SAWDUST FIRE IN CHEHALIS INDUSTRIAL PARK DOES MINIMAL DAMAGE
• Firefighters were called to the Chehalis Industrial Park about 12:35 p.m. yesterday when sawdust collected in a giant metal bin caught fire. The damage at Shelton Laminating and Deck Industries on the 100 block of Downie Road was minimal, according to Lewis County Fire District 6 Chief Bud Goodwillie. “Apparently a spark got in there somehow and ignited the sawdust,” Goodwillie said this morning. Crews from three departments were on the scene about two hours as they emptied out the bin and extinguished the burning material on the ground, he said. He estimated he loss at probably just a few thousand dollars to replace a motor that burned out, and may have even been the reason for the fire.
TWO SUSPICIOUS FIRES IN CENTRALIA PROBABLY ARSON
• The fire department in Centralia is investigating an early Saturday morning incident in which two small fires broke out about the same time in the south end of town. A resident on South Tower Avenue near Summa Street smelled smoke and discovered the corner of the alley-side of the house burning about 5:45 a.m., according to Riverside Fire Authority Assistant Chief Rick Mack. He used a hose to put it out and then spotted another fire next to an outbuilding about 35 yards south, Mack said. He carried a bucket of water to the separate property to extinguish that, Mack said. It looks like arson, Mack said. The damage was limited to about $500, he said. Mack, who is also the fire marshal, said if anyone has any information, he would like them to call him at 330-9854. Early Tuesday morning, at about 3:20 a.m., the fire department was called to an area behind a house on the 500 block of K Street where tall vegetation was burning near the structure. The resident told the fire department that transients often congregate back there, according to Fire Capt. Ken Colombo. The captain said this fire was at the opposite end of town from the weekend fires.
CENTRALIA CLERK THWARTS ARMED ROBBERY
• Police called to an armed attempted robbery at a Centralia convenience store Sunday night conducted a track with a police dog and think the suspect got into a vehicle when he fled. Officers responded to a hold up alarm about 11:50 p.m. at the Centralia Food Mart on the 100 block of Harrison Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sgt. Kurt Reichert said the clerk was uncooperative with the man brandishing a firearm and got the man to leave, without handing over any money. The sergeant declined to say more specifically what the male clerk did. The robber was described as a white male wearing a ski mask who was somewhere between 5-feet 9-inches tall and 5-feet 11-inches tall. He was wearing a dark gray or black “hoodie” and dark jeans, Reichert said.
SEXUAL ABUSE ARREST
• A 40-year-old Mossyrock man was arrested yesterday in connection with several incidents of sexual abuse of a female relative that was recently reported to the Morton Police Department. Daniel W. Fish was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree rape of a child, second-degree rape of a child and indecent liberties, according to Police Chief Dan Mortensen. Most of the alleged incidents occurred when the victim was 14 or 15 years old and one when she was 12 or 13, according to the chief.
BAT FLIES INTO CHILDRENS’ BEDROOM
• Police were called early Tuesday morning to a Chehalis home when a bat was discovered in a room where children were sleeping. The caller trapped the bat initially but then it apparently got away, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
CAR SARAN WRAPPED
• Chehalis police were called just before 4 o’clock Saturday morning to an incident in which a male complained that four girls had just saran-wrapped his car. He told them to stop, but they just laughed and waved as they left, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
MAN LAYS DOWN IN FRONT OF TRAIN
• Centralia police arrested a man after he reportedly laid down across the railroad tracks in front of an oncoming train near the 200 block of Maple Street, only moving away just before the train could hit him. Thirty-year-old Giovanni L. Revetria of Centralia was booked into the Lewis County Jail for trespass and obstructing or delaying a train after the 8 p.m. incident on Sunday, according to the Centralia Police Department.
DRUGS, DRUGS, DRUGS
• A Salkum woman and a Winlock man were arrested just before midnight in Centralia for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, according to the Centralia Police Department. Ricardo J. Zuniga, 29, and Florence K. Montes, 53, were contacted at South Washington Avenue and Pear Street about 11:50 p.m. last night, according to police. They were booked into the Lewis County Jail. Both are expected to be released and not charged pending further investigation.
• Centralia police arrested a 50-year-old man yesterday of possession of unspecified narcotics. Tony C. Hickman of Centralia was booked into the Lewis County Jail after he was contacted by police just before 2 p.m. near West Second and G streets in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Police on Monday evening arrested Byron K. Sedrick, 30, of Centralia, for possession of methamphetamine when he as contacted about 6:20 p.m. at Harrison Avenue and East High Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.
UNRULY ARRESTEE IN CENTRALIA
• A 20-year-old Centralia man is accused of breaking a patrol car door handle and was arrested early this morning after contacted by police on the 2900 block of Mount Vista Road in Centralia. Tyler C. Cooper was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for fourth-degree assault domestic violence, minor in possession of alcohol and malicious mischief, according to police.
BURGLARIES AND OTHER STOLEN STUFF
• Deputies took a report yesterday about an estimated $1,500 theft from the 300 block of Lone Yew Road near Toledo. Taken sometime between noon on Saturday and noon on Sunday were several aluminum wheels and a Peterbilt radiator, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• Chehalis police took a report of a Dodge Intrepid stolen from Southwest Chehalis Avenue at about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday.
• Chehalis police were called to a home just before 1 p.m. on Sunday where the resident returned home and found a screen removed and a window open. She thought her dog may have scared off the intruder, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
• Somebody entered a Mineral-area home under construction and stole a backpack containing a camp stove, a knife and camouflage clothing, as well as a Stihl chainsaw. The burglary on the 200 block of Mineral Creek Road was discovered early Saturday morning, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• Chehalis police were called to an office on West Main Street where somebody came inside and stole a wallet. The victim from the Friday afternoon theft said the subject may have been heading to another office in the building, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
• A Centralia resident on the 700 block of H Street called police early Sunday morning when they spotted someone attempting to prowl their vehicle. The vehicle’s owner saw the dome light come on and saw a male inside the vehicle that was parked in front of their house, according to police. The subject fled before police arrived.
• Centralia police are investigating a possible forgery after taking a report on Monday that an unknown person used the victim’s account information to purchase airline tickets.
NIGHT FIGHTS
• Centralia police responded about 12:30 a.m. today to a report of a misdemeanor assault at the 100 block of South Tower Avenue. No arrests were made.
• Police were called to a report of a fight outside Garbe’s Tavern on the 300 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. No arrests were made, according to police.
FOUR HOSPITALIZED AFTER SUNDAY CRASHES
• Emergency responders handled several collisions on Sunday, including one on state Route 6 near Dryad in which Chehalis man suffering an unspecified medical problem passed out and crashed into a tree. Kenneth L. McCoy, 52, was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a chest injury after the noontime wreck, according to the state patrol. His passenger, Berry L. Martin, 54, of Snohomish, was take by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital with a contusion on his head, the state patrol reported. The 2009 Nissan Frontier was totaled. Lewis County Fire District 5 took one person to the hospital after a 5 p.m. collision on Interstate 5 near milepost 73 south of Chehalis and then shortly after 7 p.m. were called to another crash about a mile south of there. One of four potential patients was taken to the hospital, according to District 5 Firefighter Brad Bozarth. At about 9 p.m., Chehalis firefighters responded to a multiple-vehicle crash on the freeway just north of Chamber Way interchange where three people were treated for minor cuts and bruises, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.
JURY SAYS TOLEDO MAN NOT GUILTY OF ROBBERY
• A jury in Chehalis yesterday found a 20-year-old man not guilty of first-degree robbery. Richard R. Viers was arrested in Toledo June 23 after an 18-year-old Toledo resident said his former classmate had showed a knife and demanded all his money. Viers, whose residence is listed in court documents as Glenoma but was reportedly staying at a family member’s home in Toledo, underwent a one-day trial in Lewis County Superior Court, according to the prosecutor’s office.
SALEM MAN FOUND GUILTY FOR STEALING FROM CAFE CASH REGISTER
• A man police said was caught and held down by a Centralia cafe owner when he was discovered trying to take cash from the register on the afternoon of June 24, was convicted in a bench trial Friday of second-degree burglary. Michael A. Monk, 43, of Salem, Ore. was initially booked by police for second-degree robbery, and for third-degree theft by Chehalis police for an incident the same day at a deli on State Avenue. The Lewis County Prosecutors Office in a news release on Friday, said they charged Monk with second-degree attempted robbery but after negotiations for a plea deal failed, they substituted the more serious charge. A Lewis County Superior Court judge found him guilty on Friday. Monk faces a prison sentence of as much as just under five years, lengthy because he has previous felonies, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter