By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Olympian published a story today about a brand new jail facility which will sit empty because Thurston County can’t afford to operate it.
However, news reporter Nate Hulings writes, it will still cost about $430,000 next year to maintain the vacant building.
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Read “Satellite jail ready but still too costly” here.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Olympian published a story on Friday about Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks retiring.
Hicks, elected in 1992, has been presiding over the civil case of Thompson vs. Wilson, prompting Barb Thompson – who forced an unprecedented judicial review of a coroner’s decision on her daughter’s 1998 death in Toledo – to write, “No, no, no!”
The Lewis County case is still making its way through appeals.
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Read news reporter Jeremy Pawloski’s story “Superior Court judge Hicks retires” here.
Read about the five days in court last November after which “Jury finds coroner erred in ruling former troopers death a suicide” here
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Got a question for any of the men running for Lewis County sheriff, prosecutor or coroner?
A candidate forum for the public is set for this coming Wednesday from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Adna High School.
The local Fraternal Order of Police group has organized the event, similar to a forum it held four years ago that drew more than 250 people to hear from then-Lewis County prosecutor candidates Michael Golden and Don Blair.
Wednesday’s gathering will include five-minute opening statements from each of the candidates and a lengthy period for questions and answers, according to Bradd Reynolds, event chair for F.O.P. Centerville Lodge No. 26.
The night is expected to feature candidates for prosecutor, challenger Jonathan Meyer and incumbent Michael Golden; candidates for sheriff, challenger Ken Cheeseman and incumbent Steve Mansfield; and candidates for coroner, Warren McLeod and Micheal Hurley.
Moderating will be Adna Schools Superintendent James Forrest, according to a news release from Reynolds.
Adna High School is just north of Highway 6, six miles west of Interstate 5 from the exit 77 interchange.
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Below are the candidates’ web sites:
• Warren McLeod from Chehalis:
http://www.warrenmcleodforcoroner.com/
• Micheal Hurley from Mossyrock:
http://www.hurley4coroner.com/
• Ken Cheeseman from Randle:
on Facebook: “Ken Cheeseman for Lewis County Sheriff”
• Steve Mansfield from Winlock:
on Facebook: “Re-elect Steve Mansfield for Lewis County Sheriff”
• Jonathan Meyer from Centralia:
http://www.meyerforprosecutor.com/
• Michael Golden from Chehalis:
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Twice in two days mushroom pickers in Lewis County have gotten lost and spent the night in the woods.
A 44-year-old man who was reported missing outside of Packwood last night was found about noon today, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
The man, who the sheriff’s office believed was from Olympia, got separated from his friends in the early evening off the 47 Road north of Packwood. He was located today by the individual who made the missing person report, according to sheriff’s Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.
On Wednesday, a man hunting mushrooms south of Mossyrock off Salmon Creek Road was separated from his companions, according to Brown.
He built a small fire and spent the night outside with his Pit Bull, Brown said. He turned up in the Cedar Creek area east of Toledo the next day, she said
The pickup truck driven by 20-year-old Evgeny P. Snyder this morning is brought back onto the road after it crashed into trees. / Courtesy photo by the Washington State Patrol
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A single-vehicle crash just north of Grand Mound left a 20-year-old Rochester dead this morning.
A trooper called at 7:10 a.m. to Case Road and 183rd Avenue Southwest reported that Evgeny P. Snyder died at the scene. A second trooper today described the location as the 17700 block of Case Road.
Snyder was traveling south on Case Road when his pickup truck left the roadway to the right and he overcorrected, veering into trees on the left shoulder, according to the Washington State Patrol. His 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck was described as totaled.
The trooper pointed to speeding as the cause. Preliminary estimates indicate Snyder was going at least 70 mph, the state patrol reported. The posted limit is 50 mph.
The investigation concluded he was not wearing a seatbelt, prompting Trooper Guy Gill to ask motorists to please remember to always wear a seatbelt.
“Even a very minor collision can result in serious injury or death if the driver and/or passengers are unrestrained,” Gill wrote in a news release.
It’s not known if drugs or alcohol were involved, according to the state patrol.
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This news item was updated at 3:55 p.m. on Friday Oct. 1, 2010
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The man charged with having pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin when he was captured in Chehalis late last November pleaded not guilty today to the charges against him.
Robert John Maddaus Jr.
Robert John Maddaus Jr., 40, was in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon for his arraignment on charges of possession of each of the three drugs with intent to deliver, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm.
Maddaus, whose residence is listed in court papers as Rochester, won’t be going to trial anytime soon, according to his lawyer Ken Johnson.
His murder trial in Thurston County is now set for early next year, so attorneys today scheduled his Lewis County drug trial for after that, the Chehalis attorney said.
Maddaus is charged in Thurston County in the death of a man found handcuffed and shot to death on an Olympia street last November.
In Lewis County, his charges grew out of what police found inside a red Corvette when they stopped him and Centralia resident Robert S. Russell in the Chehalis Industrial Park after a police pursuit.
Last week, local prosecutors dropped one of four pending criminal cases against Russell saying the main witness, Maddaus, refused to cooperate. Russell, who is being held in Lewis County for alleged drug dealing, assault and other charges, is listed as a witness in Maddaus’s murder trial.
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Read the full story behind the police pursuit last November and why detectives say Robbie Russell was driving a red Corvette with a wanted murder suspect in the passenger seat, here.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Now-former Montesano Police Chief Ray Sowers was one of the four finalists for the chief position with the Chehalis Police Department in November of 2006.
The (Aberdeen) Daily World published a story today saying he has resigned following an investigation into his spending by the Washington State Patrol.
You may have to register with their web site to view the story, but I think it is still free. You can read the news story here.
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