Prisoners picking Royal City, Quincy fruit

ROYAL CITY - In a deal struck with the Washington State Department of Corrections, an apple grower with orchards in Royal City and Quincy is receiving harvest help from state prisoners.

But the help hasn't come cheap, according to Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Dan Newhouse. The grower, undisclosed as of Sunday evening, pays $22 per hour per man to cover the costs associated with each prisoner, including supervision, housing and wages.

All money, Newhouse said, will be paid to the state. Wages will go to restitution and other legal costs for those prisoners who owe such costs.

"It's a positive thing the state's doing," Newhouse said.

According to Newhouse, the idea for this program came from the grower. Gov. Christine Gregoire, realizing there is an emergency of picker shortages, agreed and okayed it.

The crop matured about two weeks late, Newhouse said. That delayed the harvest to the point it is bumping up against potential deep freeze nights. His own harvest in Mabton is a week or two from being completed.

"A lot of apples could be lost," he said. "There is a 10-15 percent shortage of pickers."

According to Newhouse, the prisoner pickers at Royal City and Quincy started work Monday. They are expected to work until the end of harvest.

If the prisoners don't pan out as pickers, Newhouse said, the grower will have to chalk up the experiment to experience. The state will be paid its $22 per hour per man.

Newhouse said there is a group of 50 prisoner pickers at Quincy and another group of 50 at Royal City. They come from various corrections facilities. As of Sunday evening, it was not disclosed where or how they are being housed.

"These are the (best behaved) prisoners," Newhouse said. "These are the ones who have proven themselves trustworthy. These are the ones who fight wild fires and do other things like that. These are not rapists and murderers."

Newhouse said 100 prisoner pickers are not enough to cover all of the need. There are probably 200 others, or more, who could qualify for the program. They will likely be considered if a request for their help is made.