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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2016)
DANCE IT OUT INSID FRIDAY EXTRA • 1C 144TH YEAR, NO. 56 E EVERYTHING AUTO ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 Oracle settles Cover Oregon lawsuit for $100 million Deal ends suit over failed health exchange By NICK BUDNICK and PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Fort Stevens State Park Ranger Assistant Roger Stone, left, lowers the American flag at the end of the day as Volunteer Park Hosts Vic and Nancy Davis help on Thursday at Fort Stevens. Fort Stevens State Park recently installed a new flagpole at the historic site. The state of Oregon and Oracle, the vendor on the $300 million Cover Oregon website debacle, have settled a wide-ranging legal dispute for more than $100 million in goods, services and cash. Oracle will supply funds, software and services to the state to settle a case in which Oregon had accused the Red- wood City, California , soft- ware giant of fraud and racketeering on the state’s one- stop-shopping health insur- ance website project that never worked as planned. The state had been asking for roughly $6 billion. “Today’s settlement agree- ment ends years of turmoil and taxpayer expense related to a troubled health care exchange program I dissolved in March 2015,” Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement. The agreement, announced early Thursday by Brown at See ORACLE, Page 8A FLYING HIGH Friends of Old Fort Stevens have a new 75-foot fl agpole, strong enough to hoist the large Garrison fl ag R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian Cannon Beach Elementary School was closed to students in 2013. The arched portion houses the gym, and could be usable with renovations. W ARRENTON — A large American fl ag is again waving high above the Civil War-era earthen fort at Fort Stevens State Park. The fl ag, known as a Garrison fl ag, is the largest national fl ag used by the U.S. Army. For more than fi ve years, it was stored in a duffel bag at the state park. The fl ag was too big and too valuable to be fl ying on the state park’s dilapidated fl agpole. The nonprofi t Friends of Old Fort Stevens felt the prized fl ag should return. The group recently spent $2,000 for a new 75-foot fl agpole, strong enough to hoist the 20-foot-by-38-foot fl ag. “The Friends are quite passion- ate about having the Garrison fl ag up there,” said David Lindstrom, the secre- tary of Friends of Old Fort Stevens . “It’s symbolic to the history of the fort. It’s a patriotic statement on the part of the Friends.” Funds for the fl agpole came from the nonprofi t’s reserve that is used for Cannon Beach torn over school purchase Elementary school closed because of safety concerns By LYRA FONTAINE The Daily Astorian See FLAGPOLE, Page 8A HOW TO HELP Those interested in donating to the new flagpole at Fort Stevens State Park can visit: www.youcaring.com/ fortstevensfundraiser Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Fort Stevens State Park Ranger Assistant Roger Stone lowers the American flag at the end of the day Thursday at Fort Stevens. CANNON BEACH — For sale: Former school property in a tsunami zone . To build or renovate. C ity councilors are close to deciding whether or not to pur- chase the former elementary school that closed in 2013 due to student safety concerns . The property , which is owned by the Seaside School District, is on the north end of town, south of Ecola Creek and about one-fourth of a mile from the ocean. While most of the campus is unusable, the gymnasium offers promise for future com- munity activities like concerts and other events. “The bottom line is the building is in pretty good shape,” said City Manager Brant Kucera, noting the harsh weather the gymnasium has endured. “That is good news if you’re looking to save and restore that building.” An August report from Amodeo Structural Engineer- ing on the gymnasium was delivered to the City Council earlier this week. According to the assess- ment, the wood-framed gym , built in the early 1950s, appears to be in good condition. The observations “did not reveal any locations of signif- icant damage, distress, dete- rioration, dry rot or excessive defl ection,” the engineering report stated. See SCHOOL, Page 8A Jones and Pederson vie for Astoria City Council seat The commander and the conductor discuss hot topics By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian The November election for Astoria City Council’s Ward 4 offers a choice between Bruce Jones, a retired U.S. Coast Guard commander, and Cory Pederson, a conductor and the music teacher at Jewell School District. The two men are vying for the seat soon to be vacated by City Councilor Russ Warr, who chose not to run for a fourth term as the city’s east-side representative. Jones, 56, who holds a master’s degree in public administration, spent 30 years in the Coast Guard, serv- ing in his fi nal years as commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Colum- bia River. Jones is active on several non- profi t boards, including the Colum- bia River Maritime Museum, Friends of the Astoria Column and Friends of the Astoria Armory . While in the ser- vice, he served on the United Way of Clatsop County board. “I’ve really enjoyed getting involved,” he said, adding that “those volunteer experiences have really given me a lot of insights into the community.” Pederson, 37, the president of the Jewell Educational Associa- tion union, is a prominent fi gure in the local music scene. He sits on the what we do out here,” he said. Library Cory Pederson Bruce Jones boards of the Astoria Music Festi- val, Columbia River Symphony and North Oregon Coast Symphony. “Astoria, to me, is a pretty aston- ishing place. It’s got some unique assets and opportunities. And there’s unique challenges also, just in the nature of the city … where it’s at and Pederson, who holds a master’s degree in education, views many local issues in terms of how they impact the region’s children, their schools and overall education. The ongoing controversy sur- rounding the future of the Astoria Library — namely, whether the aging structure should be renovated or whether a brand new library should be built — is one such issue. Whatever the outcome, Pederson believes the local library should be a reliable place where children can learn and feel comfortable outside of school and home. See COUNCIL SEAT, Page 8A
