Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 5:45 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An attorney speaking for Ron Reynolds and his now-grown son Jonathan Reynolds said a press conference with the two men might help them clear the cloud that’s been hanging over them for almost 13 years, especially after they were named last month by an inquest jury as responsible for the homicide of former trooper Ronda Reynolds in their Toledo home.

Ron Reynolds

That will happen tomorrow in the Olympia office of Cordes Brandt, attorneys at law.

Ronda Reynolds, 33, was preparing to leave her husband of less than a year when she was found with a bullet in her head, covered up by a turned-on electric blanket on the floor of a closet in their Toledo house. It was Dec. 16, 1998.

Ron Reynolds, principal of Toledo Elementary School, told deputies his wife committed suicide. His three sons, Jonathan, then 17, David, 14, and Joshua, 10, were allowed to leave as the first deputy arrived.

Olympia lawyer Rick Cordes said Ron Reynolds will be joined by his present wife and four of his five sons tomorrow.

Cordes will make some comments and he expects Ron Reynolds to speak, to present the Reynolds’ family point of view in some fashion.

Jonathan Reynolds

“I don’t know, I know he wants to say something – we’ve not rehearsed it – I don’t know that he knows exactly what he’s going to say,” Cordes said.

The attorney said he expects Jonathan Reynolds will answer questions, but won’t offer any prepared remarks.

“Not Jon, he’s the most vulnerable, and he’s just shy,” Cordes said. “He doesn’t want to get up in front of TV cameras.”

Nobody has been charged in the death, and the Lewis County prosecutor made it clear there is not enough admissible evidence to prosecute them criminally. The jury during last month’s coroner’s inquest was able to make its findings based only on a preponderance of evidence, a lesser standard than a criminal proceeding.

Newly elected Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said he held the inquest in an attempt to settle the controversial death.

Ron Reynolds’s then-attorney said his client lost his opportunity to clear his name when sheriff’s deputies neglected to perform gunpowder residue tests on him at the scene.

Ronda Reynolds

Initially labeled by the sheriff’s office and then-Coroner Terry Wilson to be a suicide, the manner of death has been changed repeatedly over the years back and forth between undetermined and suicide as it was reinvestigated, moved through a civil suit brought by Ronda Reynolds’ mother, Barb Thompson, and finally last month was deemed by the coroner to be a homicide.

The television show 48 Hours, chronicled the events during the inquest, and expect to air their story next spring.

The case was the subject for true crime writer Ann Rule’s book last year, that put forth a theory that Jonathan Reynolds or some of his friends were responsible.
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Read the most recent story, “Breaking news: Ron, Jonathan Reynolds arrested, and released” from Friday October 28, 2011, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

State auditors criticized Riverside Fire Authority for inadequate controls to verify that more than a half million dollars in radio equipment was used in accordance with the requirements of the grant which helped pay for them, according to a report released yesterday.

The fire department that protects Centralia and its surrounding area was responsible for administering the money that purchased communications equipment which was distributed among all fire districts in Lewis County in 2009.

The Washington State Auditor’s Office separately also made a finding that Riverside missed a federal deadline for an audit.

The two findings are related, Riverside Fire Authority Jim Walkowski said today.

“In order to submit your SEFA (Schedule of Expenditures for Federal Awards) you have to have the feds close out the grant, and the challenge was, the feds didn’t close it out,” Walkowski said. “When we realized that was going to happen, we contacted the auditor.”

In terms of the monitoring of the so-called sub-recipients of the equipment, Walkowski said Riverside neglected to list every requirement to the various fire districts.

There is no allegation of misappropriation of funds or equipment, Walkowski said.

The issue stems from an initiative from the Lewis County Fire Chief’s Association which helped secure a grant of $601,317 from FEMA, part of the Department of Homeland Security, according to the chief.

The new equipment to improve emergency communications between entities included about 300 portable radios, 90 mobile radios to go inside vehicles, 12 base stations and 39 mobile computers, Walkowski said, noting the particular numbers were not in front of him as he spoke.

Each fire district signed an agreement with Riverside about the responsibility for compliance with grant conditions, but upon being made aware of the deficiency, Riverside added further formal procedures to ensure compliance, according to the chief’s response to the auditor.

It was the first time Riverside had a federal grant which was passed through to sub-recipients.

More details and related issues can be found in the Washington State Auditor’s Office report.

Also released yesterday was a financial statements audit of Riverside for the year 2008 and a “close out” audit of Lewis County Fire District 12 for 2008.

District 12 and the Centralia Fire Department joined forces to create Riverside Fire Authority in early 2008.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

After longtime Toledo area Fire Commissioner Lorraine Spahr died last spring, both her husband and daughter-in-law decided they would try to fill the vacant position, although neither knew the other was interested.

Clark Spahr

Clark Spahr, 64, and Jacqui Spahr, 39, are both on the ballot for the fire commissioner race in Lewis County Fire District 2.

Both have roots in the fire service and both want to give their time to lead the district that protects some 98 square miles with less than 20 volunteer firefighters.

Clark Spahr thinks of it as a way to serve a community of people he’s come to care for very deeply following some 35 years of working as a volunteer firefighter.

“I figured with my background and experience, I could help the community a little longer,” he said.

The now-retired millwright joined the department in 1970, trained soon after to get certified as an emergency medical technician and worked his way through the ranks, even serving as chief in the early 1990s.

Way back when, his wife was his ambulance driver, and he recalls fondly those at the other end of the emergency calls, such as two different elderly couples who would phone the Spahrs at home when they needed help.

“In a way, it was a real compliment,” he said. “Instead of calling 911, they’d call Clark and Lorraine.”

Jacqui Spahr

Clark Spahr retired from the department in early 2006, and two years later, retired from Longview Fibre.

Now he’d like to like to get involved again with the fire district, to “make sure the bills are paid, the books are in the black and help the citizens get good service,” he said.

Jacqui Spahr, who married Steve Spahr, Clark Spahr’s son, and moved to Toledo in 1999, first got involved in firefighting as a high school student in Rainier, Wash.

When she was in her mid-20s, a close call during a structure fire caused her to hang up her turnout gear, but she then launched a fire auxiliary group for the department.

She attempted a run at commissioner after moving to Toledo, but after losing out to someone else, turned to raising her family.

Today, Jacqui Spahr works for the state Department of Natural Resources in Castle Rock, and has been part of its wild land firefighting system for the past decade.

This summer, she applied for the interim commissioner position and was selected to be commissioner until this week’s election, when she will find out if she continues.

Jacqui Spahr says she feels like she has to work a little harder in the race, because her father-in-law is so well known.

She put a float in the Cheese Days Parade in July, and tossed some 60 pounds of candy, she said.

“When I vote, I think about, when it’s close, who put in the most effort,” she said.

She’s interested in using what she calls her natural leadership skills, and “common sense like you wouldn’t believe” to ensure top notch emergency services in the Toledo area. She has a particular interest in doing what she can to recruit new volunteers.

“I have a well-rounded background with business training and education that gave me the job to begin with,” she said. “And, experience in the fire service.”
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Brief bios

Candidate:  Clark Spahr
Age:  64
Occupation:  retired millwright from Longview Fibre
Resides:  Toledo
How long there: since 1969
Education: Winlock High School 1965; studies at Centralia College, including the second EMT class to be offered there in 1974
Political experience:  none

Candidate:  Jacqui Spahr
Age:  39
Occupation:  technician at Department of Natural Resources in Castle Rock
Resides:  Toledo
How long there: twelve years
Education: Rainier High School, 1990; studies at Centralia College and South Puget Sound Community College
Political experience: ran for fire commissioner in Toledo in 1999 and lost

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Ballots are due before or on Tuesday. Review other local area races for fire commissioners:

• Lewis County Fire District 6, rural Chehalis: Kirk Johnston and Jim Martin, here

• Lewis County Fire District 15, Winlock: Randy Pennington and Dan Godat, here

• Lewis County Fire District 5, Napavine: Kevin Hanson and Jamie Guenther, here

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For preliminary election results shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, click here or go to the “elections center” section of the county auditor’s page on the web site for Lewis County government.