Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

August 27th, 2011

BIKE VERSUS TRUCK IN CENTRALIA

• A 71-year-old Centralia man was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with leg injuries and “road rash” after the bicycle he was riding yesterday collided with a delivery truck at the intersection of East Reynolds Avenue and North Pearl Street around 1:35 p.m., according to the Centralia Police Department. The truck driver was not cited, police reported.

THEFT

• Police were called to a car prowl on the 300 block of Iron Street in Centralia yesterday. Someone rummaged through the vehicle and took some deposit slips, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called about 9:20 a.m. yesterday about a car prowl on the 1100 block of H Street in Centralia, according to police A stereo was taken.

HAY TRUCK FIRE IN NAPAVINE

• About 14 bales of hay and the wood decking on a trailer were destroyed in a vehicle fire in Napavine yesterday evening. Lewis County Fire District 5 called about 5:35 p.m. to the fire at Highway 603 and Meadow Lane were joined by members of Fire Districts 15 and 6, according to Fire Lt. Laura Hanson. Heavy equipment had to be used to break up the smoldering hay and both lanes were blocked for a period of time, according to Hanson. No injuries were reported.

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Bales of hay are removed from a truck and broken apart after a fire. / Courtesy photo by Maleah Heldreth

Cause of Toledo fire under investigation

August 27th, 2011
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The building belonging to Volunteer Firefighter Nicholas Delin was pushed over after it was destroyed by fire early Thursday.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

TOLEDO – Police Chief John Brockmueller and Officer Sam Patrick planned to start digging today through the rubble that is left of the commercial structure that burned in downtown Toledo early Thursday morning.

What remained after the overnight fire had to be pushed down with heavy equipment on Thursday to make it safe to poke around in, Brockmueller said yesterday.

The cause is unknown, Brockmueller said.

“We’re gathering information, doing interviews and what-not, trying to figure it out,” the chief said.

The building belongs to Volunteer Firefighter Nicholas Delin, of Toledo, who recently shut down Toledo Hardware around the corner.

Lewis County Fire District 2 Chief Grant Wiltbank said it was used as storage for liquidation sales.

Brockmueller said Delin had a similar building that was lost in a fire in Winlock about three years ago.

Firefighters from Districts 2, 5, 7 and 5 were called out just before 1 a.m. on Thursday to the corner of Augustus Street and Ramsey Way – formerly Second Street in downtown.

Neighbors reported hearing explosions; crews battled the blaze defensively, meaning they worked simply to keep adjacent structures from catching fire.

One District 2 firefighter suffering from dehydration was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital for observation, according to Wiltbank.

It’s the third building on the west side of the block to be destroyed by fire in recent months. Only Timberland Bank remains on the corner at Kellogg Way – also state Route 505.

A three-alarm fire on Christmas morning swept through the former Masonic building that held Cowlitz River Antiques and the adjacent Used Book Store.

Toledo Police Officer Patrick is a trained fire investigator; Brockmueller will be assisting him to find what caused the fire.

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Tavern owner Jack Leduc snapped this photo with his phone early Thursday morning.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

August 26th, 2011

Updated at 4:15 p.m.

KITCHEN BURNS IN NAPAVINE

• A Napavine family was put up by the Red Cross last night after a fire broke out in the kitchen of their mobile home yesterday evening. Lewis County Fire District 5 was called at 6:55 p.m. to the home on the 800 block of Fourth Avenue. When firefighters arrived, the occupants were outside and the home was filled with smoke, according to Firefighter Brad Bozarth. The mother had been cooking and stepped outside to check BBQ and when she returned saw flames, according to Bozarth. It started on the stove and extended into the kitchen cabinets and the ceiling, he said. A small girl was checked out by responders because she had been inside when it started, but she was fine, he said.

ROCKS AND BROKEN WINDOWS

• Police were called about 2:20 a.m. today to the 2400 block of Seward Avenue in Centralia where a resident said he saw a neighbor throw a rock through a window of his house from inside the carport. Mitchell W. Sinclair, 43, had been at the property earlier in the day and because of an argument, told by police not to return, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sinclair this morning was booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary, because he did return, Officer John Panco said.

• Centralia police were called about 6:30 this morning to the 1100 block of G Street where a rock was thrown through a truck window overnight.

• An officer was called to the 2400 block of Borst Avenue in Centralia about 6:30 p.m. yesterday where the side window of a vehicle was found broken out.

THEFT

• Police were called to a car prowl on the 1500 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia yesterday. Sometime between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., someone got inside and took a GPS unit, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday to the 100 block of Southwest Ninth Street about a car prowl. A stereo and the remote to a garage door were missing, according to police.

GRASS FIRE ON RR TRACKS

• Lewis County Fire District 5 was called about 3:20 p.m. yesterday to a brush fire on the railroad tracks at Lindbeck Road near Napavine. Firefighter Brad Bozarth said the flames had spread to about 60 feet by 30 feet from the grass and were headed into the trees. It appeared to have begun from someone who had a burn pile going days earlier, he said.

WRECKS

• A 31-year-old Chehalis woman ran into a power pole so hard last night near Toledo it snapped the top off, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies called just after 11 p.m. to the 200 block of Collins Road were told by Dawn M. Barnett she was texting before she hit the pole, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. There was front end damage to her car and she was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with unknown injuries, Brown said.

• A 16-year-old Chehalis boy was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after he wrecked his motorcycle on the 200 block of Frogner Road west of Chehalis yesterday. A deputy called about 6 p.m. noted he was traveling southbound, rounded a corner and hit a ditch, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

News brief: Chehalis gunshot still death still under investigation

August 26th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 59-year-old woman found dead in her Chehalis apartment last Friday died from a gunshot wound through her mouth, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Chehalis police are continuing to investigate the death, but at this time aren’t looking for a suspect, detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said today. It appears preliminarily to be suicide, he said.

Police are sending the gun off for testing, according to McNamara. They are also still waiting for a report from the coroner following Monday’s autopsy.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said the cause is the gunshot and the determination of the manner of death is pending the results of the police investigation.

Police were called after the woman was found by her husband in the apartment on the 400 block in between Market Boulevard and Pacific Avenue. A handgun was found at the scene, according to McNamara.

News brief: 911 remembrance to be held at fairgrounds

August 26th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A remembrance ceremony on the 10th anniversary of the events of Sept. 11, 2001 is set to be held at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds.

The 1 p.m. program is being organized by the Lewis County Fallen Heroes Committee and United Way.

Expect a speaker who was present at “ground zero”, pipes and drums and a reading of first responder’s names.

Commemorative T-shirts will be sold to benefit the Fallen Heroes fund, a fund that assists the families of fallen heros in Lewis County and throughout the state, according to United Way Director Debbie Campbell. Donations will be accepted.

The event, and parking, is free.

Gates open at 11:30 a.m. and activities will continue after the program, to include live music.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

August 25th, 2011

CENTRALIA HOME BURGLED WHILE WOMAN SLEEPS

• A woman woke up yesterday morning to find someone had come in her Centralia home overnight and stolen her purse, her car keys and then driven away with her SUV. Also missing from the residence on the 800 block of Park Way was a computer, football gear and other items, according  to the Centralia Police Department.  A door had been left unlocked, Officer John Panco said.The missing 2002 Nissan Xterra was spotted by an officer around 1 p.m. parked on the 400 block of North Buckner Street, Panco said. A man near the vehicle fled on foot as the officer was about to contact him, according to Panco. A 27-year-old man was tracked down and captured about an hour later by a police dog; he was hiding in bushes on the same block, Panco said. A search of a home on the 400 block of North Buckner Street turned up most of the stolen items, police reported. Christopher L. Wessels, listed as transient, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary and vehicle theft, according to police.

AUTO THEFT

• Police were called just before 11 a.m. yesterday about a stolen vehicle from the 900 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia. Missing is a silver 1992 Toyota Forerunner with a license plate of 644 WZQ, according  to the Centralia Police Department. The vehicle has a faded blue stripe running down the side.

DRUGS

• A 34-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine last night in Centralia. Christopher A. Snipes was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with an officer just before 9 p.m. at East First Street and North Tower Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

News brief: Downtown Toledo business burns overnight

August 25th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An overnight fire in Toledo destroyed a commercial structure owned by one of it’s own volunteer firefighters, according to Chief Grant Wiltbank.

Firefighters were called around 12:30 a.m. to the building on Ramsey Way, next door to the historic buildings that burned on Christmas Day, Wiltbank said.

The chief wasn’t on the scene, but said it was his understanding the building was fully involved in flames when crews arrived. They fought it defensively, meaning they worked simply to keep adjacent structures from catching fire, he said.

One engine remained on the scene this morning, he said.

The business was like a liquidator, he said, and among the items the building contained were like 200 doors, he said.

There’s not word yet as to the cause, he said.

King5.com has video footage of the blaze. See it here