Lewis County Sirens.com

A squirrel is electrocuted by Centralia City Light's main substation equipment. / Courtesy photo by Centralia City Light

CRITTER CAUSES WIDESPREAD ELECTRICAL OUTAGE IN CENTRALIA

• A large squirrel got into Centralia City Light’s main substation yesterday afternoon, knocking out power to an estimated 3,000 customers. It began with a loud “boom” about 4:15 p.m. and power was restored by about 5:45 p.m., according to General Manager Ed Williams. Firefighters had to rescue one employee at Cooks Hill Manor from an elevator stuck between floors. Williams said the incident took out about half the substation at North Tower Avenue and Sixth Street, equipment which serves about half the city. The squirrel did not survive.

THEFT

• Police were called just before 6 p.m. yesterday to the 100 block of West First Street in Centralia when a resident returned home after being gone a few minutes and found his front door open and groceries sitting on the floor. No intruder was found, according to Centralia police.

• Prescription medications were reported stolen from the 2500 block of Borst Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 3:45 a.m. today.

MYSTERY MAN JAILED

• Centralia police took a man to jail yesterday morning following a traffic stop in Borst Park in which he allegedly had a falsified trip permit – temporary vehicle license – in the rear window of his truck. The man, who police say is a 51-year-old from Fife, was booked for forgery, and officers will be using fingerprints to determine who he actually is, according to the Centralia Police Department. He presented two pieces of photo identification from two separate states, according to police. He was arrested under the name “Mickey John” also known as Mike White. The truck came to the attention of an officer because it was traveling the wrong way through the park, according to Officer John Panco.

RIVER RAFTERS THREATENED BY GUN-WIELDING WOMAN

• A Chehalis woman who fired shots from a .38 caliber pistol because she was upset at several individuals floating down the Newaukum River was arrested yesterday afternoon. Deputies called about 5 p.m. to the 700 block of state Route 508 learned the rafters had left from the Guerrier Road bridge and were cussed at by Denise R. Snell, 52, of Chehalis, who was angry about people using the river and leaving garbage, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Snell reportedly stood on the shore and threw rocks at the subjects, pointed the gun at them and then fired twice into a nearby field, according to the sheriff’s office. Snell was booked into the Lewis County Jail for felony harassment, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DRIVER FLEES POLICE, GETS TASED

• A police pursuit just after midnight on Saturday from Napavine, up Interstate 5 and into Centralia ended with a 47-year-old man arrested for first and third-degree assaults. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said the driver nearly struck a Centralia officer and narrowly missed a parked patrol car before stopping at the Pepper Tree Motel and fleeing on foot. The driver also allegedly kept slamming on his brakes trying to get a pursuing officer to rear-end his vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. Officers used a Taser on the subject as he fought with several officers, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Manuel E. Bolivar, 47, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Brown. Bolivar was wanted for a warrant, Brown said.

THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 12:30 a.m. on Saturday to the 1000 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue about a burglary in which jewelry and a video camera were missing.

• Chehalis police were called about 10:20 a.m. on Saturday after a pressure washer and tools were taken from a garage on the 100 block of Southwest First Street.

• Centralia police took two reports yesterday of computers stolen; one from the 1600 block of North Schueber Road and the other from a vehicle on the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue.

• A 24-year-old was arrested for possession of stolen property, trespassing and warrants on Saturday morning after a deputy was called to the 300 block of Kirkland Road outside Chehalis. A chainsaw found in the back of a vehicle was stolen, although David J. Eslick said he had bought it, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Eslick was booked into the Lewis County Jail and his companion, Rainy N. Hepburn, 29, was booked for trespassing, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A burglary to a garage on the 700 block of Shoen Road in Salkum was reported on Saturday, in which a motorcycle, two table saws, a new in-the-box Craftsman router, a generator and other items were stolen. It happened sometime between Aug. 10 and Saturday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $2,700.

• A 25-year-old Chehalis man reported he was out $2,850 after he tried to buy a vehicle on the Internet off Craigslist and twice wired money to the the supposed seller in Madrid, Spain, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. The vehicle was supposedly in Auburn, but after he sent the money via Western Union, the buyer didn’t ever get the vehicle, a deputy was told on Friday.

• A 1991 Lexus 400 was stolen Friday from the 6000 block of state Route 7 in Morton, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle has a license plate of 054 TQB, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Somebody got into the glove compartment of a vehicle parked near the Rails to Trails area on the 200 block of Highway 603 in Chehalis and stole a cell phone, and then apparently used it to post items on the victim’s Facebook page, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The theft occurred sometime between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, according to the sheriff’s office.

VANDALISM

• Somebody shoved the metal bleachers into the Pearl Street Pool in Centralia. The “kid prank” was discovered yesterday, according to Centralia police.

BARN BURNS NEAR MORTON

• An ember from a burn barrel charred about an acre of grass and ignited a barn yesterday yesterday in Morton. Firefighters called about 2:30 p.m. to the 800 block of Davis Lake Road extinguished the blaze but the building was destroyed, according to Fire Investigator Ted McCarty. A burn ban is still in place, McCarty said.