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-
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CHIROPRACTIC
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503-325-3311
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sealants are a clear
A: Dental
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Oregon
3.8
3.8
4.2
U.S.
3.7
3.9
4.2
*Preliminary, seasonaly adjusted rates.
Source: Oregon Employment Department
Daily Astorian graphic
sure and hospitality and
50 in retail trade. The gov-
ernment added 180 jobs,
including 170 from the start
of school. Professional and
business services also added
60 jobs.
Over the past year, lei-
sure and hospitality has
added 190 jobs, retail
trade 140, construction 50
and local government 70,
excluding education.
grooves of teeth, protecting them
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Q: When
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provider who hit us with
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nightmare we did?
John R. Alcantara - Funeral Director
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As a professional a big part of what we do
is informing people of their choices. Yet
there are a very small percentage of professionals
who use deception or “bait-&- switch” tactics to
conceal things from consumers. 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?
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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
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503-325-3211
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