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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2017)
144TH YEAR, NO. 251 ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017 EXPERIENCING ‘ALONE’ PART II WEEKEND BREAK • 1C EVERYTHING AUTO INSIDE Health care provider tax barely passes Bill now goes to state Senate By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — The state House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly passed an increased assessment on health care providers that is estimated to bring in more than $600 million to help fund the Oregon Health Plan for the next two years. The so-called provider tax would raise revenue from hospitals, insurers and coor- dinated care organizations — the regional networks of providers serving patients on the Oregon Health Plan — to help cover the costs of Med- icaid and to pay for a rein- surance program, a reim- bursement system protecting insurers from high claims. The legislation required a three-fi fths vote. State Rep. Sal Esquivel, R- Medford, was the sole Republican who voted with Democrats for the plan , giving it the required majority. Esquivel declined to comment after the vote. See TAX, Page 9A Austin White/Submitted P hoto Holiday Friends, an Astoria-based alternative rock band, is set to release their newest album this month . HONOR FLIGHT One last mission for Navy veteran ‘NIGHT TERRORS’ ASTORIA BAND RECORDS ‘THE MOST PERSONAL ALBUM WE’VE MADE’ Decades after Korean War, man fi nds some peace By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian H By PATRICK WEBB For EO Media Group OCEAN PARK, Wash. — A tall, tough Texan who worked 30 years for the Pub- lic Utilities District is not prone to cry. But it happened when Richard “Skip” Cochran glimpsed the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Wash- ington, D.C. The U.S. Navy veteran broke down in tears as mem- ories of his 1950s service came fl ooding back. “I just lost it,” said the 83-year-old Ocean Park, Washington, man, who recently returned from an expenses-paid Honor Flight to the nation’s capital. Cochran’s emotion stemmed from his service as an aircrew member on the U.S.S. Point Cruz. The air- craft carrier’s planes fl ew varied missions over Korea, some equipped with sophis- ticated cameras which photo- graphed the results of bomb- ing runs. Cochran was assigned to catapult and landing crews which deployed cables and Patrick Webb/For EO Media Group Richard “Skip” Cochran displays the medal he re- ceived from the govern- ment of the Republic of Korea to commemorate his service in the Korean War during the 1950s. Six decades later, he can final- ly talk about his most trau- matic experience when he pushed burning planes from the deck of an aircraft carrier into the ocean. nets across the deck to bring aircraft home safely. One incident is indelibly imprinted on his mind. A plane trying to land missed the cable. “He caught the second cable, but it ripped the tailhook off. He landed on top of one or two more aircraft.” The fl ight deck erupted in fl ames. “I grabbed a ‘mule’ (tractor) and pushed the planes off the side.” See VETERAN, Page 9A Cabell Tice/Submitted P hoto Holiday Friends is performing in Portland on June 23 for their record release. Holiday Friends’ new album comes during a time of self- reflection. Cabell Tice/ Submitted P hoto oliday Friends, an Astoria-based alternative rock band, christened their upcoming album “Night Terrors” for a special reason: When Scott Fagerland, the lead sing- er-songwriter, began writing the epony- mous track, he was having actual night terrors about the band’s future, fac- ing down his 30s, reckoning with life’s disappointments. The 11-track album comes during a time of self-refl ection for Holiday Friends, which has taken various forms since its founding in 2008. “We do it because we like it, and it’s fun,” Fagerland said. “But it comes with its fair share of frustrations,” such as “trying to balance it with your daily life when it’s not paying the bills.” The indie group, though indisputably popular on the North Coast, hasn’t yet caught fi re as they once hoped to do. In addition, the four band members — now in their late 20s and 30s — are old enough to write songs about facing “certain things that didn’t go exactly how you wanted them to,” he said. These feelings underscore the new album, where listeners will encounter a darker, edgier, more willingly vulnera- ble Holiday Friends than the ensemble that delivered the lighthearted “Chicks” in 2012 and “Major Magic” in 2014 . “This is, hands down, the most per- sonal album we’ve made,” bassist Zack O’Connor said. See BAND, Page 9A Possible shipwreck debris uncovered in Cannon Beach State will examine wood object By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Christopher Dewey with the Maritime Archaeological So- ciety examines a wood object recently uncovered near Cannon Beach that may be historically significant. CANNON BEACH — What at fi rst glance looks like one of the many logs that line Cannon Beach may be an uncovered keel of a boat from a possible shipwreck. The wood object, which measures about 18 feet long and several hundred pounds, was found Wednesday after- noon on the beach close to the Taft Street access by Jeffrey Smith of Portland. L ooking for a place to rest after walk- ing with his wife, h e noticed rusty square nails, notches and square cut outs in the log and decided to call the Can- non Beach History Center and Museum. “Maybe this isn’t a big deal, but when you look at the square nails and the cut outs, it looks like this is from a very old ship,” Smith said. After Elaine Trucke, the museum’s director, came out to take a look, she called the Columbia River Maritime Museum and Christopher Dewey from the Maritime Archaeological Society to help identify the object . “Looking at the parts makes me think it could be from the mid-1800s, but I’m not an expert,” Trucke said. “In gen- eral shipwrecks are pretty common on the coast, but if it were actually that old it would be a rare situation.” The wood is some variety of old growth timber, Dewey said, which would make the object historically signifi cant . But defi ning the age and exact nature of the wood will require an evaluation from the state archaeologist’s offi ce in Salem, Dewey said. With- out a thorough examination , the object could be anything See DEBRIS, Page 9A
