I am writing this letter in support of Catherine Shea and Vincent Riccobene (“Sequim teacher to receive $850,000 to withdraw discrimination suit,” PDN, March 22).
I have known Cathy Shea for 15 years and Vincent for 10 years.
On a personal level, they are two of the most compassionate and caring people I know.
Vincent Riccobene has been one of the most influential individuals in young peoples’ lives on the Olympic Peninsula since he and his family moved here.
I have witnessed him as a coach, an administrator and most importantly, a family man. He is second to none at all three.
Cathy has been a part of our family on many different levels.
From watching my children to supporting my wife and I through so many avenues of life, she is as solid as they come.
There are a few people my wife, my children or I could reach out to for help in any circumstance; Cathy Shea is one of them.
As far as I’m concerned, the picture painted in that article was the complete opposite of the person Cathy is.
I know the PDN has a job to do. Your sources are accurate, I’m sure, but the way Cathy was perceived in the article is way out of line.
Garrett Smithson,
Sequim