Food on stove ignites Centralia home

October 10th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A family on the 500 block of Hemlock Street in Centralia is displaced after a house fire yesterday evening that started on a stove top.

Firefighters called about 6:15 p.m. found heavy smoke coming from the eves of the two-story house, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The occupants had stepped out briefly while preparing dinner, according to Assistant Fire Chief Rick Mack.

Mack estimated the damage at about $50,000.

“The structural damage was limited,” Mack said. “Mostly it’s all the kitchen cabinets and counter tops.”

However, most of the contents of the home were damaged or destroyed by heavy smoke and heat, Mack said.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

October 9th, 2012

BOOZE RUN

• Chehalis police were called about 4:50 p.m. on Saturday to a report a young kid ran out of a store on the 1100 block of South Market Boulevard with a bottle of vodka.

BIRD CALL

• Chehalis police were called on Friday morning to a report from Southeast Dobson Court where a female said she had a small bird stuck on a flypaper strip, which was injured.

BOOZE ROLL

• A 29-year-old Centralia man was arrested for driving under the influence when his vehicle left the roadway and landed on its top in a ditch along the 300 block of North Gold Street in Centralia early this morning. Officers called about 1:30 a.m. to the scene noted Justin T. Bresee and his passenger had only minor injuries.

VEHICLE VERSUS POLE

• Centralia police were called to a minor injury collision just before 7 o’clock this morning when a vehicle ran into a utility pole on the 1600 block of Cooks Hill Road causing power lines to fall to the ground.

‘AWW, SHOOT’

• A sheriff’s deputy was called about 1 p.m. yesterday when a woman who followed a semi truck off the freeway to talk to the driver about a piece of rubber that flew off his truck pulled in behind him at National Frozen Foods in Chehalis and promptly found the big rig backing into the front of her Honda Civic. The 69-year-old woman from Vancouver said the debris had struck her vehicle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The driver of the Freightliner didn’t see her car when he backed to back up to straighten out his trailer, the sheriff’s office reported. No one was injured. The combined damage – to the Honda – was not yet known, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

NATIONAL FOREST FIRE WATCH

• Officials reported today that 70 personnel are working to stop the forest fire south of Packwood that began on a ridge called South Point. They are preparing Forest Service Road 2115 as a containment line between the blaze and Packwood, according to Gifford Pinchot National Forest spokesperson Ken Sandusky. The fire grew over the weekend to about 250 acres due to winds, according to the Forest Service. Sandusky noted 36 people are assigned to a fire in what he called the Mineral Block, which is now about 50 percent contained. Also in the Gifford Pinchot, some 229 people are working an ongoing fire on the southwest side of Mount Adams that has burned more than 20,000 acres. That blaze, dubbed the Cascade Creek Fire, showed no significant growth  yesterday, Sandusky reported.

RAIN COMING

• The Washington State Patrol is reminding motorists that with the coming rain will be extra slick roadways. Oils and various lubricants which have dripped from vehicles all summer long will be released once it rains and will spread over the roads, Trooper Guy Gill says. Gill recommends slowing down and increasing following distance to avoid wrecks. Driving too fast for road conditions is the most common driver error troopers see in collisions, according to Gill. The National Weather Service reports showers are likely on Friday from Pe Ell to Packwood.

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News brief: Centralia toddler homicide by abuse trial to last a week

October 9th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – James M. Reeder, now 26, appeared briefly in court today when lawyers apprised the judge of their progress in preparation for a trial in the death of 2-year-old Koralynn Fister.

Prosecutors allege Reeder tortured and raped his live-in girlfriend’s youngest daughter in their Centralia home. Reeder was arrested May 24 after he claimed he found her face down in the bathtub.

Defense attorney David Arcuri and Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead told the judge they thought the trial would last seven days. It is set for the week of January 28.

Reeder is charged in Lewis County Superior Court with homicide by abuse, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree child rape and possession of methamphetamine.

He has pleaded not guilty.
•••

For background, read “Defendant in Centralia toddler death by abuse case pleads not guilty” from Thursday July 12, 2012, here

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Breaking news: Dehydrated, exhausted mushroom picker found walking near searchers’ camp near Randle

October 9th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Search and rescue teams are rejoicing with the family of 79-year-old Tacoma resident Dapeng Yang who was located this afternoon alive and well after spending 48 hours lost in the woods south of Randle.

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Dapeng Yang

Yang was found about 2 p.m. walking near Forest Service Road 26, within a mile of the searchers’ base camp, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

“He is in good condition and will be transported by ambulance to Morton General Hospital for treatment of dehydration,” Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said in a news release. “He is exhausted but did not have any signs of obvious injuries.”

Yang got separated from his family on Sunday morning as they gathered mushrooms in the forest.

Brown said it’s unknown why he did not respond to searchers calling his name and blowing whistles.

She had said previously there was a language barrier with those who reported him missing, as they were speaking Chinese.

His two female family members looked for him on Sunday and called for help that afternoon.

The area is heavily wooded, about 10 miles south of Randle, according to Brown.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield issued a statement expressing how pleased searchers are about the outcome.

“This is an incredible ending. Neither this mans’ family nor our search and rescue team gave up hope,” Mansfield said in the  news release. “Our teams worked tirelessly for the last 48 hours in hopes of finding this man alive. We are very pleased that the mission turned out in such a positive manner.”

More than 30 volunteer searchers with horses, Jeeps, dogs and ham radios joined the effort from Lewis, Thurston, Cowlitz and other Western Washington counties.

•••

For background, read: “Tacoma man missing from mushroom gathering outing south of Randle” from Monday October 8, 2012 at 8:40 a.m., here

See video when Yang spoke with KING5.com after he returned to his Tacoma home, here

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Search continues for missing mushroom picker near Randle

October 9th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A second night fell with no sign of a 79-year-old Tacoma man who vanished while gathering mushrooms in the forests south of Randle.

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Dapeng Yang

Dapeng Yang is an experienced hiker and isn’t believed to have any medical issues which would have contributed to him getting lost, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Searchers combed the area until dark last night and more than 30 individuals are looking for Yang again today, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

He and two female family members were in the area off Forest Road 26 near Strawberry Mountain picking mushrooms on Sunday.

They last saw him about 10:30 a.m. and called for help when he did not reappear by 3 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

It’s a heavily wooded area about 10 miles south of Randle, according to Brown.

The sheriff’s office says he was not prepared for an overnight stay, although he did have a backpack with water.

Multiple search and rescue teams from around Western Washington are assisting.
•••

For background, read: “Tacoma man missing from mushroom gathering outing south of Randle” from Monday October 8, 2012 at 8:40 a.m., here

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Rochester man accused of stealing more than $200,000 from employer

October 9th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 43-year-old Rochester man has been charged with theft from his employer, accused of diverting an estimated $230,000 from a discount building supply store in Rochester.

Larry Ledl is scheduled to make his plea in Thurston County Superior Court next Tuesday.

Ledl worked for VJs Bargain Barn, a business on the 6500 block of 198th Avenue Southwest, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

VJs had some concerns and hired an outside accountant to look over the books, sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said. The theft was discovered and the sheriff’s office began investigating in May, Elwin said.

Money was coming in but not getting to the bank, he said.

Ledl quit before he was arrested, according to Elwin. “He just didn’t show up for work one day,” he said.

“It sounds like he became aware he was the subject of this investigation pretty early on,” Elwin said.

Ledl was arrested on Sept. 28 and released on bail.

He was charged on Oct. 2 with first-degree theft, in connection with money missing between mid-2008 and July 31, 2011, according to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office. The charging includes an alternative of 22 counts of felony theft, according to Senior Deputy Prosecutor Mark Thompson.

Elwin said Ledl opened a similar business in Chehalis since the alleged theft; Builders Surplus Northwest.

An employee there yesterday said the owner – someone who is not Ledl – had no comment.

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News brief: Winds expand forest fire south of Packwood

October 9th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Forest Service was ramping up efforts yesterday after aggressively fighting a forest fire about 10 miles south of Packwood over the weekend, using helicopters to drop water on the flames.

The so-called South Point Fire has grown to more than 250 acres, as east winds contributed to higher fire behavior over the past couple of days, according to a news release Monday from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

“Most of the fire spread has been to the southeast, away from town, so it still seems unlikely this fire will move off forest or threaten the community of Packwood,”  District Ranger Garr Abbas said in the news release.

Conditions including rough terrain has kept personnel from fighting the fire on the ground, according to Abbas.

On the east side, the fire is reaching toward the bottom of the Johnson Creek drainage near Forest Road 3115, according to the Forest Service.

Forest Road 21 is closed temporarily to facilitate their suppression efforts.

Abbas noted they are working with the Packwood Fire Department to schedule another community meeting at their station at 7 p.m. on Wednesday to help keep the public informed.

Officials have said they believe the fire was sparked in early September by lightening.

A new fire began over the weekend in the Mineral block of the National Forest that was measured yesterday afternoon at about five acres, but is roughly 65 percent contained and was expected to be fully contained by today, according to Abbas. The new fire presents no known threat to the public or adjacent landowners currently, he stated.

Hoped for shifting winds may help by bringing moister air and cooler temperatures, he noted.

•••

CORRECTION: This news story has been updated to correctly reflect the numbered name of the road near the Johnson Creek drainage.

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