[1]The remains of Middle Fork Road home smolder this morning. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 1
FIRE SWEEPS THROUGH ONALASKA RESIDENCE
• An Onalaska area family lost their home to a fire this morning, as well as its contents and some pets. Firefighters were called to a shed fire on the 600 block of Middle Fork Road just before 8 a.m. and by the time they arrived, the adjacent manufactured home was fully engulfed in flames, Lewis County Fire District 1 Assistant Chief Rhonda Volk said. “It spread quick,” Volk said “Basically just the foundation is left.” The couple who reside there had gotten out without injuries but they had five kittens and only two were found, she said. A young adult niece lives with them as well but wasn’t there at the time, according to Volk. They also lost chicks they were raising in the shed, she said. The Red Cross was asked to come out to help the family, she said. A fire investigator was looking into the cause.
CAT BURGLAR STRIKES AGAIN
• Rooftop break-ins continue in the Twin Cities, with Wendy’s restaurant in Centralia becoming the latest victim. Arriving workers called police at 7:30 a.m. yesterday to the fast food business on the 800 block of Harrison Avenue following the discovery. Someone had cut a hole in a wall to get into a room where they got into a strong box and stole an undisclosed amount of cash, according to the Centralia Police Department. They entered the building through a hole cut into the roof, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. Reichert said he would guess a tool like a sawzall may have been used. On Friday morning someone struck similarly at the Twin City Town Center in Chehalis and two weeks ago someone burglarized the McDonald’s on Lum Road in Centralia the same way.
WRONG GUY
• Centralia police responded to an 8:45 p.m. call yesterday at the 200 block of West Chestnut Street where a 22-year-old Rochester man said he was attacked by another motorist. He said a driver cut him off so he rolled down his window to ask what he wanted, and the other driver pulled open his car door and punched him several times, according to police. He called him by a different name and when the Rochester man got out his license to prove he was not the named person, the suspect grabbed it from him, according to the Centralia Police Department. Nicholas L. Gonzalez, 24 of Chehalis, was subsequently located and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree robbery, according to Sgt. Kurt Reichert. Gonzalez was in further trouble because he was found in a stolen car, Reichert said.
FRAUD
• A Centralia man called police late Friday afternoon after discovering someone stole some checks from him at the 200 block of West Oakview Avenue and cashed them. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.
HANDBAG TAKEN
• Someone stole a purse from the 800 block of Alder Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 7 p.m. on Friday.
CAR PROWL
• Centralia police responded to a call about 4:20 a.m. call today from the 1800 block of North Pearl Street where a wallet was stolen from an unlocked car.
• Police took a report yesterday of several vehicles getting broken into overnight at the 700 block of Bengal Court in Centralia., Among the items missing was a GPS device, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Centralia police took a report yesterday morning of a vehicle prowl at the 400 block of West Plum Street. Someone broke a window to get inside, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Police were called to the 2000 block of Borst Avenue in Centralia about 7:50 p.m. on Friday to take a report of the theft of a wallet and medications from a vehicle while its owner was in the restroom.
BIKE BUMPS BUS
• Centralia police were called late Friday afternoon to take a report from Twin Transit that earlier in the day a bicyclist had run into one of its busses at the 900 block of Harrison Avenue.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, disorderly conduct, teenager with marijuana, driving under the influence; responses for other theft, misdemeanor assault, collisions on city streets … and more.