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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 Summer economy Warrenton man sentenced for throwing rock at young boy’s head gives way to fall The Daily Astorian Stepper gets four years in prison in plea By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian A Warrenton man was sen- tenced Tuesday to four years in prison for throwing a rock at a young boy’s head. In 2017, Brice Ray Stepper, 45, threw the rock at the boy, 6, while they were at a Sea- side beach. Stepper was upset at the boy’s behavior, Clatsop County Deputy District Attor- ney Steven Chamberlin said. The boy was taken to Prov- idence Seaside Hospital with a cut on his forehead. He origi- nally told doc- tors that he fell on some rocks before eventu- ally detailing the incident, Chamber- lin said. The boy also said Brice Ray Stepper Stepper head- butted and kicked his mother — Step- per’s girlfriend — in the stom- ach during a domestic dispute last year. Stepper later admitted to both incidents to Seaside police, Chamberlin said. Minutes before sentenc- ing, Stepper pleaded no con- test to attempt to commit a class B felony and fourth-de- gree assault. Health authority proposes $784M in new alcohol, tobacco taxes in budget By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau a statement when offered the chance. “I don’t think the court would want to hear it if I had to say something,” he told Circuit Court Judge Cindee Matyas. He later said, though, that he had already sought mental health services and that it was making a difference. Matyas encouraged Stepper to seek further counseling in prison and said she was pleased by his previous efforts. “Prison is not usually con- sidered a place to improve your future, but in this case, it might be,” Matyas said. “It may give you a chance to engage in some programs that, maybe, you didn’t engage in before and give you some structure and give you some things to look forward to.” Taylor to appear at town hall The Daily Astorian Dulcye Taylor, a candidate for Astoria mayor, will appear tonight at a town hall. Taylor will discuss city issues at KALA at 1017 Marine Drive. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Clatsop County’s econ- omy transitioned from the busy summer season to a more locally based employ- ment structure in Sep- tember, according to state employment statistics. The county’s season- ally adjusted employment rate in September was 3.8 percent, a slight increase from August but one-half a percent lower than the year prior. It was tied with Deschutes County for the ninth-lowest unemployment rate in the state. Seasonally adjusted sta- tistics compare economic forecasts with real changes. The county was expected to lose 360 jobs in September, but only lost half that much. Nonfarm payroll employ- ment was at 18,880, a gain of 350 from the year prior. The private sector lost 360 jobs in September with the slowdown from sum- mer, including 290 in lei- purchased a laptop Q: I with a small hard LEO FINZI Astoria’s Best.com We stock 1000’s of parts, cables, accessories, etc. for phones, TVs, Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-4 computers, and Astoria, OR tablets. 503-325-2300 10TH STREET Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Steve Putman Medicare Products the Start button, type A: 1. disk Select cleanup, then select Disk Cleanup from the list of results. 2. Select the check box next to the type of files you want to delete. (To view a description of each type of file, select the name.) 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The collateral damage of a few selfish imbeciles put the majority of hard working caring professionals in a perpetual state of defense. This is a sore subject with many in our industry but the bottom line is that you as a consumer have choices. If you feel like something sounds too good to be true it probably is. If you feel you’re getting taken advantage of as more hidden costs are added to your bill, you have rights. Contact the Oregon Mortuary & Cemetery Board at (971) 673-1500 and visit their website https:// www.oregon.gov/MortCem/pages/index.aspx to get a complete understanding of your rights. anything I can Q: Is do there now to reduce the Q: How do I get a story fall slug control is much more A: Yes, effective than just baiting in the growing Weekend plans feature stories A: Coast anywhere from two to six weeks in about my event in Coast Weekend? slug population in the garden for next year? Halloween “THUNDER ROAD BAND” 4.7 Q: Does smoking sealants, who should get them and how long do they last? Come Celebrate Prizes for best Halloween costume! 4.7 The Oregon ASTORIA A: Yes! Health Plan does cover Q: What are dental Dance and Costume Party Columbia Oregon Health Plan cover chiropractic care? drive and it says I need to make more room? 503-440-1076 Oct. 27th1-3 pm at Bethany Lutheran Church Sept. Aug. 1-yr. 2018 2018 ago 3.8 3.7 4.3 Q: Does the Q: I have a “Stand- Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA 90th Birthday Area Clatsop PROFESSIONAL WANTED Betty Russell’s Jobless rates for September * Consult a ASTORIA TRANSIT CENTER SALEM — Oregonians could see significant increases in alcohol and tobacco prices if a state agency succeeds in raising millions from consum- ers in the next two years. The Oregon Health Author- ity is considering seeking $784 million in new tax money for the 2019-2021 state budget cycle. That includes increasing taxes on beer, wine and cider by 10 percent, estimated to raise an additional $491 mil- lion over two years. Another $293 million would be raised through a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes, an excise tax on “inhalant deliv- ery systems,” and removing the limit on taxing cigars. The health authority said in its preliminary budget doc- uments that it would use $49 million to expand alcohol and drug treatment programs. It budgets about $29 million for tobacco and chronic disease prevention. Robb Cowie, a spokesman for the Oregon Health Author- ity, said the proposals were more of a “wish list” and are “preliminary.” He also said the agency hasn’t determined how the prevention money would be used. “We’re still working with legislative counsel to draft language that would direct funding for the 90 percent out- side public health chronic dis- ease prevention programs,” he said. The preliminary budget documents say the rest of the money from the proposed alcohol tax increase would generate funds for treatment services, cities, counties and the state’s general fund. But it’s unclear, from the budget documents, how the remainder of the taxes gen- erated by tobacco that aren’t going to prevention would be spent. The proposal comes as Gov. Kate Brown works on crafting a new state budget, due to legislators on Dec. 1. The state is facing an $830 million funding gap for the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program. Stepper originally faced other charges related to a third episode in which he allegedly rammed his pickup truck into his girlfriend’s car with kids inside. Those charges were dropped as part of the plea deal with the district attor- ney’s office. Kirk Wintermute, Step- per’s court-appointed attor- ney, repeatedly asked his client to refrain from expressing his displeasure during the hearing. Stepper has anger and impulse control issues stemming from a childhood brain surgery, Wintermute said. “He needs to get a better handle on how his cognition issues have affected him in his life,” Wintermute said. Stepper declined to give season. Slugs hide underground in the warmer months, so you may not recognize a slug problem until the population has exploded. Baiting will kill off a good number of them; reducing the number of eggs that will be de- posited in the soil to hatch out in next year’s garden. We carry iron phosphate slug baits that are safe for birds and pets when properly applied, as well as other formulas. The Dr. Earth slug/snail spray also works well and is a non-toxic essential oil. If you have them, allowing chickens to clean up the vegetable garden this fall will also greatly reduce slug eggs in the garden. Erick Bengel Coast Weekend Editor advance, so let us know early if you have something going on that you think would make a good feature. For smaller stories, the deadline for getting press releases and photos to us is 5 p.m. Tuesday the week before the next Thursday’s publication. Email your information to editor@coast- weekend.com, or call 971-704-1720. Be sure to include a contact name, email and phone number. T HE D AILY A STORIAN 949 Exchange St., Astoria 503-325-3211 If you want to post an event in the online calendar, go to the website, coastweekend. com, and follow the instructions for the Coast Weekend Event Calendar on the right.
