Archive for February, 2012

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Cause of downtown Centralia fire may not be verifiable

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities were expecting a structural engineer this morning to examine what remains of the burned out two-story building in downtown Centralia and determine if it must be torn down.

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Dr. Matz building

Firefighting crews were on the scene at Tower Avenue and Main Street overnight hitting hot spots with water, a spokesperson for the police and fire departments said this morning.

A meeting is scheduled for noon so that officials can make decisions about their next steps, according to Centralia Police Department Officer John Panco.

Fire swept through the historic Dr. Matz building early yesterday, devastating five businesses and leaving the inhabitants of a dozen second-floor apartments homeless.

The box-like gray building is probably best known for owner Linda Hamilton’s Centralia Perk coffee shop.

Riverside Fire Authority Assistant Chief Rick Mack said he and other investigators have not been able to go inside to determine the cause, but an interview yesterday with the couple associated with Curious Betty’s clothing boutique offered some possibilities.

One is a plug-in baseboard type space heater, which would be unusual if it had ignited, Mack said.

The other more likely source was a taper candle which was burning on a desk inside the shop, he said.

The couple had worked a long day and laid down and fallen asleep in the boutique when they awoke to intense heat and heavy smoke, Mack said.

They managed to find their way outside fortunately, he said.

“They are extremely lucky because there are no smoke alarms in that portion of the building,” Mack said. “That they woke up at all is a miracle.”

Investigators may or may not be able to get inside the building to determine the cause of the fire because of the structural integrity of the building, he said.

Fire Chief Jim Walkowski today said crews never made it inside the Matz building.

“There was a collapse of the floor section above Betty’s and we fought it from the outside,” Walkowski said.

Riverside was called at about 2:20 a.m. yesterday and joined by fire departments from Chehalis, Napavine, Rochester and Gibson Valley.

The fire wasn’t contained until 6 a.m., but they continued to pour water on it from ladder trucks throughout the day.

Firefighters did take hoses into an adjacent building, where they battled to keep the flames that tried to spread  south to the other businesses on the block, Walkowski said.

Even that was risky, according to the chief.

“We had a structural collapse as they were fighting fire inside (there),” he said. “It was really close.”

Walkowski said he believed there were smoke alarms in the apartment area but there was no monitored fire alarm system in the building.

The chief said some of those who were displaced were getting assistance from the Red Cross and some were staying with family.

Assistant Chief Mack still has a couple of possible other ignition sources to work on ruling in or out.

The official cause on his report is going to read undetermined, Mack said this morning, until and if he can get inside and hopefully find out for sure what happened.

He said he doesn’t have any reason to disbelieve the couple from Curious Betty’s.

“Like I said, and I’ll say it again,” Mack said. “It was a miracle they got out alive.”

•••

Watch a video from a circling helicopter yesterday by KATU.com out of Portland, here

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

SHERIFF’S OFFICE: RANDLE MAN THREATENS TO KILL HIS FAMILY

• Deputies were called to the 100 block of Young Road in Randle about 12:30 a.m. today where a woman told them her ex-husband had threatened to shoot his entire family and then himself, or load them up in a car and drive them off a cliff. Deputies were also told the 43-year-old man had thrown a cell phone at his teenage step-daughter and shoved his ex-wife, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The suspect was not found so the sheriff’s office is asking the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office to file a charge against him of felony harassment, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

INTRUDER HELD AT GUNPOINT

• A 26-year-old Randle man was detained by a resident with a shotgun early Sunday morning after he was suspected of breaking into a pump house and allegedly trying to kick in a door of the nearby home on the 11,000 block of U.S. Highway 12, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Evan R. Tashelle said he was just trying to get warm, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. He was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree trespassing, Brown said.

DOGNAPPING ALLEGED

• The sheriff’s office reported yesterday the landlord of an Ethel-area rental home was arrested for allegedly sneaking into the home and stealing a puppy he told his tenant he could not keep there. A deputy called to the 2000 block of U.S. Highway 12 on Monday found footprints inside the home which matched the boots of the landlord, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Arrested for residential burglary was Brian S. Steward, 46, Brown said. Steward denied going into the home, according to Brown. The 6-month old Pit Bull and Labrador mix has not been found, she said. A container of laundry detergent was missing as well, Brown said.

PUPPY STOLEN

• A deputy took a report on Monday from the area of Jackson Highway and state Route 508 that a man stole a black Heeler puppy valued at $300, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A 47-year-old man described as transient was selling puppies on the side of the road and said the prospective buyer took a dog, put it in a vehicle and drove away, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

THEFT

• The sheriff’s office reported yesterday that someone kicked open a door of a home on the 100 block of Roth Road in Winlock and stole a television, a laptop computer, a cell phone and eight boxes of ammunition. The break-in was discovered about 5 p.m. on Friday when the resident returned home, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday that a woman at the 1800 block of Van Wormer Street in Centralia discovered someone had broken into a locked box in her bedroom and stolen about $10,000.  It appeared someone used a key to get in it and it happened in the days before last Wednesday, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. A deputy was told the woman’s son had had friends visiting the home, according to Brown.

• Centralia police were called about 11:50 p.m. yesterday to the 700 block of South Silver Street about someone breaking into a storage shed. It’s not clear what might have been taken, according to Centralia Police Department.

• A deputy was called to St. Ives Church in Silver Creek where someone had tried to force open a door sometime between Sunday night and Monday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A deputy was called to the 2400 block of Lincoln Creek Road where someone had damaged a garage door trying to break in, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday. It occurred sometime last week, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Historical downtown building: “You can see, everything is lost”

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
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Linda Hamilton and friends watch firefighters work today across the street at her building

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – The two streets next to the burned out Dr. Matz building in downtown Centralia will remain closed through tonight after an early morning fire ravaged the historical structure.

“The reason is the integrity of the building itself is in question,” Centralia Police Department Officer John Panco said this afternoon.

The city building inspector will reassess the situation at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning, Panco said.

The gray masonry box-like structure on the southwest corner of Tower Avenue and Main Street was built in 1889; it’s among the oldest buildings in town.

It originally housed National Bank. Dr. Matz was a dentist, according to Panco.

Until today, it was home to Centralia Perk, a coffee shop and antique store which many noted has enlivened the downtown atmosphere with sidewalk seating and space for conversation.

“This is a cornerstone of downtown, right here,” Paige Merriman, who operates a neighboring accounting business, said this morning.

It appeared the interior of the building was totally destroyed, Panco said.

Damaged were five businesses on the lower level – a tattoo shop, a barber shop, a hair salon, an antique store and Curious Betty’s clothing boutique – as well as a dozen apartments on the second floor, according to the building owner.

Crews from four fire departments joined Riverside Fire Authority after the call came just before 2:20 a.m.

Linda Hamilton, who bought the building in 2001, renovated it and opened her coffee shop the following year, said she was awakened by noises in the hallway.

Hamilton said she just last night installed a video surveillance system, which she jumped up to look at.

“It showed people running (down the hall),” she said.

Many of her tenants are college students, she said.

“Jacob Dow saved all of us,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said they encountered black smoke and she thought the flames were on the ground level, coming from Curious Betty’s.

Panco described how Dow helped get the residents out.

“It’s pretty heroic, going into a burning building,” Panco said. “I heard he went door to door, pounding on the doors to wake people up.”

Jim Francis, who owns the Hub Bar and Grill across the street said he arrived about 5:30 a.m. and the fire was still blazing.

“I got down here, it was just chaos,” Francis said. “The building was on fire, water was running down the street,” he said. “What a total loss.”

“I hate to see that happen to her,” he said of Hamilton.

The fire was considered contained at 6 a.m.

Fire crews remained on the scene later this morning, with a hose from atop a ladder truck continuing to spray through the roof.

Stretches of both Tower Avenue and Main Street were still closed and motorists were detoured.

Hamilton was joined by family members across the street, among a small crowd of onlookers.

“You can see, everything’s lost,” she said.

Panco said he didn’t have any information about damage to the building directly south of the Matz building. The power was still shut off to the five or so businesses along the block, he said about noontime.

At the south end of the block, in front of the Fox Theater, the owner of a new frozen yogurt store was armed with a broom to keep the storm drain from backing up.

Jamie Kaiser pointed to what appeared to be soot-laden water that had seeped beneath the glass doors of the theater onto its floor.

“I’m keeping the drain clean,” Kaiser said.

There was talk this afternoon among city officials about possibly bringing in a crane or something similar to take down the walls of the Matz building.

The city building inspector will decide if the building is safe or if it has to come down, Panco said just before noon.

The fire marshal and police detectives are investigating the cause.

Hamilton has had a fire there before. She said it was about two years ago when a homeless person set up camp in her basement and a lamp got knocked over. The damage was minimal.

Ironically, Hamilton said she gave a tour of the upstairs just last week to some of the Centralia firefighters. She was imagining how dangerous it could be to fight a fire in such an old structure, she said. She told them, “(I)f something happens, just let the building go”, she said.

Jeff Miller, president of the Centralia Downtown Association, said he and Paige Merriman thought her accounting and antique doll business adjacent to the Matz building suffered a little smoke damage.

Miller this morning recalled how he had campaigned, unsuccessfully, for businesses in the downtown buildings to install lock boxes, so firefighters could get inside if they needed to.

“A $150 box might have saved me $2,500 for a new door,” he said.

Hamilton’s upstairs apartment was set to be featured in the local newspaper as one of the nicer residences in town, he said.

“Linda’s a dear friend, my heart goes out to her,” Miller said.

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Tower Avenue looking north from Locust Street

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Looking east up Main Street at the back of the Matz building from Pearl Street

•••

See more photos and read “Breaking news: Downtown Centralia building burns” from Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 8:03 a.m., here, or just scroll down

For even more photos, check Lewis County Sirens on Facebook

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Breaking news: Downtown Centralia building burns

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
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Courtesy photo by Lindsey Tomasheck

Updated at 8:31 a.m. and 9:23 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters are still on the scene this morning at a blaze in a downtown Centralia building.

“It’s still actively burning,” Riverside Fire Authority Firefighter-paramedic Craig Ellenbolt said.

Crews were called just before 2:20 a.m. when fire broke out at 101 S. Tower Avenue.

It’s the Dr. Matz building on the southwest corner of Main and Tower, a masonry structure among the oldest buildings in town, Centralia Police Department Officer John Panco said.

A dozen residents of the apartments on the upper level were evacuated safely and are all accounted for, Panco said this morning.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army are on scene offering assistance, as fire departments continue to spray water on the building, he said.

The ground level houses the Centralia Perk coffee shop and a tattoo shop, according to Panco. Linda Hamilton of Centralia Perk owns the building, he said.

The power has been shut down to an approximately three-block area, according to Centralia City Light.

Ashley Stemkoski with city light said some 75 to 100 customers are without electricity between Tower Avenue and Pearl Street and Magnolia to Locust streets.

They’re waiting until the fire department gives them the okay to turn it back on, Stemkoski said about 9:15 a.m.

Officials are just getting ready to open up Pearl Street but remaining closed are Tower Avenue from Locust to Pine, and Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Pearl Street, police said about 9:25 a.m.

The cause is under investigation, according to Panco.

More to come

•••

For more photos, check Lewis County Sirens on Facebook

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Dr. Matz building at southwest corner of Tower Avenue and Main Street in downtown Centralia.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Updated at 1:19 p.m.

WOMAN CONFRONTS STRANGER INSIDE HER ETHEL HOME

• Deputies arrested a 41-year-old man after getting summoned just before 2 p.m. yesterday to an Ethel residence where a stranger entered a home and began yelling  incoherently at a woman’s children, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The woman confronted the stranger with a loaded firearm and the man fled her home on the 1700 block of U.S. Highway 12, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Lynn K. Jorgensen, 41, was subsequently found about a mile west of the home and was booked into the Lewis County Jail for trespass, Brown said.

MOSSYROCK WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY SWINGING SWORD AT HUSBAND

• A 40-year-old Mossyrock man called 911 early Saturday morning after his wife allegedly began swinging a 4-foot long sword at him and backed him into a corner. Deputies who responded to the 200 block of Coleman Road west of Mossyrock found the man sustained small scratch in his ribs from the weapon, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. They were told his wife had arrived home about 4 a.m. and crawled into bed smelling of alcohol prior to the attack, Brown said.  Melissa M. Church, 36, of Mossyrock, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, according to Brown. Brown did not indicated why the woman was angry. Church is being released without charges pending further investigation.

ASSAULT WITH GUN IN TOLEDO

• Police arrested Darren Mosteller for second-degree assault after an incident early Sunday morning at the 500 block of Pine Street in Toledo in which a firearm was discharged inside a home. Mosteller, whose age was not readily available, was reportedly involved in a dispute with his adult son, according to the Toledo Police Department.

ALLEGED SHOPLIFTER ARRESTED FOR WIELDING KNIFE

• A 26-year-old Shelton man was arrested after he allegedly threatened an employee with a knife following a shoplifting incident at Wal-Mart in Chehalis on Friday. Police called about 3:20 p.m. to the store on the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue were told the man fled toward Home Depot. Jacob M. Walls was subsequently arrested for first-degree robbery and booked into the Lewis County Jail, detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said. A pocket knife was found, according to McNamara.

BASEBALL BAT THREAT

• A 22-year-old Mossyrock man was arrested yesterday after allegedly threatening to use a baseball bat on his uncle. Deputies called about 4:30 p.m. to the 100 block of Powers Road in Mossyrock were told Mickey W. Graham had thrown the bat down and fled the property, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Graham was later found on Winston Creek Road and booked into the Lewis County Jail for felony harassment and warrants, Brown said.

MAN ACCUSED OF HITTING CHILD, MAKING THREATS

• Deputies called just before 7 p.m. on Friday to a home on the 200 block of Chilvers Road west of Chehalis found a crying woman who said her husband had been drinking and had struck her 4-year-old grandchild, as well as threatened to kill her and the child, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Todd Q. Lindsay, 48, denied the accusations but was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for felony harassment, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. His case is being referred for a possible charge of misdemeanor assault as well, according to Brown.

THEFT

• An employee at the Fred Meyer distribution center in the Chehalis Industrial Park was arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars of merchandise and reselling it, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. A deputy called Friday to the warehouse on Maurin Road was told Joseph L. Ranney, 30, of Toledo, had diverted eight cases of iPods and tried to send them to a buyer in Ohio, according to  Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. The 55 iPods, valued at $14,000, were seized at a postal facility in Kent after they were mailed, according to Brown. Ranney is also accused of previously stealing one case of the electronics, according to Brown. He was arrested for first-degree theft and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A Taurus 9 mm handgun, a Ruger 1022 rifle, an Airsoft gun and other valuables were missing after a burglary at the 1200 block of South Military Road in Winlock reported on Friday evening, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Residents of a home on the 800 block of South Military Road in Winlock called 911 Friday evening after finding their back door broken open and their 40-inch Samsung television missing, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

•  A 1977 Ford truck stolen from a vacant lot in Mineral – or what was left of it – turned up on Friday at a home in Pierce County, according to  the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The owner recovered the stripped vehicle and deputies have a suspect, the sheriff’s office reported this morning. The case involving a 44-year-old man described as a transient from the Mineral, Elbe and Ashford area is being referred to the prosecutor’s office for a possible charge of first-degree theft, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DRUGS

• A 31-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of heroin after police responded to a vehicle prowl at the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia about 7:20 a.m. yesterday. Officers were directed to a suspect in a motel room at the PepperTree Motel where they arrested Mark S. Chesler, according to Centralia Police Department’s officer John Panco. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police. He is being released without charges pending further investigation.

• A 49-year-old Tenino woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine early this morning after police answered a complaint about a woman parked in a car outside a business on the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Kelly J. George was holding a pipe when she was contacted, Officer John Panco said. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called just before 7 o’clock this morning about a vehicle prowl on the 500 block of Jackson Street in Centralia.

• Police were called about 12:30 p.m. yesterday to a car prowl on the 800 block of Southwest William Street in Chehalis. Cash and medication were missing from a van, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A carpool van belonging to Intercity Transit was prowled when it was parked at Ace Hardware on the 700 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis, according to a report made to police yesterday afternoon. Its windows were smashed out but nothing appeared to be missing, according to Chehalis police. A trail of rocks led to a residence on Eighth Street but no arrests were made, detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said.

• A GPS unit was stolen from a vehicle parked at Wal-Mart in Chehalis after its window was broken, according to a report made to Chehalis police just before 5 p.m. on Friday.

• The window was broken out of a car parked on the 1000 block of Ellsbury Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

CHAIR THROUGH WINDOW DOWNTOWN CHEHALIS

• Officers were called about 11:30 a.m. on Friday to the 400 block of North Market Boulevard in Chehalis after someone tossed a chair through a window from inside an upper level unit at the St. Helens Apartments. The two occupants there denied there was any kind of an altercation going on, according to Chehalis police.

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News brief: Search on for missing man in south Thurston County

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Updated Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 1:50 p.m

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in finding a 51-year-old man missing since Friday from south Thurston County.

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Donald G. Turner

Deputies this morning are searching the area around the 1700 block of Leitner Road Southwest, northeast of Rochester for Donald G. Turner, according to sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin.

Turner is diabetic and uses medication which was left behind, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

Turner has gray hair and blue eyes and is 5-feet 11-inches tall weighing 190 pounded, according to Elwin.

A report was made yesterday that Turner vanished from the Leitner Road location, according to Elwin.

Turner has friends in both north Lewis and south Thurston counties, according to Elwin.

Update Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 1:50 p.m.: Sheriff’s Lt. Elwin says Turner turned up and he is okay. “He decided to leave his sister’s house and is making plans to live elsewhere … he just failed to tell anyone,” Elwin wrote in a note this morning.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

SUSPECTED HEROIN DEALERS ARRESTED

• Police found a little more than an ounce of heroin when they went to a Centralia motel room early yesterday morning looking for a 40-year-old man, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sgt. Carl Buster said officers were tracking down Todd J. Dodge and learned he was at the establishment on the 1300 block of Lakeshore Drive around 12:45 a.m. Police were trying to find him in connection with a previous drug arrest, Buster said. Dodge and Ashleigh L. McKennan, 26, both of Centralia, were arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of heroin with intent to deliver, according to police. Update Monday Feb. 13, 2012: They were both to be released without charged pending further investigation.

• Two more individuals were arrested for possession of heroin with intent to deliver just before 8 p.m. yesterday at the 1500 block of South Gold Street in Centralia after police served a search warrant at their home. Booked into the Lewis County Jail were Anthony B. Velazquez, 29, and Rosa M. Sanchez-Anderson, 20, according to the Centralia Police Department. A third person there Robert R. Downward, 34, of Centralia, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, according to police. Officer John Panco said officers went there looking for someone with a warrant, observed heroin inside the home and subsequently sought a search warrant. The report did not say where the drugs were seen or the quantity confiscated, Panco said. He did say scales and packaging materials were found there.

METH ARREST

• A 41-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine  and an outstanding warrant at a motel on the 1300 block of Lakeshore Drive in Centralia about 11:30 p.m. on Friday night. Officers booked Cord L. Barnett into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• Centralia police yesterday morning took a report of a burglary to a house being remodeled on the 600 block of South Gold Street. Further details were not readily available.

• Centralia police were called just before 9 p.m. last night to the 400 block of South Silver Street about a car prowl. The CD player’s faceplate as taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Someone smashed a car window and stole a purse at the 900 block of Johnson Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 5:50 p.m. on Friday.

• A security camera was reported stolen yesterday from the 200 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to police.

DUI, HIT AND RUN

• A 37-year-old Centralia man was arrested for driving under the influence early yesterday morning after his vehicle  allegedly struck three parked cars near an apartment complex at Virginia Drive and North Pearl Street. Jose Pineda-Reyes reportedly didn’t stick around but police found him a few blocks away, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked also for hit and run, police reported. His passenger, Juventino Barrera-Martinez, 32, also of Centralia, was arrested for violation of a protection order. Police said the pair fled to a home where a woman had a protection order against him.

•••

This post has been corrected to reflect the proper spelling of Cord L. Barnett. His name was provided incorrectly to the news media by the Centralia Police Department.

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