DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2016
144TH YEAR, NO. 23
ONE DOLLAR
Cost of ‘A FLOATING MUSEUM’
PERS
Future of Tourist
No. 2 is uncertain
to rise
$885M
W
By ELI STILLMAN
The Daily Astorian
Associated Press
PORTLAND — The cost of Oregon’s
public pension system will increase about
$885 million over the next two years, a higher
increase than was previously expected.
The new costs are 10 percent higher than
previously forecast and 44 percent above the
$2 billion per biennium that public employ-
ers are currently paying, The Oregonian
reported.
The Public Employees Retirement Sys-
tem on Friday released an updated valua-
tion of the pension fund’s assets and liabil-
ities that suggests the system’s investment
returns have lagged far behind the system’s
assumed rate of 7.5 percent. The fund cur-
rently has an unfunded liability of $21.8 bil-
lion or about 71 cents in assets for every dol-
lar of liabilities.
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
People cheer and wave as the historic Tourist No. 2 ferry arrives Monday at the 17th
Street Dock in Astoria.
See PERS, Page 12A
Medical
benefi ts of
dental fl oss
are unproven
This two-sided
cardboard sched-
ule from before
1946 shows
connecting bus
times and the blue
arrow that guided
tourists to the
ferry landing.
hen the Tourist No. 2 fi nally reached
the 17th Street Dock Monday morn-
ing, Robert “Jake” Jacob was there
to help tie the historic ferry up.
The colorful owner of the Cannery Pier
Hotel has been one of the main voices behind
the old wooden boat’s unlikely return.
The end of the ferry’s journey from
Bremerton, Washington, to Astoria was
greeted with cheers and a bottle of whiskey
for the exhausted two-man crew.
“To make it all the way from Seattle is
amazing,” said Jacob.
But what happens next is uncertain.
Tourist No. 2 will head to Tongue Point in
a few days and return to the 17th Street Dock
next week for the Astoria Regatta, where it
will participate in the boat parade.
Some are hopeful the ferry will eventually
become a tourist attraction like the Astoria
Riverfront Trolley. Yet it will likely take a year
of work and a haul-out before the 92-year-
old relic can attempt U.S. Coast Guard
certifi cation.
“It’s a fl oating museum,” said Donna
Quinn, the director of sales and marketing at
the Cannery Pier Hotel. “It’s such a treat to
have this piece of history here.”
Skeptics
Dulcye Taylor, the president of the Astoria
Downtown Historic District Association, has
heard from doubters who warn that a “wooden
boat is kind of a hole that you throw money
into. But this boat has been loved and worked
its whole life.”
The Tourist No. 2 shuttled passen-
gers and cars between Astoria and Megler,
Submitted Photo
See FERRY, Page 12A
Evidence is ‘unreliable,’
of ‘very low’ quality
The historic Tourist No. 2 ferry pulls up to
the 17th Street Dock in Astoria on Monday.
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
By JEFF DONN
AP National Writer
HOLMDEL, N.J. — It’s one of the most
universal recommendations in all of public
health: Floss daily to prevent gum disease
and cavities.
Except there’s little proof that fl ossing
works.
Still, the federal government, dental orga-
nizations and manufacturers of fl oss have
pushed the practice for decades. Dentists
provide samples to their patients; the Ameri-
can Dental Association insists on its website
that, “Flossing is an essential part of taking
care of your teeth and gums.”
The federal government has recom-
mended fl ossing since 1979, fi rst in a sur-
geon general’s report and later in the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans issued every fi ve
years. The guidelines must be based on sci-
entifi c evidence, under the law.
See FLOSS, Page 12A
Next Portland mayor aims to bridge urban-rural gap
Wheeler says
he’s an advocate
for Oregon ag
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
State Treasurer Ted Wheel-
er will take office in January
as Portland mayor. Wheeler
said he brings an appreci-
ation of Oregon agriculture
and rural communities to
the position.
PORTLAND — Love it or
despise it, this quirky city can
make or break the fortunes of
Oregon’s farmers and ranchers.
With 610,000 people liv-
ing within the city limits, and
1.7 million in the three counties
that make up the greater metro
area, Portland is the chief con-
sumer, shipper, marketer and
brander of the state’s agricul-
tural production.
What happens here rip-
nty,
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a
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ing $ 2 adults
e
b
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f
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ny day…
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Pick a day the week!
or stay for
$ 1 kiddos
$ 1 per car
ples far beyond the city,
which makes Portland poli-
tics important from Pendleton
to Prineville and from Powell
Butte to Paisley.
When current state Trea-
surer Ted Wheeler decided to
run for Portland mayor and
won enough votes in the May
primary to avoid a runoff in
November, rural producers
took notice.
He won’t take offi ce until
January, but some in agricul-
ture believe Wheeler’s ascen-
dancy could improve urban-ru-
ral relations.
Rural roots
Wheeler lives in Portland,
See WHEELER, Page 9A
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Rural producers sometimes see Portland as a distant
place that doesn’t understand agriculture, but mayor-elect
Ted Wheeler has rural roots.
2016 Clatsop
County Fair
August 2-6
For more information go to
www.clatsopfairgrounds.com