News brief: New child safety program unveiled at the fair

August 13th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Crime Stoppers of Lewis County will be available at the Southwest Washington Fair this week to help parents out by creating special laminated identification cards for youngsters.

A photograph, thumbprint and basic information will be put on the card, with one copy for the child to carry and a duplicate to put away in a safe place in the event it is ever needed, according to the organization.

Crime Stoppers will not retain any of the data from the cards, according to a news release.

The program being launched tomorrow is called “My ID Club” and is sponsored by Community Health Plans of Washington and supported by Valley View Health Centers, according to the news release.

The cards can be obtained between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. starting tomorrow through the last day of the fair at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office booth on the south fairway.

For more information, check My ID Club, here

News brief: Police: Put the phone down and drive

August 13th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Even though their zero tolerance, month-long emphasis on catching motorists using cell phones while driving has ended, Centralia police plan to continue aggressively watching for violators, according to Centralia Police Department Chief Bob Berg.

The fine is $124, the other potential consequence whether ticketed or not is a car crash, according to Berg.

“Almost one third of the fatal traffic collisions in Washington State since 2007 occurred because one of the individuals involved was a distracted driver,” Berg stated in a news release.

While not all wrecks related to inattention can be blamed on texting or talking on a cell phone, studies show phone use behind the wheel causes an “impairment” that can be likened to driving while intoxicated, according to Berg.

“The problem is real in escalating in terms of safety on the roadway,” the police chief stated when the emphasis began. “Education alone has not curbed the problems of texting and cell phone use while driving.”

Centralia officers issued 131 citations between July 10 and Aug. 10, compared with 52 of the tickets in the previous five months.

Texting while driving (RCW 46.61.668) is illegal in Washington as is having a cell phone to your ear and talking while driving (RCW 46.61.667). The prohibition, in effect since 2007, became a primary offense last year.

Berg notes those who have been ticketed may qualify for Centralia Municipal Court Traffic School, which can help keep the citation from appearing on the individual’s driving record and being reported to their insurance carrier.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

August 13th, 2013

BREAK-INS CENTRALIA, MORTON, TOLEDO

• Someone stole several pieces of jewelry, an iPod and about $100 cash in a burglary at the 1000 block of Scammon Creek Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 11 a.m. yesterday.

• A 78-year-old Morton area woman called the sheriff’s office yesterday after discovering a burglary at her home on the 400 block of Dodge Road. Among the missing valuables are several pieces of jewelry, including a diamond wedding ring and freshwater pearls, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $3,500, according to the sheriff’s office.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that a deputy responded last Friday to a burglary at the 200 block of Drews Prairie Road near Toledo in which roughly $1,600 worth of property was taken. It happened between 12:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. Among the items missing are clothing, two laptop computers, an iPad, a Wii game system and a Canon camera with lens, flash and and case, according to Sgt. Rob Snaza.

CAR PROWL

• Morton police were called about a vehicle prowl at the 400 block of Temple Avenue on Saturday morning. Some of the missing property was later found in a nearby yard, according to the Morton Police Department.

PETTY THEFT

• Chehalis police were called after a woman was observed picking up change from the fountain in front of the library yesterday afternoon. A suspect was located in the area and returned approximately $2 in coins to an officer, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

ASSAULT INVESTIGATION

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday of a possible sexual assault of a teenage girl. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

ATTEMPTED FRAUD

• A man who lives on Snively Avenue in Chehalis reported to police yesterday he received a phone call from a male claiming to be be his grandson who needed funds to get home from Cancun, Mexico. The potential victim of a scam told the caller to get the money from his parents and hung up, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called about 2:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of North Washington Avenue where someone had apparently shot one vehicle with a pain ball gun and another vehicle with a BB gun, according to the Centralia Police Department. The case is under investigation, according to police.

WILDFIRE FIGHT

• Personnel from fire districts in Morton, Toledo and Napavine headed out over the weekend to assist with a wildfire in Chelan County, which was 70 percent contained as of yesterday. The so-called Milepost 10 fire – about eight miles south of Wenatchee, near Malaga – was sparked by lightening late Friday night and threatened some 150 residences, according to information from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. Megan Van Egdom, of Lewis County Fire District 5, took the opportunity to remind  the public to be safe during fire season by making sure the exterior of their homes are cleared of any vegetation or debris.

TRAFFIC MESS

• A log truck making a turn at East Reynolds Avenue and North Pearl Street in Centralia yesterday morning bumped a utility pole and ended up pulling down live wires and snapping the pole, causing an hours-long closure of the road. Aid was called to the scene just after 10 a.m. as a woman on the sidewalk was struck in the head with something which possibly fell during the incident. She just wanted to make sure she wasn’t bleeding and did not need to go to the hospital, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Personnel from the state Department of Transportation and Centralia City Light responded and made repairs. North Pearl Street, which is part of state Route 507, was closed until about 7 p.m., according to Fire Capt. Ken Colombo.

TRAFFIC DANGER

• A 25-year-old motorist from Roy was arrested on Saturday afternoon after he allegedly drove through multiple camp sites which were being used by people at Gus Backstrom Park in Morton. Austin A. Coda’s vehicle was impounded and he was cited for reckless endangerment, according to the Morton Police Department.

• A 25-year-old woman detained for driving under the influence overnight was arrested for that as well as reckless endangerment as she had her two children in the vehicle with her, according to the Centralia Police Department. Mary A. Orlik, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail after the approximately 2 a.m. contact with an officer, according to police.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, violation of protection order, trespassing; responses for alarms, misdemeanor theft, disputes, disorderly subject, found bicycle, parental custody issues … and more.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

August 12th, 2013

ASSAULTS

• A sheriff’s deputy responding to a Silver Creek area home yesterday evening when a parent asked that a disorderly 50-year-old son be removed, was slapped, punched, kicked and then head butted by the man, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Initially, the deputy sergeant responding around 7 p.m. to the 1200 block of state Route 122 said the son couldn’t be arrested simply because of a verbal dispute, but as the deputy sergeant spoke with the intoxicated man, the man became aggressive and began assaulting him, according to the sheriff’s office. After the alleged assault, Dawayne C. McCash was taken to the hospital for medical clearance for an unspecified reason and they kept him because of a prior injury, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

• A 27-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday after allegedly walking toward his neighbor holding a combat knife in his hand and making a threat to kill him. A deputy called about 12:25 p.m. to the 1600 block of Windsor Avenue arrested Henry Herrera-Montealegre for felony harassment, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.  He was booked into the Lewis County Jail. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said it is unknown what the disagreement with the 39-year-old victim was about.

• Chehalis police were called about 8:20 p.m. yesterday to the 400 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue where a 35-year-old man had allegedly grabbed his girlfriend by the neck. He is wanted for second-degree assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department

JOHN DOE BOOKED

• A male from Seattle was arrested for disorderly conduct when he reportedly walked into the women’s restroom on the 200 block of North Railroad Avenue in Centralia yesterday. Police responding about 1 p.m. didn’t believe he really was the person his “documents” said he was and because he would not give his “correct” name, he was booked into the Lewis County Jail as “John Doe,” according to the Centralia Police Department. He was Hispanic, according to police.

STOLEN FIREARMS

• Centralia police took a report from the 1600 block of Sunset Way in Centralia on Saturday of two revolvers which disappeared sometime in the previous five months.

DRUGS

• A 28-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for warrants and possession of methamphetamine just after 6 a.m. yesterday at the 1500 block of Lum Road in Centralia. Nicholas A. Mullins was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 20-year-old man from Bonney Lake who allegedly gave false information to a police officer during a contact on Saturday morning at the 200 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia was arrested for possession of methamphetamine. Austin Wenner was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• The case involving a 17-year-old girl contacted about 9 a.m. on Saturday at the 200 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia was referred to prosecutors for a charge of possession of marijuana, according to the Centralia Police Department.

STEALING FUEL

• Chehalis police were called to the 1000 block of Southeast Washington Avenue on Saturday morning regarding a gas can and siphoning hose with smears of blood on them found inside a garage.

• An officer took a report of the theft of gasoline from the 1200 block of Kayu Lane in Centralia on Friday morning.

CAR PROWL

• A 73-year-old man called the sheriff’s office on Saturday after discovering his unlocked vehicle was broken into at the 800 block of Ninth Street in Vader, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Among the missing items were an electric tire gauge, a GPS device and keys, according to the sheriff’s office.

THEFT OF WOOD

• Someone cut down a tree on city property at the 1000 block of Seminary Hill Road in Centralia and left with the wood, according to a report taken by the Centralia Police Department on Friday.

VANDALISM

• Police took a report of graffiti painted on a fence about 10 p.m. on Saturday from the 500 block of West Pine Street in Centralia.

WRECKS

• A 44-year-old Winlock man escaped a single-vehicle collision with just cuts and scrapes to his forehead but was booked into jail for numerous alleged offenses last night. A deputy called about 7:45 p.m. to the 100 block of Kangas Road near Toledo found a pickup truck had struck a speed limit sign and a fence, and its driver had left and then returned, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The truck sustained major damage to its front and diver’s side, a female passenger was reportedly uninjured, according to the sheriff’s office. Brian T. Bircher was arrested for first-degree negligent driving, driving with a suspended license and driving without an ignition interlock device violation as well as hit and run, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• A 21-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for hit and run after allegedly running into a guard rail on Friday evening near Highway 603 and Twin Oaks Road west of Chehalis. A deputy responding about 8 p.m. found an unoccupied Kia Optima parked in a field down the road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It was impounded. Shea H. Slater was located and cited, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. He sustained minor cuts and scratches, Brown said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for alarms, violation of protection order, misdemeanor assaults, less violent disputes, minor collisions, bicycle stolen from in front of library, theft of garden tools, damage to a mailbox, disorderly-suspicious-loitering-and-or-stumbling subjects; complaints about neighbor’s loud party … and more.

News brief: Four from Tenino hospitalized after rollover near Doty

August 12th, 2013

Updated at 12:08 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Responders had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate one of the occupants after a car carrying a family of four that wrecked along state Route 6 west of Chehalis yesterday.

Crews from Lewis County Fire Districts 16, 11 and 13 responded to the 12:15 p.m. rollover crash near River Road, about three miles east of Doty, according to authorities.

Injured were driver Kevin D. Beigh, 37, Sarah I. Beigh, 37, Mason T. Beigh, 4, and Alexandria L. Beigh, 15, all from Tenino, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Sarah Beigh is a senior deputy prosecutor with the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Lewis County Fire District 11 Chief Michael Krafczyk said the adult passenger was trapped in the car.

The 1998 Nissan Maxima was traveling eastbound when for whatever reason it left the roadway to the right, struck an embankment, rolled and came to rest on its top, according to the state patrol.

Krafczyk said ambulances from Pe Ell and AMR transported all four to Providence Centralia Hospital. The car was described as totaled.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said he talked with Beigh last night and she’s sore and bruised but will be fine. A spokesperson for the hospital said the adult patients were treated and released. No information was made available about the children.

All were wearing seat belts, according to the investigating trooper. The state patrol blamed inattention on the part of the driver.  He was cited for wheels off the roadway, according to the state patrol.

News brief: Tacoma man rescued from river near Rochester

August 12th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 63-year-old Tacoma man escaped with only mild hypothermia after a kayaking accident last night near Rochester.

It happened just prior to 10 p.m. on the Black River about a mile north of Rochester.

He and his 60-year-old companion, both from Tacoma, got a late start getting on the river near Littlerock and it was dark when his kayak became tangled in a fallen tree, knocking him into the water, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

“The male was only able to hold onto the female’s kayak and was in water too deep to stand,” Chief Robert Scott said in a news release. “The male quickly began to weaken due to the effects of the water.”

A dozen firefighters responded to the cell phone call to 911, but it still took 50 minutes to locate the couple, according to Scott. They used a signal from the cell phone, air horns, sirens and communication exchanges with the 911 personnel to pinpoint the couple’s exact location. Scott said they were on a part of the river bordered by several hundred yards of thick underbrush and no direct access to the water.

Crews administered treatment for hypothermia and brought the male off the river in rescue basket, according to Scott. His companion was able to walk out with responders, he said.

Scott said the pair were wearing life vests. He used the incident as a reminder that it’s wise to carry a flashlight, cell phone, and extra clothing on such outings.

News brief: Centralia resident wakes to house fire

August 12th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters are on the scene of an overnight blaze that significantly damaged a house on the 2800 block of Russell Road in Centralia.

Crews called just after 3:15 a.m. found flames coming out the left and rear sides of the one story single family home and smoke rolling out from the attic space, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

A resident who said he was awakened by smoke detector escaped through a window, Fire Capt. Greg Schwartz said.

Not long after they arrived, one firefighter was struck by a patio roof at the back of the house fell down, Schwartz said.

“I think he was knocked to the ground, but not injured,” Schwartz said.

Riverside Fire Authority was joined by members of the Chehalis Fire Department as well as West Thurston Regional Fire Thurston Authority out of Rochester, he said.

They finished up by about 6:30 a.m. but are now looking for the cause of the fire, according to Schwartz.

Schwartz said the resident, an adult male, was treated by paramedics from AMR, so he didn’t have further information about his condition.