By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
All lanes are open as of 6:20 p.m. after a motorhome fire shut down southbound Interstate 5 near the Maytown rest area.
The 5:55 p.m. fire was blocking all lanes, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The Seattle Times is reporting today about the police chief in Granite Falls – a former Vader and Napavine police officer – and the end result of a clash between him and the mayor there in the small Snohomish County town.
You can read today’s story here.
Read the Seattle Times July 2010 story here www.seattletimes.com
The Olympian is reporting a judge has found the suspect in the death of a Yelm woman found dead near a bicycle trail in Tenino last month is not competent to stand trial.
Vanda Skau Boone, from her MySpace
Bernard K. Howell III, 26, is charged with first-degree murder. Vanda Skau Boone, 60, was found wrapped in a sleeping bag in the passenger compartment of Howell’s truck on Aug. 8, her throat cut.
The self-employed door-to-door meat salesman told deputies he had no part in her death. A judge ordered him evaluated by mental health specialists at Western State Hospital.
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Read The Olympian’s news story about yesterday’s court hearing here.
Read Lewis County Sirens most recent story here
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The former human resources manager at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound pleaded guilty today in federal court to cyberstalking in a case authorities say included victims who had worked with him at Great Wolf, at his previous job at a Miami hotel and even at the Olympia apartment complex where he lived.
Daniel Christopher Leonard, 32, faces up to five years in prison on each of five counts when he sentenced, according to a news release.
Leonard was arrested in April following an investigation by police in Monterey, Calif. prompted by a woman who reported obscene and threatening phone calls coming from a variety of area codes and phone numbers with a voice that sounded electronically altered, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.
Monterey detectives discovered the calls were being made with the help of an Internet “spoofing” service based in New Jersey, the office reported.
The U.S. Attorneys Office said in its news release Leonard admitted to making more than 4,000 harassing and sexually threatening calls to more than 1,200 phone numbers across the U.S and Canada.
He pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to one count of cyberstalking and four counts of making threatening communications, according to the news release.
Leonard remains in custody at the federal detention center in SeaTac. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A motorist who was reportedly driving under the influence was hospitalized after she ran into a bulldozer in a freeway construction zone north of Centralia last night.
The 1993 Dodge Dakota driven by a 51-year-old Seattle woman was totaled but the John Deere “crawler tractor” it hit was undamaged, according to the Washington State Patrol. The bulldozer operator was reportedly unhurt.
A trooper and aid were called just after 8 p.m. to the collision just north of the Lewis-Thurston county line.
The responding trooper reported Janey P. Dalton, 51, was northbound and attempting to change lanes when she lost control of her pickup truck and struck several construction barrels before hitting the bulldozer.
Dalton sustained minor lacerations and was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the state patrol.
The driver of the bulldozer was Scott Haskins, 38, of Olympia. He works for the Department of Transportation’s prime contractor on the Interstate 5 widening project, Tri-State Construction Inc. out of Bellevue, according to a DOT spokesperson.
The trooper indicated the cause was driving under the influence and an unsafe lane change. Charges are pending, according to the patrol.
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This news story was updated at 2:46 p.m. on Tuesday Sept. 14, 2010
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A 72-year-old Salkum woman was injured when she lost control of her car yesterday and ran off U.S. Highway 12 near the Mossyrock dam and ran into rocks, trees and an embankment.
A trooper called about 2:30 p.m. reported Shirley F. Looney suffered bruises and a cut to her elbow. She was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Her 1992 Pontiac Bonneville sustained an estimated $5,000 damage.
The responding trooper reported she was eastbound and failed to negotiate a left hand curve. He blamed driver inattention.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A motorcyclist from British Columbia was hospitalized with a possible broken leg after he struck a deer on the highway in Packwood yesterday evening.
A trooper responding about 7:45 p.m. reported Jerry L. Kotanko, 60, was traveling east on U.S. Highway 12 when his 2003 Moto Guzzi hit the animal which was on the road.
Kotanko, of Langley B.C., was taken to Morton General Hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol. The damage to the motorcycle was estimated $2,000.
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