Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 7:45 p.m.

SHERIFF WON’T LET YOU BAIL OUT IF YOU GET CAUGHT DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

• Extra deputies will be on patrol this holiday weekend, looking for impaired drivers since today is traditionally one of the most deadly days of the year on the nation’s roads, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Americans love to celebrate the Fourth of July with family, friends, food and fireworks, but too often alcohol turns the party into a tragedy, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Sheriff Steve Mansfield said his office has a zero tolerance policy for those who drink and drive and announced that anyone arrested by a deputy for DUI will be booked in to the jail with no bail allowed until after they are seen by a judge. Mansfield says while death and injury are the most serious of possible consequences of drunk driving, there are other negative considerations that can affect lives for many years, including loss of drivers license, vehicle impoundment, jail time, lawyer fees, court costs, insurance hikes, just to name a few. His advice: If you’re impaired, use a taxi or call a sober friend or family member. If you see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to call 911.

ASSAULT

• A 39-year-old homeless man was arrested yesterday for second-degree assault following a 3:20 p.m. call to the 2900 block of Mount Vista Road in Centralia. Arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail was George S. Gonzales, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD

• Centralia police took a report yesterday from the 500 block of North Tower Avenue regarding someone using someone else’s name to open up an unspecified credit line.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• A 41-year-old Lacey man pleaded not guilty yesterday in connection with responding to a Craigslist advertisement soliciting sex with a 22-year-old woman and her 13-year-old sister; an ad placed by a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office detective. Larry R. White, who works as a financial supervisor at Little Creek Casino, was released a week earlier on a $10,000 unsecured bond the day after his arrest in the parking lot of an apartment on the 2300 block of Jackson Highway in Chehalis. According to charging documents, sheriff’s detective Kevin Engelbertson exchanged emails with White over a two-day period and when the subject arrived on the morning of June 25, he was met by three deputies. White allegedly said told the detective the deal was for $100 but he only brought $75 and hoped not pay any money, according to the charging documents. He also admitted being nervous and knowing it was wrong, charging documents state. He was charged the following day with second-degree attempted child molestation.

SUNSHINE AND GLASS

• The cause of a fire Tuesday on Hopp Road east of Toledo will be listed as undetermined but the fire investigator said he considered the possibility the blazing sun through a window may have reflected off something inside, causing a magnifying glass effect. The evening fire started in a small shed attached to a larger shop-barn building and more than two dozen firefighters fought to extinguish it and prevent it from spreading to the nearby home. The barn building was described as probably a total loss, but much of its contents were believed to be salvageable, according to Lewis County Fire District 2 Chief Grant Wiltbank. Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said this morning he could find no other reason for the fire, with no fireworks being lit in the area and no one having been in the building for awhile.

SPINNING BUMBLEBEE BLAMED FOR FIRE

• Flames reportedly climbed as much as 20 feet beyond the tops of three medium-sized cedar trees that caught fire next to a house for sale in a Centralia neighborhood yesterday, caused by a spinning bumblebee firework a teenager had lit off in the road. “It landed in the debris under the trees,” Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Casey McCarthy said. Arriving firefighters stopped it from spreading to the residence, which was roughly 15 feet away, he said. Part of a wood fence burned, but nobody was injured, he said. The location of the 4:20 p.m. call was the corner of Plum and Cedar streets.

FOR LATER ON

• The state fire marshal is already offering advice for post-fireworks activities. State Fire Marshal Chuck Duffy reminds residents that used fireworks can leave behind a great deal of debris, and its proper cleanup can help reduce the risk of an injury or fire. “If you have unused consumer fireworks, it is best to discharge the remaining fireworks during the legal discharge dates for your community,” Duffy states in a news release. More suggestions: Don’t put used fireworks into any paper or plastic bag, until after they’ve been soaked in a bucket of water for 15 minutes. Then place them into a metal garbage can, he says. And check the area again in the morning, as remaining fireworks debris can easily be overlooked in the dark, he says.

WRECK

• A 59-year-old Mineral resident driving a Ford Crown Victoria southbound on state Route 7 swerved into the oncoming lane striking the side of a Ford F250 pickup truck about noon today sending both drivers to the hospital. Troopers called to the scene about a mile and a half north of Morton report both vehicles were damaged but offered no explanation for why the man swerved. Harold D. Vogel, and Mitchell G. Robinson, 51, from Onalaska, were transported by ambulance to Morton General Hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol. No alcohol or drugs were suspected to be involved, according to the investigating trooper.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for collision on city street … and more.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

This entry was posted on Friday, July 4th, 2014 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Sharyn's sirens roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.