Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A former Chehalis man who admitted he took advantage of a 13-year-old girl at a Centralia party when he was 19 years old was handed down a prison term today of a little less than three and half years.

Tyler M. McKee, 22, was brought to Lewis County from Las Vegas at the end of July, charged in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree rape of a child.

The girl reported to Centralia police in 2012 she was raped, but detectives didn’t get a break in the case until last year. She told police she was so drunk she could not walk and remembered both “Tyler” and “Jeff” being on top of her, one after the other.

Lewis County prosecutors struck a deal with McKee in which he pleaded guilty last month to two counts of second-degree child molestation, while the rape charge was dropped.

McKee is represented by Centralia lawyer J.P. Enbody.

He went before Judge James Lawler today who gave him a 41-month sentence.

Another Chehalis resident, Geffrey A. Duncan, 22, was arrested in September and charged in the same case.
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For background, read “Suspect in rape of girl at 2012 Centralia party arrested in Vegas” from Monday August 1, 2016, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Local Republicans forwarded three names to the Lewis County Board of Commissioners to be considered to replace Lewis County Clerk Kathy Brack.

Brack retired in mid-September from the elected position, after serving since 2003.

All three candidates have experience working in a county clerk’s office. The job pays $75,108 a year.

In order of preference as chosen by Republican precinct committee officers, they are:

• Carla Shannon, currently a deputy clerk in the Lewis County Clerk’s Office.

• Tiffini Walker, currently works in the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office and previously was a deputy clerk in the Lewis County Clerk’s Office.

• Scott Tinney, currently a deputy clerk in the Thurston County Clerk’s Office.

County commissioners have scheduled interviews beginning at 1 p.m. next Wednesday and expect to announce their decision by Nov. 14.

Local Republican party Chairman Mark Anders indicates the party considered six candidates and by statute, must send an ordered list of three to county commissioners, though the commissioners may pick any one of the three.

Because Brack served as a Republican, her party gets that role in the process of replacing her.

The Lewis County clerk serves as the official record keeper for the Lewis County Superior Court. The office on the second floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis has 15 employees.

A special election will be held in November 2017 for the position. The position will again be on the ballot in November 2018 for a normal four-year term.
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For background, read “Lewis County Clerk Brack stepping down” from Wednesday September 14, 2016, here

Updated at 11:30 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two Centralia trick-or-treaters were hospitalized last night after having a reaction, possibly to candy they consumed and police are investigating.

Medics were called just after 9 p.m., to the 1100 block of South Pearl Street where a pair of 13-year-old girls felt sick to their stomachs and had a couple other symptoms, according to the Centralia Police Department.

The teens were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to police. Police responded and took the candy as a precaution, Officer Mike Lowrey said.

Lowrey said they don’t yet know for sure if the sickness was related to the treats. And he didn’t know specifically what was the candy they had eaten.

“Better safe than sorry,” Lowrey said.

The police department hasn’t yet heard back this morning from the patients about what they found out when they were examined, he said.

Further information from the police department this morning indicates the girls told police they only trick-or-treated at one residence and an officer spoke to the occupants there.

“(T)he candy they were giving out was apparently store bought and did not appear to be tampered with,” detective John Panco wrote in a news release. “Despite this, the resident voluntarily surrendered the candy.”

Hospital treatment providers found nothing that suggested an immediate public health concern, and as of this morning, it doesn’t seem as though the girls were intentionally exposed to any harmful substance, according to Panco.

However, medical treatment records have been requested by the police. If necessary the candy will be tested, depending on the outcome of any medical findings, according to Panco.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – KIMAtv.com reports a Tacoma man confessed to park rangers near Randle yesterday he’d killed his wife near Clear Creek Falls east of White Pass after she admitted to having an affair.

News reporter Sarah Worthington writes that deputies with the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said the woman’s body was found around 12:45 p.m. with severe upper body trauma and the 38-year-old suspect was booked into Yakima County Jail.

The Yakima Herald-Republic writes the Clear Creek Falls Overlook, a scenic viewpoint off Highway 12, is about two and a half miles east of the summit of White Pass.

Read more about it here

Flames rise from Valley View Health Center in Winlock / Courtesy image from Zachary Wichert

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A fire investigator is expected this morning to start looking through the remains of a Winlock medical clinic to find what sparked an overnight fire.

It was called in by a passerby about 2 a.m. today, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.

A crew arriving four minutes later to the 600 block of Cemetery Road found the the single-story building well-involved with flames, Firefighter Patrick Jacobson said.

“We just began extinguishing the fire, a defensive position, because of the amount of fire and the roof was collapsing” Jacobson said.

They were joined by personnel from fire departments in Napavine, Toledo and Vader, he said, and got it under control within about 40 minutes.

Valley View Health Center won’t be re-opening anytime soon.

“It’s definitely a total loss,” Jacobson said. “We were able to save like the waiting room area and reception area, but it’s not going to be salvageable.”

Jacobson said nobody was injured.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday that tips from the public led to the identification of two primary suspects in the death of the teenager whose body was found last week northwest of Littlerock in Capitol Forest.

Department spokesperson Sgt. Carla Carter indicates they are Vince Garlock, 29, and Jonathan Bartosek, 31.

Dakota Tyree Walker, 18, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds in the brush off Waddell Creek Road Southwest near the entrance to Margaret McKenny Campground, on Oct. 20.

The two men are being held in the Thurston County Jail without bail on charges of first-degree aggravated murder. They were arrested on Wednesday.

The investigation revealed the suspects and the victim arrived in Thurston County in August where they engaged in criminal activity, according to the sheriff’s office.

Bartosek was in a domestic relationship with the victim, according to Carter. The culmination of the criminal activity and the domestic relationship ultimately led to Dakota’s murder, Carter wrote in a news release.

The Thurston County coroner indicated earlier this week Walker is from Los Angeles, but Carter said he is from Ohio.

Carter said the suspects are from Pennsylvania. Bartosek has various aliases including Jonathan Ackerman, David Capron and is known locally as Joey Caprone, she wrote. The jail roster shows Capron is also being by the U.S. Marshal Service for escape.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information is asked to contact the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
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For background, read “News brief: Body found in Capitol Forest is California teenager” from Wednesday October 26, 2016, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Cinebar family is displaced after a fire raced through a carport, a garage and into their home yesterday while they were away.

The first firefighter responding to the approximately 2:25 p.m. call to the 200 block of Calvin Road found the carport containing a camper trailer “pretty much fully involved” in flames, according to Lewis County Fire District 8. That firefighter lives just down the road, according to  Chief Duran McDaniel.

McDaniel said by the time he arrived on the engine, the blaze had swept through a double garage and was beginning to burn the west wall of the modular home.

“We concentrated on saving the home,” he said. “I would say the house is a loss, we probably saved two-thirds of the contents.”

Nobody was hurt, he said.

A fire investigator and the sheriff’s office are looking into the cause.

Although the blaze was knocked down within about 15 minutes, a crew was on the scene until after 6 p.m. doing overhaul, McDaniel said.

“A big thanks to District 1 and District 3 for their backup,” he said. “It was a full central county response.”

McDaniel said he was grateful for a quick response from PUD as well. He needed the power shut off, but the meter bases were in the middle of the fire, he said.

McDaniel said the fire damage in the home was the worst in its laundry room and kitchen.