On this day, May 5, 1903, James Beard, US culinary expert, author (Delights & Prejudices), was born in Portland, Ore.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing Mrs. Elsie Mitchell, the pregnant wife of a minister, and five children after they attempted to drag it out the woods in Lakeview, Oregon. The balloon was armed, and exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They became the 1st and only known American civilians to be killed in the continental US during World War II.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, Bly minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from Mitchell's Sunday school class were on a Saturday morning picnic. Thirteen miles northeast of Bly, or about sixty miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Mitchell parked the car, and Elsie and the children headed to Leonard Creek. Mitchell later remembered: "As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there--and they were all dead." It was a Japanese balloon bomb. They were 70 feet tall with a 33-foot diameter paper canopy connected to the main device by shroud lines. Balloons inflated with hydrogen followed the jet stream at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Due to a continued downward trend in Oregon’s lost-time claim frequency
In 2022, Oregon employers, on average, will pay less for workers’ compensation coverage according to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. The decline in costs marks nine years of average decreases in the pure premium rate -- the base rate insurers use to determine how much employers must pay for medical costs and lost wages.
Underpinning the cost decreases is the success of Oregon’s workers’ compensation system, which includes programs to control costs, maintain good worker benefits, ensure employers carry insurance for their workers, and to improve workplace safety and health.
The numbers illustrate positive, long-term trends:
- Employers, on average, will pay 97 cents per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation costs in 2022, down from $1.02 in 2021, under a proposal by DCBS. That figure covers workers’ compensation claims costs, assessments, and insurer profit and expenses.
- The pure premium rate will drop by an average 5.8 percent under the proposal. In fact, the pure premium – filed by a national rate-setting organization and reviewed by DCBS – will have declined by 51 percent during the 2013 to 2022 period.
The reduction in costs is due to a continued downward trend in Oregon’s lost-time claim frequency and downward trends in claim severity and medical costs, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance. NCCI is the U.S. rate-setting organization whose recommendation DCBS reviews as part of its annual public process to decide rates.
Employers’ total cost for workers’ compensation insurance includes the pure premium and insurer profit and expenses, plus the premium assessment. Employers also pay half of the Workers’ Benefit Fund assessment, which is a cents-per-hour-worked rate.
The decrease in the pure premium of 5.8 percent is an average, so an individual employer may see a larger or smaller decrease, no change, or even an increase, depending on the employer’s own industry, claims experience, and payroll. Also, pure premium does not take into account the varying expenses and profit of insurers.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-09-14 13:00:09 | Last Update: 2021-09-14 09:04:34 |
