HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2001-4628, by Representatives Kessler, Mastin, Ahern, Alexander, Anderson, Armstrong, Ballard, Ballasiotes, Barlean, Benson, Berkey, Boldt, Buck, Bush, Cairnes, Campbell, Carrell, Casada, B. Chandler, G. Chandler, Chopp, Clements, Cody, Conway, Cooper, Cox, Crouse, Darneille, DeBolt, Delvin, Dickerson, Doumit, Dunn, Dunshee, Edmonds, Edwards, Eickmeyer, Ericksen, Esser, Fisher, Fromhold, Gombosky, Grant, Haigh, Hankins, Hatfield, Hunt, Hurst, Jackley, Jarrett, Kagi, Keiser, Kenney, Kirby, Lambert, Lantz, Linville, Lisk, Lovick, Marine, McDermott, McIntire, McMorris, Mielke, Miloscia, Mitchell, Morell, Morris, Mulliken, Murray, O'Brien, Ogden, Pearson, Pennington, Pflug, Poulsen, Quall, Reardon, Roach, Rockefeller, Romero, Ruderman, Santos, Schindler, D. Schmidt, Schoesler, Schual‑Berke, Sehlin, Simpson, Skinner, H. Sommers, Sump, Talcott, Tokuda, Van Luven, Veloria, Wood and Woods

       WHEREAS, The magnitude 6.8 earthquake Wednesday morning, February 28, severely rocked western Washington, particularly the Puget Sound region, and the buildings that comprise the Capitol Campus in Olympia; and

       WHEREAS, Most importantly, this severest earthquake in over 50 years has claimed only one precious life and caused relatively few serious injuries across the region, including only a handful here on the Capitol Campus; and

       WHEREAS, Day in and day out, the financial toll of public and private property loss and destruction continues to rise as damage estimates soar well above the one billion dollar mark, and a return to  normal life and activity for thousands of families and businesses remains a difficult challenge; and

       WHEREAS, Through our legislative community's shared response to the disaster's violent, ear-splitting introductory boom; through our frightened but orderly evacuation of our buildings; then through our present, anxious hours and days since the Ash Wednesday Earthquake of 2001 C the work, dedication, and professionalism of the Washington State Patrol, the Washington State Legislative Security staff, and the Washington State Department of General Administration personnel reflect a mettle, dauntlessness, and commitment that is truly extraordinary; and

       WHEREAS, Many hundreds of House of Representatives, Senate, and other state government elected officials and staff C as well as visitors to, guests of, and participants in our legislative proceedings that fateful day C were escorted in a safe, secure, and in every way orderly manner from the Legislative Building, the John L. O'Brien Building, the John A. Cherberg Building, the Irv Newhouse Building, and the other buildings located around the Capitol Campus; and

       WHEREAS, The first few days following the earthquake were filled with confusion, impatience, misinformation, and even fear; and

       WHEREAS, The men and women of the State Patrol, the Legislative Security Office, and the General Administration Department worked around the clock from almost the moment of the earthquake to inspect and secure our buildings; keep legislators, staff, and the public informed of the condition of their Capitol; and maintain order all around the campus; and

       WHEREAS, They put their own safety and welfare on the line in order to assure that the rest of us were kept from danger, often incurring the wrath of those they sought to protect; and

       WHEREAS, They responded to the crisis in precisely the swift, efficient, and forthright manner that is absolutely fundamental to the maintenance of order, confidence, and trustworthiness;

       NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the State of Washington salute, commend, and, most of all, thank the tireless and indefatigable men and women of the State Patrol, the Legislative Security Office, and the General Administration Department; and

       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Co-Chief Clerks of the House of Representatives to Washington State Patrol Chief Robert M. Leichner, Washington State House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms Ron Finley, and Washington State Department of General Administration Director Marsha Tadano Long.

              I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

              Resolution 4628 adopted by the House of Representatives

                                  March 9, 2001.

________________________________                      _____________________________

Timothy A. Martin, Co-Chief Clerk                   Cynthia Zehnder, Co-Chief Clerk