Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

News brief: Bye bye Centralia bear

Friday, October 9th, 2015
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A tranquilized male bear rests inside a trailer before his trip to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. / Courtesy photo by Austin Kimball

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A bear spotted several places around a Centralia neighborhood yesterday has been moved to a new home.

“I can tell you, we managed to tranquilize him – a male, about 3 to 4 years old – take him out of the area and into the Gifford Pinchot,” Washington Department of FIsh and Wildlife spokesperson Craig Bartlett said.

Authorities got calls about the black bear beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the 500 block of South Rock Street and then from locations such as West Chestnut Street, Bartlett said. There was also a sighting on Sky Meadow Drive.

Bartlett said wildlife officers are getting a lot of bear calls right now, as they are preparing to den and trying to beef up for the winter.

“This guy was seen snacking at a bird feeder earlier in the day,” he said.

Game officers arrived in the area around 4 p.m. The bear had climbed up a tree.

By about 8 p.m., he was captured and put in a trailer to head to the forest, he said. He should be all settled in now, Bartlett said.

“As always, the main thing to keep from attracting bears, is try not to feed them,” he said. “Like with bird feeders and garbage.”

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Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife shares information about the black bears which live in Washington state, here

News brief: Pair hurt when truck hits tree in Packwood

Friday, October 9th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two people were injured when the driver of a pickup truck lost control making a left turn off U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood and struck a tree this morning.

Transported to Morton General Hospital were Dale A. Ryf, 55, of Packwood, and his passenger Jeanette C. Seaman, 46, from Tacoma, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers called at 9:50 a.m. noted the 1995 Chevrolet 1500 was westbound going too fast when it attempted the turn into a private driveway. The truck was totaled.

Ryf was cited for second-degree negligent driving, according to the state patrol.

News brief: Child hiker survives 40 foot fall near Cispus

Friday, October 9th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An 11-year-old boy who fell some 40 feet down a nearly vertical embankment and landed in a creek bed yesterday south of Randle escaped the accident with minor injuries, according to Lewis County Fire District 14.

Rescuers were called about 11 a.m. to the area near Cispus, according to Fire Chief Jeff Jaques.

Jaques said the child from Lake Tapps was on a school-related outing. They were hiking on the trail to Angel Falls, he said.

Jaques said he understood the youngster was walking backwards, talking to a friend when he stepped off the trail and got too close to the edge of a drop off.

He was packed out and transported to a local hospital for evaluation, according to Jaques.

Prosecutors: Now-former caregiver made more than 200 unauthorized transactions with client’s bank card

Thursday, October 8th, 2015
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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The caregiver of a bedridden Centralia woman is accused of taking her client’s credit card and running up more than $10,000 in purchases and cash advances before getting caught, returning the card and apologizing.

Tamara A. Hagerman, 44, of Pe Ell, told a detective when she gave the card back, she told the woman and the woman’s husband she would pay the money back, according to court papers.

They called police the following day.

Hagerman is charged in Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree theft as well as three counts of unlawful factoring of credit card or payment card transactions.

She was summonsed to appear before a judge yesterday afternoon and signed a $5,000 unsecured appearance bond. Her arraignment is set for next Thursday.

According to charging documents, Hagerman began working for Debra Zillmer in July of last year, and helped with the bills and writing out checks because of Zillmer’s difficulty with fine motor skills.

The Zillmers became aware of the situation when an employee from the Doty store called and asked if someone had permission to use the card on July 1; Hagerman had reportedly told her son to use the blue card from her purse and get her a few things, the documents relate.

Centralia police detective Patty Finch found more than $5,500 in unauthorized charges and more than $4,700 in cash advances over a five month period, according to the charging documents.

Among the things Hagerman allegedly told detectives was she initially took the card, without permission, because she didn’t have enough gas to get home, but after a few days, put it back because she felt bad taking it.

She allegedly said she took it again, because her daughter needed groceries.

Finch stated in her report Hagerman used the card more than 200 times between February and July. Hagerman said she used it for gas, groceries and clothing.

“She said she didn’t use if (sp) often at first, but began using it more and more the longer she had it,” Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher wrote in charging documents.

Among the spending noted in the allegations were to pay her cell phone bill, to put money on a jail inmate’s phone, to eat fast food, order Netflix and rent movies.

The Zillmers told Centralia police Hagerman was a former caregiver when they reported the theft on July 3. Bruce Zillmer also advised the officer he’d contacted their bank who would send paperwork to sign about the unauthorized charges.

When asked by detective Finch if she had had the means to repay the couple, “Tamara said that her mother offered to pay the money back,” Meagher wrote.

The court yesterday ordered Hagerman to get finger printed and photographed at the Lewis County Jail by 5 p.m. next Wednesday.

Reached by phone, Hagerman declined to comment. She is represented by Centralia lawyer David Brown.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, October 8th, 2015
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Updated

STOLEN VEHICLE RECOVERED

• A 20-year-old Olympia man was arrested just after midnight at the 1200 block of Alder Street for possession of a stolen vehicle, missing from Lacey. Leo M. Mitchell was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. Information about what model or make of vehicle was not readily available.

ALCOHOL

• A 35-year-old woman who allegedly threw a beer bottle through a window at the 1400 block of West Main Street in Centralia during a domestic dispute early this morning was arrested for third-degree malicious mischief. An officer responding about 1:30 a.m. booked Diana Frias into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police took several calls yesterday of a possibly intoxicated person walking in the road and urinating in the road in a case associated with the 500 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia. Officers eventually arrested 20-year-old Jacob S. Drury for disorderly conduct and minor in possession and/or consumption of alcohol, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called about 1:35 p.m. yesterday to W.F. West High School, for a 17-year-old boy who allegedly had been drinking. A bottle of vodka was located in a backpack, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The case was referred to juvenile prosecutors for a charge of minor in possession and/or consumption of alcohol, police said. An officer was requested to return to the school less than two hours later for a possible second situation, but the request was cancelled, according to police.

NOT A PROWL

• Chehalis police were called about 10 a.m. yesterday for a report of a vehicle prowl at the 100 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue. There was no vehicle prowl, according to the Chehalis Police Department. An individual thought his backpack was stolen but found it in his other vehicle, police said.

THEFT

• An officer was called about 4:30 p.m. yesterday about the possible theft of hydrocodone pills from Southwest 20th Street.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, probation violation; responses for dispute, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, rollover collision on county road … and more.

 

News brief: Honda car thief evades police in Centralia

Thursday, October 8th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An individual driving a stolen Honda Civic in Centralia early this morning was nearly caught by police, but abandoned the car and ran off.

A half dozen Hondas were stolen in Centralia and Chehalis between Saturday and Tuesday morning and more have been reported missing each day since then.

According to Centralia Police Department Sgt. David Ross, just before 4 a.m. today, an officer spotted the red car in the area of Oxford Avenue and Marion Street and followed it in part because of odd driving behavior.

“(It) increased its speed and began to make turns through residential streets in an obvious effort to avoid being stopped,” Ross stated.

The driver stopped suddenly and ran, according to Ross.

A K-9 team was called to the scene but were not successful in locating the suspect, according to information from Ross at about 7:30 a.m. today.

The owner of the vehicle was located and it was determined that the vehicle had just been stolen. It was returned to the owner.

Yesterday morning at about 7 a.m., an officer was taking a report of a black 1991 Honda Accord from the same part of town – the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue – when a Chehalis police officer located the unoccupied car in Chehalis.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, October 7th, 2015
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PARKING OFFICER THREATENED

• A 50-year-old man who found a notice on his vehicle it would be impounded if not moved made a comment to a parking enforcement officer in Chehalis that got him put in jail yesterday. “He said he would shoot whoever towed his vehicle,” Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. Brian D. Hardie was arrested for felony harassment, Bailey said. The vehicle in question was at the 400 block of South Market Boulevard and Hardie reportedly approached the officer downtown at the 400 block of North Market Boulevard. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

PROWLED VALUABLES RECOVERED

• A contact at about 9:15 a.m. yesterday with a person sleeping in a bus at the 1500 block of Bishop Road south of Chehalis turned up items reported missing two hours earlier in a vehicle prowl in the same area. Missing and recovered were a welder’s book and a backpack, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Richard T. Harris, 32, of Olympia, said he found them, according to the sheriff’s office. Harris also had with him two Kenworth keys and two radios which a deputy concluded belonged to a nearby cement business, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Harris was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree possession of stolen property, according to the sheriff’s office.

THE HONDA BEAT

• Centralia police were back at the 600 block of M Street yesterday following the theft of a dark gray 1994 Honda Civic. The missing car has a big dent in the back driver’s side door and also sports black hub caps, according to the Centralia Police Department. It has a license plate of ACH 5532, according to police.

• A Honda Civic stolen out of Chehalis turned up around 3:20 a.m. today, abandoned in a Centralia parking lot at the 600 block of West Pear Street. It was returned to its owner, according to police.

STOLEN TRUCK TORCHED

• A 2005 Ford Ranger stolen from Morton sometime between Monday and Tuesday turned up completely destroyed by fire at the end of a logging road outside Randle, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Its license plates had been removed, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated a $3,500, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

OTHER THEFT

• Stolen from a front yard at the 100 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia yesterday: A stroller for twins, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called about 4:15 a.m. today by an individual at the 1200 block of North Tower Avenue who believed someone used his personal information in an identity theft. The victim has a suspect in mind, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

• Chehalis police were called about 2 p.m. yesterday when an individual called 911 to report seeing a male trying to open vehicle doors in the parking lot at Rite Aid on the 500 block of South Market Boulevard. No arrest was made and no report was submitted, according to a spokesperson for the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police were called to a business at the 700 block of Harrison Avenue about 1:20 p.m. yesterday to take a report that tenants damaged a room they were renting before leaving. The investigation is continuing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• An officer responded to an 8 p.m. call yesterday to the 500 block of Northwest Front Street where someone had found a small bottle containing a crystal substance, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Police were called about 10 p.m. yesterday to Green Hill School on the 300 block of Southwest 11th Street where green vegetable material was found in a student-inmate’s room, and then more discovered during a strip search, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The case will be turned over to prosecutors, according to police.

ON THE ROAD

• A 21-year-old Winlock resident was suspected to be impaired when he wrecked his 1994 Ford Ranger last night at the 500 block of Rhoades Road near Winlock. A deputy responding about 8:50 p.m. found the truck’s rear quarter panel struck a utility pole after its driver lost control near a corner, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Tomas Aparicio-Chagolla, was reportedly uninjured but was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for driving under the influence, according to the sheriff’ office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, driving with no license, driving with revoked license, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, missing person who was subsequently found … and more.