Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Deputy Sgt. Ken Cheeseman, running to unseat the elected sheriff of Lewis County, thinks it’s going to be an “extremely spirited” race.

Cheeseman speaks plainly about his challenge to Sheriff Steve Mansfield, who stepped into the office in early 2005.

“The hard thing is, he is my boss,” Cheeseman said. “I just don’t think he’s run the office right or he’s a person that should be in that office.”

The Randle-area resident and Mansfield both started their law enforcement careers at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office in the early 1980s. Both men are 53 years old.

The sergeant says he decided to run because of the controversy that erupted last year when deputies questioned Mansfield’s handling of a runaway girl report that brought deputies to the Mansfield’s property seeking the girlfriend of the sheriff’s teenage son.

The state Attorney General’s office examined the situation and last fall declined to file a charge of failure of duty by a public officer, a misdemeanor, against Mansfield.

Cheeseman, president of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputies Guild at the time, believes if a deputy had done what the sheriff had done, the deputy would have been arrested and jailed.

Former Sheriff John McCroskey put it out there “plain as anybody could” in his column in The Chronicle in May, Cheeseman said.

“When the AG (Attorney General’s office) comes out and says, you could be charged with a crime, but we’re not going to do it, that person shouldn’t be in law enforcement,” Cheeseman said.

The report, dated Nov. 18, 2009, acknowledged the parents of the 16-year-old girl (who had just given birth to a baby) knew where she was and knew she didn’t want to go home, but faulted Mansfield and his sheriff’s office for the way it was handled.

The report blamed a lapse of three days in entering the girl’s name into the relevant computer databases for runaways, and the girl not being picked up and returned home, on Mansfield personally and on Mansfield’s decision not to ask an outside agency to handle the case. It happened the end of March 2009.

“In the end, the WSP (Washington State Patrol) investigation does not reveal any real criminal intent on the part of Sheriff Mansfield; rather, it reveals a father and grandfather who was embroiled in a tense family situation,” reads the summary the Attorney General’s office’s evaluation of that allegation. “… Given the circumstances and the charging discretion the state has, the AGO (Attorney General’s office) declines to file a charge of failure of duty against Sheriff Mansfield.”

Cheeseman, who has worked under four sheriffs can’t remember when a deputy has run against the incumbent sheriff. He resigned from his position with the deputies guild to enter the race.

“It’s really tense in our office right now, it’s exceptionally bad,” Cheeseman said.

While he’s willing to campaign against the sheriff, he said doesn’t plan to debate him, because “he’s my boss.”

The sheriff says he’s focused on the present, the future and on so many other things that need his attention.

“It comes down to this: this is a private matter, it has been resolved,” Mansfield said last week.

Some people are looking at the attorney general’s report as though it’s the Bible, Mansfield said. “There’s a lot more to it than what’s in that report,” he said.

The Winlock resident said he handed over decision-making about the case to one of his chief deputies, whose actions were based on the sheriff’s office mission and the security of the girl.

“I did what I could as a father and did what I could as sheriff, and I apologized for how people might have felt that was wrong,” Mansfield said.

Mansfield’s campaign manager, Fred Rider, said he hasn’t had many questions from citizens about the issue though he’s comfortable responding to the allegations about his candidate.

The sheriff turned the runaway case over to one of his command staff and then took care of his own family like any father should, Rider said.

“I don’t think the attorney general’s office would have not filed charges against Steve Mansfield if there were charges to be filed, ” Rider said last week.

The former Chehalis mayor who works as a sales representative for Access Security said he has been following the elections for sheriff since his father-in-law Bill Logan ran years ago. Rider worked for Logan’s campaign and for John McCroskey’s campaign after that.

“I’m working for Steve Mansfield for the same reason,” he said. “I appreciate his hard work and dedication.”

Two Republicans

Both candidates are Republicans.

Cheeseman said he doesn’t intend to ask the local Republican party for its support as he expects it will automatically endorse the incumbent.

Colleen Morse, chair of the central committee of the Lewis County Republican Party since December 2008, served as Mansfield’s treasurer for his previous campaigns. Morse says neither she nor the party have made any commitments.

“Now that there are two Republicans in the race, I’m basically neutral and will remain so until after the primary,” she said.

It’s pretty much been the policy of the local Republican party to let the people decide during the primary, she said. After the August 17 primary, the party may or may not endorse a candidate, she said.

Who is Ken Cheeseman?

Cheeseman spoke highly of the department when he held his campaign kickoff two weeks ago in Chehalis at Woodland Estates Retirement Center.

He told the breakfast gathering of about two dozen people – including a handful of deputies – they have a very good sheriff’s office, even as budgets are thin.

“We’ve got a great sex offender program, a great drug unit,” Cheeseman said. “There just isn’t the manpower to go farther. But I’ll tell you what, those guys out on the road, they work it hard.”

His philosophy is leaders should act as support behind the deputies who are on the front lines, deputies who know what they need to get the job done and know best what the public wants, he said.

He spoke of the critical need to work more collaboratively with financial institutions to get a handle on the swelling fraud epidemic and said he would like to implement – perhaps using volunteers – a better system to keep victims informed through the criminal justice system.

Sue English, Cheeseman’s campaign manager, told the group they’ve been family friends for 30 years, in part knowing Cheeseman through his work as a Scout leader and a football coach. She spoke of his generous spirit.

“When my husband was in the police academy and we had 50 acres of hay that needed to be cut, he volunteered to help with that,” the wife of retired Morton Police officer Ed English said. “Ken changes shifts with other officers so they can be home with their families on holidays.”

A current Morton police officer, Doug Osterdahl, echoed some of her sentiment after the event.

“If people knew him personally, there wouldn’t be an election, they’d just give him the job,” Osterdahl said.

Sheriff’s detective Dan Riordan sat in, representing the deputy’s guild. The labor group hasn’t made a decision yet about any endorsement, Riordan said.

How about Steve Mansfield?

Mansfield’s campaign kickoff event was back at the end of April.

They ordered 125 chairs and that wasn’t enough, he said. He has many of the same individuals who have helped him in past campaigns, but also a much broader group now, he said.

Among them, is Penny Mauel, a rural Chehalis resident who has been active in Republican campaigns. This week, Mauel repeated what she wrote in a letter to the editor last summer, offering her public support of Mansfield.

“Steve is a motivator who is recognized and respected, as a man of integrity and honesty. He is an individual who sets goals and works hard to achieve results,” Mauel wrote.

Mansfield says he sees the challenge by one of his own people as an opportunity to get information out to the public about his “excellent track record.”

“This office has done a very good job and the people are very appreciative,” Mansfield said. “We have met our mission in the last five years of delivering a feeling of safety and security, and quality service.”

His list of accomplishments is long: getting mobile computers in every patrol vehicle both for sheriff’s deputies and departments in other Lewis County cities and towns, utilizing a task force to get a handle on the meth epidemic, a strong sex offender registration program, educating the public about fraud and more.

“These are some of the challenges we’ve faced under my leadership, and we’ve excelled,” Mansfield said.

He praises his employees as problem solvers and innovators. Their strengths are best exemplified in the leadership role the sheriff’s office took with recovery after the disastrous floods of 2006 and 2007.

“If you want to know the thing I’m proudest of, it’s making the sheriff’s office more than just a sheriff’ office, it’s part of the community,” he said.

The issues now and coming aren’t going to be easy ones.

Law enforcement is dealing with a drain on resources with increasing numbers of mentally ill individuals held in jails, he said. Local law enforcers are considering their role in the federal law enforcement problem of illegal immigrants, he noted.

Mansfield, and his Chief of Staff Steve Walton, currently have four labor agreements in various states of negotiation and a constrained budget, he said.

“I don’t have to do this, I can retire at 53, and I’m 53,” he said. “This is what I love, this is where my family lives, this is where my friends are. This is what I’m good at.”

What about the money

Cheeseman’s campaign fundraising began just two weeks ago when donation envelopes were handed out during his kickoff. Mansfield had about $2,500 left over from his previous campaign he can use. He hasn’t spent any of his own money, he said.

The challenger’s summary of his most recent reports to the state Public Disclosure Commission shows $2,894 spent for buttons, lapel stickers, balloons and yard signs. The amount is listed as an in-kind contribution coming from Cheeseman.

The reports show contributions of $100 each coming from two individuals.

Mansfield has spent about the same amount, $2,943, mostly for his web site, campaign consulting and kickoff party.

The sheriff’s reports list contributions of about $3,693, mostly in amounts of $50 or $100 beginning on April 29 this year. The largest comes from Centralia attorney Don Blair, a $500 donation.

According to the PDC, Mansfield’s campaign spent $13,268 in 2006  when he ran unopposed.

Look up local candidates’ campaign finance information for the current election year submitted to the state Public Disclosure Commission at http://www.pdc.wa.gov/QuerySystem/candidates.aspx

Quick details on the candidates

Who: Ken Cheeseman
Political party: Republican
How old: 53
Home: Randle since the late 1970s. From Spokane and lived in many places around the state, including the Tacoma-Federal Way area, where he graduated from Highline High School in 1974
Profession: Sergeant with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office
Education: A.A. Centralia College, criminal justice; B.A. University of Phoenix, 2000, criminal justice administration
Previous political experience: Has never been through an election, but was one of four men who sought recommendation from the local Republicans in early 2005 to take over after Sheriff John McCroskey retired mid-term. He understands he came out a close second behind Mansfield when county commissioners made their final choice.
Campaign manager: Sue English, director of Cispus Center
Campaign treasurer: Daneen Lindh
Money in campaign fund: $100
Family: Mother and grandmother live in Puyallup, has one sister and two brothers
Websites: on Facebook at “Ken Cheeseman for Lewis County Sheriff” and http://kencheesemanforsheriff.com/

Who: Steve Mansfield
Political party: Republican
How old: 53
Home: Winlock area since about 1984. Born in Texas but grew up in the Edmonds-Woodway area
Profession: Sheriff, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office
Education: A.A. Shoreline Community College, criminal justice; B.A. University of Washington, about 1981, society and justice as well as sociology
Previous political experience: Appointed sheriff in January 2005 when Sheriff McCroskey stepped down. Ran unopposed that November and again in 2006.
Campaign manager: Fred Rider, former Chehalis mayor, council member
Campaign treasurer: Jill Mansfield
Money in campaign fund: $3,693
Family: Wife Jill and three children ages 19 through 26
Websites: on Facebook at “Re-elect Steve Mansfield for Lewis County Sheriff” and http://sheriffmansfield.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia Police Officer Buddy Croy each summer trains ROTC cadets at Fort Lewis as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve.

The 40-year-old is back on patrol duty in Centralia after a year-long mission in Kabul, where his instructor skills found him mentoring young men who will become leaders of the Afghan military.

“These guys are the future, the future officers of the Afghan Army,” Croy said as he browsed on Wednesday through photographs taken during his deployment.

The husband and father of three was mobilized in May of last year and joined three other U.S. Army Reserve instructors, first at Fort Riley in Kansas and then at the National Military Academy of Afghanistan.

The four-year school opened in Kabul just five years ago, but this year saw some 3,000 applicants, with only 600 being chosen to enroll, according to Croy.

The Centralia resident, as part of NTM-A (NATO Training Mission Afghanistan), worked the first few months with non-commissioned officers, teaching such skills as firing range qualifications. But his final six months were what he was most enthusiastic about sharing.

Sgt. 1st Class Croy trained with 10 cadets, chosen to represent the country at an annual military skills competition held at West Point, the United States military academy in New York in April. He called them “normal kids” who liked to laugh and joke, who came from a variety of regions in the war-torn country.

“They’re very competitive guys, like, you know, they’re young,” Croy said.

His men, ranging in age from about 19 to 23,  did great, although they didn’t place high among the some 40 teams competing, Croy said.

He pointed to the language barrier as probably the primary reason they didn’t finish higher. U.S. soldiers get a “crash-course” in Dari and work with interpreters, but the cadets don’t all necessarily even speak the same language or dialect, Croy said.

His group did really well in shooting and weapon handling, getting no penalties, Croy said. And the rope bridge, they just “flew across”, the Centralia resident said.

“There were several things they did much better than the other teams,” Croy said. “There were comments like ‘wow, look how fast they did that’.”

Croy described one task in which participants faced two huge tires in the back of Humvees and were instructed to move them a distance, without the tires touching the ground. Retrieving the key to the vehicles required lighting a fire to burn a string.

His team, using materials available for the exercise, stuck two long four by fours through the tires and carried them over the finish line. “Their ingenuity kicked in,” he said.

The goal is to get them trained into more of a Western-style Army, according to Croy.

“They’re coming along, it’s gonna take a couple of generations,” he said, noting the country’s educational system is just now getting put back together.

Croy joined the military at age 20, put in three years of active duty and now has 16 years in the Army Reserve.

“I would tell them, ‘look, our Army’s only been around 200 years’,” Croy said. “Hopefully, theirs can change a little faster, ’cause they can learn from our mistakes.”

The two-week trip from Afghanistan to the United States included a day in New York City and another in Washington D.C., where Croy and his co-workers got to share their culture, as Croy had been absorbing the young mens’ in Kabul.

Very hospitable, he said.

“The people I met, they’re very family oriented,” he said. “They always wanted to give you food or tea,” he said.

They are not so different, he said. “They want peace for themselves, peace for their families,” he said.

Twice, on Friday’s the locals’ holy day, Croy and other members of the U.S. military hiked up a nearby peak, almost 1,800 feet above the city. They carried golf clubs and balls to the top and got a thrill out of using them.

“It was like a release, we were in a combat zone,” he said.

Croy said he didn’t encounter close calls, except for one blast he measured by GPS at 450 yards from their camp. And he recounted a suicide bomber and the death of 21-year-old soldier he didn’t know as among the awful incidents that occurred while he was there.

Croy arrived back home in mid-May and was back on patrol duty on June 1.

The five-year veteran of the Centralia Police Department earlier this week, returned to the city its flag, which he took with him to Kabul.

Croy flew the flag on Sept. 11, 2009, over his temporary workplace, the National Military Academy of Afghanistan, he told those gathered for the city council meeting on Tuesday evening. He presented it back to Police Chief Bob Berg and Mayor Harlan Thompson.

He was thanked for the flag, for his service and accepted the applause of some 50 individuals gathered at City Hall.

Then he told the group Chief Berg had sent with Croy a coin, and instructions to give it back when he returned.

“I carried it in my wallet,” Croy said, as he handed the piece back to Berg. “It’s back to the chief now, so it’s probably good luck.”

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

It’s been almost two months since an Onalaska homeowner fatally shot a 56-year-old Morton man he discovered at his house one night, and it could just be a bit longer before a decision will be made about whether the shooting was or was not justified.

The 59-year-old homeowner, whose name has not been released, told sheriff’s detectives he heard a noise and opened the outer garage door to see flashlights shining in his eyes. He fired his weapon, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Thomas S. McKenzie, 56, died at the scene on the 2100 block of state Route 508 in Onalaska.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield said yesterday his office would evaluate the case after all the reports are in, and he expected to get a final briefing later this week. Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber said this morning they are still waiting for some reports from the state crime lab.

“We’re hoping within 30 days, maybe 60 days,” Seiber said.

Deputies responded about 9:45 p.m. on April 19 to “shots fired.”

Detectives learned the homeowner had reported a burglary earlier in the evening at the house which has been under construction for several years. The homeowner decided to stay overnight, in case the burglars returned to steal anything more, the sheriff’s office reported at the time.

John McKenzie, who operates McKenzie Automotive in Morton, said he understands the process takes time.

“There are people in the family who are getting impatient about it, but yeah, I know why it’s slow,” he said.

He said his older brother may very well have been at the Onalaska house earlier that day, with an interest in an old Ford pickup similar to one he had.

Thomas McKenzie was an auto mechanic, mostly for General Motors in his lifetime and had operated an automotive shop in Salem, Ore. for about 10 years.

He moved to Morton about 10 years ago, but had been traveling back and forth to Alaska for the past three, John McKenzie said. He had recently left a job at a Morton mill, he said.

He is the son of Bob McKenzie, who operates Bob’s Barber Shop in Morton. He had three children who were living with him in Morton, and a wife, Joanna McKenzie, according to his brother.

John McKenzie said he realizes some people might be supportive of the homeowner’s actions, especially if it’s concluded his brother was involved in the earlier theft. But he’s hoping the Lewis County prosecutor can be persuaded to give his family justice.

“The fact is, he was unarmed, with no drugs in his system, and was standing there outside when the man opened the door and started shooting,” he said.

Thomas McKenzie was cremated and his ashes have not yet been buried.

CHEHALIS – The son of a former state trooper who was found shot dead in his car on a forest road near Packwood four years ago has been charged with helping his father carry out his suicide plan.

Authorities believe Kenneth R. Varner planned with his father – James E. Varner of Olympia – to make the scene look like a homicide, so  family members, including the son, could collect over $2 million in life insurance.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office detectives investigated it as a suspicious death and would not say at the time if a gun was or was not found with the body.

Charging documents filed late last month say a fisherman discovered it in Mayfield Lake near the bridge. The revolver was loaded, with one spent casing. The firearm belonged to the senior Varner and fired the bullet found in is body, investigators concluded.

Lewis County Prosecutor Michael Golden said his office believes the son retrieved the weapon from the scene and got rid of it.

Kenneth Varner, 33, is charged with promoting a suicide attempt, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is also charged with conspiracy to commit theft in the first degree, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Prosecutor Golden said they believe Kenneth Varner is in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; his home for many years. A $100,000 warrant for his arrest was issued on May 26 when charges were filed in Lewis County Superior Court.

Kendra Varner, the widow of James Varner, doesn’t believe it.

There are too many things that don’t match up right, the Olympia nurse said earlier this week when she learned of the charges.

“This is what I think,” Kendra Varner said. “Jim would never, ever, ever supposedly commit suicide and have his son come and take the gun out.”

Because her husband worked in law enforcement, he knew how traumatic seeing a violent death scene could be and spoke of how he wished he could protect families from that, she said.

“Granted, in the last four years there are a lot of things I’ve learned about my husband I’d have never thought possible, but on this, I hold my conviction,” she said.

James Varner, 49, was reported by his wife as overdue home from a trip to East Lewis County on Feb. 1, 2006. The following morning about 10 a.m., he was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest, inside his red 1996 Nissan, parked on Forest Road 20 not far from U.S. Highway 12. He was sitting in the passenger seat.

His wallet was found on the restroom floor at a rest area nearby with no cash in it, according to investigators.

The senior Varner worked for the state Department of Labor and Industries and before that, was a trooper, employed from 1979 until 1997 mostly in Western Washington.

Not long after his death, authorities revealed the father and son – and a third man – were being investigated in an insurance fraud scheme, with an attempt to collect some $60,000 from antique 1949 Chevrolet Woody station wagon that was falsely reported as stolen.

Charging documents suggest Kenneth Varner’s whereabouts after 4 p.m. on Feb. 1 can’t be accounted for and note that sheriff’s detectives discovered a handwritten list of his father’s insurance policies in the home in Rochester where Kenneth Varner was staying.

According to charging documents, Kenneth Varner submitted to a polygraph test in mid-February 2006, and the tester concluded the younger Varner answered deceptively to relevant questions, including, “Before your father’s car was found, did you already know he was shot?”

The 19-page affidavit of probable cause includes allegations the father facilitated bank transactions for his son’s business deals, which the son conducted under an alias.

While Kendra Varner says she never saw anything in her husband’s behavior that indicated he was going to kill himself, their daughter told a sheriff’s detective he had recently commented, “… the family would be better off without him because they would have money to take care of all their problems,” according to the charging documents.

The bulk of the more than $2.3 million in life insurance was acquired in the last 18 or so months of his life, according to charging documents.

According to the charging documents, about two weeks after the death, Kenneth Varner gave Kendra Varner – his step-mother – a large sealed envelope he said his father gave to him months earlier with instructions to give it to her if anything ever happened to him. Along with life insurance documents, bills and bank statements, it included a note written by James Varner apologizing to his wife about his debt, according to charging documents. Some of the bills were dated from January 2006, conflicting with Kenneth Varner’s contention he never opened the package, didn’t know what was inside and received it the previous November or December, according to charging documents.

Kenneth Varner is also wanted on a $25,000 warrant for two counts of first-degree theft related to some $7,000 from a bid to replace a roof of a business partner’s building in Centralia in 2006.

Golden said the he doesn’t believe the senior Varner would have killed himself, if he didn’t think it would lead to the insurance money for his family, and it wouldn’t have if his son hadn’t assisted.

Kendra Varner said she hasn’t seen her step-son since the end of 2006.

She was not entirely surprised by the charges against him, although she disagrees with law enforcement’s conclusions about what happened.

“Even if Jim did plan it, I don’t think he would have involved Kenny in it,” she said.

The finale at Toledo Elementary School’s end-of-the-year play day was intensified when a skydiver came down too fast and broke his leg yesterday.

Most of the student body of some 350 children didn’t see what was described as a hard landing, because Milton “Mickey” Thomas came to rest behind the band building.

“He kind of hit, rolled and skidded on the ground,” Toledo Elementary School principal Ron Reynolds said this morning.

Thomas, who lives in Thurston County, was taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital and then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

He is in the intensive care unit in serious condition.

The demonstration was conducted by Skydive Toledo, based at the nearby South Lewis County Airport.

Skydive Toledo owner-operator Mike Gauger was as concerned about the school children’s possible anxiety as he was about his jumper, who he called a highly-experienced individual.

“It happened in front of a bunch of kids, but fortunately it didn’t happen so close the kids saw it,” Gauger said.

School staff took the children indoors and arranged for Gauger to answer their questions and allay any possible fears.

Thomas was the third of four individuals who parachuted from about 3,000 feet. The other three jumpers landed safely in the grassy field.

He was using a faster-type chute and misjudged about when to “flare” to slow himself down, Gauger said.

Thomas is a U.S. Parachute Association certified coach and tandem instructor, who has logged upwards of 3,000 jumps over 12 years and been with Skydive Toledo for about seven of those years, according to Gauger.

He’s 40 years old and previously lived in Lewis County, according to Gauger.

Gauger said Thomas called him from the hospital this morning just before going in to surgery and said he expected to be in the hospital about a week.

CHEHALIS – One of the men Centralia police say is connected to multiple search warrants served today related to stolen property is now facing drug charges involving methamphetamine, three different prescription narcotics and a misdemeanor amount of marijuana.

Daniel J. Miller Sr., 49, of Chehalis, went before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

He was charged with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, according to Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh. While police and his jail booking suggested Miller’s Thursday arrest also included manufacture of the drug, Beigh said that was not the case.

Miller was also charged with possession of oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone. Information about the quantities in question were not immediately available.

Miller was not charged with any crimes related to stolen property. Beigh said she could not comment on Centralia police’s investigation.

Judge Richard Brosey set bail at $25,000. Miller was released from custody later Friday afternoon.

He is scheduled to appear in the Chehalis courtroom again next Thursday morning for arraignment – to make his plea.

Centralia Police Officer John Panco said earlier today detectives were pursuing a variety of stolen property at more than one location, but didn’t disclose details. Panco said Russell L. Lamb, 42, of Centralia, was picked up shortly after Miller on Thursday, in connection with the case.

Lamb was booked into the Lewis County Jail for being a felon in possession of a firearm, but was let out at mid-day Friday without being charged with any crime. Beigh described Lamb’s status as released pending further investigation.

Watch for a new local news source coming soon in Lewis County, Wash.

Lewis County Sirens will feature news daily and when it happens of crime, police, fire and courts in greater Lewis County.

Readers will find news stories reported and written by award-winning journalist Sharyn L. Decker at www.lewiscountysirens.com