Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

News brief: Wildland fire threatens house near Cinebar

Friday, May 13th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two times in as many days it appears outdoor burning has ignited out-of-control brush fires in Lewis County.

Firefighters from four departments spent several hours yesterday afternoon attacking flames on the side of a steep hill east of Onalaska.

Underbrush and trees caught fire, consuming approximately one acre, according to Lewis County Fire District 1.

Fire Chief Andrew Martin said the fire came within 100 yards of one home, so they assigned an engine to stand by there for structural protection.

District 1 was called about 2:45 p.m. to the area of the 100 block of August Road, just north of state Route 508, toward Cinebar, according to Martin.

They were assisted by personnel from Districts 8, 3 and 5 and notified the state Department of Natural Resources, Martin said.

The fire is believed to have been started by a yard trimmings pile that was being burned on nearby vacant property, according to Martin.

On Wednesday afternoon, crews responded to the 600 block of Centralia-Alpha Road east of Chehalis for a brush fire that most likely started with a land clearing debris pile that the owner believed was out when they left the property, according to Riverside Fire Authority. That fire was quickly contained.

Chief Martin said various fire departments around the county are planning to hold informational meetings on how property owners can prepare in advance to defend their homes from the threat of wildfires.

Onalaska, Salkum and Mossyrock are organizing a joint gathering for residents in their communities, he said.

“I encourage people to watch for and attend these short meetings,” Martin said. “It may make the difference between their house standing at the end of fire season or it not being there.”

News brief: Adna teen finds dead birds left on his windshield at school

Thursday, May 12th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – No criminal charges will be filed against two Adna High School students implicated in defiling a fellow student’s vehicle with dead baby birds and derogatory messages.

The incident was investigated at the request of the victim’s grandfather, but the boy told a deputy yesterday he did not want to press charges, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The grandfather contacted the sheriff’s office at the beginning of last week to report someone had thrown birds against the vehicle and written “I love (the N word)” and “I love men” in blood, according to the sheriff’s office.

A deputy responded to the high school and found the rear window of the Toyota 4Runner dusty with a freshly cleaned area and was told dead birds had been found under the windshield wipers and on the ground, according to the incident report.

The deputy interviewed the principal, the two suspects and their parents and was told by one of the suspects they’d found an abandoned nest with four deceased baby birds in the dugout at the baseball field and that they “smeared” the birds on the 4Forerunner, the report relates. The second suspect admitted he wrote one message on the vehicle and then wiped it off.

The victim’s parents also told the deputy they did not want to pursue criminal charges, according to the deputy’s report.

The deputy noted the video footage he viewed was grainy and it wasn’t clear exactly what the two boys were doing at the vehicle and also that he couldn’t tell if the birds were actually thrown or if they were alive.

The incident report notes the school principal suspended one student for two days and the other student for three days.

News brief: RFA douses two brush fires outside Centralia

Thursday, May 12th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Centralia area fire department is urging the public to use extra caution when conducting outdoor burning, noting an unusually warm and dry spring after twice yesterday evening responding to brush fires.

At 4:50 p.m. crews were called to the 600 block of Centralia-Alpha Road where they found grass and light brush on fire covering an area of approximately 50-feet by 20-feet.

“The fire was quickly brought under control without any complications,” Fire Capt. Scott Weinert stated in a news release.

It appeared to have originated where brush had been piled up next to an area where the ground was being developed for some type of construction, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

“The RFA wishes to remind everyone that outdoor burning must be attended by a responsible person and a burning permit must be obtained from Lewis County,” Weinert wrote. “All conditions of the permit must be adhered to at all times.”

Twenty minutes after that call, the fire department was dispatched to TransAlta on the 900 block of Big Hanaford Road where employees discovered a nearly half-acre fire that consumed brush and ignited a pile of power poles as well as an over-sized tire and a debris pile, according to Weinert.

The workers had used a bulldozer to create a trail around the perimeter to prevent the fire from spreading, Weinert said.

It was just four days ago when three area fire departments spent all night attacking a wildfire on Crego Hill in Adna.

Last summer saw some of the largest, and fastest moving wild fires around the county, and the region, in recent history due to an exceptionally hot and dry summer.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, May 12th, 2016
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TEENS CAR PROWLING

• A Centralia mother turned in her teenage son last night, suspecting he was involved in vehicle prowls in the Cooks Hill Road area. A deputy called just before 9 p.m. yesterday spoke to the mom and then interviewed the 16-year-old, who reportedly confessed that during April and May, he and a friend stole property from three separate vehicles, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy was told they prowled unlocked cars with valuables in plain view, according to the sheriff’s office. Among the loot were backpacks, credit cards and at least one laptop computer, Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey said. Some of the missing items were recovered from a 15-year-old boy’s bedroom, Kimsey said. The two teens were arrested and booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for vehicle prowl, second-degree theft and second-degree possession of stolen property, Kimsey reports.

CHEHALIS FIGHT UNDER INVESTIGATION

• Chehalis police were called about 7:40 p.m. yesterday for a dispute at the 300 block of Southwest Third Street that may have involved a knocked-out tooth on a child. The incident is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VEHICLE THEFT

• Chehalis police were notified about 6 p.m. yesterday that the black with gray 1970 Chevrolet pickup truck stolen the day before from  the park and ride at the 800 block of West Main Street had turned up in Pierce County. A deputy there found it unoccupied, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• An 18-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested last night after allegedly punching out the window of a building at the 200 block of Railroad Avenue in Centralia. Officers called about 9:45 p.m. issued a citation for third-degree malicious mischief to Griffyn B. Dollarhyde and then released him pending a court date, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SNACK, BEERS AND HOME REPAIR LEADS TO FELONY CHARGE

• A 54-year-old man who allegedly stopped at his former girlfriend’s Winlock home, repaired her table and left a note asking if she wanted to buy some firewood was arrested for violating a no-contact order but charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with burglary. A deputy back on April 4 reportedly went to the woman’s home on the 300 block of Hawkins Road looking for Rodney D. DeWolf because he had an outstanding warrant and found DeWolf hiding inside. Later when the deputy interviewed the woman, she said she had returned home to find it looked like DeWolf had been there, as he’d fixed some food to eat, drank several beers, left a note and also her table had been fixed, according to charging documents. DeWolf was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on April 28, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The charge of residential burglary is class B felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for drugs, warrants, shoplifting, trespassing, protection order violation, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, oven fire, hit and run, third-degree theft, disorderly conduct, unfounded report, suspicious circumstances, deer walking down middle of road … and more, among 161 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 4:30 a.m. today.

News brief: Convicted burglar a no-show for her sentencing

Wednesday, May 11th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer came to court today, not to argue a case, but because he was the victim.

Meyer and his wife sat in the gallery in Lewis County Superior Court, to attend the sentencing hearing for the woman who pleaded guilty to breaking into their Centralia home last year.

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Janet L. Gleason

Her lawyer as well as two prosecutors handling her case, and another one of which she has been convicted also, were present in Judge Richard Brosey’s courtroom for the afternoon hearing.

But Janet L. Gleason didn’t show up.

Defense attorney Michael Underwood stepped out of the room to try three different phone numbers he had for his client. One was disconnected, a second one is no longer a working number and a third call went to voice mail, he reported.

The 43-year-old Centralia woman pleaded guilty in March to numerous felonies and is facing a recommended prison term of seven years.

Pacific County Prosecutor Mark McClain asked the judge to issue a bench warrant and requested Gleason’s bail be forfeited. The amount in one case is $25,000 and in the other, a drug case, is $20,000.

McClain said Gleason could face an additional charge now of bail jumping.
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For background, read “Role reversal: Lewis County prosecutor reflects on becoming a burglary victim” from Friday November 6, 2015, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, May 11th, 2016
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Updated at 4:19 p.m.

SON-IN-LAW JAILED AFTER KNIFE INCIDENT

• A 23-year-old who allegedly pulled a knife on his mother-in-law was arrested yesterday for felony harassment. Deputies responding about 11:15 a.m. to a dispute at the 200 block of Collins Road near Toledo were told Jackson M. O’Dowd threatened her with the folding knife, causing the 55-year-old woman to fear for her life, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. O’Dowd, of Toledo, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called just after 3 p.m. yesterday to a residential burglary at the 1400 block of Prospect Avenue. Taken from the unlocked home were cameras, electronics and clothing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE THEFT

• Chehalis police were called just before 6:30 p.m. yesterday following the discovery a truck left at the park and ride at the 800 block of West Main Street that morning was missing. The stolen vehicle is a black with gray 1970 Chevrolet pickup truck, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

PORCH PILFERING

• Chehalis police were called about 5:20 p.m. yesterday when an individual saw three kids carrying a box down an alley they suspected could have been stolen from a porch of a residence in the area of the 400 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue. When questioned, they discarded the parcel and an arriving officer concluded it was a delivery of a pair of shoes and took it to its rightful owner, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report of a window damaged from a pellet at the 300 block of North Tower Avenue about 9 p.m. yesterday.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports an investigation showed both drivers contributed to a car versus school bus accident on Monday afternoon along the 200 block of River Heights Road in Centralia. Nobody was injured and the damage was minor when the two vehicles made contact near the center double line on a curve, according to the sheriff’s office. There were two girls on the bus along with the driver, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. A 16-year-old Centralia boy was driving the Toyota Corolla involved, Brown said.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants,  misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, graffiti on a garage, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, out-of-control teenager … and more, among 148 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: One Rochester man killed, another hurt in separate crashes

Wednesday, May 11th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 21-year-old Rochester resident was injured when his pickup truck wrecked in Ocean Shores last night.

Devin R. Reed was traveling northbound on state Route 115 at Damon Road when his 1988 Nissan pickup struck a parked sport utility vehicle with such force both vehicles were pushed into a nearby garage, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers called to the scene about 8:40 p.m. noted both vehicles were totaled. Reed was transported to Community Hospital, according to the state patrol.

The cause of the collision is under investigation.

Meanwhile, another Rochester man died in a separate accident on the other side of the state.

The Spokesman-Review reports Walter H. Nuehring, 59, crashed his motorcycle just before 11 p.m. on Saturday 16 miles north of Wilbur in Lincoln County.

The Spokesman writes that Nuehring struck a ditch along state Route 174 and rolled his 2007 Harley-Davidson.