3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
Astoria-based Coast Guardsman
dies while training in Virginia
Ilwaco graduate served
on board Air Force One
Luethe was chief
flight engineer
The Daily Astorian
An Astoria-based U.S.
Coast Guardsman has died
while training in Yorktown,
Virginia.
Lt. j.g. Devin J. Hepner,
34, of Logan, Utah, was found
unresponsive in his barracks
Monday morning at Train-
ing Center Yorktown, accord-
ing to the Coast Guard. He
EO Media Group
CHINOOK, Wash. — The
end of Barack Obama’s presi-
dency will have special signifi-
cance for Aaron Luethe of Chi-
nook, a member of Ilwaco High
School’s Class of 1987.
From 2010 until last year
when he retired from the U.S.
Air Force, Luethe served as
chief flight engineer on Air
Force One, the official Boeing
VC-25 aircraft used to trans-
port the president worldwide.
Before becoming chief, Luethe
served three years on the flight
deck of Air Force One as a
member of the Presidential Air-
lift Group at Andrews Air Force
Base in Maryland during the
final year of President George
W. Bush’s two terms in office
and the start of the Obama
administration.
Although his work on the
presidential planes was known
by some in south Pacific County
during the Obama years,
security considerations dic-
tated avoiding publicity about
Luethe’s unusual occupation.
As chief flight engineer,
Luethe reported “directly to the
presidential pilot on all opera-
tional matters concerning mis-
sion planning, aircraft perfor-
mance, worldwide suitability,
and maintenance status of Air
Force One,” according to his
LinkedIn profile.
Luethe retired in May, 28
years after joining the service
Submitted Photo
was transported by local emer-
gency medical services to the
nearby Bon Secours Mary
Immaculate Hospital, where
he later died.
Hepner was serving in
Astoria with Sector Colum-
bia River’s Marine Safety
Unit
Portland,
which
investigates spills, acci-
dents and other suspicious
activity. He was in Virginia
during this difficult time.”
“The loss of Devin comes
as a great shock to us,” said
Capt. Tom Griffitts, com-
manding officer of Marine
Safety Unit Portland. “He was
a seasoned Coast Guard offi-
cer who leaves behind a leg-
acy of service protecting lives
on our waterways. He will be
missed as we keep his family
in our prayers.”
for investigating officer
training.
“We are deeply saddened
by this tragic loss,” Capt. Jay
Vann, commanding officer of
Training Center Yorktown,
said in a statement. “We only
got to know Devin a short
time, but his passing will be
felt by many. We thank him
for his dedicated service; our
thoughts are with his family
Snow damages Oregon wildlife center
Chinook’s Aaron Luethe,
a member of Ilwaco High
School’s Class of 1987, re-
cently retired from the U.S.
Air Force after nearly a de-
cade of service.
Associated Press
GRANTS PASS — Four
animal enclosures at a wildlife
center in southwestern Oregon
have been damaged by days of
snow and rain.
right out of Ilwaco High School
in 1987. His rank at retirement
was chief master sergeant, the
highest enlisted rank in the Air
Force. He is the son of Betty
and the late David Luethe of
Chinook and nephew of for-
mer Long Beach mayor and city
councilman Gary Luethe.
He racked up more than
7,700 flight hours and his mil-
itary decorations include the
Meritorious Service Medal,
Air Medal, Aerial Achieve-
ment Medal, Air Force Com-
mendation Medal and Air Force
Achievement Medal.
Now working as an opera-
tional analyst for Boeing in the
Seattle area, Luethe earned a
master’s degree in aeronauti-
cal science from Embry-Rid-
dle Aeronautical University in
2013.
The
Daily
Courier
reported that one of the
bird enclosures at Wildlife
Images collapsed completely
during the wet weather last
week. The net ceiling on two
other aviaries was also dam-
aged, as was the roof of a
metal skunk cage.
Dave Siddon, executive
director of the rehabilitation
and education center west of
Grants Pass, says the destroyed
aviary was built with help from
an AmeriCorps team and will
need to be rebuilt before spring,
when rehabilitation season
begins. He says the enclosure
provided an area where birds
could fly before being released
into the wild.
Cops, county reporter joins The Daily Astorian
The Daily Astorian
After a roughly three-
month search, The Daily Asto-
rian has found a new pub-
lic safety, county, courts and
parks reporter.
Jack Heffernan, a 23-year-
old University of Oregon grad-
uate, joined the newsroom last
week. He stepped into the
position previously occupied
by Kyle Spurr, who moved to
the Bend Bulletin in the fall.
Originally from the San
Francisco Bay Area, Heffer-
tor, then as managing editor.
He said he enjoys writ-
ing and the opportunity to
dive into a story or topic.
“The combination of both
is really what kind of drives
me.”
Laura Sellers, the newspa-
per’s managing editor, said:
“Jack Heffernan is eager to
tackle his new beats after cov-
ering myriad experiences in
different journalism markets,
here and abroad.
“He shows promise and an
eagerness to learn the craft.”
osity about how soci-
nan started out want-
ety functions. “You
ing to be a sports
assume a lot of things
reporter. At UO he
about living inside the
studied journalism
U.S. that just com-
and political science.
pletely change when
A turning point
you study abroad
came after his soph-
or spend some time
omore year of col-
Jack
abroad,” he said.
lege when he stud-
Heffernan
Another intern-
ied abroad in Austria
ship followed, this
— an excursion that
included an internship writing time at The Register-Guard in
news stories in Vienna for an Eugene.
At The Emerald — UO’s
English-language website.
The experience, he said, student newspaper — Heffer-
instilled in him a deeper curi- nan worked as the sports edi-
Oregon bill would protect birth control, cover abortions
Democrats worry
about possible
Obamacare repeal
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
Oregon is joining several
other states that are seeking to
protect no-cost birth control
in case the federal mandate is
rolled back as part of a potential
repeal of the Affordable Care
Act.
Most legislation in other
states has focused on preserv-
ing mandatory insurance cov-
erage of hormonal contracep-
tives without a patient copay,
with some other moderate
expansions on the federal act.
Oregon’s legislation, how-
ever, reaches far beyond the
federal law to include abor-
tions, vasectomies and other
services.
Oregon’s legislation — the
Reproductive Health Equity Act
— was in the works well before
Republican billionaire Donald
Trump won the November pres-
idential election.
However, Trump’s vow
to repeal and replace Presi-
dent Barack Obama’s land-
mark health care law, popu-
larly dubbed Obamacare, could
intensify pressure to pass the
bill. Republicans in Congress
have made the repeal a first
order of business this year.
The bill is intended to rein-
force and fill in gaps in reproduc-
tive health care coverage under
Obamacare and to expand those
who are eligible for the benefits,
said Laurel Swerdlow, advocacy
director of Planned Parenthood
Advocates of Oregon.
“We remain deeply con-
cerned with what is happening
on the national level,” Swerd-
low said in a phone interview
Wednesday. “This legislation
is in no way to be a remedy for
political attacks on the Afford-
able Care Act. This is legisla-
tion to establish coverage for
Clatsop Post 12
Pot Roast
Dinner
with Potatoes, Carrots,
Salad and Rolls
Friday
Jan. 20 th
4 pm until gone
$
8. 00
6PM
“Karaoke Dave”
ASTORIA
AMERICAN LEGION
Clatsop Post 12
1132 Exchange Street
325-5771
reproductive health care for all
Oregonians.”
For instance, abortion and
vasectomies, services excluded
from the Affordable Care
Act mandate, would be cov-
ered under Oregon’s legisla-
tion. Men, transgender indi-
viduals and undocumented
immigrants would be eligible
for the coverage.
“All Oregonians need access
to full reproductive health cov-
erage for families to thrive, for
a healthier state and for a stron-
ger economy,” Swerdlow said.
“Working families are under so
much strain today, and often-
times, they have a hard time
making ends meet.
“What this legislation does
is it recognizes that a right with-
out access is not a right at all,”
she add, referring to the right to
terminate pregnancies. “What
we really want is to make sure
that all persons have access to
the full spectrum of reproduc-
tive health care that they need.
We don’t always know a per-
son’s circumstances. We aren’t
in their shoes.”
Advocacy groups
Planned Parenthood Advo-
cates of Oregon was one of
several advocacy groups that
worked on the legislation,
sponsored by state Sen. Laurie
Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham,
and Rep. Phil Barker, D-Aloha.
Others were the American Civil
Liberties Union of Oregon,
Asian-Pacific American Net-
work of Oregon, Family For-
ward Oregon, NARAL Pro
Choice Oregon, Oregon Latino
Health Coalition and Western
States Center, Swerdlow said.
Too controversial
Sen. Monnes Anderson
introduced similar legislation in
2015, though it did not include
coverage for men, transgender
individuals and undocumented
immigrants. Bipartisan opposi-
tion in the Senate, however, kept
her bill from progressing to a
vote, she said.
Some senators felt covering
abortions could be too contro-
versial, Monnes Anderson said.
Gayle Atteberry, executive
director of Oregon Right to Life,
said the anti-abortion organi-
zation would oppose the new
legislation.
“While Oregon Right to
Life takes no position on true
contraceptives, we, of course,
are opposed to abortion, which
always takes the life of an inno-
cent unborn child,” Atteberry
said in an email. “Because of the
abortion component, ORTL is
opposed to (the bill).”
Atteberry’s comment raises
the question of whether includ-
ing abortion could sink the bill
and doom other benefits such as
coverage of birth control with-
out a copayment.
“I believe that this year there
will be much more pressure to
pass this important bill,” said
Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Port-
land. “I believe that events at the
national level will add to that
pressure.”
Support coverage
The bill’s proponents,
including Rep. Barker, said they
believe a majority of Orego-
nians will support coverage of
abortion. The Legislature also
has a Democratic majority.
“This is a bill sponsored by
two Democrats, and Demo-
to cover contraceptives with-
out a patient copayment and
expanded on the federal law’s
provisions. Democratic law-
makers in Colorado, Massa-
chusetts, Minnesota and New
York have proposed similar
measures this year, according
to a report earlier this month by
Reuters.
The Capital Bureau is a col-
laboration between EO Media
Group and Pamplin Media
Group.
crats are in charge” noted Rep.
Sherrie Stenger, R-Scio, who
sponsored an unsuccessful
bill last year to ban sex-selec-
tive abortions. “That is proba-
bly the most salient point in this
conversation.”
Lawmakers will consider the
proposal during their session,
which kicks off Feb. 1.
Since 2014, California, Illi-
nois, Maryland and Vermont
have passed laws adopting the
Affordable Care Act’s mandate
$
off
500
1
ALL X300 AND X500
SELECT SERIES™ TRACTORS
X394 SELECT SERIES
• 22 hp* (16.4 kW)
• 48-in. Accel Deep™ Deck
• 4-wheel steering
• 4-year/300-hour bumper-to-
bumper warranty**
SAVE NOW.
MOW LATER.
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
X590 SELECT SERIES
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
• 25.5-hp* (19 kW) EFI engine
• 48- or 54-in. Accel Deep™ Deck
• Power steering and hydraulic lift
• 4-year/500-hour bumper-to-
bumper warranty**
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
T HE D AILY A STORIAN ’ S
C UTEST B ABY C ONTEST
If your baby was born
January 1st &
December 31st , 2016 ,
between
Buy Green Before Spring
you can submit your
newborn’s picture either
via email at:
C LASTOP P OWER E QUIPMENT
CLASSIFIEDS @ DAILYASTORIAN . COM
34912 HIGHWAY 101 BUSINESS
ASTORIA, OR 97103
800-220-0792 or 503-325-0792
or drop by one of our offi ces in Astoria or
Seaside and we can scan in the photo for you.
Deadline to enter is
Wednesday, January 25 th at 5 pm
Entries will be printed in The Daily Astorian
on January 31st.
*Human babies only please!*
1
Offer valid from January 4, 2017, through February 28, 2017, on the purchase of any new X300 Select Series or new X500 Select Series lawn tractor. Get $500 off
X300 Select Series lawn tractors and $500 off X500 Select Series lawn tractors. Offer, prices and savings are in U.S. dollars and available in the U.S. only. Ask your
dealer for details.
*The engine horsepower and torque information are provided by the engine manufacturer to be used for comparison purposes only. Actual operating horsepower and
torque will be less. Refer to the manufacturer’s website for additional information.
**Term limited to years or hours used, whichever comes first, and varies by model. See the LIMITED WARRANTY FOR NEW JOHN DEERE TURF AND UTILITY EQUIPMENT
at JOHNDEERE.COM for details.
John Deere, the leaping deer symbol, and green and yellow trade dress are trademarks of Deere & Company.
A0D020JCU2A69449-00032523