Suit involved
claims of
discrimination
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Two former employees at Clatsop
Behavioral Healthcare have settled
a federal lawsuit against the mental
health agency that alleged top admin-
istrators engaged in discrimination and
retaliation.
Richard Holmes, a case manager
who resigned in 2015, claimed the
agency failed to take action after a
female case manager subjected him
to homophobic slurs. Colleen Studi-
narz, Holmes’ supervisor, claimed she
was fired after she backed Holmes and
called for an investigation.
The terms of the settlement were
not publicly disclosed. A trial in federal
court in Portland that had been sched-
uled for late June has been canceled.
Amy Baker, the director of Clat-
sop Behavioral Healthcare, declined to
comment.
Attorneys for Holmes and Studi-
narz did not respond to messages seek-
ing comment.
The lawsuit was filed in 2016
against the mental health agency and
Sumuer Watkins, who was the execu-
tive director; Nick Benas, who was the
director of business operations; and
Lois Gilmore, the human resources
manager. Watkins and Benas left the
agency in 2016 in a management
shakeup.
The agency, which holds the con-
tract to provide mental health services
in Clatsop County, was under siege at
the time over internal divisions and
public scrutiny over the quality of care.
A separate federal lawsuit by
Cheryl Varese, who worked in the
agency’s developmental disabili-
ties unit, alleged retaliation for com-
plaining about unethical and illegal
management practices and a hostile
work environment. A federal judge
dismissed the lawsuit in March, but
Varese is appealing.
Varese also filed a new lawsuit in
Clatsop County Circuit Court alleg-
ing whistleblower retaliation and vio-
lations of state medical leave law.
County public works employee retires after 42 years
Credits his
co-workers for
inspiration
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
asha Raichl spent nearly
two straight days in knee-
deep water making repairs
inside the Clatsop County Jail
during the Great Coastal Gale
in 2007. Considering how
long he’d held his job with the
county Public Works Depart-
ment, the confined setting
seemed fitting.
“My wife says I got insti-
tutionalized,” Raichl said. “I
S
Sasha Raichl spent nearly 42 years at the county’s Public
Works Department.
wasn’t sure I would make it
out in the real world.”
More than a decade later,
he’ll have to try. Raichl retired
at the end of May after spend-
ing nearly 42 years at the
department.
A county resident since he
was a toddler, Raichl started
working at a Seaside auto body
shop when he was 13 years
old. He made connections with
county public works employ-
ees and, a few years later,
swiveled into the county fold.
Raichl credits his former
co-workers for his desire to
remain at the department for
most of his life.
“He loved the guys that he
worked with, and he is very
grateful to them for all the love
they’ve given him,” said Kim-
berly Raichl, his wife.
Raichl estimates only a
fraction of the people he orig-
inally worked with are still
alive. “I’ve been a pallbearer a
lot,” he said.
Starting out as a car
mechanic, Raichl moved over
to the county’s shop — even-
tually becoming the shop
See RAICHL, Page 5A