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FRIDAY EXTRA • 1C
144TH YEAR, NO. 56
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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