Archive for August, 2015

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, August 7th, 2015
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

PUP PUT IN THE TRASH

• A box with a dog inside of it was discovered in a Chehalis dumpster yesterday morning. The animal control officer responded to the approximately 9 a.m. call to Southwest Sylvenus Avenue and retrieved what was described only as a small dog, according to the Chehalis Police Department. It was alive and taken to the Lewis County Animal Shelter, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. “It didn’t appear to have been injured in any way,” Bailey said. “We don’t know how long it was in there.”

THEFT, THEFT, THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 11:15 a.m. yesterday regarding a utility trailer and household items stolen from the 1200 block of Long Road.

• An officer responded yesterday to a report of two tool boxes taken in a residential burglary at the 200 block of North Rock Street in Centralia.

• DVD movies were among the property missing after a burglary at a home on the 600 block of South Ash Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 2:50 p.m. yesterday.

• A hanging basket of flowers was stolen from a porch at the 100 block of East Fourth Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon.

ASSAULT REPORT

• Chehalis police were called yesterday to Green Hill School to take a report of an alleged assault that occurred earlier in the week. Further details were not available.

VANDALISM

• Graffiti was spray painted onto a garage door at the 800 block of E Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 8 o’clock yesterday morning.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespass, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for dispute, hit and run, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more.

News brief: Infant victim of deadly Chehalis crash discharged from hospital

Friday, August 7th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 1-year-old girl who survived the high-speed wreck that killed her mother south of Chehalis over the weekend was released from the hospital yesterday and seems to be doing fine, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said today.

The car struck at least one tree after hitting a ditch and going airborne, ejecting the baby onto the roadway itself, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Dusty Breen.

Kelsie Gonzalez, 31, of Chehalis, died at the scene on the 3100 block of Jackson Highway Sunday night. The child was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Breen said the little girl, who just recently had her first birthday, was treated for multiple lacerations and kept at the hospital for observation. She was discharged to her father, he said.

“It’s amazing, when you think about the (damage) and the vehicle going airborne,” Breen said. “That baby is extremely lucky.”

Gonzalez was not wearing a seat belt and died of internal injuries from the impact, according to authorities.

The child’s car seat was found secured into the 1990 Acura, but the straps which would have been holding the baby to its car seat were not fastened. Where or how the little one was situated in the vehicle before the wreck isn’t clear, Breen said.

“It’s probably one of those things we’ll never know,” he said.

News brief: Name of victim of fatal motorcycle accident released

Friday, August 7th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The motorcyclist who was killed when she traveled off the road and through a barbed wire fence in Mineral was Sandra L. Scott, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

The 52-year-old resident of the northeastern Lewis County community wasn’t wearing a helmet and died at the scene, according to authorities.

The accident on Wednesday evening on the 700 block of Mineral Creek Road occurred at a sweeping curve, the sheriff’s office said.

Feds: Tree thieves and mill owner indicted for trafficking specialty maple from Gifford Pinchot

Friday, August 7th, 2015
2015.0806.federal.mapletheft

Courtesy photo by U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Three Lewis County timber cutters and a Winlock mill owner have been indicted on theft and other federal crimes in a case involving illegal harvest and selling of Big Leaf Maple, the wood from which is particularly valuable for musical instruments.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced yesterday Harold Clause Kupers, 48, owner of  J & L Tonewoods, allegedly purchased the maple knowing it was stolen and then sold it to out of state companies for more than $800,000.

The tree cutters allegedly took the specialty wood from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

“The trees in our national forests belong to all Americans and should not be chopped up to enrich a few,” U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes stated. “In this case a beautiful and valued resource that is home to endangered species, was felled with some parts just discarded on the forest floor.”

Charged with theft of and damaging of government property are Ryan Justice, 28, of Randle, James Miller, 36, of Morton, and Kevin Mullins, 56, of Packwood, according to authorities.

Kupers is accused of giving training and assistance to the trio on how to retrieve the wood from various sites in the forest. The men would seek out “figured maple” which is especially valuable for musical instruments, according to Hayes.

According to the indictment, between October 2011 and March 2012 the tree cutters made approximately fifty sales of illegally-harvested maple wood to Kupers for his Winlock lumber mill. They allegedly would deliver pieces of the trees to J& L Tonewoods, where it was cut into salable blocks called “billets.”

Kupers is charged with receipt of stolen property and seven violations of the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking in illegal wildlife, fish, and plants.

Justice and Miller are in custody pending detention hearings. Mullins has not yet made his initial appearance on the indictment.

Violations of the Lacey Act are punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The other charges in the indictment are punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Forest Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.

News brief: Zero outdoor burning allowed, unless it’s in a covered barbecue

Thursday, August 6th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Recreational campfires even on private property are prohibited starting tomorrow in unincorporated Lewis County, given the ongoing and worsening dry conditions.

2015.0806.final.nocampfire-001

•••

If you want to roast marshmallows out of doors, you can still do that as long as it takes place inside a propane or charcoal barbecuer that has a lid.

The county Board of Commissioners put outdoor burning restrictions in place in mid-June, given the substantial fire danger.

Today they issued the stricter rule and will leave it in place until further notice. It begins right after midnight tonight.

“The Lewis County fire marshal, in coordination with the chiefs of local fire districts, strongly urge all county residents and property owners to be attentive to the conditions of their properties through proactive fire prevention measures,”  Lewis County Community Development Director Lee Napier stated in a news release.

The board of commissioners have authority over areas in Lewis County that are outside any city limits and not part of any state or federal lands.

The state Department of Natural Resources put similar restrictions in place at the end of June on all state-owned lands.

DNR personnel have been dispatched to at least two local brush fires in recent days, taking over from local fire departments on larger grass, brush and timber fires.

As of last Friday, 655 wildfires had ignited on the 13 million acres DNR protects across the state. By this date in 2014, the worst wildfire season in state history, there had been 455 fires.

For further information, Napier can be reached at 360-740-1146.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, August 6th, 2015
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY CHEHALIS

• Someone broke into the sales office of a Chehalis area business and stole a Toshiba laptop computer sometime between 9 p.m. on Tuesday and 5 o’clock yesterday morning. The front door glass at Housing Mart / Country Financial on the 100 block of Hamilton Road North was broken out, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called to a just-discovered burglary at a business on the 400 block of South Tower Avenue about 11 p.m. yesterday. Someone forced their way in through a window and then unlocked a door, according to the Centralia Police Department. The victim is in the process of making a list of items that were taken, according to police.

TV TAKEN

• Someone stole a television from a travel trailer which was parked at the 400 block of East Locust Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon.

ELUDING

• A vehicle that failed to stop yesterday when an officer tried to pull it over on South Market Boulevard in Chehalis turned up later parked and unoccupied in a residential neighborhood, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The silver 2001 Mitsubishi was impounded, police said. It happened about 1:15 p.m. and a few hours later its owner called to say her vehicle was missing from Southwest 14th Street, police said. No arrest was made.

DRUGS

• A 28-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after contact with police at Washington Avenue and Main streets in Centralia early this morning. Shinell N. Englund was booked into the Lewis County Jail also for an outstanding warrant and driving with a suspended license, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CHILD NEGLECT

• Chehalis police were called about 4:50 p.m. to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue about a child left alone in a parked vehicle. Further details were not readily available.

HOME CATCHES FIRE NEAR LITTLEROCK

• Firefighters called about 4:30 a.m. today to a residential structure fire west of Littlerock got inside and got the flames knocked down within about 30 to 40 minutes, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. “There was a lot of smoke when they got there, but everybody got out,” Battalion Chief Roger Stone said.  The mobile home on the 7300 block of 127th Avenue Southwest had damage through its roof and outside by the bathroom, Stone said. The cause may have been related to an electric fan, according to the fire department.

LAWNMOWER SPARKS GRASS FIRE

• Five fire department’s responded to a grass and brush fire in Rochester yesterday that scorched about two acres. Firefighters were called about 5:35 p.m. to the property on the 7700 block of Creekside Lane Southwest off Sargent Road, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. “It started in a guy’s back field area, I think he was mowing,” Battalion Chief Roger Stone said. One person was treated for burns to his legs, but not sent to the hospital, Stone said. The scene was turned over personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources. Stone said he believed it was ignited from the mower hitting a rock and causing a spark. Such sparks cause grass fires more easily than one would think, he said.

ON THE ROAD

• Police and firefighters responded about 8 p.m. yesterday to a five vehicle collision at Mellen and Yew streets in Centralia. Involved were two small pickup trucks, two passenger cars and a motorcycle, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Nobody was taken to the hospital, but two drivers were treated at the scene for minor cuts, according to the fire department. The driver of the motorcycle was evaluated for potential injuries and declined medical treatment and transport, the fire department reports.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespass, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, a report of a vehicle theft that turned out to be a car that was impounded, various unfounded reports … and more.

News brief: Centralia-Alpha Road fire contained

Thursday, August 6th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A bit of smoke is still rising from the approximately 12-acre wild fire southeast of Chehalis, and crews continue making progress extinguishing all of it.

2015.0804.helicopter.centralia.alpha.small

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015

“It’s completely lined and we consider it 100 percent contained at this point,” Chuck Turley, assistant manager of the Pacific Cascade Region of the state Department of Natural Resources said this morning

Firefighters from numerous agencies responded Tuesday afternoon to the blaze roughly a half mile north of the intersection of Centralia-Alpha Road and North Fork Road.

The cause is as-yet unknown, but crews put out fires twice last week on the same property.

Turley expected DNR personnel could be working three or even four more days on this.

“The vegetation is really thick,” he said. “It’s going to require people on the ground digging it out.”

Turley said that’s one difference between wild fires on the east side of the mountains and the west side of the mountains.
•••

For background, read “Chehalis area wildfire knocked down but not contained” from Wednesday August 5, 2015, here