Archive for February, 2011

Registered sex offender notice: Man moves to Centralia

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday a 47-year-old man just released from prison is registered as a level three sex offender and living on the 200 block of Reinke Road east of Centralia.

Jeffery W. Hanson is not wanted by law enforcement, but notification to the community is meant to inform the public and enhance public safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

Hanson was convicted in 2006 in Lewis County Superior Court for having child pornography on his personal computer, specifically, for five counts of dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the sheriff’s office. He has a 2000 Cowlitz County conviction for the same offense, as well as for voyeurism, according to the bulletin.

The sheriff’s office designated him as a level three sex offender, meaning they believe he has a high risk to reoffend.

Hanson is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Sheriff’s detective Jamey McGinty notes Hanson served his full sentence and therefore will be not be supervised by the state Department of Corrections.

To see more details from the bulletin and a photo of Hanson, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office web site’s level three sex offender page, here

Questions? The sheriff’s office says call 360-748-9286 for detective McGinty, detective Brad Borden or Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.

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Correction: This news items was updated Wednesday Feb. 16, 2011 at 7:15 p.m. to reflect that Reinke Road is east of Centralia.
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To search for registered sex offenders living within a specified radius from your home, work or school, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Offender Watch page, here. There, you can also find safety tips and other information, as well as register to receive email alerts if a new offender registers with an address near you

Onalaska crash victim’s name released

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The man struck and killed on Centralia-Alpha Road this morning as he was assessing the damage on his own car that had slid into a ditch has been identified as Steven B. Wirth, a 53-year-old Onalaska resident.

Wirth was traveling northbound near Beck Road and ended up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road, according to the Washington State Patrol. He then got out to inspect his car, Sgt. Ted DeHart said.

A northbound 2003 Mazda MX5, driven by a 36-year-old Onalaska woman, then slid on the icy road across the centerline and hit Wirth and his car, according to DeHart.

He was dead at the scene.

The Mazda MX5 rolled onto its top, coming to rest just north of Wirth’s vehicle. It’s driver, Jo L. Halverson, 36, was taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital with head and neck pain, the state patrol reported.

There was localized ice and frost on the roads in Lewis County this morning, DeHart said.

A the same time, some 100 to 200 feet away, a Ford Escort carrying two high school students had slid off the road, DeHart said.

Also, a fire department volunteer responding in their personal vehicle was almost stopped when it slid into the back of a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle, causing minimal damage to the volunteer’s vehicle.

It all happened around 7:30 a.m. about two miles north of Onalaska.

The collision is still under investigation, but DeHart said evidence suggested Halverson was not exceeding the posted speed limit and there did not appear to be any willful or wanton disregard for others on her part.

The MX5 was totaled, according to the state patrol. The amount of damage to Wirth’s 1985 Mazda RX7 was not described.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

NAPAVINE WOMAN HIT BY CAR IN CROSSWALK

• A Napavine woman crossing Pearl Street in Centralia was struck by a car yesterday and taken to Providence Centralia Hospital. Police were called about 1:30 p.m. to the intersection of Centralia College Boulevard and South Pearl Street, according to the Centralia Police Department. The 50-year-old pedestrian had injuries to her back, neck and legs, according to police Sgt. Kurt Reichert. The driver, Kathey Moon, 69, of Centralia, was ticketed for failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, according to Reichert.

ROLLOVER WRECK ON INTERSTATE 5

• A Chehalis woman was hospitalized after rolling her car on Interstate 5 in Chehalis this morning. It happened about 7:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes just south of the Main Street interchange, according to the Chehalis Fire Department. Firefighters had to pry open the driver’s door to extricate the 58-year-old driver, who appeared to have escaped any serious injuries, according to fire Capt. Kevin Curfman.

CAR CRASHES INTO MACHINERY

• Police and aid were called about 2 o’clock this morning after a vehicle crashed into some heavy equipment parked at Reynolds Avenue and Lum Road in Centralia. Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Greg Schwartz said there was nobody in the vehicle when firefighters arrived, but police subsequently found the driver, who declined aid.

BANK CARD THEFT

• Chehalis police were called yesterday evening about a stolen bank card being used to take money out of an ATM on North Market Boulevard in Chehalis.

BROKEN CAR WINDOWS

• Centralia police took three calls this morning of windows being broken out of vehicles. The first one was at 5:15 a.m. on the 200 block of North Ash Street. Less than an hour later, an individual reported someone had thrown a stereo speaker through the rear window of a vehicle on the 1000 block of Centralia College Boulevard. The third incident occurred at the 500 block of East Locust Street.

TIRES SLASHED

• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon about tires being slashed on Northeast Washington Avenue in Chehalis.

Breaking news: One male dead in rural Chehalis crash this morning

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

This was updated at 9:25 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

Troopers and Lewis County sheriff’s deputies are “working” a fatality accident on Centralia-Alpha Road this morning.

Aid was called about 7:30 a.m. to a three-vehicle collision near Beck Road north of Onalaska, according to Lewis County Fire District 6 Firefighter Mike Goodwillie.

Two cars were on their tops with extensive damage, Goodwillie said.

One person was deceased, one person was taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital and two other individuals declined aid, Lewis County Fire District 5 Chief Eric Linn said.

Trooper Steve Schatzel said it was a male who died.

It was extremely icy out, Linn said, the road so slick responders had to walk in the ditch instead of the pavement.

Linn said it was his understanding a motorist stopped to help out a driver who had gone into a ditch and a car coming the other way lost control and hit the parked car.

The male who was killed was outside his vehicle, according to the state patrol.

Schatzel said his early information suggested there were three cars but one was not involved in the collision. More information is expected later this morning, Schatzel said.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

CENTRALIA MAN THREATENS GRANDMOTHER WITH KNIFE, POLICE SAY

• Centralia police arrested a 33-year-old man yesterday evening who reportedly armed himself with a kitchen knife and threatened to cut his grandmother’s throat. When officers arrived to the home on the 300 block of Yew Street, Rainier P. Wagner was laying outside on the ground crying and shouting, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sgt. Kurt Reichert said the 81-year-old grandmother had gone to Wagner’s home to check on him and he was upset because he couldn’t find his cigarette papers. Wagner was rambling about how much pain he was in and talking about imaginary people, Reichert said. Wagner was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree assault, domestic violence, according to police.

FIGHT OVER MOTHER’S WILL LANDS WOMAN IN JAIL

• A 50-year-old woman was arrested for misdemeanor assault in Centralia last night following a dispute with her sister over their mother’s will, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers called about 10 p.m. to the 900 block of South Schueber Road booked Linda L. Schultz, of Chehalis, into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

CARETAKER ARRESTED FOR STEALING CHECKS

• An 84-year-old Centralia-area woman reported yesterday nine of her checks had been stolen and then cashed at various locations, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The total was $7,700. The woman’s caretaker, Kaci L. Comstock, 24, of Centralia, was subsequently arrested and booked for first-degree theft, detective Sgt. Dusty Breen said.

THEFTS

• Sometime between 3:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. yesterday, somebody entered an unlocked house on the 3700 block of Mayberry Road outside Centralia and stole a laptop computer, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Centralia police took a report about 4 p.m. yesterday of a greenish 1993 Honda Accord stolen from North Washington Avenue. The four door car has a license plate reading 666 ZHA, light-colored window tinting which is bubbling up and a trailer hitch-style dent in the front bumper, according to police.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday about the theft of a gray 1990 Honda Accord. from the corner of Northwest Rhode Island Avenue and Northwest West Street.

• Police were called to the 1100 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia yesterday where someone had attempted overnight to remove stereo equipment from a vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FIRE

• Firefighters were called to a residence in Grand Mound yesterday afternoon when a BBQ apparently malfunctioned and caught the side of a house on fire. Fire Chief Robert Scott said an individual had attempted to douse it with a garden hose, but firefighters finished putting it out with a dry chemical extinguisher. The damage to the siding on the home at the 6400 block of 201st Avenue Southwest was minimal, Scott said. The chief said he believed a hose for the BBQ failed.

Morning St. Helens quake not believed to be volcanic related

Monday, February 14th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Seismologists at the University of Washington say they are thinking today’s earthquake near Mount St. Helens is not volcanic related.

A shallow quake of magnitude 4.3 struck at 10:35 a.m. six miles northwest of the volcano and 19 miles south of Morton, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

The quake and its aftershocks occurred right beneath the Johnstone Ridge Observatory, said Doug Gibbons, a research assistant at the U.W. seismic laboratory. They’ve been in contact with staff there and they were not damaged, he said.

The morning shaking happened in a place named the St. Helen’s seismic zone, he said.

“This is a zone with crustal faults, like others, and just happens to be close to the volcano,” Gibbons said this afternoon. “It’s in the park, but not under the crater and not within the zone where we’d be looking for volcanic activity.”

Lewis County Emergency Management this morning had received about a dozen calls from people who said they felt it in Morton, Mossyrock and Randle.

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network got reports from people from Lake Oswego and Astoria Ore. up through Olympia.

The seismic network labeled it a light earthquake.

“A lot of those felt weak shaking,” Gibbons said.

This morning’s shaking was followed by at least eight aftershocks, two of which people noticed – one of 2.8 magnitude and another of 2.3, Gibbons said about 4 p.m. today.

“We haven’t had an earthquake like this with aftershocks in awhile,” Gibbons said. “We don’t usually get aftershocks that are felt.”

The last time the particular region saw an earthquake of similar size was a 3.9 earthquake on May 24, 2003, according to Gibbons.

Sgt. Ross McDowell, of Lewis County Emergency Management, said late this morning there were no reports of damage. However, because of its shallowness, folks could have cracking in their houses, he said.

Late this afternoon, the Lewis County 911 center had no calls reporting anything more than the quake was felt.

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash. reported this evening “(A)t present there appears to be no signs of unrest in the volcanic system.”

Gibbons said because the earthquake was only about three miles deep, “we think it’s just crustal faulting.”

By contrast, the quake on Nov. 16 near Mossyrock was about nine miles below the surface and initially recorded at 3.5 and upgraded to 4.2. It made the list of notable Pacific Northwest earthquakes since 1993, compiled by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

Today’s quake was in the same area where two weeks ago more than a dozen small earthquakes were felt, according to McDowell.

McDowell said folks should remember we live in an earthquake zone and they should be prepared, because there is little or no notification for earthquakes.

Washington state typically experiences over 1,000 earthquakes each month, according to Lewis County Emergency Management. Of these, approximately two dozen a year are large enough to be felt.

The public can follow the earthquake data at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network’s website

Follow observations of scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash. here

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"Did you feel it?" response area map from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. / Courtesy image from Pacific Northwest Seismic Network

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, February 14th, 2011

BOMB ON BUS A JOKE, BUT NOT SO FUNNY TO DEPUTIES

• A 16-year-old girl was arrested on Friday for allegedly making a bomb threat on a Rochester school bus. Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called about 3:45 p.m. to 191st and Elderberry Street Southwest where the drive had pulled over with some 38 students on the bus, according to sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin. They pulled the student off the bus and concluded it was her intent to just pull a prank, Elwin said. She reportedly had said, “Everybody scream there’s a bomb.” She was taken to the Thurston County juvenile Detention facility and booked for a felony, according to Elwin.

LOTS OF THEFTS

• An approximately one ton piece of equipment vanished sometime overnight from the 100 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Saturday morning. The Centralia Police Department described it as a hydraulic “thumb” from an excavator. it appeared somebody hooked up to it, drug it into an alley, loaded it onto a vehicle and hauled it away, according to police. The steel item has the numbers 33003T welded onto its side, according to police.

• A deputy was called Saturday night to a burglary at the 2500 block of Seminary Hill Road in Centralia where somebody had stolen cash from a locked safe and other items, including a bottle of Valium and a box syringes totaling more than $16,000, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened sometime between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. that night, the sheriff’s office reported.

• Somebody stole an upright freezer, a Kenmore front-loading washer and dryer, a Craftsman tool chest containing tools, a chainsaw and other items from a barn on the 700 block of Coal Creek Road in Chehalis, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The report made Friday indicated the burglary occurred sometime between Wednesday and Friday, the sheriff’s office reported.

• Centralia police were called just before midnight on Friday to a business on the 100 block of High Street where somebody broke in and stole several jackets.

• Centralia police were called Friday about a theft from a residence on the 1000 block of L Street. Details were not readily available.

• A deputy was Sunday morning to the 100 block of Bunker Road west of Centralia where somebody had broken into a cabin and also stolen wiring from a bulldozer, a dump truck and a generator. Also, batteries and two bikes were missing. The loss was estimated at $2,600.

• A Salkum resident reported on Saturday he purchased a chainsaw the day before for $300 and then suspected it might have been stolen and it was, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Kly L. Thompson, 23, of Mossyrock, was subsequently arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for trafficking in stolen property and possession of stolen property, according to the sheriff’s office. Thompson admitted taking the chainsaw from a friend on the 300 block of Winston Creek Road, the sheriff’s office reported.

• A deputy was called Saturday to the 100 block of Avery Road West outside Chehalis where a Hewlett Packard laptop computer had been stolen. A 19-year-old Winlock resident, Rodney S. Creech, was subsequently arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree theft, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A 46-year-old Centralia woman was arrested with a stolen ATM card in her purse after deputies contacted her in connection with a card stolen from another Centralia woman, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported today. The report was made Friday that the card had been taken sometime in the previous two days, according to the sheriff’s office. A deputy learned from the bank the card had been used 22 times, including at the Lucky Eagle Casino, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Photos from the casino led a deputy to Lorrie A. Landry who was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree theft, Brown said.

• A white 1992 Mazda pickup was stolen sometime between Wednesday and Friday from where it had been parked at a store on the 700 block of Leonard Road in Onalaska, according to a report made to the  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $2,000.

A green 1991 Honda Accord was stolen from the parking lot on the 600 block of Centralia College Boulevard sometime between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Friday, according to police. Its license plate reads 089 ZCS.

• A blue 1991 Chevrolet S-10 pickup was reported stolen from the 400 block of South Iron Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Friday. Its license plate rads A63038V.

• Chehalis police were called Friday night to the parking lot at Wal-Mart where an individual reported he returned to his car after being gone for about an hour and discovered someone had stolen $250 cash and a quarter ounce of medical marijuana from his locked vehicle, which was still locked when he returned. Chehalis police detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said that was a first, for a prowler being nice enough to re-lock a vehicle after prowling it.

• Centralia police took a report on Friday from the 1300 block of Alexander Street about about a vehicle being prowled twice over the previous month. A stereo was stolen, according to the centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called last nigh to the 400 block of South Diamond Street where someone had smashed a potted plant against a collector vehicle.

• Chehalis police were called Saturday morning to Washington and Park Street about the back window of a vehicle being smashed out.

• Centralia police were called about two slashed tires at the 2800 block of Russell Road on Saturday that had occurred overnight.