OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
OUR VIEW
We need
to preserve
services for
our seniors
T
here aren’t many options for local people in need of
skilled convalescent care for themselves or loved
ones. For many years, Clatsop Care Center was widely
regarded in the region as not just a good option, but one in
which the community could take pride and comfort. Its fall
from that position is something that should concern us all and
spur serious action.
On the lengthy list of looming disasters Americans worry
about — everything from asteroid collisions to Yellowstone
blowing up — a realistic one we usually ignore is the quickly
accelerating avalanche of elder issues confronting the nation
as the Baby Boom generation transitions into retirement. This
age cohort of more than 75 million people will require vastly
more in the way of services than are currently available.
Particularly in relatively rural areas like ours, residents
already confront difficult choices. An accident or ailment can
hit individuals and their children with an immediate dilemma
of how and where to recover, how to pay for it and what to do
next. On a broader societal level, we have to wrestle with the
best ways to nurture our most experienced citizens, both as a
matter of simple decency and because lack of adequate provi-
sion for senior care can be economically crippling. It is a sad
occasion when long-term res-
idents feel compelled to relo-
We need to
cate because they perceive a
be thinking
need to seek out better care in
their final years.
of ways to
Clatsop County can count
incubate
itself as extremely fortunate
additional
to have the health care sys-
tem we do, led by Columbia
services
Memorial Hospital and its col- for senior
laboration with Oregon Health
citizens, not
& Science University, and by
Providence Seaside Hospital
losing any
and its networking with the
of those we
larger Providence system.
Our Friday story, “Bringing now possess.
Clatsop Care Center back from Citizens need
the brink,” found a starkly dif- to sit up and
ferent situation with regard to
get involved
convalescent care. A dwindling
in this.
number of patients — from
more than 70 to 24 or fewer —
is a warning sign we can’t ignore.
Have efforts to control financial deficits hurt the standard
of care, leading potential patients to seek any option they
can find? Is maintaining an aging building, in light of exter-
nal factors such as cuts to Medicare and Medicaid reimburse-
ments, simply more than Astoria and surrounding commu-
nities can afford? Is it ever going to be possible to maintain
staffing levels and retain well-qualified personnel in a county
with few people looking for work?
Clatsop Care’s problems aren’t unique: These issues and
others encapsulate elder-care conundrums nationwide.
Unlike many places, however, we are in a position to make
a real difference in how this downward spiral ends. Clearly,
board members of Clatsop Care Health District need active
community engagement in helping craft a workable path back
to health for this vital service. Planned steps like selling the
building and farming out management functions would bene-
fit from fresh eyes.
Columbia Memorial’s smart model of strategic indepen-
dence coupled with strong outside partnerships is one that
Clatsop Care — and indeed every small-town institution —
should study. Creative and community-focused leadership can
find a path forward.
We need to be thinking of ways to incubate additional ser-
vices for senior citizens, not losing any of those we now pos-
sess. Citizens need to sit up and get involved in this. Any one
of us — or our parents or spouses — could desperately need
Clatsop Care tomorrow.
GUEST COLUMN
Our wounded warriors
deserve better tax break
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Michael Murphy, a veteran who served in the U.S. Army, leaves the Disabled American Veterans van at his
dropoff point in St. Helens last year.
By STEPHEN BATES
Special to The Daily Astorian
F
or almost 100 years, Oregon
has honored its wounded
warriors, our disabled veterans
with a property tax exemption. At
one time, research
shows, this exemp-
tion was over
100% of the value
of a median single
family dwelling
in Oregon. This is
fitting, as our wounded warriors have
given a portion of their body; a part
of their being in the service of our
country.
But, this exemption has been
reduced to less than 10% of the value
of a median priced single family
home. This is an unfortunate result of
not reviewing old laws and updating
them to meet current needs.
The original Oregon law that
authorizes this property tax exemp-
tion references Civil War dis-
abled veterans and their surviv-
ing spouses. This demonstrates our
state’s long-standing commitment to
our disabled veterans. This law has
been modified only a few times since
1953.
When real estate values started
escalating in the late 1970s, the dis-
abled veterans property tax exemp-
tion started to dwindle. The exemp-
tion amounts remained the same,
while the assessed valuation of prop-
erties grew. The amount of exemp-
tion became less and less. The stat-
ute controlling the amount of the
disabled veteran property tax exemp-
tion was not updated during the time
that property values soared in the
1980s and 1990s.
Over the past several years, there
have been attempts to correct this sit-
uation. But, it appears that politicians
decided not to maintain a reason-
able property tax exemption for our
wounded warriors.
They made a
sacrifice for
all of us. We
must make
sure they are
appropriately
honored.
The 2005 Legislature did make
some amends. A 3% annual increase
was added to the disabled veterans
property tax exemption. A disabled
veteran inferred in a 2015 testimony
that the 3% increase would not even
buy a dinner for two. In other words,
this is not enough.
What was once 100% is now less
than 10%.
Do we still care about our dis-
abled veterans? They made a sacri-
fice for all of us. We must make sure
they are appropriately honored.
Because political sentiment iden-
tifies that a 100% exemption would
be too costly, Senate Bill 694 is a
compromise. The end result of pass-
ing this bill is that most disabled vet-
erans qualifying for this exemption
would receive a property tax exemp-
tion closer to 25% of the value of a
median priced home in Oregon.
This bill also addresses the
severely disabled veteran. It creates
a new category that would allow an
even greater property tax exemption
if certain requirements are met. Sen-
ate Bill 694 gives the local county
commission the option to control the
levels of this exemption.
It will not be 100%. But 25% is
better than 10%. This is a compro-
mise that should be nonpartisan. Sen-
ate Bill 694 is doing something. Pre-
vious legislative sessions have come
and gone and the politicians did
nothing. Something is better than
nothing.
Let Oregon once again stand
for our wounded warriors. Let us
increase the Disabled Veteran Prop-
erty Tax Exemption this year. Let
us work with our state legislators to
pass Senate Bill 694.
Stephen Bates, a retired business-
man, is a 40 year resident of Bor-
ing. He served as the chairman of
the Boring Community Planning
Organization and is currently chair-
man of the Committee on Memori-
als and Remembrance, an organiza-
tion that addresses various issues for
veterans.
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