Archive for August, 2015

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Saturday, August 15th, 2015
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

MOTHER NATURE DANGER

• Firefighters were called at 1 p.m. yesterday when lightning strikes to trees caused two brush fires along Lincoln Creek Road west of Centralia. Firefighters with the state Department of Natural Resources were already on the scene at the 2100 block and both fires were small and contained quickly, according to Riverside Fire Authority. It was fortunate it was continuously raining at the time, preventing anything larger from developing, Capt. Erik Olson indicated. Conditions are still very dry and the fire danger remains high, despite the small amount of rain that fell, according to Olson.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called about 10:25 a.m. yesterday to the 2500 block of Kristine Court in Centralia about a flashlight getting stolen from a vehicle.

FAKE BILL COLLECTOR THREATS

• Police and the Centralia Utilities Center are warning customers of a scam involving bogus collection calls. Authorities have gotten several complaints from customers who reported receiving a phone call from a male who said if they didn’t pay their bill immediately, their utilities would be shut off,  according to the Centralia Police Department. Anyone who gets such a call is urged to hang up and then phone 360-330-7657. Police detective Patty Finch said that is the only valid number for the utilities customer service department. Finch indicates it’s a rare occasion the utility will call a customer, and that would be after both a statement and a past due letter have been sent out.

CRIME STOPPERS

• Crime Stoppers of Lewis County and the Chehalis Police Department are seeking help with a burglary investigation involving some $3,000 worth of Ray-Ban and other brands of sunglasses stolen from an optometry business at the 100 block of Boistfort Street in Chehalis. The break-in occurred between 6 p.m. on July 30 and 4 o’clock the following morning, according to authorities. More than 30 pairs were taken. Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for information leading to the clearance of crimes. Anonymous calls can be made to 1-800-748-6422 or information may be shared online at www.lewiscountycrimestoppers.org

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for collision on city street, collision on Interstate 5 … and more.

Victim of freight train was locally renowned recycler

Friday, August 14th, 2015
2015.0814.locust.crossing7812

The Locust Street crossing in Centralia sees more than 50 trains pass through it daily

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – Victor J. Bonagofski, a nearly lifelong resident of Centralia, lost his life when he fell off his bicycle on the railroad tracks and was hit by a freight train on Wednesday night.

Police say Bonagofski was at the Locust Street crossing, headed east and the crossing arms had come down. Witnesses told police he was was unable to move off the tracks prior to being struck.

The 72-year-old who made his living recycling and selling car parts had been behind the Hub Tavern on South Tower Avenue not long before it happened.

He was near the dumpsters, “doing what he normally does,” Centralia resident Jennifer Holt said.

She’d noticed him while she and her boyfriend were out in the bar’s beer garden.

Holt said she was taken aback when she learned later what had happened, and who was killed.

“I don’t know him, I know who he is,” she said this morning. “I’d see him a lot, doing the cardboard thing.”

The Lewis County coroner today released his name and said he concluded the death was accidental.

Born in North Dakota, Bonagofski was 10th of 14 children. His family moved to Centralia in 1950, according to one of his more than 60 nieces and nephews.

He lived on Reynolds Avenue, on a parcel of roughly two acres that over the years has drawn the attention of city and county officials, concerned about his thick collection of recyclables and vehicles.

He owned the land there, according to nephew Kevin Bonagofski.

Back in January of 2008, more than a dozen government employees, including law enforcement with their guns drawn, visited his property, accusing Bonagofski of operating an illegal wrecking yard. When they knocked on the door of his soon-to-be condemned mobile home tucked amongst scores of cars and trucks, Bonagofski had been burning sticks and blackberry vines in his wood stove and listening to a local radio talk show.

Twice before, the then-64-year-old said, they’d filed nuisance abatements on his property.

The man who earned a degree in business administration from Seattle University years earlier said it was time consuming, getting the property cleaned up – which is what he suspected officials really wanted – especially with interruptions of lawsuits and civil actions.

Lewis County code enforcement had been talking with him again in recent months.

Nephew Kevin Bonagofski said his uncle never married and had no children.

“I heard one time, he had a mail order bride, but it didn’t work out,” said Dave Dix who works at the commercial properties adjacent to Bonagofski’s compound.

Dix said Bonagofski would stop over once or twice a week, often buying cars when there was an auction.

“It was definitely a shock, he’s gonna be missed, that’s for sure,” Dix said.

Dix said he was told Bonagofski just laid there after he fell down; he wondered if maybe he had a heart attack or hit his head and was knocked out.

BNSF spokesperson Gus Melonas said it was an empty grain train headed from Kalama to Montana that was involved. Crew on the northbound train saw someone and tried to stop, Melonas said.

“They went into an emergency brake application, but impact was made, unfortunately,” Melonas said.

It didn’t entirely surprise Dix that the neighbor would have tried to pedal across even after the crossing arms came down. He wasn’t exactly known for abiding by the rules.

“If it wasn’t in the Constitution, then it wasn’t the law,” Dix said. “He was hard on that, he pushed that issue.”

However, he was a good person, in good shape for a man of his age and was busy from daylight to dark, according to Dix. His driver’s license had been suspended, many times, so he usually rode a bicycle pulling a small trailer, he said.

“He was a worker, man he was a worker,” Dix said. “We used to watch him go up the road and come back with that trailer full.”

Lavonne Riggen, Bonagofski’s younger sister, came to the property this afternoon to help look for important documents.

“A lot people looked at Vic and thought he was just a bum,” Riggen said. “But they didn’t know how smart he was; he graduated from Seattle University with degrees in political science and business.”

He was just stubborn about his rights, she said.

The Centralia woman said her brother also was gifted when it came to auto mechanics.

“We used to say he was born with crank case oil in his blood,” she said.

 

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, August 14th, 2015
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

SCREAMING WOMAN

• Centralia police were called last night when a resident at Main and North Buckner streets heard a woman screaming outside and then saw a flatbed truck driving away. The female was saying no, no and her voice seemed to be coming from inside the vehcile, according to the the Centralia Police Department. Arriving officers after the 11:38 p.m. call searched the area and found two items of clothing that seemed out of place, according to police. They broadcast the information and truck’s description to other area law enforcement. Officers were told the truck had a white front cab with a black flat bed and a loud muffler. As of his morning, there are no reports of any missing person, according to police.

GROPING REPORT

• A 14-year-old girl’s parent’s called police yesterday evening after she told of a man near the river near Borst Park who reportedly touched her inappropriately as he helped her up an incline while she and her friend were leaving. According to police, two girls were relaxing by the river when approached by a stranger who made them uncomfortable so they decided to depart the area. “The victim was having trouble climbing back out of where they were so the male suddenly grabbed the female around the waist in an effort to help her up the incline and ended up touching her crotch area on the outside of her clothes,” Centralia police reported in a summary of the incident. She pushed his hand away and told her parents, according to the Centralia Police Department. The man was described as Hispanic- or Indian-looking with very short hair, in his late 20’s to early 30’s and speaking with an unknown accent, according to police. He was wearing blue jeans and a shirt that was striped with red and gray or black, according to the report. An officer checked the area but the man was not located, according to police.

YARD THEFT

• A 1997 Bulldog tilt car trailer was stolen off property at the 800 block of Nevil Road outside Winlock sometime between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. yesterday morning, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $2,500, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Someone stole tires and rims from a backyard at the 1400 block of Oxford Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police late yesterday afternoon.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called about 9:40 a.m. yesterday regarding a car window broken at the 2800 block of Russell Road.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, harassment, vandalism, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, rollover accident on Interstate 5 with no injury, dog left alone in presumably too hot parked vehicle, unfounded report of two babies left alone in a vehicle in a parking lot … and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, August 13th, 2015
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called about 8 a.m. yesterday to the 500 block of Southeast Washington Avenue about two males fighting, but neither wanted police to pursue charges. An officer was called about 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday to the 500 block of Southeast Washington Avenue where a client wanted to report being assaulted a by another client. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BREAK-INS CENTRALIA

• Police responded to an approximately 5 p.m. call on Tuesday for a burglary at a home on the 600 block of Yew Street in Centralia. Several electronic devices were taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday for a burglary discovered at a residence on the 600 block of Lakeshore Drive. Money and a purse were missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called at about 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday to the 1000 block of Alder Street about a burglary to a residence. Among the missing property were jewelry, camera, a backpack and food, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MISSING TRUCK FOUND IN MINERAL

• A search around the town of Mineral last night for approximately three hours for a woman with misdemeanor warrants turned up both the woman and a truck stolen out of Tacoma, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were notified Sabrina M. Colwell, 43, had been seen driving the 1990 Chevrolet S10 pickup round the area and eventually located her just before 9 p.m. at the 100 block of Lincoln Avenue, according to the sheriff’s office. Colwell was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle and for her warrants, Cmdr. Dusty Breen said.

LOST AND FOUND

• Chehalis police were called on Tuesday by a female who said she lost her wallet, she thought around 11 p.m. the night before near Rite Aid on the 500 block of South Market Boulevard. She said the pink wallet contained about $1,000 cash as well as identification, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called about 11:30 a.m. yesterday regarding a vehicle prowl at the 200 block of East Summa Street in Centralia which a battery was stolen.

• A backpack and some medication were reported stolen from a vehicle parked at the 700 block of Harrison Avenue on Tuesday at about 2:30 p.m.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, probation violation, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, harassment, hit and run, misdemeanor theft, fireworks complaint, collision on city street, dog left alone in presumably too hot parked vehicle … and more.

Gish Road Fire: Minimal burning, but work continues with scores of personnel

Thursday, August 13th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  The fire that consumed and scorched 102 acres of private property in Onalaska is considered 70 percent contained this morning.

Since Monday it has been mostly smoldering and smoking, having burned young Douglas fir and alder as well as thick underbrush and leftovers from previous logging.

2015.0811.gishroad.afterfiresmaller

Tuesday August 11, 2015

No one has been injured and no structures lost, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

One hundred seventy people are assigned to work the fire today, along with 14 fire engines, three dozers and five water tenders, according to a spokesperson for its incident command team.

A fact sheet issued this morning from Public Information Officer Connie Birkland lists the fire as “human caused, under investigation”. But Birkland said they still don’t know what sparked the blaze on Sunday.

“We’re just making that statement,” Birkland said. “We just know there was no lightning at the time, no obvious evidence (like something from a power line); so we’re assuming it’s human caused.”

Birkland said they have no specific information about what did cause the fire. DNR investigators are responsible for finding that out, she said.

The fire scene is on a relatively flat ridge top south of Gish Road.

Birkland said they initially reported it was 103 acres, but revised that down after the individual who measured it said it was really closer to 102 acres.

Crews continue to mop up hot spots within the fire perimeter. Fire is minimal and continues to smolder in stumps and root system.

No new fire growth is expected, a relatively thin fire line was established early on.

They’re expecting slightly cooler weather with a chance of minimal rain and possibly lightning, Birkland said.

“We’re also being told it would take quite a bit of rain to make any difference for the fire,” she said.
•••

For background, read “Gish Road Fire: Smoldering and smoking could continue for weeks” from Tuesday August 11, 2015, here

News brief: Death on the railroad tracks in Centralia

Thursday, August 13th, 2015

Updated at 1:53 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A bicyclist who tried to cross the tracks as a freight train was approaching in downtown Centralia last night fell off his bike and was killed by the train.

Officers dispatched at about 11:22 p.m. found him deceased and laying on the tracks, according to the Centralia Police Department.

It happened near the intersection of Locust and Railroad avenues.

Police learned the man had been pedaling east and continued even though the crossing arms were down.

“Witnesses say the subject fell off his bike and was unable to move off the tracks prior to being hit by the train,” detective Patty Finch said in a news release this morning.

Finch said she believes he is local,  and 72 years old, but detectives are not releasing his name.

Detectives, law enforcement with BNSF and the coroner’s office were on the scene until about 2:30 a.m.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said he may be able to reach out to the likely next-of-kin today, but won’t have a confirmed identity of the individual until after the autopsy tomorrow.

Chehalis police: Stranger tells teen to get in his car

Wednesday, August 12th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Chehalis police are looking for a blond-haired young man with a silver Ford passenger car after an odd incident at the Twin City Town Center last night.

An individual called 911 about 10:50 p.m. to say he and his 13-year-old grandson were cleaning up the parking lot and the driver pulled up near the young teen.

“He asked the boy where the nearest gas station was, the boy pointed across the parking lot and he told the boy, ‘get in my car’,” Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. “The boy replied no and the car drove off.”

A female in the passenger seat reportedly said nothing.

Officers checked the area around the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue and didn’t locate the car, Bailey said. They broadcast the information to other police departments, she said.

The driver was described as about 20 years old, with a handlebar type mustache, that curled up on its ends, Bailey said.

“We’re looking into the availability of surveillance video and researching possible partial (license) plates,” Bailey said.