Centralia Police Department honored for victory in Salvation Army bell-ringing competition with Chehalis police

Owen Sexton / owen@chronline.com Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham smiles as he holds up the trophy during a Centralia City Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 12, after his department won the Salvation Army’s “Blue vs. Blue” bell-ringing competition against the Chehalis Police Department the prior Tuesday. According to Salvation Army Captain Gin Pack, the departments raised almost $3,000 combined in two hours, with the Centralia Police Department beating the Chehalis Police Department by raising $6.77 more. “It was a brutal competition, I’m not going to lie,” Pack said jokingly. “At one point I got called a traitor for going to deliver another (donation) kettle to a competing department.” Both departments collected donations at the Safeways within their respective cities. “We are incredibly grateful to the Centralia Police Department and the Chehalis Police Department for their involvement and commitment,” Pack said. “It really was the Christmas spirit and what makes Lewis County great.”