State Worker briefs — May 5

Adam Wilson/The Olympian | • Published May 04, 2008

The Washington State Patrol plans a recruitment blitz to find new troopers.

A one-year campaign ending last summer boosted applications by more than 100 percent, but applications since have dropped by 20 percent, the agency said.

The patrol began the campaign with an open house at its academy in Shelton, and plans to use the same advertising techniques it did last time.

The agency has 1,052 commissioned officers and wants to hire 54 troopers every nine months to keep up with retirements and departing employees.

For more information, call the State Patrol at 800-888-8384.

Feds back DSHS move to cancel sponsorship

The federal government has upheld a decision by the Department of Social and Health Services to withdraw the Human Services Council's designation as the Area Agency on Aging sponsor in southwest Washington.

The council has been the sponsor of the Area Agency on Aging for Clark, Klickitat, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and Skamania counties since the mid-1970s.

The decision to uphold the DSHS action was made by the Federal Administration on Aging, which said that DSHS was appropriate in its efforts to withdraw the Human Services Council sponsorship, the state agency reported.

DSHS will temporarily operate the Southwest Washington Area Agency on Aging until a new sponsor is designated. The Older Americans Act requires that local governments have the first right to become the sponsor of an Area Agency on Aging.

The department plans to transfer the operational responsibility to a new Area Agency on Aging sponsor within the next six months.

Corrections assistant secretary to retire

Melanie Roberts, the Department of Corrections' assistant secretary for administrative services, will retire at the end of June.

She is the second department assistant secretary to announce retirement plans. Earlier, Ruben Cedeno, assistant secretary for prisons, said he wanted to retire in mid-June.

In her 30-year state career, Roberts also worked for the departments of Social and Health Services; Fish and Wildlife; Community, Trade and Economic Development; and Labor and Industries, and the Office of Financial Management. She has served with Corrections the past three years of her career.

Department Secretary Eldon Vail also noted Roberts' oversight over capital programs as the agency added more prison beds in a shorter period of time than ever in the history of the agency.

She also made important improvements in the agency's human resources operation and was instrumental in ensuring the department's new computerized offender tracking system, OMNI, will be operational June 30, he added.