Violence is an element of every society in some form or another. We have long considered a rise in violence to be an indicator of moral problems in an area. How has violence changed in our community over recent years? Why? What does it mean?

Two recent acts of violent behavior have caught the media's attention and forced some people to wonder what direction our community is headed in. The first was a drive-by shooting on Interstate 5 that ended in the death of one man. The second was a domestic dispute that developed into a long standoff with police in downtown Chehalis. Chehalis Police and Fire Chief Randy Hamilton believes that these are not a huge concern for the Twin Cities. "They're definitely part of a pattern within our society, but they are isolated incidents within the community," said Hamilton. "I-5 goes from the Canadian border to Mexico, so you can have drive-by shootings anywhere."

Violence in our area is on the rise. "We've seen steady increase in the last fifteen years," Hamilton said. He points out that a lot of violent crimes take place at Greenhill, and that those incidents become part of the statistic for the entire city.

Many attribute the increase in violence to the city's rising population. "It [Chehalis] is constantly growing with new people, and with more people comes more violence," said Chris Raymor, a freshman.

"It means we're becoming a bigger city. We'll be like Chicago or New York, L.A., even," junior David Mykklebust added.

Another group of people do not see a major change in our level of violence. "The Twin Cities are more violent than they used to be, but not by much," said sophomore Ric Snelson.

Senior Mark Grear puts it a little differently. "In my opinion, it's always been bad. Take that 1913 Centralia Massacre incident. That was violent."

Despite the recent violent events and the slight but consistent increaseof violent crime over the years, Hamilton still considers Chehalis a great area to live in. Long time resident and teacher Janelle Williams agrees. "I know we were all shocked by that drive-by shooting the other day. But compared to other cities, I think we're a very safe place."