Inmates did not take jobs from pickers

ROYAL CITY - Inmates who have picked apples at McDougall & Sons orchards near Royal City and Quincy did not take the place of private sector harvesters, Danielle Wiles of the State Department of Corrections said Friday.

Wiles said there were rumblings last week claiming that had occurred. She said her department made sure that would not be true before sending the inmates out. She said it was determined there was a general shortage of harvesters and that McDougall had not turned pickers away.

Wiles added that if there are still apples to be picked and other growers request help, the request will be considered. She said other inmates are eligible to work, and the state is aware apples, which came on late this year, are being threatened by the weather.

Mattawa grower Hans Groenke said Saturday morning that no major damage had occurred in his district at that point. But he noted low temperatures are nearing the danger level.

"Most of what we have left are Pink Ladies, and they are about done," Groenke said.

According to Groenke, apples can handle temperatures down to 28 degrees, maybe even 26, which occurred Saturday morning. However, those temperatures lead to short days and an extension of the number of picking days.

"The pickers can't handle them until the day warms up, or they'll be damaged," Groenke said.

Royal City grower Cole Tonnemaker said the temperature in his orchards dropped to 19 Saturday morning. It was up to 28 at 10 a.m.

"If they are frozen for a full day or into the next day, they're in trouble," he said. "We have to wait until they're no longer frozen to pick them."

Normally, Tonnemaker said, it would take two days to pick the apples that remain. However, the freezing temperatures are making for short days.

Tonnemaker said some of the damage may not be detected immediately. He said it will show up in storage. He added that late maturity has left many varieties shy of the desired coloration.

A Grandview harvester, Alberto Morales, said Thursday he's heard through the picker grapevine that some apples in the upper Yakima Valley and upper Central Washington will not be picked. There are not enough pickers, he said.

"I don't doubt that," Tonnemaker said.

Morales added that pickers this fall have left one orchard for another regularly in chase of the best pay. He said the $22 per hour McDougall is paying the state is about right.

"When the apples are good and I'm getting paid piece work, I can make $250 in less than eight hours," he said.

According to Wiles, the inmate pickers, from a western Washington facility, should be done this week. She said they were housed in tents the first couple of days and then moved into farm housing.

"We took field kitchens and port-a-potties over there," she said.

According to 13th District Rep. Bill Hinkle, the same guard ratio has been maintained for the inmates as when they are in prison.

Hinkle said the majority of the $22 goes to the state for inmate support costs. They receive minimum wage but, if they owe money, such as restitution, it goes there.