Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

News brief: Local crews helping with huge Cle Elum wildfire

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
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Courtesy photo by West Thurston Regional Fire Authority

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Local firefighters from Napavine, Morton and Rochester have joined crews battling a wildfire near Cle Elum that has reportedly claimed 60 homes and more than 26,000 acres.

The wildfire that started about 1:20 p.m. yesterday is burning in sage and timber, according to the state fire marshal’s office.

Lewis County District 5 spokesperson Megan Van Egdom reports three personnel from the Napavine area department took a brush truck and a water tender when they headed east last night.

West Thurston Regional Fire Authority based in Rochester and Littlerock sent five people to assist, according to Chief Robert Scott.

A team from his department just returned after four days working a wildfire in Chelan County that ignited last weekend, Scott said.

The chief said he wants to assure local residents that even though he is sending people and apparatus out of the area, he still has resources in place here to protect the public.

The Seattle Times this morning reported some 600 firefighters are expected to be on the scene today of the fast moving fire that has prompted evacuations of more than 450 people.

It is located about six miles east of Cle Elum on state Route 10, Deputy State Fire Marshal Ed Borgatti said in a news release last night.

The fire is human caused, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.

Morton house fire displaces family of five

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Morton family is without a home today after a fire claimed their residence on the 200 block of Alder Avenue and one occupant is hospitalized.

Firefighters from Morton, Mossyrock and Glenoma battled the blaze that was reported about 6:20 this morning.

The single-story wood frame house was fully involved in flames when crews arrived, according to Lewis County Fire District 4.

Two adults and thee young children got themselves out, but one of the residents was taken to Morton General Hospital and then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to Firefighter-EMT Jeanine Armstrong.

“All we know is somebody got up to do something and they got everybody out,” Armstrong said.

She said she wasn’t sure if it smoke inhalation or what that affected the man who was hospitalized.

The Red Cross is assisting the family, she said.

The cause is under investigation.

“Unfortunately, it’s a total loss,” Armstrong said.

Breaking news: Home made explosive found on Winlock roadway

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Updated at 10:13 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies are in Winlock awaiting the arrival of a bomb squad after an improvised explosive device was found this morning laying on a roadway.

A motorcyclist called 911 about 7:15 a.m. after he spotted the cardboard tube with a burned fuse on the 100 block of Fisher Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

It is laying in the southbound lane and not near any homes, only a cattle field, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said, so no evacuations were necessary.

She described it as six inches long and two inches in diameter with epoxy caps and screws through the cardboard.

Update: Washington State Patrol bomb technicians detonated the device about 9:30 a.m.

More to come

News brief: Burn ban begins because of fire danger

Monday, August 13th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Substantial fire danger due to hot, dry weather prompted a burn ban that went into effect today in Lewis County.

Outdoor burning is prohibited except for recreational fires in approved receptacles, according to Lewis County Fire Marshal Fred Chapman.

The restrictions will remain in effect until further notice, according to Chapman.

Open burning is restricted in Thurston County as well.

Restrictions increased today for lands of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Prosecutors to ask state Supreme Court to overturn reversal of murder conviction

Monday, August 13th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Kenneth Slert will have to wait a while longer to find out if prosecutors will attempt for a fourth time to get a murder conviction to stick.

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office will petition the state Supreme Court in hopes of avoiding yet another trial in the case of a fatal campground shooting from almost a dozen years ago.

An appeals court last week remanded the case for a new trial for Slert. Slert was convicted of second-degree murder in the October 2000 death of 53-year-old John Benson, a truck driver and father of five from Eatonville.

Three times Slert has been found guilty in Lewis County Superior Court and three times the appeals court has overturned his convictions.

Most recently, the panel of judges said there was a violation of a public trial right and Slert’s right to be present at all times.

At issue is a closed door meeting between the judge and attorneys that led to four prospective jurors being excused during his most recent trial.

The former Tacoma man claimed self defense when he shot Benson twice following an evening of drinking and arguing over politics at a hunting camp off Skate Creek Road in East Lewis County.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer excused himself from the decision making process because he represented the former Tacoma man when he was a defense attorney.

Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Sara Beigh and Will Halstead were tasked with deciding whether to hold a new trial, not hold a new trial or petition the Supreme Court.

Beigh today said the office will ask the state Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision.

There are a lot of cases on hold regarding a similar issue, Beigh said.

“We’re hoping at least a decision to stay the decision until the court decides that issue,” she said.

Th office has until early next month to file its petition and then it usually takes three to four months to get any type of response from the Supreme Court, she said.

Slert was sent to prison in mid-2004 and has been serving a sentence of a little more than 23 years.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, August 13th, 2012

OPEN GARAGE DOORS INVITE THIEVES

• An air compressor, two nail guns and other tools were stolen from a garage on the 3100 block of Ives Road in Centralia yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A 37-year-old man told a deputy he believed it occurred while his daughter was home and their garage door was open. The daughter said a man came knocking on the door asking for her father around noontime, according to the sheriff’s office. Images from a security camera show a silver SUV pulled into the driveway about 12:05 p.m. and two or three individuals took items the garage. They left at 12:08 p.m.

• A chain saw and a bicycle were stolen from a garage in Chehalis where the door was inadvertently left open overnight. An officer called Friday morning to the 700 block of Northwest New York Avenue subsequently learned the bike was recovered on the 200 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR GONE

• An 26-year-old woman at the 700 block of West Second Street in Centralia awoke this morning to discover her car was stolen in the night. Missing is a green 1997 Honda, according to the Centralia Police Department. The car had been locked and the keys were accounted for, police said.

TRUCK AND MOTORS GONE

• A white 1975 Chevrolet truck, two Oldsmobile motors and a carburetor were reported missing from property on the 2100 block of Wildwood Road in Curtis, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. The loss, estimated at $3,650, was reported on Friday and occurred sometime since July 1, according to the sheriff’s office.

BURGLARY ON LUCAS CREEK ROAD

• A chainsaw and a .22 rifle were reported stolen from the 700 block of Lucas Creek Road east of Chehalis. The thefts are believed to have occurred between 10:30 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. on Friday, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning.

DRUGS

• A traffic stop about 7:35 a.m. on Saturday at Fifth and Cedar streets in Toledo led to the arrest of a 41-year-old man for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, according to police. A police dog did a “walk around” and alerted on suspected drugs, according to Officer Samuel Patrick. The vehicle was searched and Michael J. Bartley was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Toledo Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 11 p.m. on Friday to the 200 block of Southwest Second Street in Chehalis where an individual found someone had broken their windshield. An officer suspects it might have been done with someone’s hand, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

LUCKY SLEEPY DRIVER

• A 49-year-old Lacey man was cited for negligent driving after he fell asleep yesterday afternoon with a 1-year-old passenger and ran off the road into a mailbox and some bushes at the 2300 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. A deputy called about 5:15 p.m. noted the man’s 1999 Saturn was totaled but both patients’ injuries were such they were simply treated at the scene.

TWO VEHICLE CRASH ON I-5

• Three individuals were hospitalized after a rear-end collision on Interstate 5 near Vader yesterday afternoon that knocked a car into the concrete barrier and then caused it to roll onto its top. Both vehicles were totaled during the approximately 2:20 p.m. wreck in the northbound lanes near milepost 60, according to the Washington State Patrol. The state patrol ticketed Lauren G. Sullivan, 18, of Rochester for going too fast. Sullivan’s Toyota Camry struck the rear of a Kia Sorento carrying a couple from Victoria B.C., according to the state patrol. All three were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital as a precautionary measure, according to the responding trooper.

CHEHALIS MOTORCYCLIST AIRLIFTED AFTER WRECK

• A 73-year-old Chehalis man was airlifted after a motorcycle accident late Saturday afternoon in which he swerved to miss a dog and took out several wooden fence posts on the 700 block of North Fork Road east of Chehalis. Aid called about 7:40 p.m. found the man had “long bone fractures,” according to Lewis County Fire District 6. His Harley Davidson went through a ditch and came to rest in a driveway, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

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Personnel from Lewis County Fire District 6 and AMR load up their patient at a private air strip off Hewitt Road. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

News brief: Teen hikes five miles to get help for grandfather

Monday, August 13th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 64-year-old Mineral man was rescued after he was injured when he was thrown from his mule and his 14-year-old grandson hiked out to get help on Saturday outside of Packwood.

The sheriff’s office said the man was hurt on Friday at the northwest corner of Jug Lake and was unable to stand stand or get back on his mule. He was with his grandsons ages 9 and 14, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

The teenager hiked out about five miles the following morning to call for help, Brown said.

The man was airlifted to Tacoma General Hospital with potential injuries to his ribs and pelvis, according to Brown.