Lewis County Sirens.com

Linda Hamilton and friends watch firefighters work today across the street at her building

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – The two streets next to the burned out Dr. Matz building in downtown Centralia will remain closed through tonight after an early morning fire ravaged the historical structure.

“The reason is the integrity of the building itself is in question,” Centralia Police Department Officer John Panco said this afternoon.

The city building inspector will reassess the situation at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning, Panco said.

The gray masonry box-like structure on the southwest corner of Tower Avenue and Main Street was built in 1889; it’s among the oldest buildings in town.

It originally housed National Bank. Dr. Matz was a dentist, according to Panco.

Until today, it was home to Centralia Perk, a coffee shop and antique store which many noted has enlivened the downtown atmosphere with sidewalk seating and space for conversation.

“This is a cornerstone of downtown, right here,” Paige Merriman, who operates a neighboring accounting business, said this morning.

It appeared the interior of the building was totally destroyed, Panco said.

Damaged were five businesses on the lower level – a tattoo shop, a barber shop, a hair salon, an antique store and Curious Betty’s clothing boutique – as well as a dozen apartments on the second floor, according to the building owner.

Crews from four fire departments joined Riverside Fire Authority after the call came just before 2:20 a.m.

Linda Hamilton, who bought the building in 2001, renovated it and opened her coffee shop the following year, said she was awakened by noises in the hallway.

Hamilton said she just last night installed a video surveillance system, which she jumped up to look at.

“It showed people running (down the hall),” she said.

Many of her tenants are college students, she said.

“Jacob Dow saved all of us,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said they encountered black smoke and she thought the flames were on the ground level, coming from Curious Betty’s.

Panco described how Dow helped get the residents out.

“It’s pretty heroic, going into a burning building,” Panco said. “I heard he went door to door, pounding on the doors to wake people up.”

Jim Francis, who owns the Hub Bar and Grill across the street said he arrived about 5:30 a.m. and the fire was still blazing.

“I got down here, it was just chaos,” Francis said. “The building was on fire, water was running down the street,” he said. “What a total loss.”

“I hate to see that happen to her,” he said of Hamilton.

The fire was considered contained at 6 a.m.

Fire crews remained on the scene later this morning, with a hose from atop a ladder truck continuing to spray through the roof.

Stretches of both Tower Avenue and Main Street were still closed and motorists were detoured.

Hamilton was joined by family members across the street, among a small crowd of onlookers.

“You can see, everything’s lost,” she said.

Panco said he didn’t have any information about damage to the building directly south of the Matz building. The power was still shut off to the five or so businesses along the block, he said about noontime.

At the south end of the block, in front of the Fox Theater, the owner of a new frozen yogurt store was armed with a broom to keep the storm drain from backing up.

Jamie Kaiser pointed to what appeared to be soot-laden water that had seeped beneath the glass doors of the theater onto its floor.

“I’m keeping the drain clean,” Kaiser said.

There was talk this afternoon among city officials about possibly bringing in a crane or something similar to take down the walls of the Matz building.

The city building inspector will decide if the building is safe or if it has to come down, Panco said just before noon.

The fire marshal and police detectives are investigating the cause.

Hamilton has had a fire there before. She said it was about two years ago when a homeless person set up camp in her basement and a lamp got knocked over. The damage was minimal.

Ironically, Hamilton said she gave a tour of the upstairs just last week to some of the Centralia firefighters. She was imagining how dangerous it could be to fight a fire in such an old structure, she said. She told them, “(I)f something happens, just let the building go”, she said.

Jeff Miller, president of the Centralia Downtown Association, said he and Paige Merriman thought her accounting and antique doll business adjacent to the Matz building suffered a little smoke damage.

Miller this morning recalled how he had campaigned, unsuccessfully, for businesses in the downtown buildings to install lock boxes, so firefighters could get inside if they needed to.

“A $150 box might have saved me $2,500 for a new door,” he said.

Hamilton’s upstairs apartment was set to be featured in the local newspaper as one of the nicer residences in town, he said.

“Linda’s a dear friend, my heart goes out to her,” Miller said.

Tower Avenue looking north from Locust Street

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Looking east up Main Street at the back of the Matz building from Pearl Street

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See more photos and read “Breaking news: Downtown Centralia building burns” from Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 8:03 a.m., here, or just scroll down

For even more photos, check Lewis County Sirens on Facebook

Courtesy photo by Lindsey Tomasheck

Updated at 8:31 a.m. and 9:23 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters are still on the scene this morning at a blaze in a downtown Centralia building.

“It’s still actively burning,” Riverside Fire Authority Firefighter-paramedic Craig Ellenbolt said.

Crews were called just before 2:20 a.m. when fire broke out at 101 S. Tower Avenue.

It’s the Dr. Matz building on the southwest corner of Main and Tower, a masonry structure among the oldest buildings in town, Centralia Police Department Officer John Panco said.

A dozen residents of the apartments on the upper level were evacuated safely and are all accounted for, Panco said this morning.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army are on scene offering assistance, as fire departments continue to spray water on the building, he said.

The ground level houses the Centralia Perk coffee shop and a tattoo shop, according to Panco. Linda Hamilton of Centralia Perk owns the building, he said.

The power has been shut down to an approximately three-block area, according to Centralia City Light.

Ashley Stemkoski with city light said some 75 to 100 customers are without electricity between Tower Avenue and Pearl Street and Magnolia to Locust streets.

They’re waiting until the fire department gives them the okay to turn it back on, Stemkoski said about 9:15 a.m.

Officials are just getting ready to open up Pearl Street but remaining closed are Tower Avenue from Locust to Pine, and Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Pearl Street, police said about 9:25 a.m.

The cause is under investigation, according to Panco.

More to come

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For more photos, check Lewis County Sirens on Facebook

Dr. Matz building at southwest corner of Tower Avenue and Main Street in downtown Centralia.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A former Lewis County employee has filed a lawsuit alleging age discrimination and a hostile work environment claiming Lewis County Commissioner Bill Schulte engaged in an unremitting campaign of harassment towards her and even once chased her through the courthouse area in a rage of anger and abuse.

Sheila M. Unger, who was administrative coordinator for the county board of commissioners until September of 2010, filed her suit in U.S. District Court.

Unger is asking for damages in an amount to be proven at trial.

The complaint names the defendants as Schulte and his wife, the county board of commissioners and the county. It was filed Dec. 30 in Tacoma.

Through their attorneys, the defendants deny her allegations in a filing made late last month.

Unger was a full time employee of Lewis County from 1996 until Sept 23, 2010, according to court documents. She first began working for the county in 1974 and also worked part time, the documents state.

She is represented by Olympia attorney William Michael Hanbey.

Unger’s attorney writes that since Schulte assumed office, he engaged in verbally assaultive and angry tirades against Unger and made false accusations about her proficiency in her job. Schulte began a four-year term in January 2009.

Schulte refused to communicate with Unger, undermined her authority with her subordinate workers, and showed favoritism toward younger females in the workplace, according to Hanbey.

Unger’s age is not noted in the complaint, only that she is over 40 years old and therefore a member of a federally protected category.

She complained about Schulte to the other two commissioners, and submitted a formal complaint in May 2010, but no effective action was taken to curb his “campaign”, according to the federal complaint.

Unger took a medical leave due to the hostile work environment, the documents state.

It was September 2010, in retaliation, when the commissioner chased her causing her fear for her safety, Hanbey wrote. She was “constructively discharged” Sept. 23, 2010, he wrote.

Unger also alleges her personnel file was not kept confidential.

Neither Schulte, Unger nor any of their attorneys returned phone calls seeking comment.

Unger filed a tort claim with the county Sept. 27, 2010. She also filed a claim of discrimination with the Washington State Human Rights Commission and finally the federal lawsuit.

Schulte and the other defendants are represented by Jeannie Lee Bohlman and Suzanne Kelly Michael of the Seattle law firm Michael and Alexander.

Any damages Unger incurred are not their fault, the defendants’ attorneys wrote in their response.

The actions of the defendants were objectively reasonable under the circumstances of which the defendants were aware, and they enjoy qualified immunity, they wrote.

They maintain the defendants made a good faith effort to comply with state and federal anti discrimination laws.

The Seattle attorneys asked that the case be dismissed.

Updated at 12:34 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A couple who live next to the grange on North Military Road in Winlock lost their home to a fire last night.

It was the second time in less than three days that mobile homes were destroyed by flames in south Lewis County.

Firefighters called at 8:15 p.m. to the 600 block of North Military Road near Sargent Road found smoke and flames coming from some of the vents on the roof, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.

Nobody was home at the time and no one was injured, according to District 15 Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson.

While approximately 40 firefighters responded from Winlock and surrounding districts, the double-wide mobile home and its contents were a total loss, Anderson said.

It appeared it may have originated with a malfunctioning dishwasher, according to Anderson.

Mutual aid agreements in place with Winlock, Toledo, Napavine and Vader-Ryderwood mean crews from the volunteer departments join in answering calls to anywhere in the region.

It’s been a busy five days in the south end, Anderson said.

“I have never seen this many fires clustered around the calendar as long as I’ve been around here,” he said.

The causes have varied.

Monday’s mobile home fire on South Military Road north of Vader seemed to have started in an electrical panel.

Yesterday morning, the occupants of an apartment above a garage near state Route 505 and Jackson Highway in Toledo lost their home when a fire spread from a fifth-wheel trailer.

On Saturday morning, a two-story A-frame on Spencer Road outside Toledo lost part of its roof apparently due to a wood stove pipe issue. And then very early Sunday morning, crews responded to a trash can fire inside a bathroom of a mobile home on Grimes Road east of Toledo.

Having three households lose all their earthly possessions has kicked into high gear a group Vader firefighter Ruth Crear launched last fall.

It’s called Friends Helping Friends of Lewis County and can be found on Facebook.

The mother of four, who is also the assistant fire chief for Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20, created the group with the idea that during these hard economic times, folks could ask for what they needed or offer what they can give.

Postings just today include such requests as a TV tray for a woman who can’t easily hold her Bible at church to a microwave to replace on that’s making weird noises.

One person wants to give away a $9 coupon for baby formula and another is looking for a good home for a dog.

In just a few months, the group has grown to 943 members, according to Crear.

She’s delivered carloads of donated food and just this week, a van was purchased with more than $4,000 in donations that came in for a woman who needs transportation for her child who uses a wheelchair.

Crear says its been amazing to see the outpouring of folks around here.

“We have a lot of good caring people in Lewis County,” she said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

She and her oldest daughter have created a second group for Cowlitz County now as well.

Friends Helping Friends today announced it was donated space in south Chehalis for all the donations coming for the three families who have lost their homes since the beginning of the week.

“I suggested we gather donations and put everything in one spot,” Crear said.

The place is Safe Family Ministries on Jackson Highway.

Items can be dropped off or Crear can find people to pick them up, she said.

The needs? Crear said everything from clothing and toothbrushes on up.

The woman on South Military Road walked away from her burning home with nothing, except a firefighter found her debit card, she said.

“The one girl (in Toledo) was due in March and she lost all her baby stuff,” Crear said.

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Update: See the video about Friends Helping Friends of Lewis County from King5.com posted on Thursday February 9, 2012 at 5:57 p.m., here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – There won’t be a trial for Laura Lynn Hickey, accused of killing her premature newborn in her Centralia trailer home last spring. She pleaded guilty today.

Laura Lynn Hickey

Hickey, now 25, was about halfway through her pregnancy, according to prosecutors who said she used a serrated knife to cut off the infant’s head as it was trying to take a breath after she unexpectedly delivered it into a toilet.

She said she didn’t think it was going to live and she didn’t want it to suffer, according to charging documents.

Hickey has been jailed since March.

She pleaded guilty this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court to second-degree murder.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said, yes and no as to whether it was a plea agreement.

“I agreed to amend the charges down, (but) I reserved recommendation about the sentence,” Meyer said.

Defense attorney Ken Johnson said his client’s reasoning was, it seemed to be the appropriate thing to do under the circumstances.

“I guess my thinking is, this would have been a likely outcome if we went to trial,” Johnson said.

Her trial was set for the end of this month.

Charging documents indicate an emergency room doctor estimated Hickey was about 21 weeks along in her pregnancy when he examined her after what she initially said was a miscarriage.

The infant weighed less than a pound and was less than 10-inches long, according to Meyer who shared the numbers in grams and centimeters.

Attorney Johnson had an expert who would have testified the premature baby would not likely have survived.

Prosecutors initially charged Hickey with first-degree murder, but the agreement the lawyers reached left her pleading guilty to second-degree murder with an aggravating factor of the victim being being particularly vulnerable.

That means a judge will be able to – if he chooses – go above the standard sentence called for in second-degree murder.

The plea also included a deadly weapon enhancement, providing for a mandatory extra two years in prison.

The maximum possible penalty is life behind bars.

Meyer said this afternoon he has not decided how much time he will recommend Hickey spend in prison.

He called it a case where justice will be served, as both murder one and murder two are class A felonies and he’s free to recommend any length of sentence he wants.

Johnson said he will ask for as low a sentence possible given the circumstances.

Although his client was found competent by state mental health doctors to stand trial, another expert would have testified her mental state was substantially diminished, for a number of reasons, according to Johnson.

“In other words, she could not think very clearly,” Johnson said. “It was a horrendous situation, she was in shock,” he said. “She passed out at one point, losing blood. It was a nightmare”

“She feels very bad about what happened,” he said. “She made that very clear on the record today,” he said.

It was early on the morning of March 2; neighbors had called 911 after hearing calls for help coming from Hickey’s home at the Peppertree Motor Inn and RV Park on Alder Street, she was taken to the hospital and then police found the deceased male baby in a Tupperware container under the kitchen sink.

She reportedly told police she used methamphetamine two days before the incident and had been awake since then. The state had previously taken three of her children out of her home.

Hickey’s step-father puts the blame directly on her drug use.

“The girl was not in her right mind, drugs took over her life,” Donald Burgess Sr. said. “It’s a bad thing that happened here. It’s torn the family apart.”

Burgess said he’s spoken to his daughter as she’s contemplated a plea agreement. He wasn’t present in court today, but spoke to her later in the day.

She called me crying, he said.

“I told her, just pray to God, and what God thinks you deserve, that’s what you’ll get.”

Sentencing is scheduled for the morning on Feb. 22.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors have charged a 35-year-old Glenoma resident with voter fraud, saying she registered to vote and then voted even though she’s not a U.S. citizen.

Marta Aglubi-Blomstrom filled out a voter registration form in the summer of 2009 and cast a ballot in the following November election, according to authorities.

Aglubi-Blomstrom is from Ghana, a West African country.

The issue came to the attention of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office almost two years ago, when Aglubi-Blomstrom’s estranged husband contacted them about it, according to charging documents.

Aglubi-Blomstrom will get her chance to make her plea in Lewis County Superior Court a week from Thursday.

It’s not a common offense prosecuted in Lewis County.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said he’s seen it only once locally since he came to work in Lewis County in 2004.

Mariann Zumbuhl, elections supervisor at the Lewis County Auditor’s Office, agreed instances of known voter fraud are rare.

Zumbuhl had to open a file drawer looking for a record of the last time she could remember someone registered to vote when they were not eligible. It was 1998 when a 15-year-old girl said she was 18, Zumbuhl said.

“Juvenile brought her in and talked to her,” she said.

The Secretary of State’s Office state runs registered voter’s names through a database routinely to discover if anyone is underage, or a felon whose has lost their voting rights, or has died, according to Lewis County Election Specialist Heather Boyer.

“But there’s no way to check if someone’s a U.S. citizen,” Boyer said. There’s no database for that.

Aglubi-Blomstrom appeared in Lewis County Court in Chehalis last week after she was summonsed in.

Temporary defense attorney Bob Schroeter said she understood the charge, that she marked the wrong box as to whether she was a citizen and became registered to vote.

She works at Millard Refrigeration but her income of less than $2,000 a month qualifies her for a court appointed attorney, Schroeter said.

Meagher inquired as to her native language, and learned it was called Twi.

Judge Nelson Hunt allowed her to remain free on a $5,000 signature bond.

According to charging documents, Aglubi-Blomstrom filled out her voter registration form online. It was June 2009, and her husband spoke with sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Wetzel about the following March, according to authorities.

“(The Auditor’s Office) determined she answered no when asked if she was a U.S. citizen,” prosecutors wrote. “It was determined she later changed her answer to yes, so she was able to complete her voter registration.”

Sgt. Wetzel contacted Immigration and found she was not a citizen, they wrote.

False information on an application for voter registration is a class C felony, punishable by a maximum of five years in prison or $10,000.

Aglubi-Blomstrom was just finally charged at the end of this past December.

Elected Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer today said  yes, it seemed like a lot of time went by from when the alleged offense was investigated and when it finally got charged.

It was one of almost 400 felony cases in the office on “referral status” when he took office in January of last year, Meyer said.

“Referrals” are cases law enforcement agencies have forwarded to the prosecutor to be evaluated if charges should be filed.

Meyer said he found a huge backlog.

He made it his goal to get through all of them in his first year, and he has, with help from some of his deputy prosecutors, he said.

All have either been charged, or declined or are active now, according to Meyer.

The types of cases they found in limbo run the gamut, he said. Such as the bigamy case seen in court last week, to bail jumping, failing to register and drug offenses, he said.

Meyer said the statute of limitations had not run out on any major alleged offenses, only some that were with the Cowlitz County Prosecutor’s Office from when the two offices shared a deputy prosecutor.

Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 20 Assistant Chief Ruth Crear

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A woman lost her home and everything in it to fire today just north of Vader.

Firefighters called about 10:50 a.m. to the 1000 block of South Military Road found heavy smoke and flames coming from a single-wide mobile home, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.

A crew of two from Lewis County Fire District 20 which protects Vader and Ryderwood were first on the scene and subsequently joined by about 16 more firefighters from Winlock, Toledo and Napavine, District 15 Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson said.

The mobile home and adjacent outbuilding and all their contents were destroyed, Anderson said.

Anderson said the resident was home when the lights flickered and went to the electrical panel box to find flames coming out of it.

She immediately got out, considered going back inside to get her purse and cell phone, but fortunately didn’t because of too much smoke, he said.

“What wasn’t damaged by actual flames was damaged by smoke and heat,” Anderson said.

Nobody was injured, he said. The Red Cross responded to assist her with temporary needs, according to Anderson.

Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 20 Assistant Chief Ruth Crear