Lewis County Sirens.com

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LOG TRUCK WRECK KILLS DRIVER

• A driver was dead at the scene when a log truck ran off U.S. Highway 12 in Rochester and struck a tree late this afternoon. Firefighters called about 4:30 p.m. to the area near Denmark Road found the rig about 40 feet off the road, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. Fire Chief Robert Scott said the empty log truck hit a full-sized tree. The Washington State Patrol is investigating. As of 6:45 p.m., the highway was still closed and a detour put into place, according to Scott. Responders were also waiting for a crew from the state Department of Ecology to clean up spilled diesel and motor oil, Scott said.

BIG RIG BLOCKS I-5 AT CHEHALIS

• It wasn’t long after traffic started moving again on northbound Interstate 5 into Chehalis yesterday afternoon when a semi truck broke down in the middle of the freeway, and lost about 12 gallons of oil. It happened just before 6 p.m. at the 13th Street and Rice Road interchange and responding firefighters spent some time soaking up oil off the roadway, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

IMPAIRED DRIVER, CHILD OK AFTER CRASH

• A 23-year-old woman was arrested for driving under the influence after her vehicle left the roadway and wrecked into a tree at the 100 block of Hadaller Road in Mossyrock last night. A deputy responding just after 7 p.m. noted her 5-year-old son was traveling with her, although he was in a booster seat in the back, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. No injuries were reported, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Sabrina R. Sutton, from Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for DUI and for reckless endangerment, Brown said.

BURGLARY AND THEFT

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning someone broke into a storage building belonging to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife at the 700 block of Davis Lake Road in East Lewis County. Nothing appeared to be missing but the cost was about $400 to repair the damaged door, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Centralia police were called to the 100 block of North Pearl Street about 2 p.m. yesterday regarding the theft of money through a financial scam.

• An officers was called about 4 p.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of G Street to take a report of fraudulent charges on someone’s credit card.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for shoplifting, dispute, protection order violation … and more.

Flames spreading through freshly cut hay are extinguished in Winlock. / Courtesy photo by Patrick Jacobson

FIRE WEATHER IS UPON US

• Firefighters from three departments responded yesterday afternoon when fire broke out during a haying operation on the 500 block of Jones Road west of Winlock. They found a portion of the field of freshly cut hay burning – an area of approximately 300 feet by 300 feet – and a crew trying to keep the rest of it from being consumed, according to Lewis County Fire District 15. “I believe it happened from probably the exhaust from a tractor,” Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Anderson said. A small breeze tried to push it into a timber patch that had been logged probably two or so years ago, he said. Anderson said it was extinguished after about an hour and a half.

• Exceptionally dry weather and extreme fire danger means public access to more private timberlands is shut down temporarily. The Columbia Tree Farm, located near Morton, Riffe Lake, Swift Reservoir and north and south of Raymond is among those closed likely through the summer, Olympic Resource Management, a Pope Resources company, announced yesterday.

BARN BURGLED

• A 33-year-old Centralia area man called the sheriff’s office about 7:30 p.m. yesterday after discovering his barn door broken and his welder and bike missing. The resident of the 100 block of Goodrich Road said he’d been in there the night before and they were there, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The bike is described as a Fetish Cycles road bicycle with a white frame and a Nascar sticker. The loss is listed at $1,400, according to the sheriff’s office.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police yesterday morning responded a burglary at the 1200 block of Alder Street and ended up arrested Jacob D. Holmgren. The 25-year-old Centralia resident was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD IN CENTRALIA

• Police were called about 9:30 a.m. yesterday regarding fraudulent charges on a bank account, associated with a location at the 2000 block of Borst Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called about 11 o’clock yesterday morning regarding a vehicle prowl at Northeast Hampe Way.

DOG FIGHT

• A Mineral man was bit on the thumb when he tried to break up a dog fight that occurred as he and his leashed service dog came out of the Headquarters Tavern in Mineral last night, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy responding about 8:15 p.m. to the 100 block of Front Street learned from the 44-year-old a loose pit bull mix attacked his 3-year-old Malamute, according to the sheriff’s office. The owner of the suspect dog, a 36-year-old Mineral resident, was issued an infraction for prohibited activities by animals because the incident occurred off his dog’s property, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. The malamute sustained three puncture wounds on its front leg, Brown said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, drugs, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, disorderly person, threats on Facebook, missing TV remote, toddler sounding child calling 911, a vehicle without a placard parked in a handicap space; questions about possibly having purchased stolen goods, wondering if its okay to grow marijuana in a backyard … and more.

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Updated at 6:51 p.m.

FRACTURED FACE

• A 33-year-old Morton area man turned himself in yesterday as deputies were investigating an assault in which he allegedly beat a woman, punching her repeatedly in the face. Deputies were called around 3 p.m. about the incident that had just occurred at the residence on the 900 block of state Route 7, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 52-year-old woman had already been taken to Morton General Hospital with suspected broken bones in her face, according to the sheriff’s office. When interviewed, she said she and the suspect were arguing and he got on top of her and struck her with his hands, but also with an unknown object, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown. The sheriff’s office subsequently got a call from the father of Brian D. Veach who said his son wanted to turn himself in and Veach was arrested for second-degree assault, domestic violence, Brown said. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

OTHER ASSAULT

• Centralia officers responded to call from a doctor at about 3 o’clock this morning who advised that he had a juvenile assault victim that was being treated in the emergency room for minor injuries. The case is connected to the 900 block of E Street, according to the Centralia Police Department. An investigation is underway, according to police.

• Shannon L. Wachter, 19, of Centralia, was arrested for third-degree assault yesterday, according to the Centralia Police Department. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail. Further details were not readily available.

GARAGE BURGLED OF DRILLS

• Chehalis police were called at 11:40 a.m. yesterday to the 1400 block of Southwest Mills Avenue where someone had broken into a detached garage and made off with tools. Missing are three Milwaukee hand drills, two of which use a “slip chuck drive valve system” and the other which is a three-eighths inch chuck, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Also taken were two rechargeable batteries for the drills, according to police.

BARN BURGLED OF GUNS

• Someone got into a safe inside a barn on the 200 block of Evans Road outside Toledo and stole eight antique firearms, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The theft just reported occurred sometime since November of 2013, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Taken from the 82-year-old owner were a revolver, shotgun and rifles, Brown said. The loss is more than $5,000, Brown said.

CHEATED ONLINE

• A 44-year-old Chehalis woman appears to be out almost $2,000 after responding to an online offer of part-time employment from home. “(It appears to be) a typical, ‘we give you a cashiers check, you cash it and get money orders’,” Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. “She did that and sent them off.” Then the victim learned from her bank she was overdrawn because the first check was no good, Bailey said. It wasn’t clear exactly the reason given for the complex transactions, Bailey said.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called at 2 p.m. yesterday about a window getting broken on a vehicle parked at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue.

BUSHES IGNITE NEAR LAKE

• Firefighters called about 12:10 a.m. today to a report of a fire on the north end of Plummers Lake in Centralia found mixed grass and brush burning over an area of approximately 30 feet by 20 feet. it was extinguished without difficulty, according to Riverside Fire Authority. It appeared the fire may been started in or around a camping area, or where garbage had been dumped, according to Fire Capt. Scott Weinert.

RAILROAD TRACKS ON FIRE

• Rural Chehalis firefighters called regarding smoke seen by someone working at Stan Hedwall Park at 12:30 p.m. yesterday were dispatched to the 800 block of Shorey Road for what turned out to be two railroad ties burning. A lot of times a fire on railroad tracks like that can be from a spark off a train, Lewis County Fire District 6 Firefighter Matt McCoy said. They used a water can to extinguish it, and asked for BNSF to be notified, McCoy said.

WRECKS

• An 86-year-old driver was hurt when his truck ran off the road and into a power pole yesterday at the 800 block of Middle Fork Road in Onalaska. Deputies responding about 12:10 p.m. noted major front end damage to his 2005 Dodge pickup, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The patient had cuts to his hands and other unknown injuries, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. He was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for treatment, according to Brown.

• The Washington State Patrol blames inattention on the part of a 19-year-old driver for a two-vehicle wreck yesterday on state Route 508 that sent an older couple to the hospital. It happened about 12:30 p.m. just east of Interstate 5, according to the state patrol. Zachery R. Braun, of Chehalis, was southbound at Roberts Road in a Dodge pickup and stopped for the stop sign but then entered the highway without checking traffic and struck a Toyota Prius which was eastbound, the investigating trooper reports. Responding firefighters evaluated all three persons and found one needed to be transported with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue, formerly known as Lewis County Fire District 5. Linda R. Ferson, 71, was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital and her husband Galen D. Ferson, 75, went along with her, according to the state patrol. A citation for failure to yield the right-of-way was to be issued to Braun.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, harassment, disorderly conduct, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, misdemeanor theft, collision on city street; complaint of neighbor with too-tall grass … and more.