Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia police are investigating a drive-by shooting at the north end of town.

Initial information from police indicates it happened early yesterday morning, but was not discovered until yesterday afternoon. There is no report of anyone being hit or injured.

Officers were called about 3:30 p.m. to the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue when the resident discovered his truck and home had been shot, according to the Centralia Police Department.

The victim told police he had heard four or five shots in the early morning hours, Sgt. Brian Warren stated in a brief summary released to the news media.

The investigation is ongoing. Further details were not readily available.

More to come when available.

Security images of suspect from jewelry theft

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The owners of a Chehalis business are hoping for the public’s help, after their store in Lacey was hit by a jewelry thief earlier this week.

Tom Taylor and his wife Chris would like someday to retire and become RVer’s, but a chunk of their profits walking out the door of Tony’s Master Jewelers in Lacey on Wednesday could delay that dream.

A supposed customer was looking at a $10,000 wedding ring set a little after 2 p.m. that day, Taylor said.

“As soon as he got the merchandise in his hand, he ran to the door,” Taylor said.

Taylor said a getaway car, with a driver, was ready and waiting, and off they went.

The Taylors have had the store on Sleater-Kinny Road Southeast for several years.

He operates their Goin Postal business in the Fairway Shopping Center on South Gold Street. His wife has worked at the jewelry store since she was 16 years old, and is shook up, he said.

The Lacey Police Department dusted for fingerprints and took witness statements. Taylor thinks maybe someone may recognize the security images of the man who stole their items.

“We’re just trying to find every avenue we can find right now,” he said.

Employees estimate the thief is about 5-feet 6-inches tall. They only could say his partner, the driver of the late 1990s model blue Oldsmobile, was a white male, he said.

Taylor asks that anyone who has information to please contact the Lacey Police Department, or Tony’s Master Jewelers.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Morton lumber mill was shut down this morning by a bomb threat.

“The caller said we had messed with the wrong person,” Alta Forest Products President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Pedersen said.

Alta is on the 300 block of state Route 7, at the north end of town.

Pedersen said the plant was evacuated and a bomb squad swept the premises.

He said he believed a suspect has been arrested, but didn’t have details.

Morton Police Department Chief Dan Mortensen said he didn’t have time to talk about the incident; he expected to be busy into this evening.

Pedersen said there would have been about 60 employees on the job, but he himself was out of town.

The phone call came at about 7:45 a.m., and the caller indicated a bomb would got off in 10 minutes, he said. They immediately evacuated everyone, he said.

He said he didn’t know the specifics.

“The big thing is, everybody is safe,” Pedersen said.

The afternoon shift is scheduled to begin as usual, he said.

The mill, formerly TMI Forest Products Inc. and before that the Tubafor Mill, manufactures Western Red Cedar fence boards.

Updated at 11:35 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A water main break last night caused a hole in the ground in a Centralia neighborhood estimated to be fifty feet long and seven feet deep.

Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Casey McCarthy said firefighters responded about 8 p.m. to the area where police had closed one block of East Main Street.

McCarthy described moderate flooding.

“I don’t know if it got into any residences, but it sure got into some yards,” McCarthy said this morning.

Workers from the city water department came out and shut off the water, McCarthy said.

The hole was estimated to be about 15 feet wide, according to McCarthy.

The Centralia Police Department blocked off the area between South Buckner and Berry streets, he said.

The one block remains closed, but the 10-inch water main has been repaired and the hole in the ground filled back in, Centralia city Water Operations Manager Tom Cleary said this morning.

A gasket on a collar on the transite water line that could be as much as 70 years old was leaking, he said.

Cleary said someone reported the leak last night and the on-duty person was out looking at it when the section of pipe blew out.

A number of people lost water pressure and those in the immediate area would have been without any incoming water at all, he said.

He said he’s not sure how soon they’ll get the street black-topped, because of the weather.

Everyone’s water service has been restored, according to Cleary.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Whatever it was that ignited a Sunday morning blaze in Vader that spread from a house to one, and nearly two, adjacent buildings will remain a mystery.

The cause will be listed as undetermined,” Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said.

822 A St., Vader

“There just were not enough pieces there for me to pinpoint it,” McCarty said today.

A friend who was staying there woke up to smoke, and rousted the father and son from bed, McCarty said.

Firefighters called about 8:50 a.m. arrived to find the single story home fully involved in flames and beginning to catch the Masonic Hall next to it on fire.

The father has used a garden hose for as long as he was able, to put water through a back bedroom window, while someone else ran to a neighbor’s to call 911, McCarty said.

The father ended up with cuts to his hand and arm, from breaking out the window, he said.

The house on the 800 block of A Street, built in 1935, is a complete loss.

Also beyond saving, was the former community center building to the north, a quonset hut style structure stuffed with what its owner said was a couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of collectibles, according to McCarty. It was torn apart with an excavator to extinguish its burning contents.

Unfortunately, neither of the buildings were insured, McCarty said.

The resident did have space heaters throughout the house, but whether perhaps there were combustibles next to a heater in the unoccupied bedroom, there’s no way to know, McCarty said.
•••

For background, read “Two-plus buildings affected by Vader fire; cause unknown” from Tuesday November 11, 2014, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The city of Centralia wants residents to know it will make every effort to keep streets passable when the snow comes, but its first priorities are not the residential neighborhoods.

Centralia, with over 82 miles of roads, has devised a priority plan for the removal of ice and snow from its streets, according to street official Kim Ashmore.

Priority is given to the viaducts, bridges, roadways leading to the hospital, major hillside roads and signaled intersections, according to Ashmore. Sanding and snow plowing in other parts of the city will be conducted as needed as conditions warrant, and depending upon the availability of manpower and equipment, Ashmore states in a news release.

He suggests residents can do their part to help when it snows by avoiding driving unless they have to and by driving slowly when they go out.

Ashmore also cautions motorists to give snow plows and sanders plenty of room to operate.

The Washington State Patrol offers the following advice for safely navigating the roadways with the onset of freezing temperatures and the possibility of snow:

• Please remember to clear off all your windows of frost or snow before you drive.

• A good set of wipers, properly inflated winter tires and patience is needed to safely operate a vehicle during hazardous winter driving conditions.

• Remember to slow down, increase your following distance and give yourself additional time to get to your destination.

• Be prepared for potential long delays if you travel mountain passes by packing in your car a scraper, shovel, jumper cables or jump pack, tow chain/rope, and traction devices. It’s also important to have proper boots and clothing for the cold conditions.

• Consider checking out the road and weather conditions at WSDOT’s website www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by calling 1-800-695-ROAD before you travel.