Laurels & lances: Contracts & consequences

Laurel: To getting things done. When it comes to labor contracts, we have all become accustomed to hearing things come down to the wire — or beyond. How many union and employer deals can go months or even years without resolution while things hang in limbo or head into strike territory?

But Highlands School District and the teachers union Highlands Education Association look to be avoiding that standoff.

The two sides say they have come to an agreement on a five-year contract set for a vote at the January school board meeting.

This deal comes months ahead of the June 30 expiration of the current contract. That’s good as Highlands went seven months without a contract when the last one expired.

Both sides say there was respect for needs and limitations. That also shows respect for the taxpayers and the families — who are often the same people.

Lance: To ugly actions. When nurses Peter Castellano and Melissa Tompkins were fired for gross disrespect and invasion of privacy, it was not the end of the trouble they started.

The pair photographed and recorded an estimated 10 patients at Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital. They shared the images of the sometimes naked or partially clothed patients with others.

Castellano and Tompkins have since pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of abuse of a care-dependent person. They were sentenced to 30 days to a year in jail and have been paroled from incarceration. They have lost their nursing licenses.

But they and the hospital are being sued by the daughter of one victim. Marine veteran Madeline Buchek died in July 2024 at 105, a month after her hospital stay.

A lawsuit over the incident is no surprise. The suspended licenses kept future patients safe and the short jail stays kept them accountable to the community. A civil suit addresses the responsibility to the victim, as well as any culpability on the part of the hospital.

The only real question is whether this is the only such suit or just the first.