Archive for February, 2011

News brief: Afternoon fire damages rural Chehalis home

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The cause of a house fire this afternoon off state Route 508 south of Chehalis is not yet determined but appears to have started next to a fireplace.

Lewis County Fire District 5 was joined by firefighters from District 6, District 1 and the Chehalis Fire Department to answer a call about 3:30 p.m. near Guerrier Road, according to District 5 Lt. Laura Hanson.

Hanson said nobody was home at the time but a passerby saw smoke and called 911.

Three pet cats were found safe, she said.

Firefighter Brad Bozarth said the man who lives there arrived and let them know he had cats. After the fire was knocked down, firefighters searched the house and found them hiding under a bed in a back bedroom, Bozarth said.

“They seemed fine, healthy, but scared,” he said.

The home is on the 700 block of state Route 508, about three miles east on Interstate 5.

Hanson said the damage was limited to roughly 20 percent of the house. She said both floors of the one and a half story home were affected with heavy damage to one side but not the other.

District 5 Chief Eric Linn attributed the “save” to the call from the passerby as well as the quick response from available units.

News brief: Onalaskan to plead guilty in teen alcohol poisoning case

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The 29-year-old man charged in the alcohol-poisoning death of Onalaska teenager Nickolas Barnes is scheduled to plead guilty tomorrow.

James W. Taylor was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the Sept. 2009 death of the 15-year-old, but is expected to plead guilty to second-degree assault, as well as furnishing liquor to minors and failing to summon assistance, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Elected prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said Taylor faces a possible sentence of somewhere between three and nine months in jail. The father of four could have been sent to prison for as long as 27 months if convicted on the original charges, prosecutors said when they first filed the case last October.

The Onalaska High School sophomore died on Sept. 21, 2009, after playing drinking games with vodka at an underage party in Taylor’s Onalaska home, according to charging documents.

Charging documents say after Nickolas and a 16-year-old boy downed more than 11 shots of vodka, Nickolas passed out in the front yard, where his friends removed his clothes and wrote on his body with a black marker.

Prosecutors alleged Taylor told the teenagers to “let him sleep it off.”

Newly elected Prosecutor Meyer said today he didn’t think, but wasn’t certain, any of the eight other teenagers at the party were charged with failing to summon assistance.

Taylor is set to appear before Judge Richard Brosey tomorrow morning in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.

•••

Read background on the case “Remembering Nickolas Barnes” from Thursday Sept. 23, 2010 here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

CENTRALIA MAN SOUGHT FOR ASSAULT AND KIDNAP ATTEMPT

• Law enforcement officers are looking for a 29-year-old man who allegedly barged into his ex-girlfriend’s Rochester home, beat her up and dragged her out of the house by her hair last night. The 24-year-old woman escaped as he was walking her away from her home, and she fled to her mother’s house, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Juan Epifanio Mejia, 29, of Centralia, is wanted on suspicion of second-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary, sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said today. Elwin said it happened between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the 7500 block of 191st Avenue Southwest. The pair were reportedly arguing about their relationship when Mejia “went crazy” punching the woman in the face several times, Elwin said. He didn’t know where Mejia was taking her, but said the couple was stopped briefly outside by a passing deputy who saw they were holding hands, and was told by Mejia “everything’s okay”. Then Mejia fled, Elwin said. That was about 10 p.m., according to Elwin. Her neighbors called 911 about midnight to report her missing and she was contacted at her mother’s house, he said.

HOMELESS MAN ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING OFFICER

• Centralia police used their Taser on a 57-year-old homeless man who reportedly threatened to assault and then charged an officer early yesterday morning near Harrison Avenue and Interstate 5. David R. Anderson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree assault after the approximately 3:20 a.m. incident. Further details were not readily available.

MAN FLEES DEPUTY ON STOLEN MOTORCYCLE

• A stolen motorcycle was recovered and a 37-year-old Glenoma man arrested after a chase in the Randle area on Saturday afternoon, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy tried to stop a 2003 Suzuki Volusia Intruder traveling 65 mph in a 35 mph zone about 2:30 p.m. but the driver fled into a residence on the 800 block of Cline Road, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown. Jake N. Dunaway, 37, was subsequently contacted there and then booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle, driving without a license and other offenses, Brown said.

MAN HIT BY VEHICLE IN CHEHALIS

• Police and aid were called about 6 p.m. on Friday by a man who said he’d been hit by a car near Safeway on South Market Boulevard in Chehalis and hurt his leg. The driver reportedly took the man home about six blocks away and then left, according to police. The man was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital to be evaluated.

DRUGS

• A pair of Marysville teenagers were arrested in Centralia just before 3 o’clock this morning and one of them was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of Ecstacy, according to police. Jordan T. Godsey, 19, was jailed and Chloe A. Kaehukaiopuaena, 19, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the Centralia Police Department. Kaehukaiopuaena was released after the contact with an officer near the northbound onramp from Harrison Avenue onto Interstate 5, according to police.

VEHICLE PROWLS

• Sometime between 11 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday somebody prowled a car in a driveway on the 100 block of Dieckman Road in Adna, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A neighbor’s Honda car was broken into the during the same time period, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown reported this morning. From that car, an estimated $350 of CDs were taken, according to Brown.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called just before 3 a.m. today about the rear window of a vehicle being smashed out at the 600 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

HONDA STOLEN FROM WINLOCK FOUND STRIPPED OF WHEELS IN PORTLAND

• Lewis County detectives are looking for information about a white 1993 Honda stolen from Winlock car lot on the 400 block of Hart Road on Jan. 22 and then found on Jan. 31 in Portland missing its wheels and tires. The loss is estimated at more than $2,000. Anyone with information is asked to call Lewis County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-748-6422.

News brief: District 6 fire chief steps down

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Bud Goodwillie today said he resigned two weeks ago from the rural Chehalis fire district he became chief of three and a half years ago.

Goodwillie offered no details on the reason for his departure.

Lewis County Fire District 6 operates with one full time employee, the chief. He was paid $72,000 a year.

The district has a volunteer assistant chief, 35 to 40 other volunteers and several part-time paramedics, firefighters and EMTs, according to Goodwillie.

He said his understanding was longtime volunteer Steve Lux is acting as interim chief.

“I wish the best for that fire department, it has good potential,” Goodwillie said this afternoon.

Goodwillie, 55, left his position as a captain with Centralia’s Lewis County Fire District 12 to take the chief job in August 2007. He said he’s looking at “different areas to venture into.”

District 6 is one of four local fire agencies exploring the idea of creating a “super” fire department along the I-5 corridor in the northern half of Lewis County.

Calls to two of the district’s three fire commissioners to ask about the change weren’t immediately returned today.

Update Wednesday Feb. 23, 2011 at 8:30 a.m.: Greg Pulver, chair of the board of fire commissioners, sent a news release about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night saying Goodwillie resigned and Lux will serve as interim chief while the district seeks a replacement.

About the news: We’re not fancy, but do have some cool new stuff

Monday, February 21st, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Greetings readers.

I’ve added a couple more features to help make Lewis County Sirens an even more useful place to bookmark if you like to be on top of the news.

“Latest earthquakes” is a link I use to initially get the most current information when the ground shakes and “Registered sex offender search” is a resource for anyone who wants to stay informed in that regard.

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network’s website offers a colored square on a map within moments of tremblers; red for within the past two hours, blue for the previous two days and yellow for the prior two weeks.

Clicking on a square will show you the magnitude, time, location and depth, details that at first are preliminary but get updated by scientists at the seismic laboratory at the University of Washington.

If you check there regularly, you’ll see fairly frequent small earthquakes occur in the area south of Mossyrock.

If you look now, you’ll see there was another “micro” earthquake just before 2 p.m. Saturday in between Morton and the volcano in what they call the St. Helen’s seismic zone. Remember, last Monday seismologists were saying that 4.3 quake and the aftershocks were in a zone with crustal faults that just happened to be close – about six miles northwest – to Mount St. Helens, but were not under the mountain.

Oh look. Just before 6:30 p.m. on Saturday a micro earthquake was recorded less than a mile from the volcano. Hmm. Time to check what the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash. says about this. It was 2.0 and less than a mile deep, according to the seismic network.

Anyhow, if you feel the earth move, checking that site is a good next move.

Uh, also please think about calling or emailing me right away if it’s more than micro, as I may not have felt it.

Another resource I added under “Other useful web links” on the right hand side of Lewis County Sirens is the offender search, in which you can look at counties around the state, including Lewis, Thurston, Cowlitz and Grays Harbor.

To look up registered sex offenders living within a specified radius from your home, work or school, click on your county. There, you can also find safety tips and other information, as well as register to receive email alerts if a new offender registers with an address near you.

There’s a place to search by name as well as another place labeled “view all offenders” in a county. Keep in mind, those who have never gotten in trouble with the law aren’t going to be required to register, so you won’t see them there. And I’m not sure as I haven’t explored it thoroughly, but you may not find level one registered sex offenders listed.

Both those links are newly added to Lewis County Sirens’ home page, where you can also find links to monitor river levels and weather conditions to get an early heads up when storms threaten, find out who’s in jail and see summaries of court cases, as well as check in with free-to-read newspapers surrounding Lewis County.

Also sort of new on Lewis County Sirens is a Facebook link, so you can go to our Facebook group page and add LC Sirens as your friend.

Lots of you already know this, but if you “friend” the page – with that little square brown “join” button – then whenever I post a news item, my headline and an excerpt will pop up on your Facebook home page news feed.

If you don’t already belong to Facebook, well, you have to join first.

Not so new, but still important is the “donate” button on Lewis County Sirens.

If you like what you’ve been reading here since last June, and think an independent local news site is a valuable resource, consider helping support Lewis County Sirens.

When I launched this news site, a former executive editor who was very enthusiastic about the idea suggested to me such local news sites could probably only be sustainable by tapping into multiple revenue streams.

And I think he is right about that.

It’s super easy to contribute. Just click on the yellow button and it will take you to PayPal, a secure site to send money through.

If giving money electronically makes you uncomfortable, Lewis County Sirens’ mailing address can be found on the right sidebar under “Contact us at Lewis County Sirens”.

I remain dedicated to maybe not having the fanciest news site, but bringing readers news daily and when it happens of crime, police, fire and courts in greater Lewis County.

For example, it was Lewis County Sirens on Christmas morning that brought you news that two buildings were burning in downtown Toledo, and then shared photographs and details of the devastating blaze through the holiday weekend.

It was Lewis County Sirens that brought you ongoing updates about rivers rising throughout a weekend in mid-December and another in mid-January.

And it was here last month that you could follow the trial of a Rochester drug dealer and the details of threats, assaults and eventually a fatal shooting that came after his mobile home was robbed of pounds of methamphetamine.

The tale of Robert Maddaus Jr. wound through Centralia, Onalaska, Olympia and even into the trailer home of former Chehalis resident Robbie Russell whose own frequent encounters with the law are enough for a book.

Those are just some of the stories told first and most comprehensively here as they unfolded.

Lewis County Sirens’ readership continues to grow.

Last month, Lewis County Sirens tallied more than 83,000 page views. Local people who appreciate a reliable source for quality local journalism and want to keep current with what’s going on in their community.

Please consider a donation, or even a monthly contribution, to keep Lewis County Sirens here for you.

I’ve said this before, but you can also contribute to Lewis County Sirens’ success in other ways: If you come across a story here you like, share it with friends by sending them a link; if you know someone you think could benefit from advertising to a wide audience, let them know about a super affordable advertising opportunity.

As always, if you have a news tip, don’t hesitate to contact me.

And keep on reading.

Your news reporter,
Sharyn L. Decker
sharyn.decker@lewiscountysirens.com
360-748-4981 and 206-546-3638

Breaking news: Low-speed crash should not have killed Randle man on Highway 12, patrol says

Monday, February 21st, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Randle man who died when his car  hit a rock wall along U.S. Highway 12 near Packwood on Saturday has been identified as 62-year-old Donald G. Diemert.

The Washington State Patrol initially reported his age was 63.

Troopers called just before 11 p.m. Saturday reported Diemert was heading westbound when his car struck a guard rail along the right shoulder and then traveled back across three lanes to run head-on into the rock wall on the opposite side of the highway.

It happened about six miles east of Packwood near the state Route 123 cutoff.

A black Labrador dog in the car with Diemert survived the wreck, according to the Washington State Patrol.

State Patrol Sgt. Jason Ashley said it was not a high speed collision and they’ve order an autopsy as they investigate the cause.

“The dynamics didn’t really show he should have succumbed,” Ashley said. “We’re not really sure what happened.”

The passenger compartment wasn’t compromised, although there was some front end damage to the 1994 Pontiac Grand Am, according to Ashley.

It may have been a medical issue, he said. It’s unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved, according to the state patrol.

Diemert was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt.

Read about skiers rescued after spending night at White Pass …

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports a pair of Seattle men were found in good condition following an overnight search at the White Pass ski area.

News reporter Phil Ferolito writes a search helicopter from King County spotted a fire the skiers built a fire to stay warm.

Read Ferolito’s story here