Dark threats are being made to library leaders, Timberland trustee says
A Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees meeting took a dark turn on Wednesday after a trustee detailed a number of threats made against board members and library staff as the five-county district works its way through a challenging budget process.
That process has involved angry voices at public meetings, the resignation of former Executive Director Cheryl Heywood and a number of layoffs, although the district recently announced that 44 involuntary layoffs would be reduced to just eight.
Near the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting, Thurston County Trustee Mary Beth Harrington wanted to explain why she and Pacific County Trustee Tony Gwin decided to attend the meeting remotely rather than in-person.
The meeting was held at the Timberland library branch in Chehalis. Trustees serve as volunteers who are appointed by county commissions throughout the district. They are not paid, but can be reimbursed for expenses, according to the Board of Trustees bylaws.
“When Trustee Gwin first indicated she was uncomfortable attending this meeting in person, some inferred that it was because she and I believed that TRL libraries are unsafe,” Harrington said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
However, Harrington said some in the community have taken their displeasure about the state of the library district to an extreme.
“I would like to recount for you some examples, and please note that I will use the term ‘some of us’ so that I do not re-victimize anyone,” Harrington said.
Then she outlined the threats. She said that:
- “Some of us have been verbally assaulted while playing with our grandchildren in their front yard.”
- “Some of us have had to change the day and time that we go to the grocery store out of concern at being accosted in the produce aisle.”
- “Some of us were attending a community meeting at the library. This meeting had nothing to do with the library, it was just the venue. When some of us were recognized by other attendees, they were forced to leave rather than have the meeting disrupted.”
- “The home and work addresses for some of us were posted online with encouragement to picket our home and work.”
- “Some of us have been stalked online and our reputation as a subject-matter expert tarnished.”
- “Some of us have been encouraged online to kill ourselves.”
Those on the receiving end of those threats remain undeterred, Harrington said.
“We will not stop doing the work we need to do,” she said. “We will continue to move forward and most importantly, we will not be bullied or blackmailed into making decisions that we feel are not in the best interest of Timberland Regional Library.”
Other board members did not respond to Harrington’s comments, but Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope stepped up to the podium during public comment and urged the trustees to file police reports and submit records requests.
“The people that are doing that (need to be) held responsible for that kind of behavior in that we don’t allow those kinds of intimidation tactics to happen,” Swope said.
The Olympian reached out to Harrington about whether anyone has filed a police report. She didn’t know because she hasn’t asked, she said.
“I think filing a police report is up to the individual,” Harrington said.
However, she said she confirmed every item she reported Wednesday with the affected individual.
What’s the latest on the interim executive director?
Lewis County Trustee Brian Mittge provided a brief update on the interim executive director search, saying that several people were recently interviewed and that process continues. It will eventually be followed by a process to find a more permanent hire, he said.
The board had closed-session interviews at Lacey Timberland Library on April 18. The salary range for the interim position is $160,000 to $210,000, and they are expected to fill the role for a 6-12 month appointment, Timberland officials have previously said.
Former longtime Timberland employee and executive director Cheryl Heywood resigned toward the end of March.
