Archive for April, 2011

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

HOME-IN-PROGRESS PLUNDERED FOR ITS COPPER

• A deputy was called yesterday to a home under construction in Mineral after the discovery somebody had stolen all the copper plumbing and copper wiring. The loss from the residence on the 300 block of Mineral Road South is estimated at $5,000, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

DOG-NAPPING IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called about 9 a.m. yesterday to the 1200 block of Mellen Street where a woman reported someone took her black, long-haired Chihuahua out of her vehicle while she was inside a store.

THEFT

• Chehalis police were called yesterday by an individual who saw some of his stolen property listed online on Craigs list for sale. The case is under investigation.

DRUGS

• A 21-year-old woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after she was contacted about an outstanding warrant about 10 p.m. last night near the 400 block of West Main Street in Centralia. Katrina D. Miller, no hometown noted, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

News brief: Lewis County search and rescue vehicles plundered

Monday, April 4th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Portable radios, a generator and other items used for search and rescue operations are missing after a break-in to the sheriff’s office command post trailer where they were stored in Packwood.

The theft, discovered yesterday morning, amounts to an estimated $9,000 loss, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Search and rescue volunteers were preparing to train yesterday when they found somebody had forced their way inside two search and rescue vehicles parked at the former Hampton Mill in Packwood, according to Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.

Taken were outdoor lights, a GPS unit, a Honda generator and 18 Motorola portable radios. The radios are models CP200 and HT440, according to the Seiber.

“That’s the county supply we issue (for missions),” Seiber said of the radios. He thought he might have six remaining.

Seiber said the radios cost $600 to $1,000 each.

Those responsible tried to force their way into several other vehicles but weren’t successful, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield is hoping the equipment can be found.

“This is a great loss for our search and rescue program, and I can only imagine the type of person(s) who would steal something that is so essential to saving lives,” Mansfield stated in a news release. “I feel confident that someone who knows something about this will step forward and provide information that will lead to the recovery of the stolen items.”

Lewis County Crime Stoppers is offering g a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible and the recovery of the stolen items. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 1-800-748-6422.

Anyone with information can also contact Seiber at 360-740-1341.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, April 4th, 2011

CHEHALIS CITY EMPLOYEE SUSPECTED OF THEFT OF CASH FROM SAFE

• An investigation into a November burglary at a city of Chehalis building on South Market Boulevard at 13th Street led to a city employee, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Money – including some raised through a benefit for the daughter of a pair of police department employees – was stolen from a safe, according to police. It was reported the morning of Nov. 19. Chehalis detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said the burglary to the community services building involved an amount of less than $1,000, but he didn’t have the details readily available. The case involving the city employee, whose name he did not disclose, was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office for a charging decision sometime in the days before last Wednesday, McNamara said. He referred questions about the case to the city manager.

THEFTS

• Centralia police were called about 8:20 p.m. last night to a burglary at a residence on the 1100 block of Borthwick Street in Centralia. Among the items taken several laptops and video game systems as well as camera equipment, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Tools and other items were taken in a burglary to a camper and outbuilding on the 700 block of Green Mountain Road near Mossyrock, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The break-in was reported on Saturday.

• Morton police were called about 9:20 p.m. on Saturday about a possible burglary at a residence on the 500 block of Division Avenue in Morton. An officer spoke with the resident who said she climbed through a window because she had misplaced her keys, according to Morton police.

• Police took a report on Saturday about the theft of items (unspecified by police) from a shed on the 1100 block of South Schueber Road in Centralia.

• Police were called to a report of a vehicle prowl about 5 p.m. yesterday at the 800 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia. Missing were glasses and some change, according to police.

• Police were called about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday about a car prowl on the 900 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia.

• Centralia police were called to reports of somebody siphoning gas from vehicles yesterday morning on the 2600 block of Borst Avenue and the 900 block of Rotary Lane in Centralia.

• Centralia police took a report on Friday morning of tampering with a power meter to a residence on the 500 block of Hillkress Street in Centralia.

DRUGS

• James Robinson, a 51-year-old Port Angeles man, was jailed for possession of cocaine after his arrest Saturday evening for shoplifting from two stores in the area of the 1300 block of Lum Road in Centralia, according to police.

• A 42-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine on Saturday night at the 600 block of J Street in Centralia. Dennis L. Lindquist, also driving with a suspended license, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

COLLISIONS

• A 29-year-old driver was hospitalized after a single-vehicle wreck about 3:40 p.m. yesterday near Randle, according to the Washington State Patrol. Jessica Talavera, of Lakewood, was taken to Morton General Hospital with back and leg pain after she drove her car off the right shoulder into a ditch on U.S. Highway 12 near Davis Creek Road, according to the state patrol. The 2006 Nissan Altima was described as totaled.

• Nobody was injured when a car drove into a pond near Northwest Louisiana Avenue and Northwest Airport Road in Chehalis at about 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, according to police.

• One individual was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital after a rollover accident just after midnight near Raubuck and Pleasant Valley roads west of Napavine, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

SUSPICIOUS FIRE

• Firefighters called about 8:30 p.m. last night to a fifth-wheel trailer fully engulfed in flames  in Rochester called sheriff’s deputies as the fire was suspicious, according to Chief Robert Scott of West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. The RV, unattached to any vehicle, was parked on some property near near Case Road Southwest and Poelhn Road and there was nobody around when the fire department arrived, according to Scott. The trailer was destroyed, he said

News brief: Three struck by vehicle at outdoor party

Monday, April 4th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Three young women were hit by a vehicle leaving a party off a logging road in the Winlock area  overnight.

Aid, deputies and troopers responded about 3 a.m. to the incident at the very end of a logging road off Raubuck Road west of Napavine, according to authorities.

The females, ages 19 through 20, were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

There were as many as 25 individuals at the outdoor party; all contacted were over 18 years old, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies made several arrests for minors in possession of alcohol, the sheriff’s office reported.

The driver of the vehicle was detained and questioned. Deputies and troopers are investigating what led to the incident, according to the sheriff’s office.

No names were released.

News brief: Another flood watch issued in Lewis, Thurston, Grays Harbor counties

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A new round of precipitation expected Monday has prompted another flood watch for portions of Western Washington, including Lewis, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties.

Twenty-four hour rainfall totals are expected to range from around an inch in the lowlands to two inches in the mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

Rivers are already running high, the ground is saturated and the rain may be heavy enough to drive some rivers over flood stage, the weather service reports.

Other counties under the flood watch include Mason, Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Clallam, Jefferson, King and Pierce.

A flood watch means conditions are favorable for flooding but it is not imminent or occurring. The weather service recommends members of the public monitor weather forecasts.

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Update Monday April 4, 2011 at 11:20 a.m. The flood watch in Western Washington appears to have been cancelled.

Read about state delays decision on site of new prison facility …

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The (Longview) Daily News reports the communities hoping to be home to a future 1000-bed prison will have to wait, as the decision on where and whether to site such a facility has been put on hold.

Representatives from the state Department of Corrections visited Winlock, Morton and numerous other locations in Western Washington, hoping to narrow their focus down to three sites by the end of March.

Daily News reporter Barbara LaBoe writes the state budget crunch means officials will look at other potential options for meeting expected future capacity.

Read LaBoe’s news story here

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Read “Morton, Winlock, pitch sites for new state prison” from Sunday Feb. 13, 2011, here

News brief: Missing Rochester mother located

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

2011.0401.lisa.linzy.tiny

Lisa D. Linzy

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reports the missing mother from Rochester has been found.

Lisa D. Linzy, 29, was reported missing Thursday night after not being seen since Tuesday night.

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Read “News brief: 29-year-old Rochester mother missing” from Friday April 1, 2011, here