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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016
Brown declines traditional
summer debate with Pierce
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown has declined to par-
ticipate a July debate that has
been longstanding tradition for
candidates in the race for Ore-
gon governor.
The debate, organized and
moderated by the Oregon
Newspaper Publishers Associ-
ation, has typically ushered in
general election campaign sea-
son for the past 30 years.
“It is disappointing because
she was not elected in by the
voters, so it seems unfair
for voters to miss out on this
opportunity,” said Laurie
Hieb, the publisher’s associa-
tion’s executive director.
Brown gave no spe-
ciic reason for skipping the
90-minute debate on July 22,
which is typically streamed
live on newspaper websites
and reported in news stories.
“The governor is looking
forward to debates and forums
as soon as the fall arrives, but
right now she is focused on
her oficial duties,” said Liz
Accola Meunier, Brown’s
campaign spokeswoman.
Republican gubernatorial
nominee Bud Pierce agreed
to the debate the same day
the publisher’s association
extended the invitation, Hieb
said.
Hieb initially said that
before declining the invita-
tion, Brown’s campaign asked
whether the governor could
get a copy of the questions in
advance, which the association
declined.
But an email chain with Hieb
provided by Brown’s campaign
shows that Michael Kolenc,
Brown’s campaign manager,
actually asked whether the
questions would be reviewed by
a committee.
“Do you happen to have a
list of the editor and publisher
members? Do their questions
need to be reviewed by a com-
mittee?” Kolenc wrote.
The campaign also asked
who would be asking the ques-
tions, and Hieb said she didn’t
yet know.
The campaign then declined
the invitation.
“We were told she needs to
focus on her ‘oficial duties,’”
Hieb said. “I emailed her cam-
paign manager back and asked,
do you have a minute to dis-
cuss on the phone, and he didn’t
reply.”
Pierce, a Salem oncologist,
said the governor’s excuse is
“very weak.”
“I am still practicing med-
icine as I run,” Pierce said. “I
am focused on taking care of
patients with cancer and blood
diseases and running for ofice,
so we are all busy.”
“It’s obvious she doesn’t
want to be there to answer ques-
tions,” Pierce said. “We know
she is the incumbent and feels
she is the strong favorite. It
might be a good political move
as the incumbent but it is very
disrespectful to the Democratic
process. If you are the leader of
the state, Oregonians want to
know what you are thinking and
to take hard questions.”
Republican Chris Dudley,
a former NBA player who ran
for governor in 2010, may be
the only other gubernatorial
candidate from a major party
who has opted out of the event,
according to the publisher’s
association.
The event “is a forever thing
that has been the opening of the
campaign,” said Jim Moore,
politics professor at Paciic
University and director of the
Tom McCall Center for Policy
Innovation.
Brown’s move is unlikely to
hurt her campaign, Moore said.
As secretary of state, Brown
succeeded Gov. John Kitzhaber
when he stepped down in Febru-
ary 2015 over an inluence-ped-
dling scandal.
“Her campaign is simply to
be governor,” Moore said. “It is
a classic incumbent campaign,
and it has been stunningly suc-
cessful. The last time an incum-
bent governor was beat was in
1978.”
EO Media Group
Gov. Kate Brown has de-
clined to participate a July
22 debate that has been
longstanding tradition for
candidates in the race for
Oregon governor.
The debate gives journalists
a chance to interact with the can-
didates one-on-one and to report
on the candidates’ positions.
“The public beneits from
having that information early
on,” Hieb said.
Instead of a debate, the asso-
ciation has given Pierce 30 min-
utes to present and answer ques-
tions during the association’s
convention July 22 at the Ore-
gon Garden. The convention
also includes a presentation on a
controversial corporate sales tax
measure on the November gen-
eral election ballot.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Health insurance rates
expected to spike again
Associated Press
BEND — State regula-
tors are warning that double
digit rate increases for most
health insurance carriers are
on the horizon for 2017.
The Bend Bulletin
reported that the Oregon
Department of Consumer
and Business Services
released preliminary deci-
sions Friday regarding
next year’s premium rate
changes.
Health Net requested no
rate change for 2017. How-
ever, the state says it wants
Deschutes River salmon
restoration still ongoing
Associated Press
BEND — Despite efforts
to reintroduce salmon in Ore-
gon’s Deschutes River, there
still aren’t enough of the ish
for a sustainable run.
The Bulletin reported that
people have raised concerns
about ish passage operations
and water quality, but experts
say restoring the upstream
salmon may just take time.
Oficials are trying to
restore salmon runs upstream
of a 20-mile dam complex
operated by Portland General
Pirates steal wins over Warriors in doubleheader
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — Neah-
Kah-Nie took advantage of
some “youthful mistakes” by
the Warrenton Warriors Satur-
day, to help the Pirates sweep
a Junior State baseball double-
header at Huddleston Field,
10-3 and 9-7.
“It was good to be out on the
ield again, but our guys saw
the importance of practice and
putting time in on their own
during the summer,” said War-
renton coach Lennie Wolfe.
“We made a lot of youthful
mistakes, and it looked like we
were a team that hasn’t seen
much time on the ield.”
Warrenton pitcher Dalton
Knight only gave up ive hits
in Game 1, but Neah-Kah-Nie
bunted, ran the bases well,
and “did a lot of the things
that we like to do,” Wolfe
said, winning with small ball.
The Warriors committed six
errors in the irst game, while
Jake Holthusen drove in the
only three runs with a three-run
triple.
Warrenton took a 7-6 lead
into the seventh inning of Game
2, when the Pirates scored three
runs to take the lead.
Holthusen pitched and gave
up ive hits. For the day, Knight
and Holthusen struck out 19
batters, but the Warriors com-
mitted another four errors in
the second game.
Warrenton hosts a 4 p.m.
doubleheader with Knappa
Tuesday, followed by a twin-
bill against Seaside Thursday, 4
p.m. and Huddleston Field.
Neah-Kah-Nie is sched-
uled to play a doubleheader
today at Aiken Field, irst
game at 5 p.m.
Astoria Ford swept a dou-
to see a nearly 10 percent
rate hike.
According to state ofi-
cials, rate increases are nec-
essary to keep carriers from
withdrawing from the mar-
ket. For the past few years,
rate hikes have been approved
because carriers have lost
more money on paying out
claims than collecting reve-
nue from policy rates.
In 2015, carriers lost
$217 million because policy
rates were too low to cover
the cost of claims.
The state will inalize the
rates set July 1.
bleheader with St. Helens Sat-
urday, 5-0 and 16-6.
Tyler Lyngstad and Olaf
Englund were the winning
pitchers for the Fishermen,
who opened the season last
Thursday with a sweep over
Clatskanie. Freshman Dylan
Rush tossed a six-inning, 10-0
win in Game 2.
In other Junior State action
today, Seaside plays a double-
header at Tillamook, 4 p.m.
Electric. The three-dam com-
plex was completed in 1964
and stopped salmon runs
decades ago.
PGE isheries and water
quality manager Megan
Hill says people want to see
immediate results but don’t
realize that reintroducing
salmon takes time.
The company will include
public updates on the project
during its 21st annual work-
shop exploring dam and ish-
ery topics, which will be held
Wednesday and Thursday in
Madras.
SCOREBOARD
SPORTS SCHEDULE
TODAY
Junior State Baseball — Neah-
Kah-Nie at Astoria Ford (2), 5 p.m.;
Seaside at Tillamook (2), 4 p.m.
TUESDAY
Junior State Baseball — Knappa
at Warrenton (2), 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Junior State Baseball — Astoria
Ford at Neah-Kah-Nie, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY
Junior State Baseball — Sea-
side at Warrenton (2), 4 p.m.
FRIDAY
Junior State Baseball — Knappa
at Clatskanie (2), 3 p.m.
Dearest Family and Friends,
I was born on September 25, 1940 in the old Columbia Hospital to Ellen Irene Burns
Johnson and M. Alfred Johnson. Shortly after my birth, Mom and Dad took me on the
Tourist #2 ferry to Megler, Washington. From there we traveled to my new home on
Knappton Road in Naselle, WA. During the growing years, fun times were spent with
cousins and friends, developing our skills for hunting, fi shing, trapping, harvesting clams
and crawdads. Those 18 years were one great adventure and in 1958, I graduated from
Naselle High School.
In the summer of 1958, I “graduated” from PLC (Penttila Logging Company) under the
tutelage of Wally Raemhild. My fi nal test was to chop the heart of the stump ten out
of twelve times blindfolded. My passing grade was 100% only to fi nd my gloves were
chopped to smithereens. Laughs were had by all.
On September 24, 1958, I was sworn into the U.S. Navy with my home base being
Sanford, Florida where I was assigned to the US Navy Patrol Squadron VAH9. Our home
carrier was the USS Saratoga and we conducted tours in the Mediterranean, North and
South Atlantic, and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba -- the latter, my favorite. I was
honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy on September 24, 1961.
While attending Clark College, I dated a beautiful young lady who attended Oregon
College of Education. This lady was Joyce Pauline Lovell and she became the love of my life (my OCE Sweetheart). On June 9, 1963
we were married in Beaverton, Oregon. We were married just short of 50 years before her passing. We are blessed with 3 children:
Shannon Paulson (Mark), Paul Johnson (Lisa) and Timothy Johnson and three grandchildren, Joshua and Jared Johnson, and Erik
Paulson (Malysa).
In 1965, I joined Crown Zellerbach Corp. at the Cathlamet Tree Farm, later transferring to the CZ Pulp and Paper Wood Mill in Camas,
WA. In the fall of 1967, I was transferred to CZ in Wauna to help start up the Wauna Wood Mill, Log Yard, Chip Truck Dump and River
Operations. In 1978, I was transferred to the CZ Clatsop Tree log scaling division. Upon the demise of Crown Zellerbach, I joined
Sealaska Timber Company in Craig, Alaska (Prince of Wales Island) as a quality control administrator for log scaling. In 1985 I returned
to Wauna with the Fort James Corp., formerly CZ, and retired in May of 2000 with 33 years of service.
During my adult life, I learned to build additions, remodel, and landscape. This was truly a labor of love, not to mention my love for
hunting and fi shing. I was a member of John Day/Fernhill Volunteer Fire Dept., Clatsop Emergency Food Bank and First Presbyterian
Church. I began work with the Medicare Boys at First Presbyterian doing maintenance on the church at the age of 61. One day I asked
Dr. Roy Steinman if I had to wait until age 65 to become a full member. Dr. Steinman put his loving hands on my shoulders and said
“Dale, do you have any defects?” I said “Roy, sometimes when I get excited, I stutter a little.” Roy said “that defect is good enough for
me. You are a full-fl edged member of the Medicare Boys.” We laughed and continued on with our chores.
To my family and friends, please know that I have been blessed with my heavenly Father’s love, the love of my wife Joyce, the love of
my children, and the wonderful people that I have met in my journey of life. Oh yes, there have been a few pot holes in my life, but I
fi lled them up with apologies, understanding and love. Yes, it has been a wonderful journey. September 25th, 1940-June 10th, 2016
My blessings to all,
Love,
Dale M. Johnson
Memorial donations can be made to
Lower Columbia Hospice,
First Presbyterian Church
or the charity of one’s choice.
Please join
us for a celebration of life for our father,
Dale M. Johnson
June 25 th at 11:00 AM
First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall
1103 Grand Avenue
Astoria, OR