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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 Ace Hardware buys Dennis Co., a peninsula staple Kansas-based Ace subsidiary will keep Dennis name, staff, product lines EO Media Group LONG BEACH, Wash. — Dennis Co. has been sold to a Kansas-based subsidiary of the Ace Hardware Corp. in a transaction that will become final in March. Run by the Dennis fam- ily since 1905, the local company owns five stores in Long Beach, Raymond, Aberdeen, Montesano and Elma. In recent years, it has been operated by brothers Brent and Randy Dennis, while their father, Gary, led the firm in the latter part of the 20th century. Brent Dennis said the sale is close to a best-case scenario for the company’s 85 employ- ees and thousands of custom- ers, who will see continuity in local management, product lines and community engage- ment. Even the name will remain nearly the same, with only the addition of “Ace” to mark a closer affiliation with the giant supplier, from which Dennis Co. already obtains much of its merchandise. The purchaser is techni- cally Westlake Ace Hard- ware, based in Lenexa, Kan- sas, with stores also located in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. In 2012, Westlake was acquired by Ace Retail Holdings, which in turn is a division of Ace Hard- ware Corp. The Dennis Co. stores will be Westlake’s first locations on the West Coast. Matt Winters/EO Media Group Dennis Co., which has five branches including this one in Long Beach, has been sold to a Kansas-based company. The sales price has not been disclosed. Dennis said his family will continue to own all the real estate associ- ated with the five stores, leas- ing it to Westlake. A good fit “Westlake’s basic core values align right with ours and they were very interested in us,” Dennis said regarding the process of finding a suit- able purchaser for his com- pany. “They are down-to- earth great people with strong ethics.” Word of a sale had been cir- Blame game starts as government shutdown looms By ANDREW TAYLOR and ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON — A bit- terly divided Washington, D.C., hurtled toward a gov- ernment shutdown today in a partisan stare-down over demands by Democrats for a solution on politically fraught legislation to protect about 700,000 younger immigrants from being deported. Republicans and Dem- ocrats in Congress and the White House traded blame for the increasingly likely shut- down with just hours remain- ing before the midnight deadline and few signs an agreement would be reached. Democrats in the Senate have served notice they will filibuster a four-week, gov- ernmentwide funding bill that cleared the House Thursday evening. That could expose them to charges that they are responsible for a shutdown, but they point the finger at Republicans instead. “They’re in charge,” Sen- ate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said today as he entered his Capitol office. “They’re not talking to us. They’re totally paralyzed and inept. There’s no one to negotiate with.” Republicans controlling the narrowly split chamber argue that it’s the Democrats who are holding the govern- ment hostage over demands to protect “dreamer” immigrants brought to the country as chil- dren and now here illegally. And the White House piled on, trying to paint the impend- ing action as the “Schumer shutdown.” Still, officials said the president has been working the phones trying to avert one. As a shutdown loomed, the White House said that Pres- ident Donald Trump would not leave for a planned week- end trip to Florida. The pres- ident had been set to leave this afternoon to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his inauguration at his Palm Beach estate. The impact of the poten- tial shutdown on the planned trip by Trump and much of his Cabinet to the World Eco- nomic Forum in Davos, Swit- zerland, next week was still undetermined. Trump entered the fray early this morning, mention- ing the House-approved bill on Twitter, adding: “Demo- crats are needed if it is to pass in the Senate — but they want illegal immigration and weak borders. Shutdown coming? We need more Republican victories in 2018!” Trump has given Congress until March 5 to save the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals pro- gram protecting young immi- grants, so “there is absolutely no reason to tie those things together right now,” Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said at the White House. On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCo- nnell, R-Ky., said he hoped to vote on the House-passed bill “soon,” and he said Ameri- cans at home would be watch- ing to see “which senators make the patriotic decision” and which “vote to shove aside veterans, military fam- ilies and vulnerable children to hold the entire country hos- tage … until we pass an immi- gration bill.” In the House, Republicans muscled the measure through on a mostly party-line 230- 197 vote after making modest concessions to chamber con- servatives and defense hawks. The chamber backed away from a plan to adjourn for a one-week recess this after- noon, meaning the GOP-con- trolled House could wait to see if a last-minute compro- mise would be reached requir- ing a new vote. A test vote on a filibus- ter by Senate Democrats appeared likely before the shutdown deadline. Schumer was rebuffed in an attempt to vote Thursday night. “We can’t keep kicking the can down the road,” said Schumer, insisting on more urgency in talks on immigra- tion. “In another month, we’ll be right back here, at this moment, with the same web of problems at our feet, in no better position to solve them.” The short-term measure would be the fourth stopgap spending bill since the cur- rent budget year started in October. A pile of unfinished Capitol Hill business has been on hold, first as Republicans ironed out last fall’s tax bill and now as Democrats insist on progress on immigration. culating in Pacific County for several months, after the Den- nises concluded the next gen- eration of family members wasn’t interested in active involvement in retail sales on the coast. Both Brent and Randy Dennis are of retire- ment age. Their four children — two for each brother — are pursuing other interests and succession planning necessi- tated finding a buyer. Discussions with Westlake, which coincidentally was also founded in 1905, reassured the Dennis family that Westlake recognizes the strengths of the local firm. “Dennis Co. is being treated differently than most of their acquisitions,” Dennis said. In part because of geo- graphical distance from Kan- sas and different seasonal pat- terns between here and the Midwest, Westlake is leav- ing Dennis Co.’s internal sys- tems intact, with the expecta- tion that the Washington state stores will continue to pur- chase and sell a variety of unique product lines. Westlake will serve Dennis Co.’s exist- ing charge accounts, and will be adding a rewards program. Employees will remain in their current positions, and West- lake provides “great benefits,” Dennis said. The Dennis family has played key roles in Pacific County. For example they led the revival of the Long Beach Razor Clam Festival and host the annual Shop With A Cop events at Christmas- time. Dennis said he expects all that to continue under Westlake. “We are excited to wel- come the Dennis Co. into the Westlake family, expand our relationship within the com- munities they serve and con- tinue their proud tradition of outstanding customer service,” Westlake president and CEO Joe Jeffries said in a press release. On its website, West- lake said without reference to this specific acquisition that “While the merchandise may have changed, along with store locations and size, the com- mitment to be the best neigh- borhood hardware store in the market remains. This commit- ment is what has kept West- lake strong for its first cen- tury of service — and will keep us growing into our next century.” Brent and Randy Dennis both plan to retire. Brent Den- nis’ children — a teacher and an accountant — live out of state and he eventually expects to live near one of them. In the meantime, he is maintain- ing community activities such as a volunteer position with the Red Cross. Randy Dennis recently remarried and now lives in Clatsop County. End of an era Dennis Co. marked its cen- tennial in business in 2005. The Raymond-based com- pany was founded by Stewart Lake “Bert” Dennis in 1905 as Shepard and Dennis Trans- fer Co.. It sold firewood, coal and building materials. They also offered draying, piano and furniture moving, and black- smithing services and served as a general store. The store that started in Raymond a century ago and expanded to Long Beach in 1933 is still one of the most popular places to get “almost anything.” Stewart Lake Den- nis never imagined selling razor clam licenses by com- puter or having HD televisions among the wares in his gen- eral store. However, his origi- nal idea of meeting the needs of his customers continues through today. In 1940 the present Long Beach location was con- structed at Pacific and Sec- ond Street North, including a storage facility for beer, wine, soda and Arden ice cream products. The front of the 50 by 148-foot building was used for retail sales. In 1968 the Long Beach Dennis Co. came of age as a 4,800-square-foot addi- tion was completed. In 1973 a second story was erected for more storage and office space. In 1986 a 3,400-square-foot clothing retail area and second story was added to give Dennis Co. its present look. Judge lets lawsuit continue against Astoria hash oil makers By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian A federal judge will let a lawsuit against two former Astoria butane hash oil man- ufacturers involved in an explosion and fire move for- ward, without a monetary award, while they seek bank- ruptcy protection. An explosion and fire ripped through the basement of a commercial building at Portway and Industry streets in October 2016. Jacob Mag- ley, a contractor working at the site who was badly burned, sued Higher Level Concen- trates owners Jason Oei and William “Chris” West in Mult- nomah County Circuit Court, alleging they had been con- suming cannabis in a tech- nique called “dabbing” while making butane hash oil, caus- ing an explosion. The lawsuit seeks $8.9 million in damages. Higher Level was fined $5,300 by state health and safety regulators for failing to ventilate the building, provide an adequate electrical system and obtain city permits. Magley also sued John Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian The legal fallout continues over an explosion and fire at a marijuana processor in Uniontown in 2016. Harper, an investor in local marijuana and tobacco stores, and his companies Under the Bridge Cigarettes and UTB Investments, for helping finance the buildout of Higher Level’s manufacturing space and for providing the Whip-It! Butane gas used to process hash oil. Harper’s attorneys have sought to insulate Under the Bridge from liability, arguing that Portland company Rich & Rhine Inc., a distributor of the Whip-It! Butane gas provided to Higher Level, and United Brands Products Design Development and Market- ing Inc., the manufacturer, are responsible for any defects. West and Oei pleaded guilty in August to felony assault in the third degree and misdemeanor reckless endangerment in connec- tion to the explosion and fire. They received three years of probation. Oei and West both filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in fed- eral court in October. The fil- ing allows individuals with a regular income to develop a repayment plan of their debts and save homes from foreclo- sure. It also stops most col- lection actions against debtors and their property. Lawyers for Rich & Rhine and United Brands filed a motion to allow the state law- suit to proceed during the bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter McKittrick per- mitted the lawsuit to move for- ward with discovery and depo- sitions of Oei and West. “Nothing in this order is intended to permit a money judgment to be entered against either Mr. West or Mr. Oei in the state court case, in each case, so long as the bank- ruptcy case concerning such debtor remains pending in this court unless this court enters a separate order granting such further relief,” McKittrick wrote. 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See more on Petfinder.com Sponsored By B AYSHORE A NIMAL H OSPITAL C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER 1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS www.dogsncats.org If your baby was born Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat you can submit your newborn’s picture either via email at: classifieds @ dailyastorian . com or drop by one of our offices in Astoria or Seaside and we can scan in the photo for you. Deadline to enter is Thursday, January 25 th at 5 pm Entries will be printed in The Daily Astorian on January 31st. *Human babies only please!*