Cape Lookout Public Meetings

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) will invite public discussion on Cape Lookout State Park and its eroding shoreline Dec. 7 in Netarts and Dec. 8 in Wilsonville. The meetings will be the first step in developing a new master plan for the park's future.

The Netarts session will run from 6-8 p.m. in the Netarts-Oceanside RFD Community Hall, 1235 Fifth Street Loop. OPRD will hold the Dec. 8 meeting at the Wilsonville Public Library, 8200 S.W. Wilsonville Road from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

OPRD will use the first round of meetings to seek ideas about how to offer safe, diverse recreation in the future while adjusting to the park's shoreline changes. Comments received from attendees and during a 30-day written comment period will help planners develop a first draft of the new plan to present in a second round of meetings early next year. Written comments can be sent to OPRD master planning coordinator Ron Campbell at 725 Summer Street N.E., Suite C, Salem, Oregon 97301; or by e-mail to Ron.Cambell@state.or.us.

An advisory committee with members representing recreation and natural resource interests also will hold its first meeting Dec. 7 at the Netarts-Oceanside RFD Community Hall. The session, from 2-4 p.m., will be open to the public, but discussion will be limited to committee members and OPRD staff only.

The meeting sites are accessible to people with disabilities. Special accommodations may be arranged up to 72 hours in advance by calling 503-986-0655.

Holiday Cooking Safety Tips From Astoria Fire and Rescue

Astoria Fire & Rescue would like to remind everyone about the importance of fire safety in the kitchen during the Thanksgiving holiday. Every year cooking-related fires increase during the holidays. From 2005 through 2009, there were 3,500 cooking-related fires in Oregon causing six deaths, 231 injuries and $37 million in property loss.

Here are some cooking safety tips:

· Keep a close eye on your cooking, never leave cooking food unattended.

· Keep your cooking area clean, including stovetop, oven, and exhaust fan.

· Keep potholders, dishtowels and other combustibles away from stove burners.

· Heat cooking oil slowly and watch it closely; it can ignite quickly.

· Keep a lid nearby to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cool.

· Watch your sleeves. Loose sleeves over burners can ignite or catch on handles of pots and pans spilling hot oil and other liquids.

· Keep a fire extinguisher in your kitchen and know how to use it.

· Have a “kid-free zone” of at least three-feet around the stove and areas where hot foods or drinks are prepared or carried.

If you plan to cook in a turkey fryer this Thanksgiving, be sure to use it outdoors (not on a wooden deck or in your garage), away from any combustible materials, and do not leave it unattended. Make sure that the fryer is placed on a flat stable surface and do not overfill the fryer with cooking oil.

Turkey fryer safety tips:

· Do not move the fryer once it has been started.

· Keep children away from the cooking unit.

· Raise and lower food slowly to reduce splatter and prevent burns.

· Cover bare skin when adding or removing food from the fryer.

· Make sure to have at least two feet of space between the propane tank and the fryer burner.

· If the oil begins to smoke, immediately turn the fryer gas supply off.

· Never attempt to use water to extinguish or cool the hot oil.

· Make sure the oil is completely cool before removing it from the fryer.

Astoria Fire & Rescue would like to remind the community to test their smoke alarms monthly and to have smoke alarms on every level of their home, outside each sleeping area and in every bedroom. For more information contact Astoria Fire & Rescue at 503-325-2345.

Statement by Governor Kulongoski on December Revenue Forecast

(Salem) – "Today's revenue forecast delivers some good short-term news. The increase will help us balance the budget for the remainder of this biennium and will avoid additional cuts to services at this time. But it does not accelerate what continues to look like a slow-growth recovery.

In fact, with this forecast, the challenge for our next budget period just got more difficult.

"The one-time additional revenue predicted for this biennium is the result of the Dept. of Revenue's ongoing efforts to true up their tax withholding tables. It is important to maintain the integrity of that system and keep our tax collections up to date.

"But, longer term, our challenges persist - and we must continue to proceed and budget with prudence, as well as focus on job creation. Last month's announcement of a major expansion by Intel and this week's improved jobs report are steps in the right direction. But we cannot be satisfied with a slow-growth recovery.

"Also, it will be a mistake to treat the additional revenue forecasted for this biennium as a windfall. We should use that revenue to help address what will now be a $3.5 billion shortfall in the next budget period. The need to "reset" our budget is now all the more compelling.

"In the weeks ahead, I will continue to work with the legislature and with Governor-elect Kitzhaber to better position the state to address the tough decisions that confront us in the next budget period and to continue to improve our economy in the years ahead."

Construction in hibernation this winter on the SR 433 Longview/Rainier Lewis and Clark Bridge

Drivers on the State Route 433 Lewis and Clark Bridge will pass construction equipment this winter, but they won’t see work crews or traffic impacts until next spring.

Earlier this fall, contractor crews on the SR 433, Lewis and Clark Bridge Painter project wrapped the south end of the bridge with cables in preparation for painting work to restore and preserve the historic bridge. Winter weather is not conducive for painting, so crews will move off the roadway this week, but leave the cables and a height restriction behind.

A height restriction of 16.5 feet has been in effect on the bridge since crews began work in September, and will remain in place throughout the duration of the project.

The cables wrapped around the bridge’s outside structure form the framework for containment platforms that will enclose workers and materials during painting work. Crews will use the platforms next spring while sandblasting and repainting the steel supports above the roadway.

This work is part of the third and final phase of a project to restore and preserve the historic bridge. The bridge is an important transportation link between Washington and Oregon carrying 21,000 vehicles per day, 13 percent of which are trucks moving freight.

This $40 million phase of construction includes $12.3 million in funding through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and was awarded to Odyssey/Geronimo JV of Houston, Penn., in June.

The project is on schedule to be complete by fall 2013.

Turning Colder Next Week

It now appears increasingly likely that the Pacific Northwest will see the arrival of an arctic air mass early next week. Computer guidance is now coming into better agreement with the evolution of cold arctic air that is forecast to slide into the Pacific Northwest from Canada. Snow levels will already be quite low over the weekend before the coldest air arrives. The timing of this change to much colder weather would also coincide with the heavily traveled holiday week. It is still to early to tell exactly how much, if any, low elevation snow will accompany this system, but this will surely be the coldest air mass to invade the Pacific Northwest since December of 2009. In fact, some of the most recent data suggests that daytime highs could be even colder yet, with high temperatures struggling to get above freezing in Portland and Seattle. If these "colder" model solutions were to verify, this would be the first time that Portland has experienced three back-to-back-to-back arctic outbreaks in 25 years that resulted in the high temperature at the Portland International Airport being held to 32 degrees or below. Again, those are the coldest model solutions. One has to go back to the winter of 1983/84, 1984/85 and 1985/86 to find three consecutive winters where Portland recorded high temperatures at or below 32 degrees for daytime highs at the airport."

ASTORIA WINTER MARKET JOINS LOCAL MERCHANTS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT SHOPPING NOVEMBER 27!

Santa Claus is coming to town! Get ready to tell Santa your secret wishes for the holidays. He’ll visit Astoria Winter Market where his trusty elf is available to take photos. Come see Santa November 20/21, November 27/28, December 11/12, and December 18/19. Astoria Winter Market is open 11 am to 4 pm Saturday and Sunday now through December 19 at the 14th Street Pilot Station.

The Holiday Season sparkles in Astoria as Astoria Winter Market joins local merchants in staying open until 8 pm on Saturday, November 27, to kick off downtown holiday shopping. The Astoria Riverfront Trolley is also running until 8 (weather permitting!) the same evening and Liberty Theater is featuring the delightful movie Polar Express for a one-time showing starting at 3 pm. Admission is free thanks to the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association and Liberty Theater.

CAMP TILLAMOOK TO RECEIVE BLM'S LANDSCAPE STEWARDSHIP AWARD

Since 2003 scores of Camp Tillamook youth offenders have participated in riparian habitat restoration projects on seven watersheds in the Tillamook Resource Area.

Camp Tillamook Director Denessa Martin will be in Salem Thursday to accept the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Landscape Stewardship Award recognizing the work, which has been done in an area encompassing 11 miles, 50 acres and 25 landowners.

The work not only improves riparian habitats but also benefits youth by strengthening their work ethic, promoting their understanding of how to conduct themselves on the job and supporting their commitment to protecting the environment. Camp Tillamook is a 25-bed transitional facility serving male youth.

The BLM award recognizes groups and individuals who promote collaboration to achieve shared natural resources protection and enhancement goals. Camp Tillamook is a member of the Tillamook Resource Area Riparian Restoration Partnership, all of whose 10 members received the award.

Restoring streamside vegetation is done to reduce pollutants, stabilize river and stream banks, lower stream temperatures and improve habitat for the four types of salmon that inhabit Tillamook Resource Area waters. Youth participation in the work helps OYA fulfill its mission to protect the public and reduce crime by holding youth accountable and providing opportunities for reformation in safe environments.

OYA has custody of approximately 900 offenders ages 12 to 24 in correctional and transitional facilities in Albany, Burns, Florence, Grants Pass, La Grande, Salem, Tillamook, Warrenton and Woodburn, and the agency supervises approximately 1,100 offenders on parole and probation in communities throughout the state.

Grants of $218,000 to North Coast nonprofits help increase access to critical services

For victims of sexual and domestic assault, the lack of safe shelter can be life-threatening. The Pioneer House Homeless Shelter offers much-needed respite for these victims as well as other low-income residents in Clatsop County. A $25,000 from The Oregon Community Foundation will help support these critical services.

As a community foundation, OCF works with individuals, families and businesses to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. The $218,000 in grants to the North Coast was part of more than $7,360,000 in grants made statewide.

“The vision of the founders of The Oregon Community Foundation was to build a permanent source of support for the state. Thanks to donors around the state, we are able to ensure that communities continue to get that support, at a time when it is most needed,” said OCF President Greg Chaillé.

Other grants awarded on the North Coast include:

Assistance League of the Columbia Pacific Astoria $1,000 for general support

Cannon Beach Community Food Systems Cannon Beach $5,000 for the backpack program

Columbia Learning Center St. Helens $20,000 for "The Chance to Become Scholarship" program

Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association Warrenton $16,000 for lighting for the second of three fields

North Coast Land Conservancy Seaside $5,000 for capacity-building efforts

Rainier School District Rainier $7,000 to send sixth-grade students to Rainier Outdoor School

Rinehart Clinic Wheeler $5,000 for general support

Seaside Kids, Inc. Seaside $16,000 to complete the Broadway Park renovation project

Vernonia Education Foundation Vernonia $50,000 to build a new K-12 campus on high ground, which will also serve as a community and cultural center

Newport Symphony Orchestra Newport $15,000 for general support

North Lincoln Hospital Foundation Lincoln City $40,000 for a new building on hospital district property for the Samaritan Early Learning Center

Oregon Coast Community College Foundation Newport $2,000 for scholarship funding



For a complete listing of grants, visit www.oregoncf.org.

CLATSOP COUNTY UPDATES WEBMAPS PROPERTY DATA SYSTEM

Clatsop County’s Webmaps service is new, improved and more easily available on a variety of Internet browsers.

Webmaps is an interactive mapping system that allows users to quickly find information regarding zoning, tax codes, service districts and other data about any property in the county.

The county Central Services Department recently upgraded the system to add more types of data, and also expanded its availability to the Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari browsers, along with Internet Explorer.

To view Webmaps, go to the Clatsop County website at www.co.clatsop.or.us and click on “Webmaps.”

OSPIRG’s Response to Initial Recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

Statement from Jon Bartholomew, Policy Advocate for the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) on the initial recommendations released today by the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:

“This initial proposal is a solid step toward the common ground necessary to make government more accountable for its spending. It tackles wasteful programs within the Departments of Defense and Agriculture that had, until now, been “off the table” and long-supported by powerful special interests. The draft report also begins the process of addressing corporate tax loopholes for industries operating overseas and for the oil and gas industry.

“We’re especially pleased to see some of the specific recommendations included that we’ve been working hard to bring to light with our allies from across the political spectrum.

“We do not endorse all of the recommendations and several raise concern. Among them, across the board spending cuts do not safeguard national priorities and can be counterproductive. We strongly encourage the Commission in its final report to prioritize closing additional special interest tax loopholes over reducing support for assets that serve the public.”

A more detailed analysis to follow.

Read the U.S. PIRG and National Taxpayers Union study Toward Common Ground: Bridging the Political Divide to Reduce Spending.

Read the U.S. PIRG report, The Next Trillion, which identifies additional revenue proposals.

The Oregon State Public Interest Research Groups is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization.

SAIF Corporation declares 2009 dividend for policyholders

SAIF Corporation’s board of directors today declared a $100 million dividend for approximately 44,000 current and former customers.

Customers with policies that ended in 2009 are eligible for the dividend. Individual dividend information will be available to employers through SAIF’s website, saif.com, beginning December 1, 2010.

Checks will be mailed to eligible SAIF policyholders during December. Dividend amounts will range from 23.75 percent to 28.13 percent of premium.

PUBLIC INVITED TO ASSIST IN NEW OR STATE FORESTER RECRUITMENT

Recruitment for a new Oregon state forester is underway, and Oregonians are invited to help by sharing their thoughts on the attributes they think the next state forester should have. The Board of Forestry has posted a brief survey online. It takes only a few minutes to complete and will help the board as it recruits candidates for this important position.

The survey can be found at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/DOF. It must be completed by Sunday, Dec. 12.

All responses to the survey will be compiled and used to develop an ideal candidate profile, which the board will reference throughout the selection process.

The board launched a plan last Friday to recruit candidates for the position, with a goal of having a new state forester onboard early next year.

The recruitment process includes the online survey to collect public input, as well as stakeholder and Oregon Department of Forestry employee forums with the finalists, and an opportunity for incoming Gov. Kitzhaber or his representative to meet with the finalists.

Nancy Hirsch, chief of ODF's State Forests Division, has been designated to serve as acting state forester until the position is filled.

Oregon's state forester carries out the Board's overarching policies through leadership of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). The state forester serves as director of the department, which provides services including preventing and fighting wildfires, managing state-owned forests, enforcing natural resource protection laws on private forestlands, advising landowners, and providing urban forestry assistance.

The agency has 647 employees and a two-year budget of $303 million.

The state forester also assists and represents the board and department in identifying and resolving policy issues and in working with interest groups, the state legislature, and others.

Coast Guard assists Tillamook County officials locate missing mushroom picker

The Coast Guard assisted the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Department in locating a missing 73-year-old man near Nehalem, Ore., Sunday.

Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, Ore., received a report that Lawrence Smith was missing at approximately 4 p.m., and launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew at 4:07 p.m. to conduct a search in the vicinity of Nehalem.

At 4:25 p.m. the helicopter crew was able to locate a man walking along a logging road near Highway 53 that matched Smith's description.

The crew passed on the location of the man to the Tillamook County Sherriff’s Department who directed a ground party to the site where they positively identified and recovered Smith.

The report was made to the Tillamook County Sherriff’s Department at noon after Smith went missing while picking mushrooms.

Election Results for the Columbia Pacific Region

Oregon US and State Offices

Oregon US Democratic Senator Ron Wyden won handily over his Republican challenger Jim Huffman, with nearly 56% of the vote to Huffman's 41%.

Oregon 1st District US Representative David Wu has defeated challenger GOP Rob Cornilles, with nearly 55% of the vote over Cornilles nearly 43%.

Oregon 16th District Democratic State Senator Betsy Johnson will retain her seat, with nearly 55% of the vote over Republican Bob Horning's nearly 45%.

Oregon 31st District Democratic State Representative Brad Witt has defeated his Republican challenger Ed DeCoste with 57% of the vote over Decoste's nearly 43%.

In Oregon's 32nd District, Democrate Deborah Boone has retained her seat, with nearly 53% of the vote, over her challenger Republicn Lew Barnes 47%.

City of Astoria:

Mayor Willis Van Dusan will retain his seat, defeating his challenger Bonnie Wingard. Incumbent City Council member Arline LaMear has been elected to another term to the Ward 1 seat, defeating challenger Robert Howard with 78% of the vote to Howard's 20%

Newcomer Karen Mellin has defeated incumbent Ward 3 council member Blair Henninsgaard.

City of Warrenton:

Three term Mayor and Position 4 Commissioner Gil Gramson has lost his bid for re-election to area resident and construction buiness owner Mark Baldwin. Baldwin will take the position 4 commissioner's seat in January. The Board of Commissioners will then elect the new mayor.

Seaside School District

As of this morning's count, voters were supporting the tax measure by nearly 56% to 44%, with a vote count of 2,667 to 2,103.

Tillamook:

Suzanne Weber, a retired teacher with the Tillamook School District, is Tillamook’s first new mayor in 28 years. Weber has defeated her challenger, Joe Martin, with 759 to Martin’s 374,
Weber replaces Bob McPheeters, who announced in August that he would not be running for a 29th year as Tillamook’s mayor.

Rockaway Beach:

The coordinated campaign of Team Rockaway, has claimed victory in the mayor's race and also have filled the three seats up for election for the city council.
Last nights unofficial results reported in the Tillamook Headlight Herald, give challenger Dennis Porter 312 votes, beating out incumbent mayor Terry Walhood's 244 votes.
Walhood was appointed mayor in 2009 following the death of Ray McFarlane.
Jack McClave, was the top vote getter in the city council race, receiving 295 votes in the unofficial tally.
Rodney Breazile, will be seated on the council, after winning 263 votes.
Jon Orloff, , will also take a seat with 253 votes.

SW Washington State:

For US District 3 Representative: Republican Jamie Herrera: 53% of the vote, over Democrat Denny Heck's 47%

19th District SW Washington State Representative's Brian Blake and Dean Takko will retain their seats. Blake led challenger Tim Sutinen (R) with 53% of vote, 17,226 votes to Sutinen's 15,439.

Dean Takko will keep his seat after defeating Kelso Republican Kurt Swanson, 19,388 to 13,376 as of last night.

Pacific County:

Lisa Ayers will take the District 3 Pacific County Commissioner's seat, after defeating fellow Democrat Cathy Russ, 4,114 to 2,914.

Scott Johnson will be the new Pacific County Sheriff, after defeating long time incumbent and fellow Democrat John Didion.

Wahkiakum County:

Bill Coons, running as an independent, defeated incumbent County Assessor Sulema Zerr, 1,043 to 638.

Incumbent District 3 County Commissioner Blair Brady is well ahead of his challenger Lori Scott, as of last night's count, 925 to 746.

Current Undersheriff Jon Dearmore will become the new Wahkiakum County Sheriff, handily defeating his challenger Troy Norris, 1,398 to 259.

In the race for District 3 PUD Commissioner. Dennis Reid is ahead of incumbent Esther Gregg, with 850 votes over Gregg's 758 as of last nights count.

At posting time, there were still 205 votes to be counted in Wahkiakum County.

OPEN ENROLLMENT STARTS TODAY FOR OREGON CHILDREN UNDER AGE 19

Oregon families that want to sign up children for an individual health insurance policy ­ or change a child's coverage - can do so from now through Dec. 31. Children can no longer be turned down for health reasons.

Employer-based plans are already prohibited from denying coverage to children and adults based on health. Federal health reform extends this right to children who do not receive insurance through a parent's job and seek an individual policy directly from an insurance company.

However, insurers may limit enrollment to certain times of year so that parents do not wait until a child becomes sick to buy coverage, raising the costs of insurance for everyone.

"While children will be able to get an individual policy regardless of their health, parents need to be aware of new timelines," said Teresa Miller, administrator of the Insurance Division of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services set an initial enrollment period from Nov. 1 through the end of 2010. After that, children may be enrolled in the months of February and August, starting with February 2011. These enrollment periods apply to all children seeking an individual policy, not just those with pre-existing conditions.
Coverage starts Jan. 1, 2011 for children enrolled during the Nov. 1-Dec. 31 period.

While two Oregon insurers have said they will no longer offer child-only policies, this type of policy remains available through other insurance companies. Children who are already enrolled in a child-only policy will not lose coverage.

Also, all of Oregon's largest health insurers continue to offer family plans in the individual market and will add children under 19 to these policies during open enrollment periods.

Options outside enrollment periods:
• Insurers must accept children under age 19 who meet certain qualifications throughout the year. These include birth or adoption, exceeding a policy's lifetime limit on benefits, or loss of other coverage due to separation, divorce, death, or end-of-dependent status.
• Insurers may choose to offer coverage to children outside open enrollment periods as long as they do not deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. Please check with each company to see if this option is available.
• Families may be able to obtain coverage for their children through Oregon Healthy Kids or the state's high-risk pools for people who cannot get coverage elsewhere. Call Healthy Kids at 1-877-314-5678. Learn more about the high-risk pools at 1-800-848-7280.

People with questions about these new enrollment periods may call Oregon insurance consumer advocates at 1-888-877-4894 or, in Salem, 503-947-7984.

In January 2014, insurers must also accept adults regardless of health and most people must purchase health insurance.

The State of Oregon goes after Bear Stearns & Co.

Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler and Attorney General John Kroger today announced a lawsuit against former financial giant Bear Stearns & Co. to recover losses that were directly attributable to misleading filings in connection with mortgage-backed securities.
State Treasurer Ted Wheeler said, quote: “We believe that these junk investments were intentionally mislabeled and all Oregonians are still reeling from the economic fallout,” “If you hurt Oregonians financially, we are coming after you.” close quote.
The Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund purchased over 57 million of the certificates in five different offerings in 2006 and 2007, at a price of $1 apiece – but the values of many of those securities dropped by more than half, according to the lawsuit.
The economic nosedive of 2007 and 2008 ultimately led to the demise of Bear Stearns. Rather than fall into bankruptcy, the company accepted a takeover bid by JP Morgan in 2008.
The lawsuit against Bear Stearns is Oregon’s second this year in connection with losses from misreported values of mortgage-backed securities. In July, the State Treasury authorized a lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp.

Astoria's Big Bang

The source of the unidentified report of an explosion in the downtown area of Astoria last Thursday has been identified. A painting and drywall business experienced a blown tire on their business vehicle. The driver of the vehicle advised that the noise was very loud and sounded like a shotgun blast, however he was not aware that it caused as much concern as it did until his father had read the report of the matter in the Daily Astorian. The driver left a voice mail on Friday evening to relate the source of the noise.