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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2017)
144TH YEAR, NO. 216 ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2017 Collect the debt Gov. Brown wants to step up state’s debt collection efforts FOR HORSES AND CATTLE, A HEALING HAND By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — In an effort to address the “overhead costs” of state govern- ment, Gov. Kate Brown announced plans Thursday to direct state agencies to step up their debt collection efforts. At the end of the last fiscal year in June, the state was owed about $3.3 bil- lion for things such as unpaid fees, fines and taxes, accord- ing to ananalysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office. Brown, a former secretary of state who oversaw audits of the state’s rev- enue department, says about $600 million to $800 Gov. million is owed to Kate Brown the state’s general fund. About 95 percent of that amount, she said Thursday, is related to unpaid taxes. Through the executive order, Brown plans to direct state agencies to deter- mine if a contractor has debt with the state before issuing or renewing state contracts, and to report outstanding debt and the amount they think is collectible to the state’s chief operating officer by June 1. The order also asks the Department of Revenue to “evaluate” making a trans- parency website that lists “legally appro- priate information about (the state’s) debtors.” The state’s open data portal, using datasets from the state revenue department, already publishes a list of the top 50 delinquent debtors in both per- sonal income and business taxes. “I think it’s critically important that we be more aggressive and more com- prehensive in our approach to debt col- lection,” Brown said in response to ques- tions from reporters. Costs to collecting Asked about the possible expense of her debt collection proposal, Brown said the state gets “big bang for our buck” when hiring additional full-time equiv- alent employees at the Department of Revenue. Noting the state’s hiring freeze, she said that “what’s key about this is the comprehensive, coordinated and aggres- sive nature that we’re undertaking to col- lect those dollars owed to the state.” The details of Brown’s plan won’t be available until she signs the order next week, so it’s unclear how they will differ from the state’s current collection efforts. It’s also unclear how much of the out- standing debt can be collected. The amount of money owed to the state is constantly in flux, and there is a finite amount that is actually collectible, according to Bob Estabrook, a spokes- man for the Department of Revenue. “Unfortunately, not all debt is created equal,” Estabrook said. For example, income tax debt usually indicates that at one point the debtor was making money, Estabrook said. Court-or- dered fines and judgments, on the other hand, can occur regardless of the debtor’s financial circumstance or job status. Port to appeal DEQ penalty Stormwater treatment ran behind schedule By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian Russel Hunter, a large-animal doctor with a practice in Knappa, listens to the heartbeat of one of his patients at a Brownsmead homestead. Large-animal doctor makes house calls named “Patches” to have her reproductive organs examined so they can breed her artifi- cially. Another horse, sickly and losing weight, NAPPA — In Clatsop County, a rural arrived later; Hunter saw to the steed while his region with farm animals aplenty, Dr. Rus- assistants castrated and trimmed the horns of a sel Hunter is a household name. pygmy goat from Scappoose. Out of a converted dairy Then they make house calls, farm in Knappa, Hunter runs driving to outlying areas. At the county’s only large-ani- ‘He’s famous a homestead in Brownsmead, mal veterinary practice, whose Hunter took blood samples around here. from a pair of horses and vac- reach extends into neigh- boring counties, and whose cinated them. patients — the ridable and the He’s the best Hunter is the primary care edible — number in the thou- physician for these animals, vet ever for and as daylight sands: mainly horses and cattle, hours lengthen, but also sheep, goats, lamas, a community so do his hours of operation. alpacas and pigs. Occasion- Now and then, urgencies like this.’ ally, he dabbles in diagnosing and emergencies arise: a calv- afflicted poultry populations. ing or foaling, a critical illness Mark Standley He isn’t licensed in Wash- or injury, sometimes a need Clatskanie resident, who, ington state, so animal owners for euthanasia — for example, with his wife, Jan, have been from across the river bring their after an animal gets struck by a taking their animals to Hunter livestock to him. car. Hunter’s repertoire touches for about 20 years “He’s famous around here,” all stages in the large-animal said Mark Standley, of Clats- life cycle. kanie, who, with his wife, Jan, have been taking their animals to Hunter for about 20 years. “He’s ‘Endangered species’ the best vet ever for a community like this.” A graduate of the University of California at Davis, Hunter came to Clatsop County with his Typical day wife, Molly, in 1973 and moved into their cur- rent location in 1977. On a typical morning, Hunter and his team Five years ago, Hunter hired Stephanie do lab work, arrange prescriptions and take Ramsey, his associate veterinarian and protégé. appointments at his clinic, which doubles as his In general, speculative terms, the pair have home. Throughout the day, he and his crew com- municate with clients. See HUNTER, Page 7A The Standleys recently brought in a mare By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian K The Port of Astoria has appealed its most recent fines from the state Depart- ment of Environmental Quality for lackluster stormwater monitoring and treatment. The Port was fined $46,750 last month for failing to meet stormwater monitoring requirements on the central waterfront and at North Tongue Point in the 2015-16 monitoring year. The agency was fined another $22,569 for not finishing stormwater treatment sys- tems at the central waterfront and North Tongue Point as required by the state by July. Jim Knight, the Port’s executive director, had previously announced he would appeal the fines. The Port has requested a hearing with the Depart- ment of Environ- mental Quality. Knight has been criticized by Port Commissioners Bill Hunsinger and Stephen Fulton, along with Port Jim Commission can- Knight didates Dick Hell- berg and Pat O’Grady, for not reveal- ing the stormwater fines before a story appeared in The Daily Astorian. Late on stormwater In August 2014, the Department of Environmental Quality notified the Port that by July, it would need to make operational stormwater treatment systems on the central waterfront and North Tongue Point to lessen the amount of copper entering the Columbia River and harming salmon and other aquatic life. The Port planned a series of set- tling ponds and a vegetated bioswale to treat stormwater being pumped in from throughout much of the central water- front. Conway Construction Co. from Ridgefield, Washington, was chosen as the general contractor on the system. Construction started over the sum- mer and was largely completed in November, about four months after schedule. But heavy rains and cold weather prevented seeding from tak- ing hold and washed out berms holding in stormwater and compacted soil, pre- venting the Port from making the system operational. Jeff Bachman, an environmental law specialist with the DEQ’s Office of Com- pliance and Enforcement, confirmed that the Port is not being fined for delays after November. Knight estimated two more months to make the stormwater system on Pier 3 operational, depending on weather. See PORT, Page 7A See DEBT, Page 7A Wily coyote decoys take on elk at golf course Encroaching herd draws innovative response By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian GEARHART — Grounds crews are awaiting a shipment of coyote urine at the Gearhart Golf Links. They’ll be using that to sprin- kle on the eight plastic coyotes they’ll strategically place on the perimeter of the 100-acre 18-hole golf course — the old- est golf course in Oregon and one of several area courses fac- ing a horde of elk. The faux coyotes are part of a plan to disperse the growing herd of elk roaming Gearhart. “It’s extremely frustrat- ing,” Forrest Goodling, grounds superintendent, said. “We’ll prep for a tournament and it will take us three hours to repair the elk tracks before we can mow the greens for play.” “I’ve been here six years,” General Manager Jason Bangild said. “When I first got here, the herd was 20 or 30 head. Now we’ve counted over 100 of them See DECOYS, Page 6A KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE Gearhart residents received a public safety notice this week that fake plastic coyotes have been placed around the course and not to “be alarmed.” In his role as mayor, Matt Brown offered a safety advisory, urging visitors to keep a safe distance from the elk herd. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Gearhart Golf Links Course Manager Jason Bangild sets up a coyote decoy in hopes it might ward off a herd of elk that have been causing damage to the course and posing a public health hazard for years. “Public safety is always the city’s No. 1 priority,” he said. “Many folks enjoy viewing the elk. We just have to make sure they understand they are wild animals, so please stay a safe distance.”