By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – In preparation for Thursday night’s gathering of neighbors and officials at Grays barn about a group of ex-convicts living together on Nix Road, Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield had two important meetings, he said.
Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield
One was on Wednesday when he went to Judy Chafin-Williams home in Chehalis to ask her to cooperate with him by providing a weekly list of all the individuals who live in her homes.
Chafin-Williams lives in Chehalis at House of the Rising Son, a former church she opened in 2006 to people who need help getting back on their feet. She manages it, the house at 110 Nix Road – that has neighbors so scared – and three others in Lewis County.
She said she was sick in bed with the measles as Mansfield and deputy Sgt. Rob Snaza met with her and understood his request, but didn’t agree to it.
“My fever was so high yesterday, I had a hard time comprehending everything,” Chafin-Williams said on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, a dozen county employees – including elected officials, department heads and staff members – met for about an hour and brainstormed ways they might be able shut down the house on Nix Road.
Sheriff Mansfield asked for the meeting with the three county commissioners, since he, the county’s community development director and the county’s elected prosecutor have been looking for solutions for the issue, or problem, he said.
Following are some excerpts from their gathering in a back room of the Lewis County Board of Commissioners offices.
Sheriff Mansfield: Tells commissioners his office is collecting information, intelligence and has created a target file for all calls to the house.
Lewis County Commissioner Ron Averill: “As you recognize, we have a civil rights and civil liberties problem,” he said. “You can’t tell people they can’t do things that are legal.”
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer: Are they on wells?
Code Compliance Supervisor Bill Teitzel: “It’s only a matter of time before the septic systems fail.”
It was mentioned it has two or three bedrooms and a dining room used as a bedroom.
Community Development Director Bob Johnson: Notes building codes in which a bedroom must have a closet and a door that closes.
Houses are designed with two occupants per bedroom in mind, Johnson says. He says it’s not a single family use. Its occupants are not related.
Sheriff Mansfield: “I have a Hispanic family, they must have 10 people in their family,” he said. “But I’ve never had a call to that address.”
Prosecutor Meyer: “There’s a reason we don’t allow apartments on Nix Road, it’s not set up for that.”
Director of Public Health and Social Services Danette York: Says it is a commercial operation.
Johnson: “(They) have to have their water supply tested.”
Prosecutor Meyer: “We have to make sure to distinguish it from a bed and breakfast.”
Lewis County Commissioner Lee Grose: “If we want to attack this under code compliance issues, we are putting ourselves under scrutiny because we have multiple, hundreds of code compliance violations that we are not pursuing.” It’s going to raise a flag, he said.
Johnson: We don’t go out looking for violations, we respond to complaints. “We have a process.”
York: That’s not quite accurate. There’s only a process when we want to bring it to the commissioners to abate it, she says.
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Carter: What would the sanction be?
Teitzel: Advises they can look at the new ability to impose a $10,000 fine.
Prosecutor Meyer: Says he thinks everything is already in place under the current statutory scheme.
Carter: Asks about requiring a special use permit.
Johnson: Says someone needs to talk with legislators since Oregon has laws regulating how many sex offenders can live at one address.
Teitzel: “We probably have several tools we could utilize we don’t normally use.”
Prosecutor Meyer: “You need to bite into that bottom line, cause once it starts costing her money, it won’t be such a great idea.”
Sheriff Mansfield: “They are under intense enforcement pressure right now.”
Commissioner Averill: “You understand, we can’t throw people out of the county?”
Commissioner Grose: Tells them to start with a notice of violations, and then they can work on code revisions.
Johnson: A lien against the the property can be attached to the penalty.
Sheriff Mansfield: All you’ve got to do is place yourself in the next neighbor’s position.
York: Says she will find out if they applied for group home status.
Teitzel: Offers to craft the notice. Someone asks if it should be sent by certified letter.
Sheriff Mansfield: “We’ll serve it.”
•••
Read “Discord on Nix Road: Newest arrivals unwelcome” from Saturday March 3, 2012 at 4:37 p.m., here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
The most outspoken people against drug abuse and sex-crime are addicts and perverts behind closed doors.
Many of these “local officials” abuse alcohol and tobacco regularly. Yeah, it might be legal, but does the community need a “leader” who’s judgement is impaired at any time of the night or day?
I agree that conspiring against these folks is scary and I also think these people lost their right to freedom when they messes with our children! I also know thaose people let these cons into the home then be prepared to accept the issues and problems that come with them.
If it aint broken fix it till it is? WTF are these people doing? This is a serious waste of time, and resources @ the expense of Lewis County tax payers. Who likes sex offenders in the area? No one, but the reality is, they live all over. There might be 5 on the same block. Do you kick them all out, and chase them into the streets where their locations and behavior can not be accounted for? Get real! Theft and drugs are running rampant in Lewis County. Have you nothing better to do but sit and conspire to create problems for those who already have more than the average person? This is not an effective way to “reintergrate” offenders into society, and no good will come of it! I dont like them either, but they served their time for their crime! Leave them alone!!
OhForCryingOutLOUD! said: “sex offenses do not carry the death penalty.”
They should. If I had my way, all molesters and rapists would be executed. I would happily flip the switch if they’d let me.
I am thinking Judy Chafin-Williams has just solved her cash flow problem… bring on the lawsuit!
King Mansfield and his court have certainly stepped in it this time… Thank you, Sharyn for keeping transparency in government. Perhaps this incident will help Mansfield learn the limits of his power. Oh, and remind him that he serves the ENTIRE county, not just former police officers and police union buddies like Bradd Reynolds. Indeed, the lack of intelligent solutions in that entire meeting is appalling.
The sex offenders are released to county of origin by Department of Corrections, they are here whether Mansfield likes it or not (sex offenses do not carry the death penalty, if Mansfield REALLY wants them gone, he should lobby to change that or learn how to work within the existing law!)…. having them be homeless and unaccountable helps the neighbor on Nix road while the rest of us can watch as these fellows become roommates in other other homes and neighborhoods throughout the county.
Indeed, taking a run at these fellow’s in this fashion will in the long run just make the situation more advantageous for them. The harassment suite that would be sure to follow all this bravado, could be A) costly B)Limit the law enforcement’s powers, should a court find that a persons civil rights have been violated. Now is that what everybody want’s? A sex offender with a one up on law enforcement? You would think people well versed in the laws of the land would take this into consideration.
At least we know where they are this way. There are two more with a mile of the place, do people know that? Winlocks got like a bunch of them, they are everywhere. Seems like we WANT them in a place we can watch them.
Welcome to LEWIS COUNTY! Where if we don’t like you, we will do everything in our power to single you out and make your life living hell, even if you ARE trying to do it with the power if God. But, we don’t know that because we are on a witch hunt now…..
To Ron Averill, for stating the obvious. If I were advising the owner of the home, I would tell her to get an attorney on board to file a civil rights violation the instant something happens to them. There is already public information that they (Sheriff and Prosecutor) intend to do just that by selective enforcement.
This is very disturbing. Nobody, including myself, really wants these homes in their neighborhood. But I find it quite disturbing that this proactive “let’s dig, dig, dig until we find a way to shut it down” action is going on in our local government.
Isn’t this vigilantism? Aren’t we as a society beyond this?
I agree that the building must be used to code and not overloaded beyond it’s reasonable capacity. And I agree that if illegal activity is taking place, something must be done… maybe even shut down if the owners have knowledge of it and are looking the other way. I agree that if there are questionable activities it should be investigated. But to simply say we are going to find a way to shut these people down because we’re afraid of the unknown is completely wrong.
Why not get yourselves acquainted with these people and WORK with them? So much positive could be accomplished by you and your families… turn this into a learning and forward thinking experience…. work to improve the quality of your community and the people in it…. give others a fair chance to prove themselves and become productive.
I live in a diverse neighborhood. I’m so happy I have neighbors that work together, look out for each other and accept one another… so long as respect is displayed from all directions. — even though we don’t all have the same values and we don’t always see eye-to-eye, we all get along.
And by the way, I note that the Lewis County Sex Offender Registration website lists some in my neighborhood (and some addresses even have more than one offender — similar to your neighbors). Am I uneasy about it? Sure, I am. But I’m not running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get them thrown out.
So how do you balance helping someone to get back on their feet against the communities need for feeling secure in their homes and property? I don’t know where that line is.
While I appreciate law enforcement’s efforts to be proactive, I also find something that makes me a little uneasy about local leaders conspiring against a group before a crime is committed, using criteria that are ignored in other places in our county.
Again, I don’t know where that line should be.