Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The sheriff is urging the public to take advantage of his office’s new online crime tips reporting, an outlet to pass along information about suspicious activity, suspects or even traffic and parking concerns.

It doesn’t replace calling 911 or making an anonymous report to law enforcement through Crimes Stoppers of Lewis County, according to Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield.

They want the senders contact information in case they need to follow up, according to the sheriff. The information received will be processed daily, and passed along to the appropriate personnel, Mansfield said in a news release this morning.

It made its debut about two weeks ago on the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office website just as one of his detectives was appealing to the public to contact him with any tips about the missing 18-year-old Kayla Mae Croft-Payne.

Mansfield encourages the public’s participation and partnership by using the tips program.

“Together we can make a positive difference in efficiently and effectively addressing public safety issues in Lewis County,” Mansfield said in the news release.

It can be found at http://tips.lewiscountywa.gov/ or on the sheriff’s office web site.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Three crashes in South Lewis County on Saturday – including a head-on collision on state Route 506 near Vader – left all but one injured person with cuts, scrapes and sore necks or backs.

Rodney S. Creech, 18, of Chehalis, however, was airlifted with a broken arm and possible head and internal injuries after a single-vehicle wreck about three miles west of Winlock, according to responders.

Troopers were called about 8:30 p.m. to the gravel portion of Jones Road where the pickup in which Creech was a passenger, missed a curve, skidded broadside and rolled onto its top, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The 1996 Toyota was described as totaled and troopers blame speed for the incident. The investigating trooper reported he suspected alcohol or drugs might be involved.

The driver, Brandon M. Cruzan, 20, also of Chehalis, was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital where he was treated and has been released, according to a hospital spokesperson. The state patrol reported Creech was flown to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. A spokesperson there said today he had no information a patient by that name was seen there, which either means he was taken somewhere else or he was seen there but requested no information be released about him.

Just a half hour later, an eastbound 2004 Dodge Neon on state Route 506 reportedly crossed the centerline and struck a 2002 Ford Taurus, the state patrol reported.

The crash, two and half miles east of Vader destroyed both cars and sent two Winlock residents to Providence Centralia Hospital. Thomas D. Rodriguez, 56, and Betty L. Hack, 78, who were traveling in the Taurus have both been released.

The occupants of the Neon – the driver Collin W. Rider, 21, and Nathaniel J. Moldenhauer, 19, both of Vader, were reportedly not injured.

And at about 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, troopers were called to Interstate 5 just north of the Winlock-Toledo exit where a northbound motorhome pulling a flatbed trailer tried to change lanes and forced a 2003 Honda CRV over, before the Honda lost control, struck the motorhome, rolled over and landed on its side, the state patrol reported.

The scene was somewhat chaotic, because the Honda was traveling with a large group and there were dozens of bystanders and vehicles that stopped, some in the inside shoulder and median, according to a responder.

Two women and a man in the Honda, from Shoreline, were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital. The 33-year-old female driver and a 68-year-old male were treated and have been released. Fifty-nine year-old Shoatsehay Bezabag was admitted to the hospital and was listed in good condition this morning.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The practice burn at the Seventh Day Adventist School outside Chehalis for tomorrow has been called off, but firefighters will still be on the scene helping demolish the building.

Lewis County Fire District 6 Chief Bud Goodwillie said this evening that because of logistics and safety, some 50 firefighters who planned to train tomorrow, won’t be able to conduct any interior “sets”.

Goodwillie said they discovered issues with the construction, including several voids inside the building that mean if they set the school on fire, it could easily get away from them.

The school had offered the structure along the 2100 block of South Scheuber Road to Fire District 6, as it plans to build a new school on the site, according to Goodwillie.

He’s disappointed about the lost opportunity to practice.

However, the contractor will be using excavators and bulldozer, beginning tonight, to tear the school down. And firefighters will be there tomorrow to help, Goodwillie said.

It will be a lot of hard work still, and firefighters will be burning the remnants of the school in burn piles starting about 9:30 tomorrow morning, according to Goodwillie.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A pair of Boy Scouts who separated from their group Friday during a day hike south of Mount Rainier National Park spent the night outside but were found safe late this morning following a search by Lewis and Thurston county volunteers.

“They were not hurt, not injured,” Cmdr. Steve Aust of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said at mid-day.

The 13-year-old boys are part of a troop out of Olympia, Aust said.

The six Scouts and two adults were hiking in an area out of Ashford called the High Rock Lookout off of Forest Road 84, according to Aust.

At about 4 p.m. yesterday the two took an alternate route back to the trailhead, with the permission of the adults, he said, The rest of the group arrived about two hours later and the boys were not there, Aust said.

“My understanding is they spent the next several hours looking,” Aust said.

They notified authorities at 11 o’clock last night. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office launched their initial search and rescue about 2 a.m. and an estimated 35 searchers were scouring the area this morning.

The effort included volunteers from both counties, Jeeps, the Civil Air Patrol, eight K-9 teams from the two counties and retired sheriff’s detective Dave Neiser, a pilot who spotted the boys from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office airplane, Aust said. The pair was found around 11:15 a.m., he said.

Aust didn’t have further details.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A car carrying a pair of Bucoda women was destroyed in a crash this morning on southbound Interstate 5 near Castle Rock, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A 2009 Lexus driven by a 25-year-old Mercer Island woman had stopped in its lane because the lane was closed and the 1997 Saturn collided with its rear end, according to the state patrol.

Troopers were called to the scene near milepost 48 about 10:20 a.m.

The Saturn’s driver, Lavonne L. Nakano, 40, of Bucoda, suffered neck and back injuries and was taken to St. John Medical Center in Longview, the patrol reported. No injuries were described for her passenger, 57-year-old Linda R. Shaw.

The Lexus sustained an estimated $3,500 damage, but did not need to be towed, according to the patrol.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 48-year-old Chehalis man is listed in serious condition this morning after a Thursday late-afternoon motorcycle crash south of Rochester.

Dane C. Hurd was traveling south at the 200 block of Independence Road when he struck a dog in the road, according to the Washington State Patrol. His motorcycle came to rest in a ditch and he landed on the ground, according to responders.

Troopers and aid called to the scene about 5:30 p.m. described his injuries as a broken collar bone and internal injuries. He was wearing a helmet and protective clothing, according to responders.

Riverside Fire Authority Firefighter-paramedic Craig Ellenbolt said because his speed was estimated at about 50 mph, they were especially concerned about potential traumatic injuries. Hurd was taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Hurd’s 2007 Honda CB900 sustained an estimated $1,000 damage. The dog didn’t survive, according to Ellenbolt.

Harborview’s Susan Gregg-Hanson this morning said Hurd was in the intensive care unit.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Expect to see a large column of smoke on Sunday coming from the hillside west of Interstate 5 at Chehalis.

As many as 50 firefighters from five area departments plan to take part in a practice burn as the Seventh Day Adventist School off the 2100 block of South Scheuber Road goes up in flames.

Lewis County Fire District 6 Chief Bud Goodwille, who arranged the training, called it a rare opportunity, to deal with an approximately 12,000 square-foot building.

“It’s a training opportunity we don’t get that often, a building that size,” Goodwillie said.

The school donated the building to Fire District 6, as it plans to build a new school on the site, according to Goodwillie.

Personnel have been practicing various techniques there for the past two weeks. They will continue training Sunday, with the first fire being set no later than 9:30 a.m. with the final blaze expected to begin no later than 1 p.m., Goodwillie said.

The chief said he expects some folks will want to come and watch, but warns that access up the long driveway to the school will be limited to fire department vehicles, and he doesn’t expect any parking will be allowed along Scheuber Road.