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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
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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
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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
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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-
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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