News
The Chronicle - Centralia
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Evaline School to host 140th anniversary celebration on May 18; Hope Grange's 120th anniversary celebration to follow
Evaline School is celebrating its 140th anniversary with an open house on Saturday, May 18. The Winlock-based public elementary school serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade, with up to 61 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year, according to a news release. The school was established in 1883 and operated as a two-room school until it was renovated in 2012 to modernize the space and add a lift, according to a news release from the school. The school added a portable building in 2022 to serve as an office and additional classroom space and finished upgrading its water system this year. The school is currently working on an “extensive playground improvement project, which should be done by the end of this school year,” according to a news release. “We value incorporating hands-on activities, traditions and community involvement into our learning,” Evaline School said in a news release. “We have recently also added a number of science-related activities, including gardening and a salmon project. We value the incorporation of social-emotional skills within all aspects of learning, assisting our students in being students of character and supporting overall wellbeing which increases their ability to learn and grow.” Evaline School is located at 111 Schoolhouse Road in Winlock. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with presentations and speakers beginning at 1 p.m. and the open house closing at 2:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided. Evaline School encourages anyone with questions or accessibility needs to contact the school at 360-785-3460 or reach out to community liaison Susanne Duren at sduren@evalinesd.k12.wa.us. “We greatly encourage you to also attend the 120th Anniversary celebration of our community partner, Hope Grange, following our program. Their presentations are scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m.,” Evaline School stated in a news release. Located at 120 Antrim Road in Winlock, Hope Grange #155 is one of 11 Grange halls in Lewis County. Grange members meet the first Tuesday of every month, with a potluck starting at 6 p.m. and a meeting beginning at 7 p.m. History of Evaline School District: The Superintendent of Schools approved a petition in 1883 to establish local School District No. 36. A donated log barn housed the first students until it was destroyed in the late 1880s by a falling tree. A new one-room school was constructed in 1890. This frame-built structure was called Browns's School because the lumber was donated by Brown's Mill. When the local post office opened in 1906, it was named after the postmaster's wife, Evaline, the school adopted the same name. The one-room Evaline School was dismantled around 1908 and replaced with a two-room structure. Expanding to meet the need, a new four-room structure was built in 1913. The new school had a full basement, furnace- and indoor pluming! This building was destroyed by fire in 1925 and the present two-room was constructed. The school used coal for heat until 2005 when heat pumps were purchased with a grant. In 2011, making sure to keep the buildings footprint intact, the interior of the building was remodeled to make better use of the basement and classroom space. School District No. 36 is Lewis County's oldest continuously operating school district, and the Evaline School is one of the last remaining two-room schools in Washington. Many of today's pupils are third and fourth generation Evaline students. The school averages 45 students per year, ranging from kindergarten through sixth grade. |
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Firefighters extinguish 2-acre wildfire west of Napavine on Wednesday
Firefighters from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Lewis County Fire District 5 responded to a 2-acre blaze off Monroe Road west of Napavine at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Crews cleared the scene shortly after 3 p.m. that same day. “It was a small fire that grew outside the capacity of the responsible party to control,” District 5 Chief Brent Adams said in an email to a Chronicle reporter on Thursday. Five District 5 units with six personnel, as well as 15 personnel with DNR, extinguished the fire in just over two hours on Wednesday. Two District 5 members left early to respond to a medical call, District 5 reported. Crews prevented the fire from growing by using a “wet line” while using hand tools to break up burning materials to facilitate extinguishment, according to Adams. “With drought conditions in Western Washington, we are expecting an active wildland season and want to remind residents to be mindful of outdoor burning and follow Lewis County burning regulations,” Adams said. District 5 reminds Lewis County residents and visitors to be cognizant of their surroundings, especially of areas with dry grass or trees, when burning outdoors and to maintain defensible space around structures. The National Fire Protection Agencies recommends that homeowners break yards into three zones: Zone 0, an "Ember-resistant" zone that should extend 0 to 5 feet from the home; Zone 1, an “intermediate zone” where the grass should be green and shrubs trimmed, should extend 5 to 30 feet from the house; and Zone 2, a "reduced fuel zone," where trees are thinned and forest litter is cleaned up. |
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Man pleads guilty in connection to 2022 Cowlitz County murder, blowing up the body
Jerome Adrian Markert pleaded guilty Monday in connection with the murder of a transient man whose remains were later blown up in a failed attempt to hide the crime. According to court documents, Markert, 49, entered into a plea deal with prosecutors over his involvement with the shooting death of Alan Brice Nielsen, 51, and subsequent planned explosion of his body in Kelso. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, possessing explosive devices, rendering criminal assistance, and unlawful disposal of human remains. Markert initially faced a first-degree murder charge and unlawful disposal of human remains. Markert faces a sentencing range that spans from 12 years and two months to 16 years and two months. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June. 2. He could also be sentenced to 36-months of community custody. In July 2022, Markert told a confidential informant he planned to kill Nielsen because he suspected Nielsen killed his dog, a police report states. The informant told authorities Markert uttered, “An eye for an eye.” The following day, the informant said Markert was visibly frightened, and sought assistance in disposing Nielsen’s dead body. Later the informant said he saw the body in the bed of a pickup truck at 2106 Holcomb Rd. Days later, 911 received a call from a resident who reported hearing gunshots, shouting, screams, and the sounds of vehicles colliding. Later that month, Cowlitz County detectives responded to 2106 Holcomb Rd. after obtaining a search warrant, where they say they found a wrecked, deformed Nissan pickup truck and Nielsen’s body parts. Authorities said they later discovered suspects used about 60 pounds of explosives to blow up the body. Detectives were granted search warrants for Markert’s Facebook and Google accounts where they say they found incriminating searches. On July 17, 2022, police report Markert searched for “Exploding targets near me,” and “Tannerite in Vancouver Washington.” Markert’s accomplice, Jethro Nichols Welter, 54, of Kelso was spotted on a security camera purchasing Sonic Boom exploding targets at Bob’s Sporting Goods in Longview, according to police. Welter was sentenced to 45 years in prison earlier this year. Another suspected accomplice, Carlos Chavez Velazco, 34, of Los Angeles — who police say fled to southern California after the murder — has a hearing on May. 7. Velazco faces first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful disposal of human remains. |
Portland Business News
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Portland supply chain tracking blockchain startup snags $4M from investor
The company has paying customers and has seen traction in defense, aerospace, semiconductor, and workforce development sectors.
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Oregon claims 4 spots on list of largest U.S. craft breweries
Changing ownership brings new names to Oregon brewing.
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Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative names Jason Jordan as president
Jason Jordan counts plenty of experience in the waste management field.
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High Desert Museum collects $500K for exhibit 'revitalization'
The money will back work on its permanent "By Hand Through Memory" exhibit.
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NYT Politics
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R.F.K. Jr. Raises New Uncertainty for Biden in Michigan
Mr. Kennedy’s success in landing on the battleground state’s ballot guarantees that he will shape the race this November. Both parties are racing to define him.
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Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai Toast Their New Broadway Show ‘Suffs’
Dozens of theater, film and media stars turned out on Thursday night for the opening of “Suffs,” a new musical about women’s suffrage.
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FAA Will Require More Rest for Air Traffic Controllers
The agency announced new rules to address the dangers of exhaustion for controllers, who often work grueling round-the-clock schedules.
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