Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The city of Chehalis welcomed its new fire chief and the city of Centralia its new police chief last week, as both were sworn in at their respective city council meetings.

The two men had already been on the job a week.

Ken Cardinale was sworn in late Tuesday afternoon and shared a few words with city leaders of the county seat.

New Chehalis Fire Chief Ken Cardinale is sworn in by Chehalis Municipal Court Judge Dale McBeth.

“What I’ve gotten to know so far is what a great group of firefighters and captains I’m leading,” Cardinale said. “They are true professionals that go above and beyond every day.

The Kelso resident who most recently spent 29 years with the Palo Alto (California) Fire Department, introduced his wife Beth Cardinale after she pinned on his badge.

“We’re glad to have you aboard, and hit the ground running,” Chehalis Mayor Dennis Dawes said.

Cardinale met with three neighboring police chiefs earlier in the day, to talk about how they could work more together.

He said he comes from a place with a more regional approach, and therefore many more resources.

Already he has submitted a draft plan to his boss to start a student firefighter program, something he said he’s a product of himself.

“If that goes well, we could look at resuming the reserve program,” Cardinale said.

The new chief takes over a department that has been led by interim chiefs for the past 12 months, and by a half-time chief for the year before that.

Later on Tuesday evening, Carl Nielsen was sworn in as the new chief of police in neighboring Centralia, the county’s most populous city.

New Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen is sworn in Centralia Municipal Court Judge James Buzzard.

Nielsen whose most recent position was second in command at the Turlock Police Department in California’s central valley thanked outgoing Police Chief Bob Berg, the city manager and the city council for entrusting him with the department.

His wife Jan Nielsen pinned his badge on him and was introduced, along with others in the audience including his mother, one daughter, mother-in-law and her friend as well as a new neighbor who all attended the ceremony.

He took extra time to thank Berg who had spent the previous several days helping him get acquainted.

Berg’s love and passion for the department will be his legacy, Nielsen said as he wished him well in retirement.

Centralia’s new police chief also read aloud the law enforcement code of ethics, the version adopted by the International Chiefs of Police.

A version of it is included in the department’s policy manual, and he intends to include it in swearing in ceremonies for new officers.

Here it is:

“I Carl Nielsen, subscribe as follows:

As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional right of all men to liberty, equality and justice.

I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others.  Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department.  Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.

I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities or friendship to influence my decisions.  With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.

I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service.  I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession … law enforcement.”
•••

For background, read:

• “News brief: Chehalis picks new fire chief” from Monday April 27, 2015, here

• “News brief: Centralia picks new police chief” from Friday April 10, 2015, here

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters responded to a report of a drowning this morning, at Fort Borst Park where police looking for a missing 23-year-old man found the victim floating face down in the Chehalis River along the bank, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The fire department reports the body was confirmed to be the missing individual who they describe as having an extensive history of autism.

The fire department was on the scene at the Centralia park shortly after 7:30 a.m.

Centralia police reported later the deceased as 26 years old.

Just after 7 o’clock this morning, police were dispatched to a missing person complaint at the the 2000 block of Borst Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

A short time later, an officer located the body of the male in the river, near where it meets with the park’s pond, according to detective Patty Finch.

The department is investigating the details surrounding his death, Finch said.

Exactly who he was with or what he was doing at the park isn’t yet clear, Finch said.

The detective said it was the Centralia man’s mother who reported him missing, but they don’t know if she was with him at the park. Detectives have been trying to locate several people to talk to, she said.

Finch said he is someone she has not met personally, but understands the level of his disorder was such that he was supervised, or should have been supervised, at all times.

His name isn’t being released, but is expected to be released later by the Lewis County Coroner’s Office. Police are hoping an autopsy will be performed on Monday or Tuesday.

The 2000 block of Borst Avenue is the stretch that runs behind the Harrison Avenue Safeway, from Interstate 5 to Johnson Road.

Green Hill School escapee Dominic Adams was brought up from the Lewis County Jail today for a bail hearing.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Green Hill student-inmate who escaped the facility for a week earlier this month was brought before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Dominic Adams, 19, was finishing off a juvenile sentence and scheduled to be transferred next March to adult prison for nearly nine years for an assault. Police said that on the night of May 3, he ran off from a maintenance detail and apparently slipped through a hole someone cut in the fence. He was picked up by police at a mall in Kelso seven days later.

Adams is charged with first-degree escape.

The teenager has a prior conviction for the same offense, as well as three second-degree assaults and a first-degree robbery, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh told the judge this afternoon.

She didn’t differentiate which were juvenile crimes and which were adult crimes, but today’s appearance was in adult court.

Beigh asked that his bail be set at $50,000.

Judge James Lawler said he preferred to leave it at the $250,000 set in his arrest warrant.

Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke who represented Adams today told Lawler he is not working and qualified for a court appointed lawyer.

The judge appointed Centralia attorney Don Blair. Adams’ arraignment was set for next Thursday.

He was jailed in Cowlitz County after he was captured, and booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday. Adams was sent to Green Hill from Benton County at age 15.

First-degree escape has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Green Hill School in Chehalis is a secure facility for juvenile boys incarcerated for felonies and operated by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, under the state Department of Social and Health Services.
•••

For background, read “Teen escapee from Green Hill found at mall in Cowlitz County” from “Monday May 11, 2015, here