Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The man who was shocked unconscious by an overhead power line while working on a well at a Rochester fish farm last week is back home in Lewis County and recovering.

The state has opened an investigation of the incident with his employer, a Napavine company.

Jeff Duren sustained burns and stopped breathing after the boom on the piece of equipment being used came into contact with a power line on Wednesday according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. Bystanders did CPR and he was taken to the hospital.

His was released from Harborview Medical Center on Thursday afternoon, according to his wife Susie Duren.

“He’s doing okay,” she said yesterday.

Responding firefighters were surprised their patient survived the jolt from the commercial line.

Jeff Duren was working for Skyline Pump and Machine of Napavine, according to the state Department of Labor and Industries.

There was also a general contractor at the site, according to department spokesperson Elaine Fischer

Updated at 11:25 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Almost 1,400 customers are without electricity after a vehicle struck a power pole at North Tower Avenue and Fourth Street in Centralia this morning.

Jeff Hoyt of Centralia City Light said it happened about 10 a.m. and is affecting areas downtown as well as around Edison Elementary School and Mellen Street.

Crews decided to “work it hot” instead of denergizing to get the power back to customers more quickly, he said.

Hoyt expected it would be fixed within the next two hours, by around noon or 1 p.m.

A woman driving the pickup truck involved was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Chehalis’s rural fire district not only has a new chief, they’ve hired five firefighter-EMTs.

It’s the first time ever Lewis County Fire District 6 has had paid staff, other than its chief, according to the Chief Tim Kinder.

Kinder, 49, took the position in mid-December and he, along with the new career firefighters are being introduced to the community at an open house at 1:15 p.m. today.

The gathering runs from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. The location is the main station at 2123 Jackson Highway, Chehalis.

Light refreshments and beverages will be served.

Kinder has been a paramedic for 27 years, and has been with the department as a firefighter-paramedic for 10 years. He replaced Bud Goodwillie who resigned a year ago.

Commissioners chose Kinder after a nationwide search.

“We’ve actually gone from a predominantly volunteer department to a “combination” department, Kinder said.

All at one time.

They currently have 25 volunteer members.

Firefighter-paramedic Jesse Berry, left, and Firefighter-EMT John Quade assess the calf's situation. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters rescued a calf late this afternoon that a passerby discovered had sunk up to its chest in thick mud off of Salzer Valley Road in Centralia.

Riverside Fire Authority Chief Jim Walkowski said the animal weighed more than 250 pounds and was probably about a year old.

“Definitely stuck and he was cold,” Walkowski said. “He must have been down there a couple of hours.”

The crew used techniques they recently learned on large animal rescue, according to the chief. The training helps firefighters deal with incidents involving animal trailers, trails and stables.

“The public has an expectation that when they call 9-1-1, that the fire department will send personnel with specialty training to help them with their situation,” Walkowski said in a news release.

Five firefighters answered the 5:45 p.m. call and had to dig under the calf’s belly to use straps and pull him out.

Once they got him out, they had to let him rest before he was strong enough to stand up, according to Walkowski.

“And then he walked over and started eating,” he said.

Another passerby said they knew who the owner was and would contact them, Walkowski said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Three people were arrested at their Onalaska home this morning following a two-month long drug investigation.

The SWAT team joined other law enforcement officers at 9:44 a.m. when a search warrant was served at the 500 block of Gish Road, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies found methamphetamine and detectives are still on the scene collecting evidence, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

Scott E. Ridgley, 51, was arrested for four counts of delivery of methamphetamine based on previous so-called controlled buys, according to Brown.

His son, Larry E. Ridgley, 34, was arrested for possession of meth with intent to deliver. Misty A. Raines, 39, was arrested for possession of meth.

The father and son were also arrested for possession, Brown said. She didn’t yet know the quantity of drugs found.

The Lewis County Regional Drug Task Force made the arrests with assistance from the state Department of Corrections.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A man doing work on a well at a Rochester fish farm was shocked this afternoon when the boom on the piece of equipment being used came into contact with an overhead power line.

The man, said to be in his 30s, was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia with life-threatening injuries, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

His name was not released.

Aid was called about 1:40 p.m. to 173rd Avenue Southwest and Wheat Street.

He had stopped breathing, Lt Lanette Dyer said.

“Bystanders had just stopped doing CPR because he came around,” Dyer said.

The patient was responsive but very confused and sustained burns, including an entry wound on his foot and exit wound on his calf, Dyer said.

He had been working with another man on the ground pulling a well pipe, Dyer said. She did not know the company they were employed by.

West Thurston Lt. Eric Smith said the second worker was not hurt.

“Overhead service lines, most people die when they come into contact with those,” Smith said.

Dyer described the electrical line as a commercial one which would have carried 220 volts.