Reviewing Our Coverage From Last Week
Over the last week, our articles exposed attempts to bypass the Public Records Act, detailed severe financial and cultural fallout in our local schools, and tracked significant federal and state legal developments.
Here is a look at the journalism we produced last week and the truths we brought to light.
School District Secrecy and Mounting Liabilities
The Port Angeles School District Board of Directors approved a new three-year contract for Superintendent Michelle Olsen that contains a deeply alarming provision designed to throttle legislative oversight.
Section 7 of the agreement grants the superintendent the authority to disregard public records requests from individual board members if she subjectively deems them “voluminous” or “complex” without full board approval.
This provision was approved following the board’s 4-1 vote to formally censure newly elected Director Nancy Hamilton.
To ensure the district cannot use this unconstitutional contract to choke off transparency, we have publicly committed to filing weekly public records requests seeking the administration’s internal communications.
Meanwhile, the financial reality of the Quillayute Valley School District’s hostile work environment verdict came into sharp focus. U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle ordered the district to pay $500,000 in attorney fees to the plaintiff’s legal counsel.
Combined with the jury’s verdict and other litigation costs, the district’s court-mandated financial exposure in this single civil rights case has eclipsed $800,000.
This financial toll loomed over Tuesday’s QVSD Board meeting, where citizens demanded an end to the district’s ongoing “culture of silence.”
Head Track Coach Pam Gale, who previously testified in federal court, shared that she has faced harsh confrontations and a chilling threat from an individual who stated, “Sure wish I had a gun.”
Despite these desperate pleas and reports of intimidation, the board maintained a strict silence and concluded the meeting behind closed doors.
Earlier in the week, we noted the board was scheduled to vote on spending nearly $49,000 in taxpayer funds for new desktop phones.
Judicial Accountability and Court Oversight
Our ongoing scrutiny of the judiciary continued with the publication of an editorial detailing a formal complaint I submitted to the Commission on Judicial Conduct on June 13.
The complaint alleges that Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden fundamentally violated the Judicial Code of Conduct by intentionally utilizing his official title and government email to retaliate against former County Commissioner Bill Peach over a newspaper quote.
We also released newly obtained public records regarding the Clallam County Superior Court’s hiring practices. The documents revealed that the court interviewed only three candidates before selecting Lorraine Rimson as the new Family Court Commissioner.
Accountability reached across the state to Spokane County, where District Court Judge Jennifer Fassbender was formally admonished by the CJC.
Judge Fassbender violated the Code of Judicial Conduct by issuing and revoking rulings in a case after she had already agreed to recuse herself due to a conflict of interest regarding her prior representation of the defendant.
The Federal Docket & Groundbreaking State Rulings
In federal news, a grand jury formally indicted former Clallam County Drug Court Coordinator Johnny F. Watts Jr. on drug distribution and weapons charges stemming from an incident in March.
Watts faces federal counts for possessing fentanyl and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm.
He subsequently pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment, and a jury trial has been set for August 17, 2026.
In a separate federal matter, a highly anticipated court hearing regarding a child sexual abuse lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been postponed to August 5.
The church is defending itself by asserting it had “no legal duty” to intervene and protect a teenager from her abusive adoptive father because the alleged abuse occurred in a private home rather than at an official church-sponsored activity.
At the state appellate level, the Washington State Court of Appeals issued a precedent-setting decision that formally extends the “continuing tort doctrine” for domestic violence survivors seeking civil damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The ruling acknowledges that abuse is often a sustained pattern of coercive control, allowing survivors to present the entirety of their abuse allegations without being strictly limited by standard three-year statute of limitations deadlines.
Accountability Across the Region
We also tracked critical stories spanning across local jurisdictions:
Border Patrol Shooting: A 39-year-old Everson man, Nathaniel A. Muniz-Spry, faces federal charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm following an encounter with U.S. Border Patrol agents near Blaine, Washington. The federal complaint alleges Muniz-Spry attempted to flee and was shot in the leg by an agent.
Teacher Suspended: The state suspended the teaching certificate of former Tacoma Public Schools first-grade teacher Stacy Kerrigan for a minimum of 30 days. State documents reveal Kerrigan possessed and consumed marijuana on an elementary school campus during the 2024-2025 school year.
Keeping the Olympic Herald Independent
We have a massive summer ahead of us, and the investigations will not stop.
As we wrap up June, I am thrilled to announce that we are rolling out a brand-new, updated website for The Olympic Herald this week to streamline your reading experience.
Furthermore, we are taking our reporting beyond the digital screen—we are officially preparing to launch a physical print edition of The Olympic Herald across Clallam County this August.
Independent, reader-supported journalism is the only way this expansion happens. Operating without corporate backing allows us to follow the paper trails and ask the uncomfortable questions that others ignore.
If you value this level of transparency and investigative rigor, please consider supporting our operational costs by upgrading to a paid subscription or making a one-time GoFundMe contribution of any amount.
Most importantly, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you. We write for our readers, and we could not do this without your unwavering support.
Thank you for reading, thank you for sharing our stories, and thank you for standing with The Olympic Herald. Every contribution ensures that we keep bringing these truths to light.