Lewis County Fire District 5, also known as Napavine Fire Department has hired a new member of the team, Caity Hoye. She joins a few new staff members that comprise the team that serves the community of Napavine.

Caity is a Olympia High School graduate in 2012, she went to Central Washington University where we earned her Bachelor of Science in Paramedicine in 2019.

Caity worked as an EMT in Yakima County for American Medical Response (AMR). While finishing her studies, Caity worked for AMR in Centralia for 3 years. The year previous to being employed by Lewis County Fire District, she was on contract with AMR serving the Napavine area.

Lewis County has seen a rise in COVID 19 cases, as has the entire state. With the increase in cases, new restrictions have gone into place. Governor Inslee continues to keep many county's at Phase 2 or 3 with the chance of moving to Phase 4 off the table.

Lewis County has seen an increase for the past few weeks, since July 15. Lewis County has seen 81 new cases and no new deaths. Washington State has seen over 58,000 cases since January, 2020 with approximately 1600 deaths. Washington has tested over 1,000,000 individuals.

The City of Napavine hired a new police officer. Officer Taylor Nichols was hired on March 23, 2020 and immediately went to work patrolling the streets. Napavine Police Department now consists of Chief Salyers and three officers. Napavine is well protected.

The Winlock Haunted Hostel is a business located in the downtown core of Winlock. A business that several have asked about and wondered if it is a hotel, a tattoo place, or an antique store. According to a recent records request, it is none of the above. The Winlock Haunted Hostel does not have a business license to operate in the City of Winlock, period.

The Haunted Hostel opened during Mayor Dowell's term, the approval was for three rooms. Since that time, the business has added more rooms without building permits and without a city business license. The city has sent several letters to the owner regarding obtaining a business license for over two years, to no avail. Now, there seems to be structural issues per the City of Winlock's structural engineer.

The Lewis County Fire District completed an inspection on April 27, 2020 and found there were many safety and hazardous issues with the building. The exits were not clear, they did not have required exit signs, fire alarms needed, room doors had locks on the outside (as if to lock someone in the room) and they did not have required fire extinguishers. At the time of the inspection there were 13 tenants living in unsafe and hazard conditions, far above what the previous business license allowed.

On Tuesday, a Winlock woman shot and killed her boyfriend in what was described as a domestic violence dispute on Hwy 505 just outside of Winlock.

Tina Ann Pase, also known as Amber Lisa was charged with first and second degree murder charges along with possession of methamphtamines.

When we think of police officers who have given their all, the first person that comes to mind is Officer Randy Pennington. Officer Pennington is a reserve police officer for the City of Toledo. On Thursday, July 16th, 2020, Randy Pennington was recognized as a local hero by Kindness 911. Kindness 911 is a non-profit organization that recognizes those who do outstanding jobs in law enforcement. Mayor Dobosh proclaimed that Thursday, July 16, 2020 was Randy Pennington Day. A day that will be remembered by many.

Around 5 months ago the Napavine community received news that Napavine High School alumni, Alex Gaona, was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. To help him and his family out financially, a GoFundMe was created for the community to donate to them. Alex remarked on how the generous donations have helped him and his family out a great deal, and he's very thankful for the kindness he and his family has received from the community.

The City of Winlock has seen a lot of growth these past 4 years; growth that will undoubtedly continue for some time. With that growth, the City of Winlock has had the need for a Community Development Administrator and Building Inspector on the city staff. Robert T. Webster joined the City of Winlock in late June and he is off to a busy start.

The residents of the City of Vader have decided to band together and start a new group: they are called "Caretakers of the City of Vader."

When you think of the water you drink and the toilet you flush, you rarely think about the individuals who make sure that water is delivered to your home.