Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The couple who skipped out on their court hearing in which they were to be sentenced for the severe neglect of their teenage son will indeed be coming back to Lewis County, but authorities won’t say when, for security reasons.

These things take time, Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said today.

Anthony S. Foxworth Sr., 45, and Mary G. Foxworth, 43, were located in a motel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Nov. 4 and taken into custody there. Centralia police had tracked them using financial and cell phone information, according to Centralia detective Patty Finch.

They had previously pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal mistreatment and were facing prison terms of about four years but failed to appear in Lewis County Superior Court for sentencing on Nov. 1.

Meyer said he believed they had waived a challenge to extradition and once all the proceedings have been taken care of, transportation will have to be arranged. Law enforcement from here will go to South Carolina and bring the couple back to Chehalis, according to Meyer.

They will be facing additional charges of bail jumping.

Centralia police began investigating in January of last year, after couple took their 16-year-old son to the doctor, and he was hospitalized with severe malnutrition, weighing just 54 pounds. Finch said he had not seen a doctor since 2007, was not enrolled in school and could not read or write.

Since he was taken out of his parents custody, he has gained more than 90 pounds, grown four inches and is attending school full time, according to Finch.
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For background, read “Parents in Centralia child neglect case discovered in South Carolina beach motel” from Sunday November 5, 2017, here

Responders had to use hydraulic equipment to free a male and a female from wrecked truck. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Four people were hurt, two of them seriously, when two pickup trucks collided at North Pearl and West Third streets in Centralia this morning.

Firefighters responding to the scene about 9 a.m. found a male and a female unconscious with traumatic injuries who had to be extricated from a red pickup truck, using hydraulic tools. Their vehicle had sustained heavy front end damage, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

A third occupant of the red truck got himself out, according to the fire department.

All three were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, Fire Capt. Scott Weinert stated. The male and female in their late 20s or 30s were in serious condition.

The other vehicle was a white pickup truck pulling a landscape trailer which was damaged on its passenger side and front end, according to Weinert. The occupant of the white truck was evaluated on the scene and declined an ambulance ride to the hospital but was taken there by a family member, according to Weinert.

The Centralia Police Department is investigating.

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At North Pearl and West Third streets this morning. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The cause of a fire that destroyed a two-story home in Mineral last week remains under investigation.

Firefighters from Lewis County Fire District 9 were joined by four other neighboring departments after being dispatched to the 100 block of Mineral Hill Road about 11:24 a.m. on Wednesday.

Heavy smoke and fire on the upper level with backdraft conditions prevented crews from going inside and other hazards included a downed live electrical wire as well as a 1,000-gallon propane tank nearby, according to District 9’s Medical Service Officer Jeanine Armstrong.

The fire was threatening another structure but they were able to protect it with no damage to that property, according to Armstrong.

Fire Investigator Jay Birley said the resident said she’d been watching television and heard some beeping she thought at first was coming from the TV.

“After awhile, she went upstairs, opened a bedroom door and was met by a wall of smoke,” Birley said.

She was able to get out and call 911, he said. Three dogs got out as well, but one cat was still missing as of Sunday morning, he said.

Birley said he still has some interviews to conduct as he continues to try to find the cause of the fire.

Armstrong indicated the house was built in the 1940s.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Washington State Patrol served 21 warrants yesterday as part of an annual event focused on outstanding domestic violence warrants.

Law enforcement officers yesterday made 111 service attempts, resulting in four felony warrant arrests and 17 misdemeanor arrests.

While the main focus of the sweep was domestic violence warrants, other non-domestic violence warrants were also attempted, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

“This event demonstrates the strong partnerships between Lewis County law enforcement, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office and the courts,” Sheriff Robert Snaza stated in a press release. “Through this successful sweep we were able to increase public safety, while holding those accountable who break the law.”

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, Lewis County District Court and the court-contracted defense attorney were also involved, and were instrumental in the efficiency of the operation, according to the press release.

The collaborative sweep was part of the 15th Annual National Domestic Violence Warrant Sweep

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Firefighters were called about 6:45 p.m. yesterday to what turned out to be a small fire in downtown Morton.

Fire investigator Ted McCarty said the restaurant next door noticed some smoke from the denture clinic on the 200 block of Main Avenue.

Crews found a little fire in one of the offices, McCarty said.

“It didn’t do a lot of damage structure-wise, but there was smoke damage,” he said. “District 4 firefighters, they did a great job and kept it confined.”

The building, with apartments on the upper level, was built in the 1920s, according to McCarty.

His investigation is ongoing, but the fire didn’t appear suspicious, he said.