Centralia Man Booked for Attacking Rochester Woman
A 29-year-old Centralia man was booked into the Thurston County Jail Tuesday night for alleged first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping in Rochester after Centralia police pulled him over in a routine traffic stop in the intersection of G Street and West 7th Street.
Juan E. Mejia is accused of punching his ex-girlfriend in the head several times and pulling her out of her house before midnight Monday in the 7500 block of 191st Avenue Southwest after breaking a window pane and forcing himself inside the home.
After Mejia fled the scene and the victim was contacted, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and Centralia police began searching for him.
Centralia police contacted Mejia 9:38 p.m. Tuesday. Police say he was driving with a suspended license.
Mejia was also booked for possession of methamphetamine.
Boistfort Fire Department to Hold Public Meeting on New Fire Stations
The Boistfort Fire Department is hosting a 7 p.m. open house Monday at the Baw Faw Grange Hall to discuss plans for building two new fire stations.
The fire department recently received a $400,000 insurance settlement and now has building-design plans which it would like to share with the public.
Boistfort’s two fire stations were damaged by the 2007 flood.
“Hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ll have two new stations,” Boistfort Fire Commissioner Dave Fenn said.
Fenn said the settlement should be enough to cover construction, but the fire department is confident it has enough cash in reserves to cover extra costs without raising taxes.
Fenn said the public is also invited to attend a potluck dinner at the grange hall before the meeting. It begins at 6 p.m.
Providence Centralia Hospital Awarded Grant for Palliative Care
Providence Centralia Hospital was awarded a $166,000 grant this month for promoting community palliative care.
The hospital plans to use the grant from the Regence Foundation to fund implementation of the hospitals 2010 interdisciplinary plan that includes palliative care training for patients, family members and the medical community.
Palliative care involves the relief of suffering and improvement of quality of life for people suffering from long-term illnesses.
“Our overarching goal is to improve patient care and satisfaction and to relieve the emotional stress of our patients and their families,” Dennis Mesaros, chief operating officer of Providence Centralia Hospital, said in a press release.
The grant was awarded by The Regence Foundation, a corporate foundation of Regence, a regional health insurance provider.
