Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – James Reeder changed his mind.

The 26-year-old Centralia resident has been awaiting sentencing for the May death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter after pleading guilty last month.

The so-called Alford plea, in which he did not admit guilt, was part of deal which could get him a minimum of about three decades in prison and possibly remain there for life.

From the Lewis County Jail, Reeder penciled a two-page letter to Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler asking to please be allowed to withdraw his plea, saying he has been telling his lawyer all along he wanted to take it to a trial.

Judge Lawler denied his request today.

Reeder pleaded guilty on Jan. 9 to homicide by abuse, second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree rape of a child and possession of methamphetamine. The victim, Koralynn Fister, died May 24 in Centralia.

Reeder’s sentencing remains scheduled for March 6.

Attorneys are still waiting for a pre-sentencing investigation report from the state Department of Corrections.
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For background, read “Defendant in Koralynn Fister death pleads guilty” from Wednesday January 9, 2013, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Crews responding this morning to a call about an upside down pontoon boat and an oar spotted in the Skookumchuck River in north Centralia found a man who was out of the water but prevented by thick brush from getting up the bank.

Two men from Centralia in two boats had apparently launched from the park off B Street and one of them overturned near there, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The swift water carried his companion’s craft probably another three quarters of a mile downstream before he was able to get off the river, Assistant Chief Mike Kytta said.

The man, in his 50s, had gone into the water and was carried by the river underneath some branches and trees but got himself to the water’s edge, according to Kytta.

Firefighters had to clear a path through the berry vines and brush, Kytta said.

“He was tired and cold and they had to assist him up the bank,” Kytta said.

He was loaded into an ambulance by 11:10 a.m. and taken to Providence Centralia Hospital to be evaluated, according to the chief.

A tree was removed from atop a Randle couple’s Ford Explorer. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

Updated at 9:30 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Randle couple was hospitalized after a tree fell onto their vehicle on U.S. Highway 12 east of Morton last night.

Raymond J. Pollman, 58, was driving a Ford Explorer and stopped near Davis Lake Road waiting for a snow plow clearing the roadway, according to the Washington State Patrol.

It happened about 7:30 p.m.

“The folks were sitting at the intersection waiting for the truck to pass and unfortunately, a tree fell on their vehicle,” Trooper Will Finn  said.

A power line dropped as well he said, leaving a live wire on the roadway which responders had to deal with, he said.

Pollman was taken to Morton General Hospital, according to Finn. His passenger, Dalene J. Pollman, 57, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where she is listed this morning in satisfactory condition.

Raymond Pollman was treated and has already been released, according to a Morton hospital spokesperson.

Finn said a transformer, or possibly two, blew at the same time knocking out power to an unknown number of residents in the area.

The roadway there is clear this morning, although numerous trees which must have fallen in the area are cut up on the side of the highway, according to Morton Fire Department secretary Holly Cantrell.

Finn said it was continuing to snow this morning near the pass to the east, with compact snow and ice on the highway.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A heat lamp warming some puppies may have been what ignited a barn fire in Dryad earlier today.

About nine firefighters from Doty and Pe Ell responded to the approximately 11 a.m. call to the 200 block of Kobe Road.

Lewis County Fire District 16 Chief Greg Feuchter said the roughly 30-foot by 40-foot metal sided structure was a total loss.

“I think the female and either five or eight puppies, they’re gone,” Feuchter said.

The building was used for storage, and the dogs, he said. The family lost a tractor as well, he said.

Feuchter said he wasn’t sure of the dogs’ breed, although there were some Border Collies elsewhere on the property.

Crews were on the scene until almost 2 p.m., he said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

It was not a safe cracker, but an inside job when more than $1,000 went missing from the Visiting Nurses Thrift Shop the other day, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Police were called early Tuesday morning to the business on the 200 block of South Pearl Street about a burglary. Money was missing from a safe.

It quickly became apparent to detectives it was staged to look like a break-in, police Sgt. Stacy Denham said.

“The evidence didn’t line up that someone came in from the outside,” Denham said.

Investigating detectives came to conclude a 27-year-old employee who had worked for the business about three years was involved, according to police. When interviewed, he acknowledged what he did, Denham said.

Denham said an examination of the safe showed it was opened using the keypad and then the keypad was damaged after the safe was opened.

The money was not recovered, it had already been spent. The suspect said he needed the money, for bills, Denham said.

The 27-year-old Centralia man has not been arrested, but police are recommending to prosecutors that he be charged with burglary.