Lewis County Sirens.com

Lewis County Fire District 6 celebrated the end of probation for its full time firefighters

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Five individuals have been promoted to firefighter from probationary firefighter at Lewis County Fire District 6.

A badge pinning ceremony was held at the rural Chehalis fire station on Jackson Highway on Feb. 16, where Chief Tim Kinder administered the firefighter oath, assisted by Assistant Chief Pat Smith and Deputy Chief Steve Lux, according to a news release.

Offering encouragement and congratulations before an audience of family and friends were the district’s first chief Noel Cole, the president of the Lewis County Fire Chief’s Association Gregg Peterson and former District 6 Commissioner Greg Pulver, according to Kinder.

The fire district last March introduced to the community its five newly hired paid firefighters when it was transformed from an predominantly volunteer department to a “combination” department.

Those promoted were :

• Matt McCoy Firefighter-Paramedic
• Greg Folwell Firefighter-EMT
• Kyle Eiswald Firefighter-EMT
• Mike Goodwillie Firefighter-EMT
• Matt Foley Firefighter-EMT

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said last month the case against accused double murderer Ricky Riffe is an unfolding case.

Riffe, 54, was charged last summer in the 1985 abduction and shooting of Ed and Wilhelmina Maurin, an elderly couple who lived in Ethel.

Ricky Riffe

This morning, Riffe’s Seattle-based attorney was dealt a new twist.

“In an strange and surprising move, the prosecution has now chosen to charge Mr. Riffe, just 60 days before trial with charges of an alleged 1984 child rape which had been investigated at that time by the police,” John Crowley posted on his law firm’s website.

Riffe was already scheduled for a hearing this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court where attorneys have been regularly apprising the judge on their progress in the voluminous case.

Crowley said he doesn’t know many details of the new allegations, but said they were investigated by law officers in 1984 who did not recommend any criminal charges at the time.

“When CPS got involved, they did not remove the child from the home,” Crowley said.

The allegations involve a step-daughter, according to Crowley.

The former Lewis County resident has been held at the Lewis County Jail since his arrest in July at his home in Alaska.

Prosecutors contend Riffe and his since-deceased brother abducted the Maurins and forced them to withdraw money from their bank in Chehalis before shooting them and dumping their bodies near Adna back in December 1985. Ed Maurin was 81 and his wife was 83.

Crowley called the new charges a great development for his client.

“I think it’s a signal they’re trying to shore up a weak murder case,” he said.

Riffe’s hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. today in front of Judge Richard Brosey.

The trial is scheduled to start the week of May 6.
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For background, read “Maurin murders: Riffe’s defense includes an alibi” from Wednesday January 16, 2013, here

Firefighter climbs to reach a paratrooper stuck 80 feet up a tree at JBLM near the town of Rainier. / Courtesy photo by Robert Scott

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Three members of the Rochester area fire department trained in special rescues responded about 3 p.m. yesterday after winds carried three paratroopers into the trees near the town of Rainier.

Nobody was injured but one of the paratroopers, and his parachute, was tangled up 80 feet off the ground, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Robert Scott.

The two-hour rescue operation included 30 members of Thurston County’s special operations rescue team, comprised of members from six area fire departments, according to Scott. Among them are some skilled at climbing trees and setting up a lowering system to retrieve such subjects.

It happened at the south end of Joint Base Lewis-McChord off Rainier Acres Road, Scott said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 51-year-old man expected to be hospitalized for as long as a month with a gunshot injury from when he walked into a stranger’s home has made a “miraculous” recovery and was brought back to Lewis County yesterday to face criminal charges for the incident.

Brian L. Creed has been at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he initially was listed in critical condition.

Creed was shot once in the abdomen when he confronted a resident at the 400 block of Highway 603 west of Chehalis on Feb. 10. The sheriff said he was high on meth. Creed was charged three days later with burglary and misdemeanor assault.

The sheriff’s office last week released Creed from its custody, to avoid being responsible for paying the bills for his medical treatment and planned surgery.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer told county commissioners yesterday that Creed’s condition then suddenly improved. Meyer said he estimated the county saved $500,000 by cutting him loose when they did.

Creed is scheduled to go before a judge today at 4:15 p.m. in Lewis County Superior Court.

Both the sheriff and the prosecutor have said it appeared the 24-year-old resident acted appropriately to protect himself and his wife.
•••

For background, read: “Wounded home intruder’s condition deteriorating, deputies relieved of guard duty to cut costs” from Friday February 15, 2013, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The 65-year-old man hit by an SUV as he was crossing Interstate 5 near Vader on Friday night turned out to have been reported missing from a motel in Cowlitz County, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A trooper didn”t know that, when he encountered Daniel E. Ranney on state Route 504 in Castle Rock near the freeway, Trooper Will Finn said today.

Ranney said he was trying to get to Toledo and was impaired so the trooper gave him a lift north and dropped him at a 24-hour truck stop, Finn said.

At about 8:30 p.m. that night, troopers and aid were called to the southbound lanes near Gee Cees truck stop where Ranney had tried to cross the freeway on foot.

Finn said Ranney is from Anchorage, Alaska and was on cancer medications. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he was listed this morning in serious condition. A hospital spokesperson said he is in the intensive care unit.

Finn said Ranney suffered a compound fracture of one of his limbs.
•••

For background, read: “News brief: Pedestrian airlifted after hit by vehicle on I-5 near Vader” from Friday February 15, 2013, here

The front of the house on Shannon Lane fared better than the backside. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The cause of a fire that ravaged an Adna area home last night is under investigation.

Lewis County Fire District 6 responding about 10:10 p.m. to the 100 block of Shannon Lane found smoke and fire so heavy from the backside of the single-story house they were prevented from entering, according to Chief Tim Kinder.

A couple were awakened the sounds of the fire and subsequently by an alarm, Kinder said. They got themselves out of the house, the chief said.

“No injuries, everybody got out safe,” he said.

Firefighters were joined by members of the Chehalis Fire Department and Lewis County District 5.

Kinder said it took just over an hour to extinguish the blaze.

Much of the interior was “pretty much gutted” with severe damage in the utility room and smoke damage elsewhere, Kinder said.

The chief said he didn’t know yet what ignited the fire. An investigator is looking into it this morning, he said.
•••

CORRECTION: This news item has been updated. It previously incorrectly reported the number of occupants who were home when the fire broke out and mistakenly stated they had pets which were evacuated, based on erroneous information provided by Lewis County Fire District 6.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 65-year-old man on foot crossing Interstate 5 in south Lewis County was struck by an SUV tonight.

Troopers and aid called about 8:30 p.m. to the southbound lanes found Daniel E. Ranney on the side of the road along the southbound lanes near Vader.

It happened by the Gee Cees truck stop interchange, also known as exit 57.

Ranney, who is from Anchorage, Alaska, was crossing the freeway from east to west, according to the state patrol.

Lewis County Fire District 2 Chief Grant Wiltbank said the man has a serious injury.

The driver of the Ford Explorer which struck Ranney was not hurt, and the vehicle’s damage was minimal enough it was drivable, according to the state patrol.

Wiltbank said firefighters as well as paramedics from Lewis County Medic One responded and treated the pedestrian until a helicopter airlift arrived. It picked him up on the property of a new service station under construction just southeast of the truck stop, Wiltbank said.

Ranney was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the state patrol.  Details about why he was crossing the road were not immediately available.

The driver was identified as Tobi L. Scott, 45, of Milwaukie, Ore.