News

Centralia detectives are investigating an attempt-to-elude case after a man fled from both Centralia and Chehalis police, kept driving after spike strips deflated one of the car’s tires, and escaped on foot after the vehicle was partially disabled on Monday. 

Two women who were inside the vehicle when officers found it driving on the shoulder of northbound Interstate 5 near milepost 85 were arrested on unrelated charges. A third woman inside the vehicle was released. 

An officer with the Chehalis Police Department tried to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle in the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just after 5:35 p.m. on Monday, April 22, according to Centralia police call logs. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed toward Centralia via Airport Road. Centralia officers in the area were able to deploy spike strips, which disabled one of the vehicle’s tires, but the vehicle “sped off at an excessive speed while passing other vehicles and running a stop light,” according to call logs. 

Officers did not pursue in order to comply with current Washington state pursuit laws, the Centralia Police Department noted. 

A Centralia officer did continue northbound on Interstate 5, where the suspect was last seen traveling, and located the partially disabled vehicle. 

When the officer found the vehicle, it was being driven along the shoulder by a 49-year-old Ethel woman “who later claimed ownership of the vehicle.” She complied with the officer’s order to stop. 

The woman, “along with her two adult daughters who were seated in the backseat, claimed they did not know the male who had been driving the vehicle,” according to Centralia call logs. Centralia police used a drone to try and locate the suspect, but were unsuccessful. 

The Ethel woman was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on an unrelated Chehalis Municipal Court warrant. One of her daughters in the vehicle, 20, of Mossyrock, was arrested by the Chehalis Police Department for criminal trespassing. 

“Centralia police obtained a search warrant on the vehicle and located identifying documents belonging to a male who is believed to be the driver. Suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were also located inside the vehicle,” the Centralia Police Department stated. 

Centralia College has named three students to the 2024 All-Washington Academic Team. 

“The All-Washington Academic Team program recognizes and honors the state's finest higher education students,” Centralia College stated in a news release. 

To qualify for the All-Washington Academic Team, students must be part of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the international honor society for two-year colleges. 

All-Washington Academic Team members will also be ranked at a national level, with a chance to be included in the All-USA Academic Team.

The three Centralia College representatives will be recognized formally at a ceremony at noon Thursday, April 25, at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia. Gov. Jay Inslee, who has named April 25 as All-Washington Academic Team Day, will be the keynote speaker and present the awards. 

Centralia College’s representatives will also be recognized at the May 9 meeting of the Centralia College Board of Trustees.

• Maya Hankins, 17, of Morton, is a Running Start student who works part-time in a civil construction firm, where she discovered a passion for engineering and construction management. In her free time, she is the chapter officer for the Mossyrock Future Farmers of America and she volunteers with her local garden club. She is dedicated to her neighbors and spent almost a year assisting and raising funds for an elderly neighbor who transitioned to a care facility. She plans to transfer to Central Washington University in the fall to study engineering and construction management.
• Van Nguyen, 48, of Centralia, immigrated from Vietnam in 2019 seeking better opportunities for herself and her children. She enrolled at Centralia College to study business. She will finish her associate degree in June and will start her bachelor’s degree in the fall. In addition to raising children and earning her degree, she is a student-worker on campus and she volunteers at Health and Hope Medical Outreach helping low-income individuals access health care resources. She is a first-generation college student.
• Valerie Varner, 37, of Centralia, worked in the real estate industry since she was 18. The job paid well, but it was always just a job, the college stated. When she had a disabled child, her world changed and she realized what she was meant to do. She is working toward her associate degree and plans to become a registered nurse. She wants to work in pediatrics and ensure children and parents receive high quality, compassionate care. She is a first-generation college student.

Each 2024 All-Washington Academic Team member will receive a medallion and a $217 scholarship from KeyBank. The top 16 students, as ranked by PTK and announced at the ceremony on Thursday, will receive an additional $750 from WSECU, and the top three will receive an additional $1,000 from the Washington State Association of College Trustees.

Additionally, students who choose to attend Washington state four-year colleges and universities are eligible to receive transfer scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $12,000. 

Renowned jazz artist Dmitri Matheny and his all-star band will appear at The Juice Box Public House in downtown Centralia from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 11. 

“The performance, a rare opportunity to hear world-class touring artists in the leader’s hometown, will feature the talents of Adam Harris on saxophones, Randy Halberstadt on piano, Eric Gruber bass, Mark Ivester drums and the leader on flugelhorn, in a salute to the life and legacy of an American legend,” a news release stated. 

The Dmitri Matheny Group will honor composer Henry Mancini’s 100th birthday with new arrangements of his classic hits Charade, Days of Wine and Roses, Dreamsville, Moment to Moment, Moon River, Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, Pink Panther, Royal Blue, Slow Hot Wind, Two For The Road and more.

“Mancini is my hero,” Matheny stated in the release, “not just for his award-winning scores and orchestrations, but because of his unparalleled gift for songcraft. There’s nothing like a Mancini melody. Wistful, whimsical, romantic or sinister, his songs always deliver.”

All About Jazz describes the Dmitri Matheny Group as “an all-star jazz band featuring some of the most accomplished musicians in the western United States. The Dmitri Matheny Group is a cohesive and seamless unit, serving up equal parts soulful expression, caressing phrases, imaginative asides and dedicated lyricism.” 

The Oakland Tribune offered another positive review of the musicians. 

“Their music is a fertile landscape without boundaries, earning Matheny and his cohorts a reputation as one of the most eclectic and daring ensembles on today's jazz scene,” the publication wrote. 

Matheny, a Centralia resident since 2015, has been lauded as “one of the most emotionally expressive improvisers of his generation” by the International Review of Music. 

An honors graduate of Berklee College of Music, Matheny vaulted onto the jazz scene in the 1990s as the protégé of jazz legend Art Farmer. Since then, he has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal international following, releasing 12 albums and touring extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. 

The San Francisco Chronicle calls Matheny “one of the jazz world’s most talented horn players.”

Admission to the May 11 show at The Juice Box will be $10 to $15. 

Call 360-807-4367 or visit juiceboxpublichouse.com for tickets.

Visit Matheny’s website, dmitrimatheny.com, for more information.