Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Beginning at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, the outdoor burning restrictions for areas in unincorporated Lewis County will be lifted.

The Lewis County Board of Commissioners put a burn ban in place on July 12 out of concern about wildfire danger with hot and dry conditions, allowing only for recreational fires in approved receptacles or campfire sites.

The board has authority over areas in Lewis County that are outside any city limits and not part of any state or federal lands.

“After careful review, of the current and extended weather forecast, the Lewis County community development director, acting as the fire marshal, has determined that current weather conditions within Lewis County no longer pose a substantial fire threat,” Director Lee Napier’s office stated in a news release this morning.

The state Department of Natural Resources last week rescinded its statewide burn ban on all on DNR-protected forestlands.

For further information concerning outdoor burning, Napier can be contacted at (360) 740-1146.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Criminal defendants will find a new advocate by their side next week when they first appear before a judge.

Chehalis attorney Bob Schroeter has for the past six and half years worked for Lewis County as public defender for the day, representing individuals charged in Lewis County Superior Court and Lewis County District Court at their first hearing.

Last week, he informed county commissioners he’s taken a new job in Olympia, and recommended a replacement.

“You’ve got Bob and Jonathan Meyer both giving you glowing endorsements,” Lewis County Commissioner Bill Schulte told Joely O’Rourke when she was introduced to the board of commissioners.

O’Rourke, a deputy prosecutor for the county for a little over five years handling sex cases, worked in law enforcement for five years before that as a special agent for Naval Criminal Investigative Service, NCIS.

As a civilian, she worked counter-terrorism and also sex crimes she said.

She resigned her position on Sept. 19, planning to continue as a lawyer, but as a sole practitioner.

“I had probably got worn out with the sex cases,” O’Rourke said of much of the reason behind her move.

Schroeter’s contract with the county called for 60 days notice. O’Rourke will fill in for him until mid-November. She said she plans to apply for the position.

The job, which included public defender oversight, paid $8,000 per month. Schroeter’s last day is Tuesday.

He has taken a position with the Washington State Liquor Control Board as manger of public disclosure and risk management. He’ll be responsible to look at ways of doing business to avoid liability, he said.

It will be particularly interesting, in light of the agency’s new role of oversight of marijuana businesses, Schroeter said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities reported yesterday morning the timberland fire southwest of Pe Ell is entirely contained.

More than 200 firefighters battled the blaze about five miles outside of town that began Sept. 11 in an active logging area, on property owned by Rayonier.

A dozen individuals expect to be out there a few more days continuing to mop up, according to Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Jay Guthrie.

Guthrie said there is no fire activity within 200 feet of the edge. One hundred twenty-six acres of so-called slash, recently harvested timber and standing timber burned.

Some logging is expected to clear areas so crews can access remaining hot spots, according to Guthrie. It is unlikely after this point that any smoke will be visible from Pe Ell and surrounding communities, he said.

The property is in Pacific County, at the Lewis County line. The command center was set up at the Falls Creek Retreat Center about 10 miles west of Pe Ell.

The cause is under investigation.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Washington State Bar Association has posthumously honored Chehalis attorney James A. Vander Stoep with its 2014 Lifetime Service Award, in recognition of his 53-year career of service to the legal community.

Vander Stoep’s highest priorities were reflected by his ongoing dedicated service to family, his profession and his community, WSBA Governor Brian J. Kelly said in a prepared statement shared with the news media yesterday.

“Jim’s accomplishments to our profession were made as a small-town lawyer.” Kelly stated. “His time was a valued commodity, but he unselfishly shared it with us. Jim exemplified service above self through his life.”

The award was presented to his wife Suzi Vander Stoep at the group’s annual awards dinner on Thursday night at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel.

Vander Stoep began practicing law in Chehalis in 1950, when only one judge worked in the county courthouse on Main Street in Chehalis, and fewer than 20 lawyers practiced in the Twin Cities. He retired in 2003 from the firm Vander Stoep, Remund, Kelly & Blinks.

During a career that spanned five decades, he also chaired the committee to bring a public swimming pool to Chehalis and co- founded the Chehalis Little League.

According to the WSBA, Vander Stoep was a former WSBA president and Board of Governors member, a former Lewis County Bar Association president, a life member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, and a member and former state chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

His longtime law partner Rene Remund offered formal praise as well.

“Jim was a person who was fierce in the courtroom and courteous outside it,” Remund stated. “His practice of law was based on competence civility, and honesty. He was a credit to his profession and a contributor to his community.”

The WSBA is authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state’s lawyers and other legal professionals, regulating them under the court and acting as a professional association for its members.