Shannon Dickson

$1.75 Highway 12 Drive Inn Keeps Cooking Through Hard Times / B1 Mid-Week Edition Thursday, April 23, 2020 Serving our communities since 1889 — www.chronline.com Dam Discussion Trooper Death In Second Public Hearing, Commenters Voice Man Accused of Fatally Hitting Trooper Concerns Over Salmon, Orcas / Main 3 Not Competent, Judge Rules / Main 4 Lewis County COVID-19 County Lobbies for Control on COVID-19 Measures ORDERS: Local Officials of Commissioners discussed ers shared their thoughts and “Here in Lewis County, Death Toll sending a letter to Gov. Jay the practicality of the plan was we’re better equipped to make Say They Have Better Inslee’s office on Monday, lob- analyzed from a medical per- those decisions then they are Hits Three Perspective on Lewis bying for local control over re- spective. out of the governor’s office, County’s Economy, Need opening the county’s economy. The idea, according to Jack- because we know more about what’s going on here than they By The Chronicle County Commissioners son, was presented in a meeting to Reopen Businesses, Bobby Jackson, Gary Stamper between him, County Manager do,” Jackson said during the Lewis County Manager Erik meeting. Martin announced a third death Than Those in Olympia and Edna Fund spoke with Erik Martin and Budget Man- Lewis County Health Officer ager Becky Butler last week. According to Fund, the con- related to COVID-19 in a meet- By Colton Dodgson versation regarding local con- ing with the Board of County Dr. Rachel Wood during Mon- Jackson also stated Rep. Ed [email protected] trol in various rural counties is Commissioners on Tuesday. day’s BOCC business meeting, Orcutt, R-Kalama, was “very The patient was one of the The Lewis County Board where the trio of commission- supportive” of the plan. please see CONTROL, page 11 previously established 22 confirmed cases in Lewis County and was in their 70s, according to Martin. Packwood Resident Spurs Effort to Clean Up Litter in East County “They also had other underly- ing health conditions and were By Jackson Gardner in the hospital,” Martin said. [email protected] According to a release from Lewis County Public Health and A Packwood resident ac- Social Services, residents from companied by fellow locals is the Twin Cities, towns in east, spearheading an effort to pick west and south Lewis County up trash left along roads and in have tested positive. Cases have the forest in East Lewis County. also been confirmed in the Sheryl Hall has been picking county’s rural areas. up litter on her walks with her dog through trails in the Pack- wood area for about 15 years, she says. But in the last couple Sen. Braun months she has ramped up her solo effort to a community- Proposes Random wide task. Testing of 25,000 Hall has garnered support from local groups to join the Washingtonians cause as well as using the fifti- eth anniversary of Earth Day for COVID-19 — April 22 — to promote her Antibodies efforts through social media to get more East Lewis County By The Chronicle residents involved. State Sen. John Braun, R- “I was just fed up with it, it’s Centralia, on Tuesday proposed horrific,” Hall said of the litter that 25,000 Washington resi- in East Lewis County. “It’s ev- dents be tested for COVID-19 erywhere — the county roads, antibodies in order to determine the highway roads and the for- the prevalence of the disease in est too.” the state. The trash became so abun- The lawmaker made the pro- dant — and sometimes so large posal just hours before Gov. Jay — that she needed the help of Inslee announced that many of other locals to get better results. the restrictions brought on with Hall found assistance from his “State home, Stay Healthy” members of the Packwood Out- order would not be lifted by the door Women, a group of almost 200 members she co-founded please see TESTING, page 12 with her friend, to get more people along the roads and in the forest picking up trash. Follow Us on Twitter One of the women who has lent a helping hand is Carol @chronline Mosshart, who joined the Pack- Courtesy Photo Find Us on Facebook please see LITTER, page 11 Darlene Cash helps pick up trash in Packwood recently in this photo shared on Facebook. www.facebook.com/the- centraliachronicle Subscriber mailing label below this line 2020 Distinguished Alumni Emotional Support Available Deaths Musician No Crisis Zuber, Joyce Louise, 85, Centralia Jimmy Needed to Greene, Timothy Francis, 75, Ritchey Call Help Line, Centralia Riffe, Larry James, 77, Honored Cascade Says Glenoma by College / Main 7 Keevy, James Michael, 64, / Main 2 Chehalis Kaiser, Gail D. 77, Centralia Deeply rooted in working MOBILE & CHEHALIS The Chronicle, ONLINE, 714 W. Main Street Serving the Greater Lewis County TOO! (off I-5 at Exit 77) Area Since 1889 together. 360.740.0770 Also TOLEDO, WINLOCK, TUMWATER & OLYMPIA CH605249bw.cg Main 2 • The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash., Thursday, April 23, 2020 LOCAL Jimmy Ritchey Selected as Centralia College Distinguished Alumnus SONGWRITER: Musician From Lewis County “I’m so honored Moved to Nashville, and humbled to be Writes Hits selected for this By Celene Fitzgerald award. I enjoyed [email protected] Centralia native Jimmy every minute I Ritchey, a country music song- attended Centralia writer and record producer based in Nashville, was selected College.” as this year’s Centralia College Jimmy Ritchey, distinguished alumnus. Ritchey Musician, songwriter said hanging out at the music store in the Lewis County Mall as a teenager and learning from local musicians helped him be- don’t make any money. But as come the musician he is today. far as picking a song that’s going “I’m so honored and humbled to do the most for you I am con- to be selected for this award. I stantly surprised and I’m even enjoyed every minute I attended more surprised when I turn the Centralia College,” said Ritchey radio on today,” said Ritchey. about being recognized as this Ritchey said that he was year’s distinguished alumnus. drawn to the genre of country Although he has been play- music because of the way he was ing music since he was a child, raised. He said that growing up Ritchey’s professional song- in Lewis County, having uncles writing career began when he that owned farms, country mu- moved from Centralia to Nash- sic was prominent in his life. ville when he was 25 years old. “When you’re a commercial Over the past 25 years, he has songwriter you are shooting for worked with some of today’s a target that sounds like some- top country music artists and thing on the radio — a com- co-written four top-ten songs mercial hit. So it’s really not as well as writing and produc- about pouring your feelings out ing dozens of other songs that on a piece of paper for therapy. Courtesy Photo We’ve conditioned ourselves to have been recorded by major Jimmy Ritchey is the 2020 Centralia College Distinguished Alumnus. country music artists including be like a machine when it comes George Strait, Mark Chesnutt, to putting out music,” said 90s, the Lewis County Mall drive. There’s a 50-year-old guy just moving to Nashville but Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Kel- Ritchey. had a music store in it that sold picking me up at my house at honestly that’s a big commit- lie Pickler, Montgomery Gentry Moving forward Ritchey guitars and eventually that mu- 8 o’clock to go to the Centra- and others, according to AllMu- ment for most people to do that. said he would like to become sic store moved across from lia Eagles Lodge until 1 in the sic.com, a music credit website. A lot of people want to do some- more involved in the managing morning and my parents would In 2008 Ritchey started a Baskin-Robins. When I was thing with their life musically side of the music business. He song-publishing company Vibe a kid I took a couple of guitar leave the light on for me when I but you got to go do it. You can’t said he is currently managing Room Music which published lessons there but mostly I hung got home,” he said. just sit in Morton and want to a new act, Robert Counts, on songs by Kenney Chesney, out in the mall and met every While living in Centralia be a rockstar and not move to Sony Records. Keith Urban, Billy Currington musician that came through Ritchey said he played shows at LA. So half the battle is just get- “I’ve never managed a big and others. to buy strings or drum sticks,” the Chehalis and Centralia Ea- ting here and that’s the big com- hit act. I’ve always been on the Ritchey grew up in a musi- said Ritchey. “From the time I gles Lodge, the Elk’s Lodge, the mitment,” said Ritchey. creative side or the publishing cal family and was surrounded was 13 to age 17, I had pretty Red Barn in Grand Mound, the Ritchey now works with oth- side. So now I’m kind of shifting by music at an early age. He much met every musician in Southwest Washington Fair- er musicians and writes songs into a little less creative work said his cousins started show- Lewis County and everyone grounds, the Chehalis Theater, four to five days a week.

Load more