The Chronicle

09/27/2025

Questions had been mounting about Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson's sudden absence.

On Friday, The Center Square received multiple messages from various sources showing a screenshot of an “Office of the Governor Alert”: “Governor Bob Ferguson will be traveling outside Washington from Thursday, Sept. 25, through Thursday, Oct. 9. Whenever the Governor travels out of state, per state law, the Lieutenant Governor serves as Acting Governor of Washington.”

Denny Heck is the lieutenant governor of Washington.

The alert was not available on the governor’s official website on Friday.

Following multiple email inquiries, Ferguson’s Communications Director Brionna Aho responded.

“The governor is on vacation through next week, and then he will be at a conference and meetings on the East Coast,” she emailed The Center Square. “He is in daily contact with the office.”

Questions had been mounting about Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson's sudden absence. On Friday, The Center Square received multiple messages from various sources showing a screenshot of an …

09/27/2025

DECORATED WRESTLER BRINGS STORY OF PERSEVERANCE TO LEWIS COUNTY STUDENTS: Anthony Robles has a simple message: Don’t let your challenge become your excuse.

In a word, he preaches resilience. And though ideas like these have been communicated in numerous variations by countless motivational speakers over the years, Robles knows his message can be evoked simply by stepping onto a lit stage or shiny gymnasium floor.

After all, the 2011 NCAA Division I national champion wrestler was born with one leg.

“I felt like, in life, people were going to look at me whether I liked it or not,” Robles told a packed gym of local students and faculty at W.F. West High School Thursday morning.

The event, sponsored by the Drew North Foundation, brought together students not just from W.F. West, but also Adna, Castle Rock, Mossyrock, Napavine, Onalaska and Pe Ell.

Robles spoke at Centralia High School later that day.

The Nike athlete sported a wide smile throughout the roughly hour-long speech inside the Bearcat gym. He told a personal story of setting goals, overcoming obstacles, facing setbacks and achieving his dreams of becoming a collegiate wrestler at Arizona State University. First as a walk-on, then a scholarship athlete — and finally a D-I national champion.

Robles described his early years, realizing he was different from other kids. At first, he didn’t understand it. He recalled being nervous to go to school, worried how he might be treated. He’d return home and cry, begging his mom not to make him go back.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” his mother, Judy Robles, assured him, before laying the foundation that would become his personal mantra.

“Don’t ever let your challenge become your excuse.”

With his mother’s encouragement, Robles developed a love for sports, including basketball and football, the latter of which he played from sixth grade to ninth grade as a defensive end.

But it was wrestling, Robles said, that gave him the platform to show the world what he was capable of. What he had, not what he lacked.

Still, the obstacles Robles faced growing up were often based on others' perceptions, not his own natural and acquired talents. Robles excelled in high school. He won state championships. He won a national championship. He went undefeated his junior and senior seasons.

Yet he was ignored by major college programs, including his dream school, the University of Iowa.

Ultimately, Robles turned to Arizona State University, just 20 minutes from home. The team already had two guys in his weight class, but their coach offered him a spot as a walk-on.

After two years as a starter, the school offered him a scholarship.

Sometimes, the obstacles were personal, and gave way through perseverance. Like the time Robles became ill his sophomore year in college and was unable to compete for 21 days. He lost 14 pounds in just weeks. His GPA plummeted.

Then his step-dad, the father figure in his life, told Robles’ mother he was leaving.

Robles said it felt like the lights had been turned out on his life. He described sitting on the couch one day, staring at the TV, only to realize the TV wasn’t on.

He wanted to quit. His mother urged him to keep going.

It wasn’t easy. Robles was cleared to wrestle again, but he couldn’t even beat his teammates in practice. His coach confronted him after a particularly grueling session. Robles braced himself for the altercation, expecting harsh criticism. Instead, his coach embraced him.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/msv5wjv4

Photos by Chronicle photographer Ridley Hudson. Reporting by Jacob Farmer.)

09/27/2025

'TIGER HUT' OPENS AT CHS WITH LEWIS COUNTY COFFEE CO.: In the moments before the lunch period at Centralia High School on Thursday, just a few students and staff from Lewis County Coffee Co. buzzed around behind the counter of the school's new student-run store preparing for a rush of students looking to buy a snack or beverage.

Students, staff and Lewis County Coffee Co. celebrated the opening of the Tiger Hut in the Centralia High School cafeteria Thursday morning.

The snack stand, which has been in the works for roughly three years since the completion of the high school's remodel, helped its first customers during the lunch period, which started just after 11 a.m.

The student-run store offers drinks and snacks and accepts virtually any kind of payment, from cash to card to Apple Pay. It’s staffed by Centralia High School marketing class students in partnership with Lewis County Coffee Co., which has volunteered staff to help train the students in the first weeks of the store’s opening.

The high school's marketing course instructor, Lisa Mack, hustled in and around the stand ahead of the lunch period, checking in with students and solving problems in preparation for the shop's opening moments.

Mack acts as a sort of manager for the stand as the students staff it. She also works with them in the classroom, teaching them other sides of the business, such as marketing, sales and advertising.

Mack said the goal, both in the classroom and behind the counter, is to give the students employable skills for after high school.

“They have their food worker cards, and so our goal is to try to gain students employability skills and to be able to prepare them for the working world, tying into marketing,” Mack said. “So we’re doing promotion and sales and inventory. They’re learning cash handling and tying in with Lewis County Coffee. Now, they are learning barista skills, working as a team, collaborating and all of those things.”

Mack not only teaches the class and oversees the students. She was also responsible for pitching the idea of a partnership to Lewis County Coffee Co. The opening of the Tiger Hut has been a long time coming, according to Mack and Lewis County Coffee Co. co-founder Samantha Magnuson.

Mack first approached the local coffee chain roughly three years ago as the Centralia High School remodel finished up. Unfortunately, the snack shack built during that remodel wasn't up to the right standards set by the city and health department. So further remodels have led to delays in opening the student-run store at Centralia High School. W.F. West High School in Chehalis instead beat them to the punch, opening their own student-run store more than two years ago.

“This was going to be our first ‘partnered with, powered by’ store in a school, and then, with lots of construction struggles, Chehalis beat her because they were able to start from the ground up,” Magnuson said. “Hopefully, more schools in Lewis County are next.”

As the shop just begins its operations, it will start by serving a limited menu as Mack and her students work out the kinks. The phase one menu offers cold drinks such as cold brew coffee, smoothies, energizers and Italian soda, and snacks, including low calorie chips and Rice Krispies treats.

Mack said they hope to move into the phase two menu by winter, which means bringing in espresso machines and training the students on making hot drinks.

The stand, however, comes with some extra challenges when compared with a standard coffee stand. The shop has to comply with nutritional standards that control what can be served in a public school.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/4d5rrd5b

(Photos by Chronicle photographer Otto Rabe. Reporting by Jacob Moore.)

09/27/2025

TWELVE ARRAIGNED AFTER 'CIRCUS HOUSE' ARRESTS IN CENTRALIA: Twelve people were arraigned for misdemeanor drug-related offenses in Centralia Municipal Court Thursday afternoon. They were arrested Tuesday from a home on East Chestnut Street known as the Centralia “Circus House," according to the Centralia Police Department.

The dozen defendants appeared via a video call from the Chehalis Tribal Jail. All faced bail amounts of $2,000 cash or bond, which were upheld by Judge James Buzzard — despite requests that they be released on their own personal recognizance.

Each pleaded not guilty to the charges. They await a future court date on Oct. 2.

Of the 12 defendants, 11 were charged with knowing possession of a controlled substance and use or delivery of drug paraphernalia. Their names are: Matthew L. Bates, Jennifer M. Bock, Michael E. Bostwick, Tommy D. Evans, Adrian J. Gillespie, Jessica F. Hill, Denise R. Larson, Rita F. Masters, Anthony W. Pyper, Corena E. Shunn and Charles E. Wiegard Jr.

Jon L. Pankowski was the lone defendant charged with first-degree criminal trespassing. Two other individuals who did not appear in court have apparently been released from jail.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) issued a press release Tuesday detailing the mass arrest. They described the house as a “major source of calls” over the past decade.

“From felony assaults to multiple drug overdoses to four train vs. pedestrian fatalities, 202 E. Chestnut St. has been a hot spot for criminal activity,” JNET stated. “The residence is known by both locals and the police as the 'Circus House' due to the high volume of illegal and unusual behavior.”

JNET detectives obtained a search warrant after Centralia police reportedly observed multiple ma*****na plants at the house while dispatched on an unrelated matter.

They arrived at the house Tuesday morning, supported by detectives from Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Thurston County Narcotic Task Force and the Centralia Police Department.

"Located during the search were approximately 10 large potted ma*****na plants, 15 hanging/drying ma*****na plants, 3 pounds of processed ma*****na, ma*****na growing equipment, packaging, scales, user amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and a plethora of drug paraphernalia,” the release stated.

More than 18 people were located at the house. Fourteen were arrested.

(Reporting by Chronicle reporter Jacob Farmer)

09/27/2025

Aaron B. Grimm, 39, of Winlock, was officially charged with five counts of first-degree r**e of a child and other felony offenses in Lewis County Superior Court Friday.

He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

The Chronicle is limiting details of the investigation to protect the identity of the alleged victim.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, on Sept. 11, investigators were contacted about multiple instances of alleged r**e that occurred in Winlock about four to five years ago.

The victim was later forensically interviewed, and indicated the abuse continued for around two years. Charging documents say the r**es occurred between February 2018 and February 2020.

Charges were filed against Grimm on Sept. 18 and an arrest warrant was issued with a bail amount of $1 million.

Aaron B. Grimm, 39, of Winlock, was officially charged with five counts of first-degree r**e of a child and other felony offenses in Lewis County Superior Court Friday. He faces up to life …

09/27/2025

Jordan Bowers, mother of missing 5-year-old Oakley Carlson, was released from the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor Sept. 23 after serving roughly two years for charges of theft and identity theft.

KOMO News reported that Bowers will be under community supervision for a year.

Bowers’ daughter, Oakley, went missing in 2021. As of today, she would be 8 years old.

In a press release Sept. 24, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office stated that Bowers and Oakley’s father, Andrew Carlson, remain persons of interest in the case.

No charges have ever been filed against Bowers or Carlson for Oakley’s disappearance.

“The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office continues to actively investigate this case, and we are working closely with the Grays Harbor County Prosecutor’s Office looking into a no-body homicide prosecution,” the sheriff’s office stated.

The sheriff’s office added that it “remains committed to seeking justice for Oakley,” and requested any information from the public that could assist in the investigation.

Jordan Bowers, mother of missing 5-year-old Oakley Carlson, was released from the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor Sept. 23 after serving roughly two years for charges of theft …

09/27/2025

Anthony Robles has a simple message: Don’t let your challenge become your excuse.

In a word, he preaches resilience. And though ideas like these have been communicated in numerous variations by countless motivational speakers over the years, Robles knows his message can be evoked simply by stepping onto a lit stage or shiny gymnasium floor.

After all, the 2011 NCAA Division I national champion wrestler was born with one leg.

“I felt like, in life, people were going to look at me whether I liked it or not,” Robles told a packed gym of local students and faculty at W.F. West High School Thursday morning.

The event, sponsored by the Drew North Foundation, brought together students not just from W.F. West, but also Adna, Castle Rock, Mossyrock, Napavine, Onalaska and Pe Ell.

Robles spoke at Centralia High School later that day.

Anthony Robles has a simple message: Don’t let your challenge become your excuse. In a word, he preaches resilience. And though ideas like these have been communicated in numerous …

09/27/2025

In the moments before the lunch period at Centralia High School on Thursday, just a few students and staff from Lewis County Coffee Co. buzzed around behind the counter of the school's new student-run store preparing for a rush of students looking to buy a snack or beverage.

Students, staff and Lewis County Coffee Co. celebrated the opening of the Tiger Hut in the Centralia High School cafeteria Thursday morning.

The snack stand, which has been in the works for roughly three years since the completion of the high school's remodel, helped its first customers during the lunch period, which started just after 11 a.m.

The student-run store offers drinks and snacks and accepts virtually any kind of payment, from cash to card to Apple Pay. It’s staffed by Centralia High School marketing class students in partnership with Lewis County Coffee Co., which has volunteered staff to help train the students in the first weeks of the store’s opening.

In the moments before the lunch period at Centralia High School on Thursday, just a few students and staff from Lewis County Coffee Co. buzzed around behind the counter of the school's new …

09/27/2025

Twelve people were arraigned for misdemeanor drug-related offenses in Centralia Municipal Court Thursday afternoon. They were arrested Tuesday from a home on East Chestnut Street known as the Centralia “Circus House," according to the Centralia Police Department.

The dozen defendants appeared via a video call from the Chehalis Tribal Jail. All faced bail amounts of $2,000 cash or bond, which were upheld by Judge James Buzzard — despite requests that they be released on their own personal recognizance.

Each pleaded not guilty to the charges. They await a future court date on Oct. 2.

Of the 12 defendants, 11 were charged with knowing possession of a controlled substance and use or delivery of drug paraphernalia. Their names are: Matthew L. Bates, Jennifer M. Bock, Michael E. Bostwick, Tommy D. Evans, Adrian J. Gillespie, Jessica F. Hill, Denise R. Larson, Rita F. Masters, Anthony W. Pyper, Corena E. Shunn and Charles E. Wiegard Jr.

Jon L. Pankowski was the lone defendant charged with first-degree criminal trespassing. Two other individuals who did not appear in court have apparently been released from jail.

Twelve people were arraigned for misdemeanor drug-related offenses in Centralia Municipal Court Thursday afternoon. They were arrested Tuesday from a home on East Chestnut Street known as the …

09/27/2025

FROM THE LEWIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: "On September 25, 2025, LCSO Detectives, the Sheriff's Enforcement Team, and Winlock PD served a search warrant at a residence within the city limits of Winlock. The warrant was related to an ongoing LCSO investigation into child r**e.

"During the search, investigators recovered: 17 fi****ms, 1 airsoft pistol, and over 5,000 rounds of ammunition.

"The suspect, Aaron B. Grimm, a 39 year old registered s*x offender and convicted felon of Winlock, was booked into jail on an outstanding warrant for: 5 counts of R**e of a Child 1st Degree DV, Child Molestation 1st Degree DV, In**st 1st Degree DV. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing fi****ms and is also being charged with 2 counts Unlawful Possession of Firearm 2nd Degree. This is an ongoing investigation. We thank all agencies involved for their coordinated efforts in protecting our community."

See a full story on the arrest at chronline.com.

09/27/2025

“I wouldn’t expect Ferguson or Democrat budget leaders to acknowledge their roles in inflating state spending to an unsustainable level. But it’s disingenuous for them to blame anyone else, especially federal Republicans.

“Before President Trump was back in office, legislative Democrats were already moving forward with what Microsoft’s president recently and accurately called a “tax first” agenda.

“When federal tariffs were first unveiled in early April, Democrats had already taken their first vote against the Senate Republicans’ no-new-taxes, no-cuts-to-services ‘$ave Washington’ budget.

“Had Gov. Ferguson and Democrat budget leaders been astute and recognized that the new federal leadership was likely to make some conservative changes to federal spending, they had ample time to dial back their spending wishes and tax dreams.”

One of the most enduring lines in conservative politics came from President Reagan’s campaign debates — the “there you go again” reply that so effectively called out his …

09/27/2025

“Do parents aspire for their children to take the place of immigrants, working in meat packing factories for minimum wage, under gutted safety and environmental protections, where workers wear diapers because bathroom breaks aren’t allowed?

“Some want teens doing those jobs after school. Never mind whether they’ll have time or energy for homework, or fall asleep in classes: Can after-school teen labor plug the gap of literally millions of migrants being detained and deported? Can Medicaid work requirements? Able-bodied Medicaid recipients already work.

“America used to welcome immigrants who worked for the benefits of citizenship. Many did these jobs that others didn’t want. Their children grew up to become small business owners, teachers, nurses: contributing members of our society.”

In 40 years of teaching, not once did I hear parents say they wanted their child to grow up to be a field worker. To own and manage a farm, yes. Neither did I ever hear parents hoping their …