Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Who wants to see SWAT team equipment up close? Meet a search and rescue dog? Watch firefighters use their extrication tool?

For those curious about emergency responders and the work they do, all that and more can be found in one place tomorrow, in the parking lot of Bethel Church of the Assemblies of God in Napavine.

The public is invited to the four-hour gathering to meet and interact with the many different first responders serving the citizens of Lewis County.

“This event is an opportunity for the community to meet their first responders, see the equipment they use, ask questions, see demonstrations, and interact with the people and agencies that make Lewis County a safer place to live,” Lewis County Sheriff Robert Snaza states in a news release.

It runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. They’re calling it a First Responders Day, and it’s hosted by the sheriff’s office in partnership with numerous local public safety agencies and organizations.

Attendees can watch demonstrations by law enforcement of less lethal weapons, a police pursuit and a K-9 doing its thing, as well as personnel from a Life Flight helicopter in action.

Bethel Church is just east of Interstate 5 at exit 72 in Napavine.

Here is a tentative schedule:

10 a.m. – SWAT Team Equipment Demo
10:30 a.m. – Fire – Hurst Extrication Tool Demo
11 a.m. – Law Enforcement – Less Lethal Demo
11:30 a.m. – Staged Pursuit with Stop Stix Deployment, and K-9 Demo
12:30 p.m. – EMS – Life Flight Helicopter Demo
1 p.m. – SAR – Search Dog Demo
1:30 p.m. –   Q & A

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County District Court judges are proposing they stop holding court in East Lewis County.

Since 1974, the judges have been required to hold court at least once each month in Morton.

But Judges R.W. Buzzard and Wade Samuelson feel the time has come to end the half day sessions held in the Bob Lyle Community Center.

All the cases are non-criminal traffic violations, averaging about 20 on the schedule each month.

“The small number of people out there who get cited and want to go before a judge, they still can,” Buzzard said. “They can do it in Chehalis.”

The judge’s conversation came as they reviewed the possible change with the Lewis County Board of Commissioners yesterday. The board would have to take official action, after getting advice from a districting committee and also hold a public hearing.

The process could take up to a year, they said.

Samuelson told the commissioners many of the recipients of tickets are travelers and said there are some processes in place for those who don’t simply pay their ticket to deal with them by mail.

Among the reasons they gave for the idea were the costs of three individuals traveling in a county vehicle to a venue that’s lacking customary court security and the usual resources available in their courtrooms in Chehalis at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center.

Buzzard said it’s not fiscally responsible.

The cities of Morton, Mossyrock, Pe Ell and Toledo don’t have their own municipal courts, they contract with Lewis County District Court to handle their cases, according to Buzzard.

Commissioner Gary Stamper who represents that area of the county asked if District Court materials and information might be placed at Morton City Hall.

“I’m not opposed to it,” Stamper said. “I’d just want to make sure we have all our ducks lined up in a row.”

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 54-year-old man struck by a large limb while falling timber outside of Rochester this morning was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Centralia area firefighters called about 9:30 a.m. were joined by responders from West Thurston Regional Fire Authority, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The patient suffered a head injury, including a laceration to the back of his head, according to Firefighter Karl VonBargen.

He was carried on a backboard about 150 feet to a logging road and taken by ambulance to a helicopter landing zone off Nelson Road, according to VonBargen.

The injuries were described as serious.

Updated at 4:31 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Centralia motorist was injured when his car ran off Interstate 5, traveled down an embankment and caught fire last night in Cowlitz County.

Troopers called about 7:20 p.m. to the scene approximately four miles north of Woodland closed the southbound lanes so Life Flight could land, according to responders.

The Washington State Patrol reports Ronald E. Hickey, 55, was taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. His condition this afternoon was listed as critical, in the Legacy Oregon Burn Center, according to a hospital spokesperson.

His 2005 Buick LaSalle was totaled.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, according to the state patrol.

U.S. 101 was closed for about three hours this afternoon for a collision investigation. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An Onalaska family was hospitalized after a car pulled in front of their sport utility vehicle on U.S. Highway 101 three miles north of Shelton today.

Troopers called at 12:05 to the scene report the roadway was fully blocked for approximately three hours.

The driver of the car, a 20-year-old woman from Issaquah, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Christopher Moore, 47, was traveling northbound in a 2013 Ford Expedition pulling a flatbed trailer when the car from a side road pulled into his lane to go south on the highway, and they collided, according to the state patrol.

The trailer broke free and hit a southbound log truck, the investigating trooper reports.

Moore was transported to Mason General Hospital where he was treated and has been released, the state patrol reports.

His passengers, Gretchen Moore, 44, and Logan Moore, 11, were reportedly taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.

The cause of the wreck is under investigation.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 64-year-old Glenoma resident was injured last night when he wrecked his motorcycle on state Route 7 in Morton.

Troopers responding to the approximately 10:10 p.m. call found that Martin E. Sprinkle had been traveling southbound when he lost control in the gravel on the right shoulder. The 1993 Harley Davidson FLSTC came to rest in the southbound lane, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Sprinkle had been wearing a helmet, according to the state patrol. The wreck is blamed on inattention.

The investigating trooper reports he was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle,

Sprinkle is listed in serious condition in the intensive care unit this morning, a hospital spokesperson said.

Earlier in the day, a motorcyclist was hurt in a collision just west of Pe Ell.

Firefighters and medics were called at 12:05 p.m. to state Route 6 in or near the construction area at McCormick Road, according to Lewis County Fire District 11.

“I’m not certain if he got hit, but I think he got hit by a car,” Fire Chief Michael Krafczyk said this morning.

The chief said he wasn’t at the scene and had not yet been briefed on the incident.

The patient was transported to Pe Ell School where a helicopter met responders, and flew him to Harborview, according to Krafczyk.