EMPTY TOLEDO AREA HOME GOES UP IN SMOKE
• More than a dozen firefighters responded to a blaze in a fairly new but vacant house about six miles east of Toledo this morning. The cause is under investigation. Lewis County Fire District 2 Chief Grant Wiltbank said when he arrived after the approximately 6:30 a.m. call he found flames venting from all openings on both floors as well as the roof. It was reported by a passerby. The home on the 300 block of Cedar Creek Road is about three years old, according to Wiltbank. Personnel from Vader and Winlock assisted and together they managed to save an attached garage, a nearby carport and prevented the fire from spreading into an adjoining timber parcel, according to the chief.
STOLEN CAR FROM ILLINOIS RECOVERED IN CHEHALIS
• Two women were arrested in Chehalis last night with a car stolen out of Illinois. An officer for whatever reason ran the license plate of a 2006 Dodge Charger that pulled into a convenience store and gas station on the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue at about 10:50 p.m., according to police. Kaila Seward-Borgman, 20, of Tacoma, and Shulynn R. Hunter, 23, of Baltimore, were booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of stolen property, according to Chehalis detective Sgt. Brian Hickey. One of them said she was getting the registration transferred into her name, and one of the women was trying to escape an abusive boyfriend, Hickey said.
MAN GETS BURGLARY ARREST FOR MISDEMEANOR THEFT
• A 42-year-old Shelton man was arrested for burglary after he allegedly shoplifted about $50 worth of items such as laundry detergent, candy and salad from Wal-Mart in Chehalis about 2 p.m. yesterday. Jason L. Fletcher had previously been trespassed from all Wal-Marts, thus a burglary arrest instead of theft, according to the Chehalis Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
BOMB SQUAD PICKS UP SUSPICIOUS FIREWORKS
• After serving a protection order at a residence on the 800 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia late yesterday afternoon, an officer was told about some homemade fireworks on the premises. The possibly explosive devices were turned over to the Washington State Patrol bomb experts, according to the Centralia Police Department.
VEHICLE PROWL
• Centralia police were called about noon yesterday for a car prowl at the 1100 block of South Pearl Street. A stereo was stolen during the night, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Some change was stolen from a vehicle parked on the 300 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.
• Chehalis police were summoned to the 400 block of Southeast Washington Avenue about 7 a.m. yesterday when a citizen noticed a car appeared to have been broken into. it appeared the glove box had been rifled through, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
VANDALISM
• Someone left graffiti on a building on the 600 block of H Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.
VEHICLE BURNS IN DRIVEWAY
• A Ford Expedition that hadn’t been driven since the day before caught fire in a driveway on the 3200 block of Fords Prairie Avenue in Centralia about 4:15 yesterday afternoon. While there was a large column of black smoke, the blaze was mostly confined to the engine area, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The vehicle was still totaled, Fire Capt. Ken Colombo said.
NO ELK CAUSED THAT WRECK
• A 39-year-old man who initially said he swerved to miss an elk on a Forest Service Road in East Lewis County last night was cited for wheels off the roadway after his car went down an embankment. The driver suffered scratches to his face and his 18-year-old passenger was not believed to be injured, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened about 10:40 p.m. near milepost 4 of Forest Service Road 23, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. The Honda Accord was totaled, Brown said. When evidence at the scene suggested there may not have been an elk, the driver admitted there wasn’t, he was going too fast, according to Brown.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I hope that the abusive boyfriend doesn’t come looking here for the girl.