I've worked at the AT-RISK Youth for years...Did I mention ADD/ ADHD anywhere here? Maybe I have some experience with this? Years of professional experience teaching these kids to survive in rugged wilderness conditions from 100*, down to 7*, living outside 30-60 days, continuously, in crazy conditions, all over? A lot of those kids were tough and learned responsibility, and to follow rules and instructions. NOT BOOT CAMP.
I don't think they fit the bill for professional quality in the PNW.
Thanks for the idea, Brett.
For what it's worth, I've trained large numbers of newbs to be good sawyers at the conservation corps, over years, for a while being the lead trainer. 100 people in the field in the summer. Not all were sawyers.
A lot of those guys were way more skilled after 2-3 months, than all the "production crew guys" I've hired at their beginning with me. I pretty much have to tell everyone what binds are called, most terminology, how to maintain there saws, how to use bucking wedges, etc, etc. The conservation corps members were felling dead trees with wedges on day 3, forward, bucking, limbing, piling, in rugged, remote settings, in harsh conditions.
As to trying to run a one-crew show like a big show, this isn't one of those states where you get to abuse workers by not providing for them if there is an accident, like those 4+ employees companies needing WC, whereas (and I don't say 'whereas' to typical groundworkers, some of them) 3 or less, there is no WC? WTF? Injured employee, biz closes, new biz opens. EZPZ. Loss of some equipment, and walk away from an enormous medial bill. Don't worry, the tax payers or hospital will pick that up. There are a lot of employee protections in place. I live in the Capital. The Department of Labor and Industries (included the WC dept) is minutes from my jobsites.
WC employees go out with telephoto cameras to build cases. No chaps or no helmet are couple-thousand dollar fines. No ear pro or eye pro, I think they give me money...oh, wait, no, I get fined again.
So at what point should I worry about worker safety, efficiency, productivity, avoiding the typical dumb-shit (death, injury, damage, lost equipment, having to go back to fix stuff/ finish tasks)?
Oh, and, yes, true story, I am LEGALLY REQUIRED to do a lot of this stuff.
I have to have an Accident Prevention Program.
http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/Rules/Chapter/800/helpfultools/APPCoreRuleGuide.pdf
And of course, no injury is a good injury.
I'm looking into places where people have had to pay money and time for their training, not got sent there by the court system.
Did I mention the VERY CLEAR, researched correlation between unsuccessful students, juvenile delinquency, and learning disabilities.
At-risk basically means they have a bad start.
I could get ex-cons and tax breaks. NO friggin' WAY!
https://washingtondnr.wordpress.com...-on-the-trees-future-arborists-in-the-making/
Low-risk, that is mostly drug-crimes, I think (drug abusers who haven't been convicted of higher crimes, usually have committed them).
The one guy I had for a year had worked at Cedar Creek. "Clean". Brain issues. Safety issues. I get applicants that did dangerous jobs thinning in the forest. Do you think that train prisoners that well. A lot of slash cuts with MS 250s.
One guy, the guy who almost killed himself, (literally, I was able to stop him just in time because he wasn't registering what was happening from his independent decision making, 100% different than instructed), seemed like he was institutionalized. When you get called 'sir' all the time from someone barely younger than you, and he wasn't in the military, that he mentioned, and was 35 years old.
Anyhow, I've got to go to work.
I consider all your comments.
. Plenty of them with proper legal work visas, permanent green cards, or full citizenship.
With the kind of money you're offering, I'm kinda amazed you don't have seasoned loggers knocking down his door for work. What's a logger out there make an hour?
