Members of the Lewis County Bar Legal Aid posed for a photo in August, 2014 after being honored for 25 years of service by the Lewis County Commission. From left: Carolyn Hipps, Kathy Brack, Jennifer Groberg, Lewis Zieskie, Becky Fox and Toni Nelson.
Following the closure of Lewis County Bar Legal Aid, the organization and county government have agreed to end the non-profit’s lease of a county-owned house and garage in Chehalis.
The lease, originally signed in 2015, allowed Legal Aid to operate from a property on Cascade Avenue. The non-profit’s board voted in November to shut down the organization, following the discovery that it had taken on a substantial amount of debt that had not been previously disclosed.
The mutual termination agreement signed by the organization and the county ends Legal Aid’s lease effective Dec. 1, although it has until Dec. 31 to clear out the building. Legal Aid is currently working to identify people in the legal community who may want the office items, according to civil deputy prosecutor Cullen Gatten.
