T he C olumbia P ress
October 13, 2017
Chainsaw required to rescue man trapped in thicket
The Columbia Press
Police officers are unsure
how a man got trapped in-
side the thicket of thorn
bushes, but they know it was
extremely difficult getting
him out.
The dispatch center re-
ceived a call about 4 a.m.
Oct. 3 from the girlfriend of
a man who told her he was
lost in the woods somewhere
between Fred Meyer and the
Columbia River dike trail
and couldn’t get out, accord-
ing to a police report.
When officers arrived, they
found the friend near the city
water tower off East Harbor
Drive. She told them she
could hear her friend yelling,
but couldn’t pinpoint his lo-
cation.
Port of Astoria security and
Warrenton Fire and Rescue
joined in the search. The U.S.
Coast Guard was contacted to
see if they could send a heli-
copter to search the area, but
they were unable to respond
as they were headed to Puget
Sound.
Brush was so thick in the
area that officers couldn’t
reach the trapped man. The
fire department brought in
a chainsaw and cut a path
through the thicket until they
found him at 5:45 a.m.
“Once we reached his loca-
tion, we looked around the
area to find out how he got
into this thicket and were un-
able to come up with a path…
as it was completely grown up
around us,” an officer wrote
in the report.
Temperatures had dropped
to the 40s and the man was
dressed in a T-shirt and
shorts. He was checked for
hypothermia, but refused to
be taken to the hospital.
The man, identified as Ja-
son T. Regennitter, 24, told
officers he had attempted to
take a shortcut from Fitness
1440 to Fred Meyer.
A few hours later, a vehicle
registered to Regennitter was
reported abandoned inside
Astoria-Warrenton Regional
Airport.
The driver of the 1994 Nis-
san Altima had driven onto
a runway and sped head-on
into a fence, where airport
personnel found it.
Medicare open enrollment begins Monday
Annual open enrollment
for Medicare begins Monday,
Oct. 15, and the state’s senior
assistance program is avail-
able to help.
Medicare is health insur-
ance for people 65 years or
older and those on Social Se-
curity Disability Income.
Medicare covers many med-
ical costs, including doctor
visits, prescriptions and pre-
ventive care such as mammo-
grams and colonoscopies.
Any Medicare Advantage or
prescription drug plan (Part
D) changes must be made be-
tween Oct. 15 and Dec. 7 so
that coverage begins without
interruption on Jan. 1.
Those who are late to enroll
may face a lifetime of premi-
um penalties.
“Plans change year to year,
as do people’s individual
health care needs,” said Lisa
Emerson, Senior Health In-
surance Benefits Assistance
Program manager.
“People could potentially
save money by shopping for a
new plan.”
Public Safety Calls
Continued from Page 2
no medical issue, 3:12 p.m. Oct.
7, 300 block Lake Drive.
• Male cut arm with saw, 5:58
p.m. Oct. 7, 0-100 block Eighth
Street.
• Male with difficulty breathing,
9:42 p.m. Oct. 7, 800 block
Northwest Warrenton Drive.
• Female injured wrist in fall,
2:19 a.m. Oct. 8, 2000 block
Southeast Azalea Avenue.
• Female injured in fall, 9:39
a.m. Oct. 8, 200 block South-
west Alder Avenue.
• Lift assist for female patient,
9:59 a.m. Oct. 8, 2000 block
Southeast Azalea Avenue.
• Female with leg edema, 11:13
a.m. Oct. 8, 1000 block North-
west Warrenton Drive.
• Male with unknown medical
condition, 11:33 a.m. Oct. 8, 200
block Southwest Second Street.
Her program provides free
health insurance counseling
to explain how the Medicare
program works, additional
insurance options that work
with Medicare, and help with
reducing out-of-pocket costs.
Staff members, along with
over 200 certified counsel-
ors, serve many of Oregon’s
780,000 Medicare beneficia-
ries.
Free information and help
is available by calling 800-
722-4134 or visiting Oregon-
SHIBA.gov.
SHIBA counselors help ben-
eficiaries compare plans and
enroll by using the plan find-
er tool found online at www.
medicare.gov/find-a-plan.
Beneficiaries and their fam-
ilies can also choose to use
this tool to compare plans
and enroll on their own.
3
Marijuana tax distributed
The first distributions of
state marijuana tax reve-
nue -- nearly $85 million --
are on their way to several
state and local agencies this
week.
Recipients include the
State School Fund; the
Mental Health, Alcoholism,
and Drug Services Account;
the Oregon State Police;
the Oregon Health Author-
ity; and Oregon’s cities and
counties.
All distributions were ex-
pected to be complete by
Oct. 11, according to the De-
partment of Revenue.
Between Jan. 4, 2016, and
August 31, 2017, the Depart-
ment of Revenue collected
$108.6 million in state and
local marijuana taxes, of
which $94.55 million was
state marijuana taxes eligi-
ble for distribution.
Local taxes collected by
the department on behalf of
cities and counties are dis-
tributed to them quarterly.
Of the revenue eligible for
distribution, $9.56 million
went to transfers required
under Senate Bills 1057 and
1597, repaying the Oregon
Liquor Control Commis-
sion’s start-up costs, and
covering
administrative
costs for the Department of
Revenue.
The remaining $85 million
was distributed based on the
recipients and formulas pro-
vided in House Bill 3470:
• State School Fund (40
percent): $34 million.
• Mental Health, Alcohol-
ism, and Drug Services Ac-
count (20 percent): $17 mil-
lion.
• Oregon State Patrol (15
percent): $12.75 million.
• Oregon Health Authority
(5 percent): $4.25 million.
• Cities and counties (10
percent each): $17 million.
Distributions to cities and
counties are a bit more com-
plicated, as there are two
formulas for calculating the
amounts due to them: one
for revenue collected before
July 1 and the other for col-
lections on or after that date.
WARRENTON-HAMMOND SCHOOL DISTRICT
SEEKS BUDGET COMMITTEE APPLICANTS
Warrenton-Hammond School District is hereby taking applications for
Budget Committee members.
The budget committee will have the responsibility for reviewing the
financial program of the district, reviewing the proposed district budget
as presented by the superintendent and recommending an annual or
biennial district budget in keeping with the provisions of applicable state
laws.
•
Members are appointed by the Board of Directors
•
Members must live and be registered to vote in the Warren-
ton-Hammond School District
•
Members must not be an officer, agent or employee of the Warren-
ton-Hammond School District
•
Members normally serve a three-year term, but some positions are
completing other terms of office and may be shorter in duration.
Position 1
Position 2
Position 4
Position 6
Three year term
Three year term
Three year term
Three year term
Applications and additional information are available at the school
district office located at:
820 SW Cedar Ave., Warrenton
Phone: (503) 861-2281