News

Work began Thursday on the downtown Centralia lot that will soon be home to the United Learning Center.

When completed, the 12,800-square-foot educational facility will be located on the northwest corner of North Pearl and Maple streets in an area that is currently a city parking lot.

Crews gated off the property and began initial site work on Thursday. The lot is no longer open for parking.

The United Learning Center is a joint project to build a new educational facility involving the City of Centralia, the United Way of Lewis County, the Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County, Cascade Community Health, Discover! Children’s Museum and the Bezos Academy.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 8, 2021, but delays in funding and other setbacks prevented construction from actually beginning.

A federal budget package passed in March included $4 million in funding for the project secured by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington. An additional $1.95 million was delivered through state funding secured by state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia.

The Bezos Academy needs around 16 months to find and hire teachers and staff. Currently, the academy is hoping to have the United Learning Center fully staffed and open by September of 2025.

Once open, the United Learning Center will offer at least 80 children free early learning education opportunities. The children will be from low-income families.

For more information on the United Learning Center, visit https://www.lewiscountyuw.com/united-learning-center. 

The Japanese Festival will be held in Tenino from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 11.

The festival, hosted by the Tenino High School Japan program and Japanese Club, will be held at Tenino High School, 500 Second Ave. W.

Admission is free and food will be available for $5.

“Let’s explore Japanese culture at Tenino High School,” organizers wrote in an announcement. “We have many fun activities (photo booth-Samurai and Kimono, games), arts and crafts (Mother’s Day card, calligraphy, origami), yummy food (Japanese curry, gyoza, make your rice ball, tea ceremony), performances (Taiko, live calligraphy, Tenino students’ music performances) and workshops (samurai and Furoshiki and balloons) and more.

Learn more at https://www.teninosd.org/o/high-school. 

Bipartisan legislation to extend landslide protections has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will now head to the Senate for consideration.

The bipartisan National Landslide Preparedness Act — which was cosponsored by Washington Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Suzan DelBene and Kim Schrier — would reauthorize the program through 2028.

“Landslides are dangerous, damage our infrastructure, and can cut off access for emergency services,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “Southwest Washington has recently experienced several landslides, impacting Interstate 5, Amtrak operations, and access to Mount St. Helens. Small landslides occur frequently in the Columbia River Gorge where I live, and I know from my discussions that these can be crippling for small businesses, impact entire communities, and take all hands on deck to overcome. I’m glad the House overwhelmingly passed this bipartisan legislation to help our communities stay prepared and identify landslide-prone areas before it’s too late.”

Passed in 2021, the legislation established an advisory committee on landslides, authorized new funding for landslide research and assessment, expanded early warning systems, established a National Landslides Hazard Reduction program through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and directed the USGS to use a 3D elevation program to increase data collection and landslide threat identification.

In August, Gluesenkamp Perez visited the site of the state Route 504 debris slide, which damaged the 85-foot Spirit Lake outlet bridge at milepost 49. According to previous reporting by The Chronicle, the landslide, dubbed the “South Coldwater Slide,” occurred when an early May heatwave melted the mountain’s snow in record time, oversaturating the ashy, young soil near Coldwater Lake.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) hired an engineering firm to install a temporary, one-lane bypass road over culverts, which failed after four months “due to geotechnical and hydraulic challenges and the dynamic site conditions of this volcanic location.”

WSDOT has estimated that permanent access will not be fully restored “at least until the latter part of 2026.”

The Centralia Rotary Club’s Flags program is expanding to Chehalis, the organization announced Thursday.

For an annual membership fee to join the Centralia Rotary Flags program, anyone living within Centralia or Chehalis city limits can have an American flag installed in their yard four times per year: Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day.

“Centralia Rotary members will come to your address shortly before each holiday and install a self-mounting flag in your yard. Flags will be removed shortly after each holiday,” the Centralia Rotary Club stated in a news release.

The program launched in Centralia last month.

“Centralia Rotary has received positive feedback on the new program. However, they received multiple inquiries about expanding the program outside of Centralia, particularly to Chehalis,” the Rotary club said in a news release.

“We have been very happy about the positive support that we have received for the flag program. We had not planned to expand to Chehalis this quickly, but after receiving a number of requests, we decided that now is the time to make that move,” said Robert Cox, chair of the Centralia Rotary Flags Committee.

Those who sign up by May 17 can benefit from the introductory $60 per year membership rate. The normal rate is $80 per year.

Proceeds from the Centralia Rotary Flags program will be used for local Rotary projects, such as maintenance and improvements at Rotary Riverside Park, support for childhood literacy programs, such as the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, scholarships for local students and other local community projects.

The Centralia Rotary Club meets Tuesdays at noon at the Northwest Sports Hub. Visitors and those interested in becoming members are always welcome.

Questions about the Centralia Rotary Flag program can be emailed to the club at centraliarotaryflags@gmail.com. For more information, visit https://centraliarotaryflags.com. 

Looking for a new spot in downtown Centralia to grab a beer, wine or cider and take a break while shopping?

86’d on Tower, a new hole-in-the-wall bar sandwiched in between Saddle Bum Western Store and the Urban Farmgirl Market, opened last week at 328 N. Tower Ave.

86’d on Tower is the brainchild of Urban Farmgirl Market owner Laura Duthie and Saddle Bum owner Jeannie Gluck.

Gluck had already been leasing the space the bar now occupies since she first opened Saddle Bum last summer.

“It’s just been empty the whole time and I was trying to figure out what to do with it and always thought, ‘How fun would a bar be?’” Gluck said. “Thank goodness Laura has the same vision as me.”

“The intention is to bring a new thing to our customers,” Duthie added. “We used to get a lot of requests like, ‘Oh I’d just love to have a wine and beer and shop.’ So it was mainly request driven and hearing what people were looking for.”

With Urban Farmgirl offering shoppers a selection of western-themed gifts and furnishings and Saddle Bum offering them western-style clothing, the stores pair nicely together, but that’s not all Duthie and Gluck have in common.

86’d on Tower’s name came from the fact both of their addresses end in 86, which also just happens to be the term used for people who have been kicked out of a bar.

“It was the perfect collaboration name for this … And it happened to be a really cute little bar name too,” Gluck said.

And while they didn’t have to 86 anyone during their opening last weekend, they acknowledged it’ll be a situation they’ll eventually face, as all bars do.

“It could happen. Our friends are probably the first ones,” Gluck joked.

She and Duthie are also trying to encourage shoppers and diners in downtown Centralia to explore further north on Tower Avenue.

“It’s not a battle, it’s just how do we invite them down? What’s another reason that they would come down to shop with us?” Duthie said. Seating inside is limited, but there is a small patio area. The bar can serve about 15 people at a time, the business posted on Facebook last week. 

The wooden patio tables and bar tops were handmade by the husbands of Duthie and Gluck.

Should a would-be patron be unable to get a seat when visiting 86’d on Tower, they can get a wooden token good for $1 off a drink when they return later.

Given 86’d on Tower’s small size and the fact the space wasn’t a bar previously, no plumbing or beer taps are present. What Duthie and Gluck do offer their patrons is a selection of locally produced wines and ciders, along with bottled beer from Dick’s Brewing Company.

“We’re a bit limited. We can’t do spirits because we don’t have a dishwasher and the ability to do food, so hard alcohol is out of the question,” Duthie said.

They hope to be the bar visitors in downtown Centralia start at before going to downtown staples such as the Tower Tavern, O’Blarney’s at the Gibson House and McMenamins Olympic Club.

Currently, the bar is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. Hours are fluid as Duthie and Gluck feel out what the customers are looking for.

Originally, the intention was to keep the bar open during the normal store hours of Urban Farmgirl and Saddle Bum.

“But after the opening, we realized the demand was really good, so it gives us more of a runway to be open more days and hours,” Gluck said.

Eventually, they plan on being open Wednesday through Saturday as spring progresses into summer. They hope to have the bar open from 11:30 a.m. to around 8 p.m.

“We’ve been saying 11:30 a.m. until we get slow,” Gluck said.

“Opening night we didn’t leave here till 11 p.m.,” Duthie added. “... We’re definitely not going to be the 2 a.m. bar.”

For more information, follow 86’d on Tower on Facebook at https://bit.ly/4aSoq6R.