By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
KIROTV.com reports Rochester-area Firefighter Joel Swecker shot and killed a grizzly bear that charged him while hunting.
Read Richard Thompson’s news report here
Archive for January, 2011
Read about Rochester firefighter meets grizzly bear …
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011Read about Yakima area launches gang fighting website …
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Yakima Herald-Republic reports information about gang trends in schools, offenders and other information about gangs in the Yakima Valley are the subject of a website launched by the Yakima County Gang Commission.
The site, called Yakima County Say No To Gangs, will also allow for people to log complaints and post pictures of incidents, according to the news item.
Read the news item here.
News brief: Flood damage information requested
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
State Route 131 south of Randle on Tuesday morning. / Courtesy photo by Chief Gene Seiber, Lewis County Sheriff's Office
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Residents or business owners who sustained damage from flooding are urged to report a dollar estimate as soon as possible to the Lewis County Division of Emergency Management.
Call 360-740-1152, leave a message with name and phone number and staff will return the calls, a news release from Emergency Management yesterday states.
Those in Centralia need to call 360-623-1373.
The information will be used in an attempt to secure a presidential disaster declaration, which could then allow for FEMA recovery assistance and or low interest loans.
“We need the approximate dollar damage figures as soon as possible to help us determine the needs of our citizens,”
Emergency Management Deputy Director Sgt. Ross McDowell stated in the news release.
The sooner the totals are received, the sooner citizens may be able to receive FEMA funding, the news release states.
Homeowners and renters need to be prepared to share an estimated dollar loss, insurance information and assessed value of the homes.
Businesses can report loses of inventory, economic losses and damages to their buildings.
Estimates don’t need to come from a contractor but can be rough estimates, the news release states.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday morning no obvious damage to public infrastructure during the weekend flooding and reminds citizens to continue to monitor river and weather conditions.
For further information, visit Lewis County Division of Emergency Management.
Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011SAFE CRACKER SNEAKS INTO TOLEDO BUSINESS
• Somebody broke into a Toledo restaurant, prying open a safe and taking approximately $1,500, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called just before 7 a.m. yesterday to the Country House restaurant on the 400 block of state Route 506 noted videotape was obtained that showed a male wearing a blue and white flannel shirt.
CAR NEARLY SUBMERGED IN CENTRALIA DITCH
• Four individuals managed to escape from a car on Saturday afternoon that flipped upside down into a water-filled ditch off North Gold Street in Centralia and was submerged up to its floor boards, according to authorities. Aid and police were called about 3:30 p.m. to the scene just north of Maple Street, according to police. The occupants were left with just bumps and bruises, according to the Centralia Police Department. The 19-year-old driver of the Acura Integra was cited for going too fast, according to police.
CREEPY-NESS
• Chehalis police were called about 8:45 p.m. on Saturday by a woman who said her daughter had received a phone call from a restricted number in which a male advised he was looking in her window, and when the daughter looked out, he said he could see her. An officer responding to the 500 block of Riverside Drive did not find anyone outside, according to police.
• Police were called on Saturday to a Centralia cemetery on the 1100 block of Cavenss Drive where somebody had been knocking over grave stones the previous few nights.
WITNESS INTIMIDATION REPORTED
• A deputy took a report on Saturday from a 24-year-old Centralia woman who said she had received a phone call from a man who threatened to kill her and her family if she testified at a trial related to a drive-by shooting case from Chehalis, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A referral was made to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office for possible charge of intimidating a witness, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
CHURCH BREAK-INS
• Centralia police were called about 8:30 a.m. yesterday to a report of a burglary to a church office on the 700 block of Park Way.
• Centralia police were called about 2 p.m. on Sunday to an apparent attempted break-in at a church office on the 200 block of North Washington Street.
THEFTS AND BURGLARIES
• Centralia police took a report yesterday of a burglary to a shop on the 600 block of West Third Street.
• Centralia police were directed to an abandoned vehicle about 9:30 p.m. last night on the 1200 block of West Pear Street that turned out to be stolen out of Thurston County, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Chehalis police were called about 7:50 a.m. on Sunday to Adams Avenue about a black 987 Mazda pickup truck stolen within the previous two hours. Shortly after that, an officer responded to a blue 1989 Mazda pickup truck stolen sometime after 7 a.m. on Washington Avenue.
• Chehalis police were called Saturday afternoon to a former shoe store on Kresky Avenue that had been burglarized. Seven pairs of shoes were missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
• Two chainsaws were stolen from the back of a work truck on the 600 block of Leonard Road in Onalaska sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $1,800.
• A chainsaw, two wall heaters and a finish sander were discovered missing on Friday from a storage building on the 900 block of Davis Lake Road near Morton, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Somebody forced their way inside damaging the door frame and lock, the sheriff’s office reported.
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s office took a report of a theft that occurred sometime between Dec. 20 to Dec. 25 of a handmade Amish mini horse wagon and a leather show harness from a barn on the 2500 block of Seminary Hill Road outside Centralia. The loss is estimated at $3,000, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy brown.
• Custom rims and tires, along with a piece of a sound system, were stolen from inside a vehicle on the 1100 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia, according to a report made yesterday afternoon.
DUI FOLLOWS WRECK
• A 41-year-old man from Curtis was arrested for driving under the influence after a single-vehicle collision into a ditch early on Friday morning near the 1400 block of South Schueber Road, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Robert D. Smith was arrested. His Ford Ranger truck sustained an estimated $750 damage, the sheriff’s office noted. His injuries were not reported by the sheriff’s office.
River dropping in Randle
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Randle area Fire Chief Jeff Jaques said the Cowlitz River at Randle is dropping slowly and he expects it will be a few hours before the closed roads will reopen.
The river level was just over 20 feet at 7 a.m. today.
The National Weather Service reports the river crested at just over 22 feet yesterday. Flood stage is 18 feet.
Jaques said it has been a fairly uneventful weekend of just monitoring the river.
U.S. Highway 12 just east of the intersection with state Route 131 was closed, and a detour put in place on Silverbrook Road. State Route 131 which leads out towards Cispus was closed as well.
“We didn’t get a single call for anyone wanting to be rescued” or any emergency calls, Jaques said this morning.
Most people in the area have been through it before and know how to deal with flooding, he said.
“I think that big flood in 2006 got everyone’s attention,” Jaques said.
In November 2006 the Cowlitz River rose to just over 25 feet, some seven feet beyond its flood stage, causing major damage to the community.
Read about Castle Rock, locations in Lewis County see competition as site for new state prison …
Monday, January 17th, 2011By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The (Longview) Daily News reports the city of Castle Rock, two groups in Winlock, one in Morton and another in Grand Mound are among 15 groups seeking consideration for a new 1000-bed prison facility the state Department of Corrections wants to build
DOC plans to construct a what it calls a new male reception center and would like to put it in Western Washington.
News reporter Barbara LaBoe writes that state officials hope to choose three finalists by March and make a final decision by year’s end.
Read LaBoe’s story here
River still rising in Randle
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
Monday Jan. 17, 2011: The Cowlitz River at Skate Creek Road Bridge in Packwood this morning. The river was high and fast yesterday afternoon but has gone down a bit this morning. / Courtesy photo by Bill Serrahn
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
More than an inch of rain is expected in the mountains tonight, leaving some in Randle cautiously monitoring the Cowlitz River which has already begun flooding.
The fire department this morning went door to door advising residents in low-lying areas to evacuate. Some have, and some, like Per and Pearl Fjugstad are staying.
“We’re high and dry, it’s not a problem,” Per Fjugstad said about 6 o’clock tonight.
The couple, who live on McKay Street just off U.S. Highway 12 near the center of town, however, are surrounded by water.
In November 2006 when the Cowlitz River rose to just over 25 feet, some seven feet beyond its flood stage, theirs was the only home on McKay Street that did not get water inside. But the following year, they built themselves a new house across the street eight inches higher.
One of their neighbors departed a couple of hours earlier and another moved to her upstairs, Per Fjugstad said. He estimated the water was a little more than two feet deep at that end of the street.
“It’s not raining right now,” Per Fjugstad said. “In fact, I don’t think it’s rained in the last couple three hours. That’s gonna help us a lot.”
This morning’s forecast indicated the river could crest at almost 24 feet, but the latest prediction is for just less than 23 feet.
Lewis County Fire District 14 Chief Jeff Jaques said this evening U.S. Highway 12 just east of the intersection with state Route 131 is closed, as expected, but a detour is in place on Silverbrook Road.
And state Route 131 which leads out towards Cispus is closed.
A flood watch remains in effect for portions of Western Washington through tomorrow afternoon, including in Lewis, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties.
Flood warnings continue on the Cowlitz at Randle and Packwood, the Nisqually River near National, the Newaukum River near Chehalis, the Chehalis River at Grand Mound and the Skookumchuck River near Bucoda.
The National Weather Service cautions those living near “unwarned” rivers in the watch area should continue to monitor the latest weather forecasts and warnings until the watch has ended.
Some of those rivers have crested already, such as the Newaukum River, and the Cowlitz at Packwood.
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Continuously updated conditions, warnings and forecasts in more detail can be found from the National Weather Service’s website by clicking on “Weather forecasts” and “River levels” beneath “Other useful web links” on the right hand side of Lewis County Sirens pages.
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