Animal shelter employees fired

Two terminated

MOSES LAKE — Two Moses Lake/Grant County Humane Society animal shelter employees were fired by shelter Manager Theresa Parker.

Employee Stacey Hill was fired Monday and employee Brianna "Bee" Carpenter was fired Friday.

Parker declined to comment. According to the humane society board, Parker is in charge of all hiring and firing of employees.

According to a letter of termination written by Parker, Hill was fired due to a breach of confidentiality.

The incident came to light when a letter written by former shelter volunteer Trisha Herom was given to Parker by Calico Cat Thrift Store employee Twila Shangle. The letter referred to incidents related to the April 4 shooting of a vicious doberman by a Moses Lake Police Department officer at the shelter.

"The details Ms. Herom discusses directly implicate Stacey discussing the incident with Ms. Herom," Parker wrote in the termination letter. "Ms. Herom is not an employee, nor is she a volunteer. She is a personal friend of Stacey's. This is a breach of confidentiality."

"In this time of incredible public scrutiny, employees need to be particularly sensitive to acts of misconduct," Parker wrote. "It appears that Stacey is purposely attempting to undermine my position as shelter manager, and interfere with my work performance. This will not be tolerated."

Hill disagrees on who gave Herom the information.

"She just assumed it was either me or Bee because we were the only other two there," Hill recalled. "(Parker) said, 'I'm sorry, I know you're a hard worker, if you need a reference, let me know.' She said, 'I just can't have anybody undermining my authority.' … She's a wonderful manager in most aspects. It's just that her euthanasia methods are outdated and they're cruel. The animal could have been handled differently."

Carpenter was fired Friday due to insubordination and misconduct, Parker wrote in Carpenter's termination letter.

"I went in to go get my check on Saturday and there was a letter in the envelope with my check," Carpenter said.

Carpenter allegedly missed multiple days of work, failed to notify Parker when she was missing work and was disrespectful during a staff meeting, Parker wrote. Carpenter reportedly allowed a female to work at the shelter after being told it would not be tolerated, according to Parker.

Carpenter said she is also accused of manipulating and intimidating shelter employees including Hill.

Hill stated she has never felt pressure from Carpenter.

The shelter is now hiring to fill a kennel worker position.

An investigation into animal cruelty at the shelter began in March when Hill and Carpenter made allegations to the sheriff's office and Moses Lake Police. They accused Parker of animal abuse. No evidence was found and charges were not filed against Parker.