Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 25-year-old Centralia man escaped serious injury when his car was hit by not one but two semi-trucks on Interstate 5 in Chehalis today.

Tyler C. Mohoric was taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital with neck and back injuries, according to the Washington State Patrol. His 2009 Volvo was totaled.

Aid and troopers were called about 1:48 p.m. to the southbound lanes just south of Chamber of Commerce Way interchange.

A southbound Freightliner changed lanes and clipped the Volvo, spinning it around sideways into the path of a 1997 International semi truck, according to responders. The car was pushed down the freeway some 300 yards, Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Ted McCarty estimated.

“It was lucky there was nobody in the passenger side, they would have been severely injured,” McCarty said.

Firefighters were already at the scene nearby of a two-vehicle crash on Chamber Way and Louisiana Avenue and Police Chief Glenn Schaffer was stopped for a third wreck on one of the ramps, McCarty said.

The International was driven by a 57-year-old Portland man who was reportedly unhurt, but his truck sustained an estimated $6,000 damage and was towed, according to the state patrol.

Troopers blamed the driver of the Freightliner – a 44-year-old Sacramento man – for inattention and an unsafe lane change. His truck was able to be driven from the scene. He too was reportedly uninjured.

Update Tuesday June 14, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.: Mohoric has been treated and released from the hospital.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced a level three registered sex offender moved to a new address in Winlock.

Kenneth N. Rock, 22, is registered as living on the 100 block of Nelson Road.

He is not wanted by law enforcement, but notification to the community is meant to inform the public and enhance public safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

Rock was convicted at age 15 of first-degree child rape and molestation involving a 3-year-old boy he knew, according to sheriff’s detective Jamey McGinty. He was released from custody in early 2007.

The sheriff’s office designated him as a level three sex offender, meaning they believe he is a high risk to the community, according to McGinty.

Rock is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 250 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

To see more details from the bulletin and a photo of Rock, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office web site level three sex offender page, here.

Questions? The sheriff’s office says call 360-748-9286 for detective McGinty or Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Four fire districts in Lewis County will see contested races for commissioner positions in the coming election, according to the list of candidates who filed last week to run for various offices.

In Lewis County Fire District 5, in the Napavine area, James M. Guenther will run against Kevin Hanson.

In the Winlock area, Lewis County Fire District 15, Dan Godat will run against Randy Pennington.

In Lewis County Fire District 6, rural Chehalis, Kirk Johnston is running against James Martin.

They are all six-year-terms, according to the Lewis County Auditors Office which is responsible for elections.

Two individuals have filed to run for a two-year unexpired term in Lewis County Fire District 2, Toledo. They are Clark Spahr and Jacqui Spahr.

They will be on the November 8 ballot.

On the August 16 primary ballot will be three-way races for positions on some city councils, school boards and the board of the Centralia Port District.

Also on the primary ballot is an emergency medical services levy – six-year – for Lewis County Fire District 10 in Packwood, according to Elections Supervisor Mariann Zumbuhl.

A special three-day filing period runs through Wednesday afternoon to accept candidates for positions in which nobody applied for during filing week.

Those include a fire commissioner position in Packwood, and three commissioner positions in Lewis County Fire District 17 near Ashford, according to the auditors office.

District 17’s chair of the fire commissioners Elizabeth Marzano said they all three plan to stay on, and she doesn’t believe her term is set to expire this year.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia Municipal Court is getting a new judge, and it’s the third lawyer from the same family to sit on its bench.

James M.B. Buzzard was selected from five finalists for the position, and offered the job earlier this week, according to the city’s human resources director Candice Rydalch.

The city council must approve the contract on Tuesday before he can be sworn in, Rydalch said today.

Buzzard’s father, Steven Buzzard, retired last week from the position he held there since January 2005. Steven Buzzard had been appointed Centralia Municipal Court judge when his other son, R.W. Buzzard left the post to become a judge in Lewis County District Court.

James M.B. Buzzard works with Buzzard and Associates in Centralia, and has periodically served as a substitute judge for Centralia, according to Rydalch.

His background includes Seattle University Law School, University of Washington School of Law and he is a 1993 Centralia High School graduate, she said.

The expected salary for the judge in $4,666 per month.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Fire erupted in a house in Morton this morning, displacing its residents.

Lewis County Fire District 4 was called about 11:10 a.m. to the 400 block of Westlake Avenue where a kitchen was fully engulfed in flames and the windows were blowing out, according to Fire Investigator Ted McCarty.

Nobody was injured, but the kitchen was destroyed and the rest of the home suffered smoke, heat and water damage, McCarty said.

McCarty said it began when the contents of an oil lamp were accidentally spilled on the electrical outlet for the hot water heater. The resident went to get a rag to clean it up and when he returned he saw smoke and then fire started creeping up the wall, McCarty said.

The damage was extensive enough the residents can’t stay there, according to McCarty.

“The Red Cross has been called and they’re putting them up, I understand, for a few days,” McCarty said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors yesterday amended the charges against 29-year-old Ryan J. McCarthy in last summer’s triple homicide, changing the count involving 16-year-old David West Jr.’s death.

McCarthy was charged in the teen’s death with first-degree felony murder, but now is charged with regular first-degree murder as an accomplice.

David West Jr.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said he didn’t want to elaborate on the reason, as it’s based on new evidence that he didn’t want to discuss.

Defense attorney Rick Cordes suggested the change wasn’t a big deal, although the additional evidence – that he hasn’t seen yet – is not so good for his client, he said.

McCarthy and former Onalaskan John Allen Booth Jr. were both arrested after four people were found shot – three fatally – inside a home off Gore Road near Salkum last August.

Denise Salts, 51, survived, but fatally shot in the heads were David West Sr. 52, his son who was a student at Onalaska High School, and a friend Tony E. Williams, 50, of Randle.

Authorities have said they believe the two men’s Aug. 21 visit to the house was related to a drug debt collection.

Both McCarthy and Booth are charged also with attempted extortion.

Judge Richard Brosey is expected to preside over both trials; Booth’s at the end of August and McCarthy’s in October.
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Read recent stories:

• “Booth’s charges in Salkum slayings dropped back to original filing, trial delayed” from Tuesday May 3, 2011, here

• “Two separate trials on the docket in Salkum triple slaying” from Tuesday April 19, 2011, here