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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 Cannon Beach fi re fi ghts to fi nd funding Bend businessman Future hurdles Grants harder to get due to past paperwork errors By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — Issues with past grant paper- work could make it harder for Cannon Beach Rural Fire Dis- trict to secure certain types of funding. In 2016, the volunteer fi re department applied for two different grants from the Fed- eral Emergency Management Agency: one to fund a new vol- unteer recruitment and reten- tion position, and the other to hire a fi re inspector. Both were denied, due in part to the dis- trict’s failure to properly close out a grant received in 2010 , Division Chief Marc Reck- mann said. “When FEMA approves or denies a grant, part of the scoring is looking over seven years at your completion and performance,” said Reck- mann, who wrote the grant applications. “In 2010, the district received a grant for turnouts, which required a period per- formance report to be fi led a year after and a close out report after the grant was done in 2014. Neither were done.” The grant was applied for and used under both former fi re chiefs, Cleve Rooper and Mike Balzer. Neither Reck- mann or current Fire Chief Matt Benedict were associated with the district in th ose years. The reason why the reports weren’t fi led are unclear. Chief Matt Benedict What they do know is soon-to-be expired breath- ing equipment, outdated com- munication gear and other department needs will need to be funded in the near future. FEMA grants are a signifi cant avenue for volunteer rural fi re departments to pay for this kind of equipment. But if the reporting errors continue to impact the depart- ment’s competitiveness for these grants, the district may have to pursue other fundrais- ing strategies to make ends meet. “We’re working to get notes from FEMA so we know what to do better next time,” Reckmann said. “This isn’t the end. We will keep applying. These issues may have played a role, but how large of one I don’t know.” Current needs Like many departments across the country, recruiting and retaining fi refi ghter vol- unteers is a challenge. The department has about 18 vol- unteers, when it is ideal to have about 30. “In general, it is hard to recruit volunteers, but in Can- non Beach it is even harder,” Reckmann said. “With the cost of living so high, it is hard to fi nd volunteers who can afford to live here and are also able-bodied to do the job.” To address this, Reck- mann and Benedict applied for a grant to create a recruit- ment and retention special- ist who would fi gure out what resources are available to solve the problem. This per- son would explore different community partnerships in the hopes of expanding the pro- gram, Reckmann said. Reckmann and Benedict are the only two paid employ- ees of the fi re district. While they each do their best to recruit volunteers, the neces- sity to retain volunteers for the safety of the community is a job in itself. “I don’t think most peo- ple in the community think of our fi refi ghters as volunteers. When they show up on scene, they don’t have a clue who is volunteer and who is paid,” Reckmann said. “They just expect a fi refi ghter who does their job.” In the next fi ve years, the department will need to replace all self-contained breathing equipment and two 22-year- old fi re engines, Benedict said. The breathing equipment will expire in 2019, and in total will cost about $300,000 to replace in full. Up-to-date fi re engines usually run around $450,000 each, Reckmann said. The department is also looking to replace out dated radios and repeaters. Because of the geography of the region and weak signals, fi rst responders often have issues communicating with each other in places like Hug Point, where they often go for search and rescue calls. “It’s hard to command the scene when you have to walk back to your truck to commu- nicate. Then you don’t have eyes on the situation,” Reck- mann said. Strict federal and state guidelines mean not replacing this equipment is not an option. If the department continues to be penalized for old report- ing errors, Benedict will con- tinue to look for other match- ing grants, but in the meantime could problem-solve by buy- ing used equipment incremen- tally rather than in batches. For the engines, Reckmann said proposing a levy may be necessary down the road. “It may come down to decreasing the number of engines we use, buying used or getting a bottle at a time just to get us by. We can do that,” Benedict said. “We will do what we need to do to keep our fi refi ghters and the com- munity safe.” State Supreme Court rules health care ballot title is unclear By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau ‘The court affi rmed nearly 100 percent of our concerns which the partisan legislative committee completely ignored.’ SALEM — The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that the ballot title on the refer- endum on the state’s health care funding scheme must be clearer. Three Republican lawmak- ers — s tate Reps. Julie Parrish, of Tualatin/West Linn; Ced- ric Hayden, of Roseburg; and Sal Esquivel, of Medford — want to repeal parts of a state law that requires health care providers and insurers to pay assessments to the state for its Medicaid program. The three had argued that the ballot title approved by a legislative committee in Sep- tember didn’t fully or clearly explain the effects of the potential repeal. A ballot title is the offi - cial written material that vot- ers see. In Oregon, a ballot title includes a caption, summary and statements that explain the results of a “yes” and a “no” vote. The court found that the caption needed to explain the assessments with more detail or describe them as “taxes,” and explain that insurers were allowed to increase certain premiums under the law. The “yes” and “no” vote result statements, the court determined, should also be changed to better explain the Rep. Cedric Hayden direct effects of the measure. The court also said that the statement and the summary should not address an open legal question — whether or not temporary assessments on hospitals would be delayed or removed altogether as part of the referendum. The ballot title “no” state- ment currently says that a part of the law that the petitioners want to repeal would merely be delayed, due to how the ref- erendum petition was written. That’s a matter of legal interpretation, the court said, and added it should be resolved at a later time, in the event that voters vote “no” and the partial repeal is successful. The court did reject some of the petitioners’ arguments. For example, the court found it was appropriate to include, as ballot title writ- ers did, that the revenues went toward health care for low-in- come individuals and families, and “stabilizing reinsurance premiums” through a reinsur- ance program. Styles self as a Trump-minded conservative By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Bend busi- nessman Sam Carpenter has announced he will challenge state Rep. Knute Buehler for the 2018 Republican nomi- nation for governor. “I confi dently predict an enormous political and eco- nomic turn around for Ore- gon as we leave behind the current failed progressive far-left leadership of Gov. Kate Brown, and move for- ward to an executive branch that is laser-focused on serv- ing the people of Oregon through a smaller, much more effi cient government machine,” Carpenter said in a statement. Carpenter, 67, is bill- ing himself the conserva- tive choice against the more moderate Buehler, also from Bend. The primary is in May. His campaign motto is styled after that of President Donald Trump’s: “Make Oregon Great Again.” “Yes, I share President Donald Trump’s vision of a society truly in tune and serving the needs of regu- lar Americans, not the needs of the intertwined cabal of big government, big busi- ness, and big fi nance,” Car- penter said. “I’ll fi ght to put the power back where it belongs, in the hands of Ore- gon’s citizens. Buehler, an orthopedic surgeon, is known for spear- heading signifi cant pieces of bipartisan legislation, including increasing access to contraceptives. The two major reproductive rights organizations — Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America — nevertheless, have backed Brown. He declared his run for governor in early August. Rebecca Tweed, Bue- hler’s campaign manager, said she had no comment on Carpenter’s announcement Wednesday. Carpenter told the EO Media Group/Pam- plin Media Group Capital Bureau in August that he For Steve and Kelly Gottesman Saturday, October 28 th 2 pm to 8-ish... Astoria Yacht Club - West End Mooring Basin (Upstairs above Tiki Charters) 300 Industry Lane, Suite 201 Astoria Submitted Photo Bend businessman Sam Carpenter announced Wednesday that he will seek the GOP nomina- tion for governor. Car- penter is billing himself as the more conservative choice, contrasting him- self with moderate state Rep. Knute Buehler. was considering a campaign for governor but was wait- ing to see if any candidates with Trump-minded agendas made a bid. If no one else he could support stepped up, Carpenter said he would seek the position. The winner of the GOP primary will face off with Gov. Brown, who is seeking her second and fi nal term as the state’s chief executive. Thomas Wheatley, Brown’s campaign adviser, said Carpenter’s “entrance into the race will add a lot more sizzle to the Republi- can primary.” If elected, Carpenter vows to streamline state government, “facilitate a private sector business envi- ronment that allows a robust economy” and curb govern- ment “interference in our personal lives.” The Bend businessman is CEO of Centratel national telephone answering service and has authored two books on business management. He fi rst entered Oregon politics when he made a short-lived bid for the GOP nomination to challenge Democrat U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, then dropped out of the race. He also unsuccess- fully sought to unseat U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, in 2016. He has never held elected offi ce. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. www.eomediagroup.com Adopt a Pet Pepper W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Super sized B&W adult N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Forget contented cows, Pepper is peacefulness purrsonified. Her strong points: Idling and cuddling GAME MEAT PROCESSING A Celebration of Life Parrish had previously raised questions about the pro- cess used to write the materials that the Supreme Court said on Wednesday should be changed. Separate legislation had created a committee of four Democrats and two Repub- licans to write the ballot title for the health care referendum, although typically the a ttorney g eneral does that. The ballot title was approved in a 5- 1 vote by the committee assigned to write it. The sole dissenter was Repub- lican Rep. Greg Smith, of Heppner. Both opponents and sup- porters of the referendum say the ruling is a victory. “The court affi rmed nearly 100 percent of our concerns which the partisan legisla- tive committee completely ignored,” Hayden said in a written statement on Wednes- day. “Their direction clearly demonstrates why the Legis- lature shouldn’t have hijacked the time-tested ballot title pro- cess which otherwise balances the powers between the three branches of government.” Yet, their opponents — the Yes on Healthcare c am- paign — said that the Supreme Court’s decision meant that the ballot title committee was “substantially accurate in the description of Measure 101.” “The court affi rmed that Measure 101 is a tempo- rary assessment, that it funds health care services for low-in- come individuals and fami- lies and that it will stabilize health insurance premiums,” campaign spokeswoman Patty Wentz said in a prepared state- ment Wednesday. “In addition, the ruling called for technical fi xes to rearrange some lan- guage. This is great news and voters have been well-served by this process.” The ballot title will be referred to the a ttorney g eneral, who is tasked with making the changes. Carpenter to run for governor Debbie D’s will be at Cash & Carry in Warrenton at 10:00 a.m. every Saturday to pick up and deliver meat for processing. 20 lb. min • Each batch individual Please call or leave message by Friday so we know to expect you! 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Don’t come late! 6–8pm HALLOWEEN 974 Olney Ave. Astoria 503-325-8221 O CTOBER 29 • 2 PM Liberty Theater 1203 Commercial • Astoria N orth C oast s ym phoNiC 2 & 3 BEDROOM APARTMENTS Tickets: Liberty Theater Box Office 503-325-5922, ex. 55 Box office open: Wed-Sat 2-5:30pm and two hours prior to the concert Adults: $15 Students (13-21): $7 Children 12 & Under: Free EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All Rents Electricity · Garbage · Water Include: ASK ABOUT NEWLY REMODELED APARTMENTS B aNd DOORS OPEN AT 1:15 P.M. PRESHOW AT 1:30 P.M. The Beach Buddies C oNduCtor d ave B eCker Liberty Theater 1203 Commercial Street • Astoria www.northcoastsymphonicband.org
