Direction Service betters lives
The program provides
resources and assists people
with disabilities and will host
a fundraising event Friday
Ducks & Co.
Lindsay Sauve
Family/Health/Education Reporter
As a graduate student in special
education, Marshall Peter was look
ing for an alternative to substitute
teaching, which was a career he did
n’t have his heart in. He soon discov
ered, however, that the University
was creating a new program, de
signed to assist people with disabili
ties, called Direction Service.
Peter, who is now the executive di
rector of the program, was hired as a
case coordinator more than 25 years
ago, but little did he know it would
eventually become his life’s work. He
is one of many alumni who have
found careers in the community, own
ing or operating businesses next door
to the college that trained them.
Direction Service was created in
October 1976 as a demonstration
project under a grant from the Bu
reau of Education for the Handi
capped. The project was intended to
provide more efficient outreach to
families with disabled children by
combining resources from schools
and other agencies.
“People come as wholes, and the
idea behind (Direction Service) is to
treat issues by combining one or
more agencies,” said Dick Zeller, co
director of the University’s Technical
Assistance and Consulting Services.
In 1982, the organization estab
lished itself independently from the
University. Much has changed since
the program began, including the cre
ation of the Counseling Center, which
offers services to adults and children
with disabilities and their families.
Jessica Waters for the Emerald
Executive director of Direction Service Marshall Peter says the program is kept alive through volunteers and staff members.
Despite the changes, the pro
gram’s mission to “assist people with
disabilities and special needs to live
the fullest lives possible” has contin
ued to be their inspiration.
“Historically, people with disabili
ties were seen as helpless and de
pendent,” Peter said. “We’re trying
to assist them and provide informa
tion on how they can be powerful
and independent.”
Direction Service is sectioned into
four departments that provide assis
tance on varying levels. Consortium
for Appropriate Dispute Resolution
helps parents and educators solve con
flicts, while Case Coordination works
direcdy with families in assessing their
needs and providing resources. Direc
tion Service also provides information,
which is available to adults, children
and families with disabilities.
But state and federal budget prob
lems may potentially hamper the
services they provide to the commu
nity, especially since they rely on a
portion of their funding from the
government.
“A few weeks ago, I had real con
cerns about whether our case coor
dination program would continue,”
Peter said. “We are very vulnerable
right now, and if we cease to exist,
there will be fundamental erosion
within the community.”
In light of budget woes, Direction
Service will be holding its first
Celebrity Roast on Friday, May 30, at
the Doubletree Hotel in Springfield,
with the hopes of raising extra funds.
Direction Service also receives
grants from organizations such as the
United Way and is kept alive with the
help of volunteers and staff members
that are “already paid much less than
they’re worth,” Peter said. Many staff
members at Direction Service are
graduates of the University’s Special
Education program, he added.
“The special education program at
the University is exceptional,” he
said. “People come out of the pro
gram very well prepared to work in
special education.”
Contact the reporter
at lindsaysauve@dailyemerald.com.
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Preservation
continued from page 1
The University is one of the only
schools on the West Coast that offers
the program, which has worked
hand-in-hand with ASHP.
“Most of the preservation in this
state has come out of the University
of Oregon,” said Chris Bell, a gradu
ate student in the program and an
organizer of the week’s events. Bell
is also helping coordinate a histori
cal photo scavenger hunt, which
challenges students to identify dif
ferent obscure bits of campus that
appear in photos in the Emerald
every day this week.
Professor Emeritus Don Peting
said preservation is essential to
keeping America’s history intact.
“We preserve literature and ways
of life, and we also preserve impor
tant aspects of our built environ
ment — things that remind us of the
way life was before,” said Peting,
who directed the graduate program
of historic preservation for more
than 10 years. “Not every building
needs to be saved, not every build
ing is important. But there are some
buildings that need to be preserved.
Who, for instance, could imagine de
stroying Timberline Lodge?”
The campus is home to some of
the older buildings in Eugene.
Deady Hall was finished in 1876,
and together with its northern
neighbor Villard Hall, the two are
listed on the National Register of
Historic Places, the highest designa
tion any building can achieve.
“They were our campus — that
was it. There were no trees; it was a
farmer’s field,” Peting said. “In the
19th century, people from town
came here for theatrical events and
special presentations.”
Ken Guzowski, a senior planner
Community Historic Preservation Week events
• Free movie screenings in 11 5 Lawrence at 7 p.m.
Wednesday; “Fountainhead”
Thursday: “David Macauiey’s Castle”
Friday; University of Oregon Walking Tour with Don Peting at 5 p.m., then screening of “Animal
House”
• Sheiton-McMurphey-johnson House tours throughout the week 10 a.m.-l p.m. and Mother’s Day
Tea |g|j ••
■ Campbell House open house and Mother’s Day Tea on Sunday I -4 p.m.
■ East Skinner Butte Historic District self-guided Historic Homes Tour on Sunday noon-4 p.m.
• Wayne Morse Ranch tours, ice cream, and cake on Sunday 1 -4 p.m. Features National Public
Radio’s Claude Offenbaucher in readings at 1 and 3 p.m.
■ Lane County Historical Museum, open every week Wednesday-Friday 10-4 p.m., Saturday noon-4
p.m. $2 adults, $1 seniors.
SOURCE; Associated Students for Historical Presetvation
with the city or Eugene, was an ad
junct faculty member at the Univer
sity for eight years and now works
for the city to preserve historic
places in Eugene. He said there’s at
least 150 historic buildings in Eu
gene, and he works to make sure
older buildings aren’t instantly
junked or scrapped.
“It’s important to maintain histo
ry for the future,” he said. “It helps
express a continuum for Oregon’s
history. We’re up to 1953 now —
that’s a genre of architecture that is
n’t valued or appreciated.”
ASHP president Garin Petersen
said historic preservation also helps
the environment.
“It’s sustainable to keep on using
buildings instead of building new
ones,” she said.
Goodson agreed.
“If we tore down every building
just because it wasn’t in use any
more, we’d be in a world of hurt,”
she said.
Contact the news editor
atbrookreinhard@dailyemerald.com.
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