SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017
Master plan from 1A
“These parks are vital to
the quality of life of our resi-
dents, and Lane County needs
to understand what our resi-
dents’ value in order to be the
best possible steward of those
parks,” Elsea said. Parks and
Animal Services Manager
Mike Russell moderated the
meeting, which had approxi-
mately 50 attendees.
County staff said the
Florence meeting had the
largest turnout for the series
so far.
Members of the Parks
Master Plan Task Force also
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contributed to the discussion.
One of those members,
Florence resident Mike Allen,
has been involved in the task
force since it began just over
a year ago.
“It started when I became
interested in our local Harbor
Vista Park and I was a host
there with my wife. At the
time, the county parks system
was doing a revisioning of
their master plan and they
were looking for people to
represent districts across the
whole county,” Allen said.
“They were looking for some-
one from the coast to give
input. I responded and they
choose myself and two others
from the area to represent the
coastal community interests.”
Allen and the task force
spent much of the past year
getting familiar with the pre-
vious incarnations of the
county’s plan and learning of
the need for public input on
the project moving forward.
“We met four or five times
at the park offices in Eugene
and ... we did a lot of vision-
ing activities,” Allen said.
“There was a broad spectrum
of people, not just from the
coastal areas but from across
the county, and some mem-
bers of the parks advisory
committee joined us as well.”
Public input provided at the
park meetings has provided
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Elsea’s department with
many new ideas and issues
to consider while formulat-
ing the plan moving for-
ward.
“So far, this process has
reaffirmed how much people
value their parks, and it is
honestly energizing to us to
hear how Lane County Parks
improves quality of life for
the residents we serve. We
have also heard a strong
desire for greater involve-
ment by ‘Friends of’ groups
and for additional invest-
ment in park facilities,”
Elsea said.
He also said that most res-
idents believe it will take
many different approaches,
coalitions and partnerships
to maintain the resources
currently available while
planning for the improve-
ments needed to serve the
community in the future.
Allen added an important
element to the discussion by
suggesting an increase in
one area that the county
should consider when final-
izing the master plan.
“I wanted to bring to these
meetings my interest in hav-
ing the county park system
provide more educational
opportunities, and I found
that I wasn’t alone in that
desire,” Allen said.
County residents are
encouraged to participate in
the development of the mas-
ter plan by going online and
completing a survey about
the issues being considered.
There will also be addi-
tional public meetings held
in Oakridge and Springfield.
For more information,
visit www.lanecounty.org/
parks.
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
On May 2, Zoila Jimenez finally realized her dream to
become a U.S. citizen.
Citizen
from 1A
“But after Castro, we could-
n’t say what we really thought
and we couldn’t say anything
we
wanted,”
Sanchez
explained.
Jimenez was glad her son
had made it to the United
States and over the years
applied on four different occa-
sions for a temporary visa to
visit Enrique in America —
but was turned down each
time.
It was during the interven-
ing years that Enrique moved
to Oregon.
Seven years ago, on her
fifth attempt, Jimenez was
granted a temporary visa to
visit her son. She has never
returned to Cuba.
With the help of her
nephew, his wife, Marsala,
who is originally from
Argentina, and her sons,
Jimenez decided to apply for
citizenship.
The decision was made eas-
ier after Luis and his wife
became citizens during the last
five years of Jimenez’s “visit.”
Luis and Marsala were famil-
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iar with the necessary paper-
work and the process which
they undertook on their Tia’s
behalf.
The family eventually made
a trip north to the office of the
Citizen Immigration Services
in Portland. That was were
they ran into a glitch; Jimenez
doesn't speak English.
The law currently requires
that applicants for citizenship
take the test for citizenship in
English. Jimenez’s application
was denied, but with some
accompanying advice suggest-
ing she write a letter explain-
ing the circumstances of the
situation to the Department of
Immigration
and
Naturalization and petition for
an exemption.
The family returned to their
homes in Eugene and Florence
and wrote the recommended
letters.
Six months later, they
received a letter scheduling an
appointment in Portland —
and on May 2, the family gath-
ered once again in a large offi-
cial conference room in the
Federal building.
After a series of short inter-
views, the family waited for a
couple of hours before being
given the good news: Zoila
Esperanza Alfonso Jimenez
would indeed be allowed to
become a U.S. citizen.
The ceremony was sched-
uled for later that day; Jimenez
is now a proud American.
Luis was appreciative of the
professionals that assisted his
aunt during the citizenship
process.
“They were very respectful,
there was no feeling that any-
one was being unhelpful.
Everyone there was very
friendly and they were really
trying to help us,” Sanchez
said.
He is also optimistic about
the future relationship between
his country of birth and his
adopted home.
“We are making a little
progress. It is a process and
this will take time. It is my
hope and my dream to see our
country a democracy again.
And I think this is the first step
in that direction,” Sanchez
said.
The family will be having a
combination Citizenship and
Mothers Day celebration this
week in Eugene.
“I am so happy to be an
American. Now I just want
my family to all be together
here,” Jimenez said, smiling.
“I have one son still in Cuba
and I hope he can come here
so we can all be together
again.”
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