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Violence nothing new for Highlands residents

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 9:28 AM PDT

By Barbara LaBoe and Leila Summers

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Neighbors in Longview’s Highlands neighborhood were saddened but not surprised by Tuesday morning’s fatal shooting on the 200 block of 24th Avenue, saying they’ve grown used to crime there.

“It’s nothing really new around here,” said Jesse Nielsen, who has lived on the 200 block of 23rd Avenue for 7 1/2 years. “We’ve had SWAT out here. We’ve had cops in the trees. We had a meth cooking house.”

“We work with the police and it gets cleaned up for a while, but then you’ll see someone new move into a house and pretty soon you see the same old familiar faces and then police are back,” he said Tuesday.

As he spoke, we he watched the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s K-9 Nitro search in the alley between his and the house where the shooting took place. The Nielsens have eight children. Five were at the locked-down St. Helens Elementary during the police search and the other three were home.

“We’re just watching our kids real close,” Nielsen said as police continued to drive and walk through the neighborhood.

The Highlands, bordered by Beech Street/30th Avenue, Industrial Way, Oregon Way and Washington Way near the city’s industrial area, has struggled with crime and poverty for many years. It has an above-average rate of deaths from chronic disease, drugs, accidents, suicide and crime, according to statistics cited in Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments Highlands Community Revitalization Plan.

The city of Longview has named revitalizing the Highlands one of its top priorities and in June vowed to support the revitalization plan, which includes working with neighbors and clearing the area of trash and graffiti.

Still, residents said Tuesday crime remains a common occurrence.

Victor Guzman, 31, was awake and cleaning his house not far from the crime scene when the shootings occurred. He didn’t hear the shots but said he’s unhappy with crime in the Highlands.

“There’s always trouble. I don’t like living here,” said Guzman, who’s lived in the area for six months.

Alexis Hay, 16, said she had just returned home to the 200 block of 23rd when she heard a gunshot.

“We were outside and we heard the gunshot and thought ‘Uh, we should go inside,’ ” she said. “It sounded pretty close, but I figured it was somebody shooting a bird.”

Alexis said she only heard one gunshot, but her mother, 46-year-old Tawna Hay, who was with her, heard two shots. The two had just returned from a veterinary appointment.

Rehea Ybarra lives three houses down from the shooting. She didn’t hear the shots Tuesday morning, but definitely noticed the police cars and ambulances swarming and closing off her block.

“No one told us to go inside but when you see cops going with guns you get inside,” she said as she pushed her infant son past the police tape so a relative could take them to a doctor’s appointment. “But this block is usually quiet.”

Jordan Swanson, 20, woke up to “cops and chaos” one block from the crime scene.

His mother, Diana Swanson, has lived in the neighborhood for 47 years and has always considered it a safe place to live.

“We’ve really not had no problems on this street,” she said. “Not a lot of problems on 24th.”

Although the shooting suspect was caught, the idea he was running loose for about an hour before capture was unnerving, Diana Swanson said. Several elderly people live along his street, she said.

“You just don’t know if he’s hiding in your back yard,” she said.

Teenagers James Soto and Thomas Hair weren’t fazed by the shooting, recounting other times they’ve seen officers or the SWAT team on their block. Hair lives on the 200 block of 24th, and Soto lives nearby.

“It just makes you fearless,” bragged Soto, adding he wasn’t particularly worried about the violence hitting so close to home.

Lee House also lives on the 200 block of 24th Avenue, and the shooting brought back painful personal memories.

House’s father shot and killed House’s mother-in-law in Toledo in 1996 during a child custody dispute and also shot House’s wife and held the gun on House. Dan House was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

“It just brings back a lot of bad memories,” Lee House said as he watched police cordon off his street from his front porch. “It’s just bad.”

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really wrote on Oct 8, 2008 9:00 AM:

" Very sad and unfortunate that people feel "fearless" and "used" to this kind of violence. Perhaps if everyone in the highlands took a stand to stop this violence it might help. Just because people move into your area doesn't mean you have to stand for violence. It is not something you should be used too. Beyond that, why do almost 1/2 of the people in the highlands wear pajamas as clothing? I get that it was 0900, but really? Do you get dressed? I see people in the highlands all hours of the day in pajamas when driving through. Perhaps it would decrease the stereotype of the highland area if you got dressed daily. I realize that some folks work in the afternoon or night, but when you go outside, lets put on some clothing. "

lola*in*longview wrote on Oct 8, 2008 10:24 AM:

" I lived in the highlands for 32 yrs, I recently moved, but I never got used to the violence and the drugs. I am not sure how anyone can get used to it. It's not normal to live surrounded by meth houses and child molesters. Hearing gunshots at night is not normal when you live in the city. I don't know, it's just me but I've never got used to it and never would. "

justmytwocents wrote on Oct 8, 2008 10:38 AM:

" My heart goes out to the families involved. No one should be used to violence of this sort, no matter what neighborhood you live in. And to "really": does it really matter what citizens of that neighborhood choose to wear? That doesn't make this any less tragic... "

tigger4 wrote on Oct 8, 2008 11:07 AM:

" I live on the 200 block of 20th for almost a year. I see police patroling all the time to look out for crime. Please stop bashing the highlands area. Crime is all over. I think landloards need to check more on thier residents and do surprise inspections. Maybe that along with neigbors reporting possible crime wopuld help. The highlands is alot better than it used to be. So maybe people can start more block watches. "

mom of four wrote on Oct 8, 2008 11:17 AM:

" Used to it? That is what is wrong with our community.....every one is "used" to it. Every citizen of Longview needs to take a stand and run the trouble makers out. Everyday call our LPD and bug them until they do something! "

disappointed wrote on Oct 8, 2008 12:10 PM:

" Wow - sadly this town is turning into such an armpit! Take a drive down Oregon Way on a Friday evening - you can see everything from drug deals to prostitutes. How sad. "

ItsKarma wrote on Oct 8, 2008 12:11 PM:

" REALLY?? TAKE A STAND?? I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO A DRUG HOUSE, CALL LPD USUALLY ONCE A WEEK. I AM TREATED LIKE I AM THE PROBLEM. LAST NIGHT A LARGE MAN WAS SHOOTING UP SITTING UNDER THE LOVELY FALL LEAVES WHEN WE ASKED HIM TO LEAVE HE THREATENED US INCLUDING BEATING A FAMILY FRIEND AND COMING BACK AND RAPING MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER.
SHE IS TERRIFIED. "

Gondolapete wrote on Oct 8, 2008 12:38 PM:

" When I worked summer help for the city of Longview, the highlands was actually classified as its own entity.. "

gva00 wrote on Oct 8, 2008 12:51 PM:

" I used to live in the Highlands area for severel years up till 2005 when I moved my family out of there and over here to Spokane except for my youngest Daughter who still lives in Longview "

CHENEY119 wrote on Oct 8, 2008 3:26 PM:

" The handle Cheney119 is part of my address when I attended Eastern Washington University. I didn't lock my car the entire time I lived there because there was no crime. In marked contrast we here in Longview are rife with crime, property, drug, violent, you name it we've got it. I'm sick of it. Also a hardy ditto to Really, prehaps we should consider a dress code for our town, I see people at the grocery store in slippers and pajamas. I feel this to be extremely rude and anti-social behavior. "

writegirl wrote on Oct 8, 2008 4:58 PM:

" I live one block off the lake on the R.A. Long side. Depending on where I am going or coming from, the quickest route home is down Industrial Way and up 26th Ave. I drive several minutes out of my way to avoid having to drive through the Highlands neighborhood, because it is too scary. I know that there are many honest, hardworking families who rent or own homes in that area and it is sad that they have to share their neighborhood with the degenerates of Longview. I have called the police several times on people who I have seen emerging from that neighborhood doing drug deals on the sidewalks, pawing through the alley garbage cans looking for identities to steal, and fighting along Beech Street. I am usually told "We'll send an officer to look into it". I have yet to see an officer actually respond. The problem is not our community being "used to it", it's our community being used to the lack of response we get from the police. If the police department is inadequately staffed to deal with all of these issues, perhaps more manpower is the answer. Don't blame the community for something that has spiraled out of our hands. "

mrsw wrote on Oct 8, 2008 5:00 PM:

" You know I think we need to learn one word in this town. Respect. Remember when people wouldn't leave the house in anything other than their nicest clothes? People knew what the words please, thank you, and excuse me meant and how to use them? The phrase 'if it doesn't belong to you, don't touch it' applied to everyone? Parents could discipline their kids without CPS being involved screaming that children have all kinds of rights and spanking is cruel? When children respected their parents? When did all of this change? Oh yeah... When everyone became so ME oriented! When the FCC started allowing more and more crudeness to come into homes via radio and tv. When people just started accepting things as part of our world instead of putting their feet down and saying that things are not acceptable and taking a stand against them. I don't care what your economic status is-you can put on clean clothes, comb your hair, clean your house, use your manners,go to work and don't touch things that don't belong to you!! "

lola*in*longview wrote on Oct 8, 2008 8:40 PM:

" I agree with the statement, if landlords did better background checks on there possible renters , even drug test (if I ws renting a house you would take a test before you walked on the property) If they are honest respectable people they will ahve no problem with peeing in the cup. Landlords today just don't care who or should I say what they are renting to, the rent is paid so it doesnt matter even if it is with drug money. There should be more landlord tenant laws enforcing some kind of bakground or drug check before having to rent to anyone. Something needs to have a stronger hold to keep the filth out of the area. I dont just mean the highland I mean EVERYWHERE in the area. "

uno98632 wrote on Oct 8, 2008 9:58 PM:

" I feel very bad for the Tubbs Family and all that is involved. I haven't lived here in Longview very long, only a month. I even looked in the Highlands area for a rental and when I came up to look from Oregon, it scared me. While we looked at houses we saw police chasing people down the streets, behind allys. I know what a drug infested area is like to live in. Like other people who posted on this says, if everybody steps up maybe the police will do more. And again I am deeply sorry for the family and friends of the Tubb's. Oh yeah....and the pj's need to go too. I drove thru the area and counted about 16 people in them around 5:15PM. "

allaboutschools wrote on Oct 8, 2008 10:02 PM:

" Get a gun, learn to shoot the gun well and safely, get a concealed weapons permit, pack the gun. Shoot them before they shoot you. "

cheney119 wrote on Oct 9, 2008 12:43 AM:

" This crime took place in their own home. You don't need a concealed weapons permit in your home. Seems to me you'd have just had more dead people if you had your way, how would that be any better. The gun here, as usual, is the problem not the solution. You have to be careful who you let into your life, allow this person in was obviously a mistake. "

AmericanGirl wrote on Oct 9, 2008 8:05 AM:

" mrsw I could not agree more!!! "

RAW wrote on Oct 9, 2008 2:21 PM:

" PEOPLE get off the pajama thing. It is not just in the Highlands. Have you been to the mall lately, this is one of the latest styles, Like the sagging pants. We might not like it but it will be around until a new style comes along. Remember bell bottoms, hoop skirts, peg leg pants. Well this style like those will also pass. Clothes don't make the man, they only make him look better. We can dress a bum in the finest clothes but all we have is a bum in nice clothes. WE the people have to take some of the blame for an area running down. We stood by when it first started and we watched as it grew. Now it is out of control and you want someone to step in and make it all better. This type of area needs to be cleaned up, starting by taking away the pajamas won't do a thing for the area. "

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