Teacher Hailed as Hero After Halting Lacey School Gunman / Main 12 Oakville Sweeps Winlock Considers Utility Acorns Best Twin Valley in Doubleheader / Sports 1 Rate Increases / Main 9 $1 Early Week Edition Tuesday, Reaching 110,000 Readers in Print and Online — www.chronline.com April 28, 2015 Dameon Pesanti / Frustration Mounts Five Years [email protected] Close to 30 friends, family and supporters prepare to release After Woman’s Disappearance balloons at a vigil for Kayla Croft-Payne at Penny Playground KAYLA CROFT-PAYNE: It’s been five years since people withstood the blustery Kayla Croft-Payne disappeared, weather on Sunday to remem- in Chehalis. The Supporters Hold Vigil but she is still very much present ber Croft-Payne, who has been vigil marks the ifth in the minds of her family and missing since April 28, 2010, at a anniversary of Croft- By Dameon Pesanti their supporters. Payne’s disappearance. [email protected] A little more than two dozen please see YEARS, page Main 12 Boarding Bravado on Ken Cardinale Display at Toledo Lake Chehalis Hires New Fire Chief CHOICE: Former California Man Hired to Lead Department By Kaylee Osowski [email protected] After a string of interim and acting fire chiefs, Chehalis City Manager Merlin MacReynold has hired a man he said will provide leadership to chart the future of the Chehalis Fire De- partment. From a pool of five finalists, MacReynold selected Ken Car- dinale, of Kelso, to be the de- partment’s leader. He is sched- uled to start work on May 18. “I’m just very excited and pleased because the de- partment has Pete Caster / [email protected] been on hold Shea Doerler, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, does a lip on his run during the open competition of the INT League Spring Classic at Koppert Lake in Toledo on Saturday. Merlin MacReynold for about a year city manager now, and he BOARDING: Dozens of off long enough for the expert riders brings such a to be able to dazzle in dry weather. good solid breadth of experience Wakeboarders, Wakeskaters Just before the first rider in the that I’m very excited to get him and Waterskiers Begin open division was ready to start, the on board,” MacReynold told hail came. Then, after five minutes, The Chronicle. Season With Blowout Event a deluge of rain hit. But, after 30 The city manager said Cardi- at Koppert Lake minutes of waiting, the main event nale brings experience and will was able to start. help to determine the depart- By Pete Caster Shea Doerfler, of Coeur d’Alene, ment’s future for the next five to [email protected] Idaho; Chad Douglas, of Seattle; and 10 years. Eddie Roberts, of Redmond, each TOLEDO — Throughout the day “I am honored and humbled took to the water and the air like am- to have this opportunity to help Saturday, dozens of amateur wake- phibious acrobats with twirls, flips move the Chehalis Fire Depart- boarders and 100 or so fans who and stunning wrecks. ment in a positive direction into came out to Koppert Lake stared The trio of amateur wake- up into the sky with their fingers Kyle Henry starts his wakeskating run at the INT Tour Spring Classic please see CHIEF, page Main 12 crossed, hoping the rain would hold please see DISPLAY, page Main 16 wakeboard competition at Koppert Lake in Toledo on Saturday. The Chronicle, Serving The Greater A Purr-fect Show Activators Classic Deaths Lewis County Area Since 1889 Show Cats, There are no Follow Us on Twitter Bearcats death notices for @chronline Owners Fill Triumph today’s edition. Fairgrounds on Own See page Main 10 Find Us on Facebook for obituaries and www.facebook.com/ for Annual Track at remembrances. Showcase Meet thecentraliachronicle / Main 3 / Sports 1 Celebrating Over SUMMER FORECAST: HOTTER THAN USUAL! 50 Years ARE YOU PREPARED? Order Your Air Conditioner Now! 0% FINANCING UNTIL 2020 • Roofing • Heating, Cooling • Windows • Generators CH539696bw.ke Offer good till June 30th, 2015 Maintenance • Emergency Service 24/7 1-800-201-9221 (360) 748-9221 • www.chehalissheetmetal.com Independent Trane Dealer Lewis and Thurston Counties CHEHASM252MH Financing Available OAC Main 2 • The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash., Tuesday, April 28, 2015 PAGE 2 News Daily Outtake: Action-Packed Moment on the Pitch of the Weird team captained by KU legends Otto Schnellbacher and Don Fambrough, the Jayhawks went 8-1-2, their only loss coming to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Sperry finished his career in 1948. “There aren’t many people that are lettermen of both KU and K-State,” Sperry said. With his playing days behind him, he spent decades as a high school football coach and math instructor at Pittsburg State. Romania: Robbers Bryan Sperry, who lettered in football for both K-State and KU during the Trained to Steal Jewels, 1940s, scored a touchdown Saturday Cars Detained during the Kansas alumni game. BUCHAREST, Romania Brandon Hansen / [email protected] (AP) — Prosecutors detained 14 89-year-old Former Centralia’s Simon Stahr, left, crosses the ball during nonleague boys soccer action against Kelso Friday in the Hub City. people Friday who are suspected Chronicle Sports Reporter Brandon Hansen iled this photo, along with dozens more, at www.chronline.com and at Kansas Player Scores in of belonging to a network of www.lewiscountysports.com. Check both sites regularly for many more photos that did not get published in the print well-dressed robbers who were edition. Alumni Scrimmage trained to rob luxury items in LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Romania and the European An 89-year-old former Univer- Union. sity of Kansas football player has The alleged leader was Notable Quote gained fresh fame after mak- among those detained and pros- ing a touchdown run during an ecutors have asked for their ar- alumni scrimmage. rest. Bryan Sperry was all grins “They were trained to break “Maybe it would bring Waldo home, maybe it would not, Saturday as he jogged toward windows and steal very expen- the Memorial Stadium end zone sive watches in a short time, 30 but it is not right that someone can just come into our yard during the scrimmage before seconds,” said police spokesman and take something that we made to be fun and different.” Kansas’ annual spring football Mihai Pitulescu, adding that one game, The Kansas City Star re- heist netted 1.5 million euros ported. His decades-younger op- ($1.6 million). Leah Wegener ponents intentionally missed re- They wore designer suits for Centralia resident frustrated with theft of lawn art peated tackles before showering the heists, and allegedly com- him with congratulatory hugs mitted 10 million euros ($10.9 (see page Main 4 for the full story) and pats on the back. million) of theft since 2013 in “That was fun,” the Pittsburg Romania, Germany, Austria, resident said. “I didn’t know if I Spain, France, Andorra, Croatia Staf Pick could run.” and Belgium. Sperry was 17 years old when Investigators say they found Of Wolves, Rumors and Researchers he first left home to play foot- jewelry, watches, and cars in- ball at Kansas State, but World cluding a purple Rolls Royce in The mantra of a journalist Department of Fish and Wild- Has a pack escaped the rain War II interrupted his school- more than 50 house searches. is “trust, but verify,” so when I life told me last February that shadow and crossed the peaks ing. The process of returning Members who were recruited saw a post on they’ve had reports of wolves into Western Washington? Or soldiers home by boat after the from Romania’s poor northeast Facebook about around Mount St. Helens, Nach- have they avoided making the war took months, so the mili- signed an agreement with “the a possible wolf es and near Enumclaw, and con- orographic ascent and instead tary sent Sperry to a university Academy of Romanian Crimi- sighting on firmation of an established pack opted to move south along the in England to wait. While there, nals,” providing personal de- White Pass I in our area could come either mountains? Who knows. he says, he played 13 games on tails about their families, and a knew I had to this summer or the next. The experts tell me that when a team that was a mix of profes- strand of hair for identification investigate. I’ve been meaning for some the individuals start appearing sionals, college players and high purposes, investigators said. Coming of time to follow up with the de- it’s only a matter of time before a school graduates with limited Houses with blacked-out win- age in Montana partment about its efforts to pack is formed. On Monday, I put football experience. dows were rented for training. during the era Dameon Pesanti locate the newcomers, but it out several calls to sources within Upon returning home in Mediafax news agency re- of predator re- reporter felt urgent to do so after seeing Fish and Wildlife, but as of yet no February 1946, he headed for a ported the robbers were recruit- introduction, I that Facebook post and read- one has returned them. Like the tryout, mostly for veterans, held ed from children’s homes and learned quickly ing about Central Oregon’s new wolves themselves, these experts by then-Kansas football coach poor families, and some dressed that many of these sightings lone wolf (see page Main 9). can be difficult to track down. George Sauer. He played “end” in women’s clothes during the weren’t wolves, but actually big Wolves can cover a huge Following only the drought while at Kansas — offense and heists.