Archive for December, 2014

Transitions at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

Wednesday, December 31st, 2014

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The 38th sheriff of Lewis County was sworn in yesterday, although his term won’t begin until after the clock strikes midnight tonight.

Sheriff-elect Rob Snaza was among eight elected county officials who took part in the ceremony in the Historic Courthouse in Chehalis, administered by Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey.

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Sheriff-elect Rob Snaza

His twin brother, Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza was among those observing from the filled benches.

Also attending was the new undersheriff, Capt. Wes Rethwill, who retires from the Washington State Patrol today.

The sheriff-elect has known him some 20 years. Thurston Sheriff Snaza said he used to work for Rethwill, when Rethwill headed up a countywide drug task force.

Sheriff-elect Snaza has also said he’s chosen Deputy Bruce Kimsey, to serve as his chief criminal deputy. Current Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber will be doing something else in the office, Snaza has said.

Snaza, a Napavine area Republican, has said among his priorities are rooting out career criminals, continuing to run a no-frills jail and partnering with schools.

During some 20 years with the sheriff’s office, the now 49-year-old longtime sergeant has been SWAT leader and also supervisor of the  Lewis County Regional Crime Task Force.

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Sheriff Steve Mansfield

He announced his candidacy in the spring of last year, and not long afterward, was made spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, for a few months. Less than a month after he swept the August primary election, he was promoted to undersheriff.

Outgoing Sheriff Steve Mansfield was in the audience as well, and said he’d already cleaned out his office. He indicated he felt his successor was well-prepared to fill the new role.

Mansfield said he figured “they’d” probably come and get his car today, or maybe he’d drive it in, he said.

After two-plus terms as sheriff, the Winlock resident will soon step into a familiar role.

The three-member board of county commissioners yesterday selected Mansfield to manage the Department of Emergency Management.

The responsibility for the function has been with the sheriff’s office for more than a decade, and now is being handed back over to the commissioners.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, December 31st, 2014

BOY ROBBED ON STREET

• Chehalis police are looking for the person who stole a set of headphones right off a teenage boy’s head while he was out walking yesterday evening. An officer called about 7:40 p.m. learned it happened in the 200 block of Southwest 15th Street, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The 15-year-old boy was unhurt, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said.

MOTORBIKE STOLEN

• A deputy was called yesterday afternoon to the 8100 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Glenoma where a man said someone had taken his motorcycle from his front yard sometime since Sunday. Missing is a red 1982 Honda CT1108 valued at $750,  according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

MEDS MISSING

• Centralia police took a report yesterday from the 1500 block of South Gold Street from a woman regarding the theft of a half bottle of morphine pills.

HANDBAG TAKEN FROM LOCKER

• A purse was stolen from an employee locker area at Providence Centralia Hospital, according to a report made to police yesterday. It appeared the locker was opened with some sort of device or even a key, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BACKPACK LIFTED

• An individual who left his backpack with his bicycle outside a convenience store on the 500 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia called police when the pack was stolen yesterday. An officer called about 7 p.m. was told that among the items it contained were a wallet and food, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarms, collision on city street,  … and more.

Couple displaced by fire in Boistfort Valley

Wednesday, December 31st, 2014
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Flames light up the night sky on the 1100 block of Boistfort Road. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 13

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The cause of a house fire in the Boistfort Valley yesterday evening is being investigated today.

Nobody was home and no one was injured.

Firefighters were called just before 6 p.m. to the 1100 block of Boistfort Road, a mile or so south of the BawFaw Grange, according to Lewis County Fire District 13.

“I was one of the first units on the scene, and by the time we arrived, the structure was fully involved,” Fire Chief Kyle DePriest said.

Flames were already rising through the roof, he said.

Crews fought the blaze from the outside only, joined by members of Fire Districts 6 and 11, DePriest said.

He described the residence as a double-wide mobile or modular home, with wood siding.

The couple who live there were out to dinner in Chehalis, and returned while firefighters were still there. They had no ideas what could have ignited it, he said.

The structure is still standing, with heavy fire damage in its center, he said.

Firefighters were on the scene until about 1 a.m. An investigator will be heading out there today, he said.

L&I: Safety violations led to fatal explosion in Maytown

Tuesday, December 30th, 2014

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The state has fined a Maytown fireworks company $1,200 for safety violations that contributed to this summer’s deadly workplace accident

One employee was killed and two others injured after an explosion at Entertainment Fireworks Inc. on Reeder Road on the morning of June 18.

They were outside preparing shells, inserting what the fire department called electronic matches.

The state Department of Labor and Industries report concluded the workers were not following the safety requirements for connecting the igniters, also known as “squibbing”.

“The employer did not establish, supervise and enforce their accident prevention program in a manner that is effective in practice,” the L&I inspector wrote of the serious violation.

Exactly what they did or did not do is not specified, but the rules refer to limiting the amount of pyro materials present during the process and specify how the personnel should all work on one side of the table facing the same direction.

A witness estimated he heard and saw about 15 commercial fireworks explode at about roof level of the buildings.

Bill Hill, 75, died at the scene.

At the time, a spokesperson for L&I said the business had not had any safety complaints, incidents or inspections for a number of years.

Two other violations were found as well. The company could not provide documentation it held safety meetings for employees nor did they have training records for their two forklift operators.
•••

For background, read “Feds, state investigating fatal explosion at Maytown fireworks facility” from Thursday June 19, 2014, here

News brief: Snowshoer perishes on Mount Rainier

Tuesday, December 30th, 2014

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Search crews looking for a missing snowshoer on Mount Rainer located his body yesterday next to Edith Creek in the Paradise area.

The 37-year-old man from Puyallup disappeared during Saturday evening’s winter storm that dropped 20 inches of snow in 48 hours.

Mount Rainier National Park spokesperson Patti Wold reported in a news release the Pierce County medical examiner would make the formal identification; the Associated Press reports today he is Louis Landry of Puyallup.

According to Wold, Landry was forced to descend because of severe conditions and was taken into a shelter by another party, but the shelter was destroyed and they became separated as they headed to Paradise.
•••

For background, read “News brief: Puyallup man missing in Paradise backcountry” from Monday December 29, 2014, here

News brief: Oakville motorist injured on U.S. Highway 12

Tuesday, December 30th, 2014
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U.S. Highway 12 near Oakville is blocked as troopers investigate collision.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 63-year-old Oakville man was injured when his PT Cruiser was struck by a big rig on U.S. Highway 12 near Oakville today.

Troopers called just before 1:30 p.m. report that Clifford W. Harris was approaching the highway from Blockhouse Road and failed to stop at the stop sign. An eastbound Kenworth tractor with two flatbed trailers struck his car’s driver’s side front, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Harris was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, according to the state patrol.

The road was blocked for an hour and 45 minutes.

The truck driver, Dale R. Long, 45, from Kelso, was unhurt, according to the investigating trooper.

Harris is to be issued a citation for failure to yield. His car was totaled.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, December 30th, 2014

STRANGER BREAKS DOOR, COMES INSIDE

• Chehalis police say a resident on the 300 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue reported he was in his room yesterday morning when he heard a noise and then his door opened and a male he did not recognize was standing there. An officer called about 11:45 a.m. found the front door open and broken from its frame, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The resident said the intruder left quickly and it wasn’t clear if anything was missing from the home, according to police. The intruder is described as a white male who appeared to be in his early to mid 20s, with a short, full-faced beard and wearing a black beanie cap,  department spokesperson Linda Bailey said.

MAN ON GROUND KICKED

• A 24-year-old Centralia man was arrested for fourth-degree assault yesterday after he allegedly kicked a 51-year-old homeless man who was sleeping behind a church on the 400 block of North Tower Avenue. Officers responding about 4 p.m. learned the suspect then rode off on his bicycle, but he, Lucas D. Bryan, was subsequently located, issued his citation and then released, according to the Centralia Police Department.

TRICKED ON CRAIGSLIST

• Centralia police were called yesterday to the 1500 block of South Gold Street by a 43-year-old man who had been trying to sell roof trusses on Craigslist and lost some $2,000 in the process. He received a check from a supposed purchaser for more than his asking price and returned the difference to the supposed buyer, according to the Centralia Police Department. The original check was bad, according to police. The “buyer” didn’t pick up the trusses, so the victim didn’t lose those, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said.

FRAUD

• Centralia police took a report from an individual at the 300 block of North Tower Avenue yesterday regarding unauthorized expenditures that appeared on their account following the loss of a debit card.

DENTIST’S TOOLS SPIRITED AWAY

• Police were called to Valley View Medical Center on Northeast Kresky Avenue in Chehalis, where a patient was seen by an employee allegedly leaving with some dental instruments. He denied taking them, but a citation for third-degree theft will be issued to Stanley  A. J. Pesicka, 31, of Onalaska, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• A Stihl chainsaw with an 18-inch bar is missing after a break-in to a business on the 2500 block of Sandra Avenue in Centralia. It happened sometime between Friday and yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BURGLARY CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police took a report about 5:30 p.m. from an individual at the 300 block of Southwest Third Street from an individual who said they returned home from going out to dinner and discovered medication including oxycodone missing from the unlocked apartment.

PARCELS STOLEN OFF PORCH

• Centralia police were called yesterday morning to the 2800 block of Russell Road where a resident reported the theft of packages from their front porch. Missing are a remote control car, airplane and a doll, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WRECKS

• No serious injuries resulted but firefighters and medics responded around 6 o’clock yesterday morning to a two-vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 12 near Kiser Road and then to the area near Larmon Road where a responding trooper lost control of his car because of icy conditions. The trooper’s vehicle left the highway to the right, entered a ditch and struck a sign, according to the Washington State Patrol. Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said he was told by his crew it was so icy, it was even difficult to stand up on the pavement.

• Two people were injured in a six-vehicle collision yesterday on Interstate 5 just south of Woodland that included a 43-year-old Toledo man driving a Freightliner with two trailers carrying chickens, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers called at 3:30 p.m. report a pickup truck lost control trying to avoid traffic in the left lane that was out with a loose dog and when the pickup truck came to rest, it was hit by a semi truck. Three vehicles that slowed were then struck by the Freightliner driven by Robert L. York, of Toledo, according to the state patrol. York was cited for following too closely and going too fast, the investigating trooper reports. The northbound lanes were partially blocked for several hours. The (Vancouver) Columbian reports 50 to 60 chickens got loose when some of the crates hauled by York broke open and had to be rounded up.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, obstructing; responses for alarms, suspicious circumstances … and more.