Updated at 12:49 p.m.
HOME INVASION REPORTED IN CHEHALIS
• Chehalis police were called about 12:40 a.m. today to the 500 block of Northeast Adams Avenue where a 23-year-old woman said two people had shoved their way into her apartment and assaulted her. The woman told officers her dog was barking and she opened her back door when a female pushed her way in and started hitting her in the face, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The victim was able to escape to a neighbor’s place where she called 911, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. Police looked around and interviewed the woman, but no arrests have been made, Bailey said this morning. A cell phone and a wallet are missing now from her home, Bailey said. The incident is still under investigation.
ARSON SUSPECTED IN CAR FIRE
• The sheriff’s office is investigating an incident in which someone apparently intentionally tried to burn up a 24-year-old man’s car while he was at work in Chehalis. Deputies responding about 1:20 a.m. on Friday to the 1700 block of Bishop Road learned the victim went outside during a break and found smoke pouring from his vehicle, which was parked next to a loading dock, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning. A window had been broken and there was a strong odor of an unspecified flammable liquid, according to the sheriff’s office. The fire left the backseat and the interior of the 2000 Ford Focus charred, causing more than $1,000 damage, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown said there is no indication why someone would have targeted the man.
GARAGE CATCHES FIRE
• A fire that began in a garage on Rayburn Road southwest of Napavine early yesterday did an estimated $10,000 damage but nobody was injured. Firefighters were called at about 7:10 a.m., according to Lewis County Fire District 5. The blaze was contained to the garage and prevented from spreading to the home, and a fire investigator called to look into it, Firefighter Brad Bozarth said.
FIGHT NIGHT
• Centralia police were called about 10:45 p.m. on Saturday to the 200 block of North Tower Avenue where witnesses said several people were fighting and one of them fell into a window and broke it. Those involved fled the area and an investigation is underway, according to the Centralia Police Department.
SPANKING LANDS MAN IN JAIL
• A 44-year-old Chehalis area resident was arrested after a Saturday night call to the 100 block of Sanderson Road where a 5-year-old boy with bruises on his buttocks said he was “whipped” by his mother’s boyfriend. James M. Waltenburg was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree child assault, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It appears the child was struck with a bare hand, but a spanking becomes an assault if it causes more then temporary or “transient” pain, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.
ANGRY HUSBAND IN TROUBLE
• Deputies spoke with a 54-year-old woman from Cinebar on Saturday evening who said her husband threw a chunk of firewood at her car as she was leaving, breaking the windshield and denting a fender. He was upset, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office is asking prosecutors to charge the 51-year-old Cinebar man with third-degree malicious mischief, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.
BARN BURGLARY
• A deputy called about 9:20 a.m. on Saturday regarding electrical wiring stripped from a barn at the 1300 block of Silverbrook Road in Randle contacted a 22-year-old local resident walking toward the property and arrested him for an outstanding warrant and suspect he was involved in the theft. The sheriff’s office says Adam I. McGowen was wanted by the state Department of Corrections in connection with a case of a previous drug violation. McGowen was booked into the Lewis County Jail for his warrant, and prosecutors are being asked to also charge him with second-degree burglary related to the wiring, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
VEHICLE THEFT
• A 26-year-old Kelso man was arrested yesterday after he allegedly stole a truck from the 1200 block of West Chestnut Street in Centralia and was followed by its owner to Chehalis where police caught up with them. Officers responding to the approximately 11:15 a.m. call arrested Thomas N. Joy for vehicle theft. Chehalis police said when Joy was stopped at the 700 block of West Main Street, he attempted to get into a car occupied by two women and a baby which pulled up and the women were arrested as well. Stacy A. Anderson, 38, Kelso, for possession of methamphetamine and Teresa M. Lock, 24, from Kelso, for an outstanding warrant, according to police. All were booked into the Lewis County Jail. Anderson was to be released with no charges filed, pending further investigation.
SHED BREAK-IN
• Centralia police were called about 5:15 p.m. on Saturday regarding missing items from a shed at the 500 block of South Pearl Street. The total loss has yet to be determined, according to the Centralia Police Department.
MORE THEFT
• Someone stole cash and a leaf blower from the 2400 block of Seward Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Saturday afternoon.
SUSPECTED SCAM
• Centralia police were called just before 9 p.m. on Saturday by an individual at the 600 block of North Pearl Street regarding a text received that indicated the reporting person’s debit card had been canceled. The warning came from a bank the individual doesn’t have an account with, according to the Centralia Police Department. A couple from Chehalis called police on Sunday night after getting a text telling them to call a number to reactivate their WSECU card, although they had no account there, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The sheriff’s office reports its aware of numerous potential victims who got similar texts over the weekend and it is clearly a scam. Sheriff’s office advises people not to respond, and asks that folks pass the word along to teens and young adults as well as older people who could more easily fall for it.
BICYCLE ACCIDENT INJURES CHILD
• A 12-year-old boy was seriously injured yesterday when he was tossed off his bicycle onto his head coming down a hill in Centralia. Firefighters and medics called around 2 p.m. to East Locust Street found the child had been riding with friends and wasn’t wearing a helmet, according to Riverside Fire Authority. He was knocked out although he regained consciousness but suffered numerous injuries, including suspected bleeding on his brain, according to Firefighter-Paramedic Jade Gross. The boy was bundled up and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital and transferred to Mary Bridge Childrens’ Hospital in Tacoma, according to Gross.
DUI SUSPECTED IN TWO-VEHICLE CRASH
• Two people were hospitalized and four treated at the scene following a head-on collision Saturday night at the 3600 block of Jackson Highway south of Chehalis. Responders answering a call about 11:30 p.m. found both vehicles totaled and suspect one driver was intoxicated. The sheriff’s office says the 24-year-old Centralia man was traveling north in the southbound lane and the 29-year-old Mossyrock woman driving an SUV attempted to swerve out of the way but the vehicles met head on. The sheriff’s office said there were no serious injuries, only abrasions. The 1999 Ford expedition was also carrying two children, ages 10 and 12, from Mossyrock, along with two other adults, from Winlock. When a deputy interviewed the driver of the 1999 Saturn at the hospital, his breath smelled of intoxicants, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Cesar Hernandez-Martinez, 24, is facing a charge of driving under the influence, but deputies are waiting result from a blood sample, according to Brown.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Sometimes there is a lot of the story that doesn’t get told. A 5 year olds account for getting punished isn’t always the best to go off of. Some of you should know the full situation before making judgments.
Every situation is different, but I’ll tell you what worked really well on me when I was a mouthy grade schooler. We had a babysitter who, whenever I acted up, would make me sit in a chair in the middle of the kitchen for several minutes at a time: No comic books, no TV or radio, no telephone, just sitting in total silence and isolation…the bigger the offense, the longer I sat. It used to drive me crazy, but it also taught me to not give Mrs. Landes any lip. And she never had to raise a hand.
This wouldn’t work with everyone (especially teens) but these days, with all the toys like smart phones that kids have, they’d probably go nuts not being able to text their buddies or play Angry Birds for 20 minutes or longer.
Of course it is always the other person. It is never that they raised a disrespectful, mouthy, hooligan of a child or that they are incompetent parents themselves. No child should be “whipped” to that extent either though. Get a handle on them early and that is not necessary.
Keep saying it, BobbyinLC. All of society needs to keep saying it until these mothers get the message: Women with children who move in with a boy or man, espec before they know him thoroughly– meaning 2 to 2-1/2 years– are putting their kids at risk. IMO, it’s criminal negligence and the woman should go to jail for almost as long as the abuser.
i do understand that alot of kids are getting “whipped” these days and that is by all means not tolerable..but its not always by men.actually most of the beating that kids get are actually done by the mother.not i all cases. i agree.but i do agree to dissapline children more and they wont be these aweful children like we are seeing more and more. back in my day if i talked to my parents like alot of kids do these days i would get a whippin. which meant I DIDNT DO IT..simple concept.amen
Yet again….“whipped” by his mother’s boyfriend. Yikes keep your hands off other people’s kids. If being with a woman who has kids sis too much for you then stop dating women with kids. Ladies there are real men out there who are mature enough to be able to handle a relationship with a woman who has kids. Don;t just take the first bum that comes along. We are going to have a generation of messed up kids with all this shit happening to them. Sorry I will put away my soap box for now (just for now!).