Updated at 6:56 p.m.
SHOTGUN SHELL POWERED MOLE TRAP MISFIRES
• A man in his early 70s was airlifted after a mishap with a high-powered mole trap today. Deputies and firefighters were called about 4:25 p.m. to the 400 block of Collins Road just outside Toledo where the patient was found with a serious hand injury, according to Lewis County Fire District 2. “He was setting a mole trap utilizing a 12-gauge shotgun shell and it accidentally discharged,” Fire Chief Grant Wiltbank said. A woman friend and a retired firefighter from across the street were helping the man when the fire department arrived, Wiltbank said. He was transported by ambulance to the Toledo Airport and was to be flown to Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Wiltbank said
COMMERCIAL THEFT
• A 36-year-old Chehalis man was arrested yesterday in connection with approximately $100,000 worth of cell phones, clothing and DVDs stolen from the UPS distribution center on Hamilton Road last year. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office this morning said the arrest for first-degree theft came in the ongoing investigation when deputies learned information that William M. Eaton was involved in the thefts that took place between last August and November. Eaton was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. A part-time employee was arrested in December, Roland E. Camps, 40, from Winlock, who was accused of stealing and re-selling thousands of dollars worth of cell phones and other merchandise, according to the sheriff’s office.
RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY MORTON
• Morton police were called to the 800 block of Overlook Drive about 2:10 a.m. yesterday after a resident arrived home to find at least two rooms were ransacked. it wasn’t readily apparent if anything was stolen, according to the Morton Police Department. The case is under investigation.
TOLEDO BURGLARY
• A 24-year-old Toledo area man reported every room was ransacked at his home on the 400 block of Eadon Road and thousands of dollars worth of cash and rare coins including wheat pennies and silver dollars were missing. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning the burglary occurred between 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and that someone had used a credit card to “swipe” the lock to the front door.
CENTRALIA BURGLARY
• Centralia police took a report of a burglary to a trailer at about 6 p.m. on Friday at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue. Missing were medications and a small amount of money, according to the Centralia Police Department.
PACKWOOD CARGO TRAILER PROWL
• Sometime between 10 a.m. on Saturday and 7:30 yesterday morning someone stole numerous tools when they broke in to a cargo trailer parked at a construction site described as isolated on the 300 block of Skate Creek Road South near Packwood. Among the missing are two nail guns, two circular saws and a compressor, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss to the 59-year-old Packwood resident is more than $800, according to the sheriff’s office.
CENTRALIA BOAT PROWL
• Centralia police took a report yesterday of a boat prowling, at the 1300 block of Lakeshore Drive. Someone got onto the the water craft which was tied up to a dock and stole fishing poles, tackle boxes its battery, its motor and some other unspecified items, according to the Centralia Police Department.
AUTO THEFT
• Police were called about 2:40 a.m. yesterday when a 1998 Honda Civic was stolen from the 100 block of West Maple Street in Centralia. Officers had a suspect in mind regarding the multi-colored hoodless car, according to the Centralia Police Department.
IT’S HASH OIL, SAYS BOY
• A 17-year-old Onalaska boy was returned to his mother but faces a possible drug charge after a traffic stop in which a deputy found two small containers with a black substance which the boy said was hash oil, he’d made himself after reading how in the Internet. The teen was pulled over just before 4 a.m. yesterday at the 1000 block of Long Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He didn’t have a driver’s license, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
VANDALISM
• Sometime after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday and before the following morning, someone keyed a 36-year-old Adna man’s vehicle in multiple places as it was parked at a friend’s on the 3000 block of Ives Road in Centralia, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The damage is estimated at $2,000, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
• A 37-year-old Winlock man was arrested after he allegedly used a drill bit to puncture his estranged wife’s tire, with a loss estimated at $650, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Corey Ming was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree malicious mischief, according to the sheriff’s office.
BRUSH FIRE
• Firefighters with West Regional Fire Authority joined personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources when a large slash pile caught fire in the Capitol Forest over the weekend. Crews worked yesterday morning assisting and DNR is investigation the incident in the southeast portion of the forest Chief Robert Scott said.
WEEKEND DRILL IMAGINES GUNMAN AT CHURCH
• Law enforcement officers practiced neutralizing threats and fire personnel practiced saving lives at Toledo First Baptist Church on Saturday as they trained together on responding to an “active shooter” situation, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. More than 70 individuals participated, including those role playing victims and eight local agencies, the sheriff’s office reports.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarms, disputes, suspicious circumstances, various vandalism, collision on city street, shoplifting and other misdemeanor theft, baby left alone in vehicle, dogs left alone in vehicle; complaints of too loud of music, cigarette butts tossed in parking lot … and more.
More tomorrow.
At Toledo First Baptist Church on Saturday. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office
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Guest column: Coming vote on fire department levy explained
Sunday, June 1st, 2014The following is a preview from the quarterly newsletter from Riverside Fire Authority sent to those in its district in and around Centralia.
By Chief Mike Kytta
Riverside Fire Authority
August maintenance and operations levy to determine number of firefighters on staff with the RFA
A great deal has happened since our last publication in March where Chief Jim Walkowski made mention of the financial challenges faced by the RFA. Since that time, several important changes have been made to meet those challenges.
Chief Mike Kytta
We have reduced the work force by one chief officer; one fire captain has retired and will not be replaced, and three firefighter paramedics have been laid off. We plan to lay off two more firefighters this summer which will leave approximately 20 firefighters to answer emergencies around the clock. The operations budget that funds our day-to-day activities has been reduced, leaving limited funds to pay for vehicle repairs and basic facility maintenance. All planned firefighting equipment replacements are suspended.
Why is this occurring?
Declining home values and the rapid reduction of assessed value at TransAlta’s power plant since the plant closure announcement have combined to create a perfect storm.
The RFA is almost entirely funded by property taxes. When values go down, so do tax collections. Property tax revenue at the RFA has dropped approximately 18 percent, $700,000 in just two years, and the forecast for next year predicts even greater loss. Lower property values and tax revenues being diverted to other local government entities may reduce RFA funding by another $600,000, bringing the total RFA revenue reduction since 2013 to approximately $1.3 million dollars – approximately 30 percent of our total budget.
How will it affect service?
The direct impact to emergency services is reduced staffing. Last year at this time there were six firefighters between the Pearl Street and Harrison Avenue stations on duty around the clock; this year there are four. The 2014 budget cannot fund overtime to replace firefighters who are on leave so it is predictable that occasional station closures will be necessary this year when staffing drops to three firefighters on duty. The budget forecast for next year could routinely bring staffing down to only three on duty.
What is the proposed future action?
With this in mind, the RFA Board of Fire Commissioners has determined that the quality and reliability of fire and rescue services will be reduced to an unacceptable level before the end of 2014 and therefore the RFA must ask the citizens to consider a new maintenance and operations levy at the primary election in August. The new levy, if approved by the voters, will be collected in 2015 at the same time the next drop in property tax revenue is expected. The intent of the levy is to stabilize the budget at the current reduced funding level.
The levy will not return the RFA budget to the higher amount of taxes collected in 2013. Levy dollars will be used for fire protection and rescue services, facilities, maintenance, staffing and operations. The estimated levy rate is $0.49 cents per $1,000 of value, collecting $800,000 annually. For a $150,000 home and property, the estimated annual tax is $73, which comes out to just over $6 per month. By state law, maintenance and operation levies are limited to one year; all future levy requests will be subject to a vote of the people. We believe that with the combination of downsizing the RFA, utilizing cost saving strategies, and the addition of the annual maintenance and operations levy, an acceptable, but not optimal level of service can be provided.
Public meetings to discuss the proposed maintenance and operations levy are scheduled for:
July 9, 6:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Creek Grange
July 16, 6:30 p.m. at the Stillwater Estates Club House
July 23, 6:30 p.m. at the 1818 Harrison Avenue Fire Station.
I am available for your questions at 736-3975 and my office is located at the Harrison Avenue Fire Station.
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