By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Initial returns in the primary suggest it could be the dairy farmer versus the beef farmer in November’s election for commissioner of Lewis County Fire District 8.
George Kaech, 72, is running for a second term on the three-person board that oversees the all-volunteer fire department. He milks about 80 cows, mostly Holstein at his Silver Creek property.
Don Taylor raises Angus cattle at his place in Cinebar, and is making his first run for an elected position. The 55-year-old left the fire department about 18 months ago.
Ballots counted shortly after 8 p.m. today in the all vote-by-mail election show Kaech with 336 votes and Taylor with 173.
Candidate Charles “Woody” Wood is trailing with 114 votes.
The Lewis County elections office has counted 623 ballots already returned from voters in District 8 and will tally up incoming ballots on Friday. Voter turnout overall in the various primary races around the county is showing at 26 percent tonight.
While Kaech and Taylor are both veteran firefighters of the department, they part ways when it comes to how much to ask of the volunteers.
Over the years, Taylor was instrumental in setting up the training program, wrote the standard operating procedures for the department and expects a lot of members.
“This might be a volunteer department, but a volunteer department has to play by the same rules and the same laws as a professional department,” Taylor said. “We need to train to that standard.”
Taylor said he put almost 26 years in, rising to assistant chief in his final three years, including several months when the department was without a chief. He took a year leave of absence and then decided to call it quits, because the departmental demands had become so lax, he said.
“The changes I saw just turned my stomach,” he said. “It scared me. I couldn’t go back.”
Kaech, who retired from the firefighting side at age 65 with 38 years under his belt, is comfortable with fewer demands.
“You gotta bend when you’re working with volunteers,” Kaech said. “The fire side isn’t the biggest part of the department anymore. So how much training do you need to fight 10 fires in one year?”
The fire district protects almost 200 square miles in central Lewis County, with 37 volunteers and an annual budget of about $400,000. Chief Duran McDaniel estimates they serve a population of 4,000 people.
Nobody is paid, even the three commissioners don’t accept a meeting stipend as some boards of fire commissioners do.
Kaech says he is proud the district operates with one of the lowest rates of taxation, has what he calls a well-rounded board and has “one of the best bunch” of volunteers one could ask for.
“Ann (Piper) knows the accounting, I know about the fire department and Sharon DeBuhr, she’s kind of in the middle,” he said.
He speaks highly of McDaniel who was appointed chief in February of last year.
“We’re happy with just exactly what it is right now,” Kaech said.
Taylor says he was asked by both current and former members of the fire department, as well as neighbors, to run for commissioner.
“This department is not living up to what the community or the neighborhood expects of a fire department,” he said.
The fire commissioners meet the second Monday of each month.
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See the primary election initial, preliminary results here [1]
[2]George Kaech
Candidate: George Kaech
Age: 72
Occupation: dairy farmer
Resides: Silver Creek
How long there: since 1945
Education: Mossyrock High School, class of 1959
Experience in elected office: ran for fire commissioner six years ago and won
•••
[3]Don Taylor
Candidate: Don Taylor
Age: 55
Occupation: cattle farmer
Resides: Cinebar
How long there: more than 30 years
Education: Clover Park Technical College, aviation maintenance
Experience in elected office: none