Bobble-head doll forces evacuation

TUMWATER, Wash. – More than 300 state workers were evacuated from the state Department of Corrections headquarters Friday after a package lacking a return address arrived. Inside: a bobble-head doll awarded to public officials for perceived blunders.

“I’m going to have to wind up giving myself a ‘Schrammie,’ for crying out loud,” said TV commentator Ken Schram, who hands out “Schrammies” to public officials he thinks have done wrong.

The package, sent by an intern at KOMO-TV headquarters in Seattle, was addressed to the Department of Corrections secretary, Harold Clarke, at the headquarters in this town near Olympia.

It didn’t have a return address and the mail label was handwritten. It also had stains on its outside, which could have indicated a leak, said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Ted DeHart.

“It had the classic indicators of a suspicious package,” DeHart said.

The 350 employees were evacuated for about 45 minutes after the package was found in the mailroom. A bomb technician from the Washington State Patrol discovered the bobble-head doll once the box was opened.

The “Schrammie” was sent to Clarke because Schram was upset about the announcement earlier this year that the state had released 83 felons early from the overcrowded King County jails, where they were serving sentences for violating terms of release from state prison. The department has since announced new guidelines.

“To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that the bomb squad was called in when we sent a ‘Schrammie,’ ” said Jimm Brown, a KOMO spokesman.