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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION FAR WEST UNDERWAY ❘ APRIL 19, 2017 ❘ $1.00 100th birthday gets mayoral visit SPORTS — B INSIDE — A3 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 31 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON ore than 200 people attended a town hall meeting to interact with U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio at the Florence Events Center Monday. Topics ranged B Y J ACK D AVIS from trans- Siuslaw News portation, healthcare and social security to immigration, the fed- eral budget and EPA cuts. DeFazio, a ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said, “We heard a lot during the campaign about investing $1 trillion in infrastructure. There is a war going on within the White House over whether they are really going to invest in infra- structure or pretend to invest in infra- structure. “To really invest would require public funds because you can’t build public infrastructure without public funds. Even if you tolled the entire interstate (highway system), many areas do not have enough volume to make a return on investment.” Village Cleanup seeks volunteers for Saturday, April 22, meeting M apleton High School and Mapleton Food Share invite all interested community members to sign up for a “Village Cleanup” on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, at Mapleton Food Share at 2:30 p.m. The sign-up will include an assessment of the pro- ject’s needs and how inter- ested participants can con- tribute to the effort. Tasks that were suggested by students and project coordinators focused on planting flowers, bushes and ornamental grasses to help beautify the Mapleton downtown area. The actual date for the cleanup will be determined in the near future, with weather being the most important factor when con- sidering the final scheduling date for the event. Mapleton Food Share is located at 10718 Highway 126. It is open the second Thursday and fourth Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., pro- viding essential nutrition to children, seniors, families and more in the Mapleton area. This nonprofit organiza- tion relies on donations, both of cash and food items, and volunteers to provide services. Food Share also has resources such as clothing, shoes and household items, as well as additional infor- mation for patrons to access. For more information on the event, donating or get- ting involved, call 541-268- 2919 or visit mapletonfood share.org. MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio discusses healthcare premiums during Monday’s Town Hall meeting at the Florence Events Center. According to DeFazio, the same is true for the 140,000 bridges that need See TOWN HALL 7A ‘Let your voice be heard’ Florence residents Casey and Kelly Kawahara speak to state senators about lack of disability services on coast B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News A pril is Autism Awareness month. In recent years, the percent of infants diag- nosed with autism spectrum syndrome continues to increase nationwide, primarily among baby boys. The advo- cates for those with the dis- ability point out that in the last decade the medical communi- ty has learned a great deal about how best to treat and teach those with autism. In order to better understand the changing landscape in this field, the Oregon Develop- mental Disability Coalition has organized a series of “Advocacy Days,” held at the state capital, to share their concerns and problems with elected officials. These public forums focus on one aspect of the autism paradigm during each of the seven days. These continue through June. Coastal residents impacted by autism have seen their sup- port services drift away over the past few years. One of the local families affected by this diminution of services is the Kawahara family. Casey Kawahara, who has autism, and his mother Kelly traveled to Salem on March 20 to speak with elected officials from across the state about their concerns at one of these advocacy forums. The Kawaharas are mem- bers of a support group that is based in Eugene that organ- ized the trip to Salem. “We belong to a group called, ‘Surfing Through the Waves of the Uniquely Gifted,’ which is funded and supported by a group called ARC Families Connected, and they gave us a flyer that had a list of dates and subjects that were going to be discussed up B6 A3 A5 A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S at the state capital,” Kelly said. “One of the topics was about services and the avail- ability of services here on the coast for people with special needs. We used to have servic- es and, somehow, nobody knows how it happened, the money got shifted around and we were the area that lost those services.” Casey, who is 20 years old, graduated from Siuslaw high School in 2014. He is an engag- ing young man that is quick to smile and once comfortable, will share his opinions and feelings with others. Casey is interested in trains and videos and is looking forward to his 21st birthday, when he can do something that he has always looked forward to. “We are definitely going to the Beachcomber,” Kelly said. “He has always wanted to go in there and he finally gets to do it. I think Casey will have a TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 56 46 55 42 68 49 56 46 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Casey Kawahara and his mother Kelly spoke on the sub- ject of diminishing services for those with developmental disabilities at a March 20 public forum at the state capital. beer, something he has always wanted to try.” The Kawaharas had the opportunity to participate in a number of discussions with legislators in Salem and were able to speak directly to repre- sentatives about the current situation on the coast. “We met with Sen. Arnie Roblan and Sen. James Manning in a small hearing room. Casey read a speech that he and I had worked on togeth- er about the situation. It was very interesting because in that small group, the senators were more relaxed and they were able to share some of their per- sonal family history.” One of the most touching interactions of the trip occurred during a discussion with Manning, when the sena- tor See ADVOCATES 9A PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN AND CHANTELLE MEYER/ SIUSLAW NEWS ne whistle and they were off — hundreds of chil- dren racing across the field at Miller Park to be the first to find a sparkling prize egg, or perhaps to find the highest number of treat-filled plastic treasures. At the April 15 Community Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Siuslaw High School Interact Club and the Rotary Club of Florence, the fun was over in just two minutes. Youth and families went home with bicycles, prize baskets and Easter candy. Club members filled and “hid” 4,000 plastic eggs in the grass before the event. INSIDE repair or replacement across the U.S. For many, traffic volume is inade- N ATIONAL A UTISM A WARENESS M ONTH d o o G s e g g Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . quate for a private investor to earn a return on investment with tolls. “There is no transit system in the world that makes money,” DeFazio added. “There has to be public investment.” Locally, DeFazio talked about a bill he recently introduced to have Congress release funds already acquired to sup- port more port dredging and mainte- nance. “As you know, we have jetty prob- lems here (at the mouth of the Siuslaw River). We have one down at Coos Bay and we have a big one up on the Columbia (that need improvements),” he said. DeFazio’s bill would set aside 10 per- cent of the funds to support small har- bors. Another bill that DeFazio has intro- duced would raise money for infrastruc- ture repair. The bill would increase the federal gas tax by 1 to 1.5 cent per gal- lon. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Mapleton U.S. Rep. DeFazio discusses hot topics at town hall Audience of 200 constituents ask about President’s budget, ICE, EPA, healthcare and more cleans up for Earth M Day