Meet the Needs of Autistic Children History on the Move
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Vol. 91 No. 24 Thursday, June 12, 2014 50¢ Plus tax Burn ban History on the move Meet the lifted needs of by Patty Brant Caloosa Belle The county commissioners autistic lifted the burn ban at their June 3 meeting, responding to the begin- ning of the summer rainy season. The ban was lifted by resolution, children however in the next few weeks that ordinance is expected to be amended. Authority to put in place Clewiston mother and special and lift a burn ban will be desig- needs activist, Stephanie Schneider nated to the county administrator. Busin, spoke at the May 13 Hen- dry County School Board meeting about the challenges students and County Administrator families affected by autism face in The board completed a very Hendry County. Mrs. Busin cited positive initial six-month evalu- the new autism prevalence rate re- ation for County Administrator leased in March by the Center for Charles Chapman. From now on, Disease Control’s Autism and De- his performance will be evaluated velopmental Monitoring Program annually. Commissioner Janet Tay- as 1 child in 68 being identifi ed as lor’s only concern was that she felt having an autism spectrum disor- the evaluating tools - the questions der. they use for the evaluation - should In an effort to illustrate the needs be refi ned. Commissioner Michael in Hendry County are very likely to Swindle agreed, saying they need be greater than what’s on paper, to make their evaluation on their Mrs. Busin states, “In a district of knowledge of his performance and 7,000 students, like Hendry Coun- ability. ty, if we’re on par with this statistic, For his part, the county adminis- we should statistically have close trator thanked the board and noted to 103 students identifi ed. We cur- that he will always have an open rently have 40, up from 27 at this line of communication with the time last year.” commissioners. “While it is solely up to a par- In other business ent or guardian to seek a referral for diagnosis for a child, not so co- See County — Page 2 incidentally, CDC statistics indicate children who are impoverished, and/or females, and/or minorities are less likely to receive a diagnosis Submitted photos/Waddy Thompson and intervention services. Consid- On June 3, residents watched as T. A. Youngblood & Sons Building Movers from Sanford ering an approximate annual me- moved the 1905 H. A. Rider Home and 1935 Law Offi ce on trailers to their permanent home at dian household income of $36,000 the LaBelle Heritage Museum, 360 N. Bridge Street. There, they will become part of the mu- and our diverse socio-economic seum’s growing historical complex, along with the 1911 William Hardy Poole Dry Goods Em- demographics, these are strong porium and Residence. Hendry County Sheriff’s deputies, Florida Department of Transporta- factors behind our numbers in tion, Comcast Cable, FPL and CenturyLink all donated their services to make this a reality. See Donation — Page 2 2 Caloosa Belle June 12, 2014 Vendors: Sign up for Bears and Barbecue Time is running short to sign up as a ven- bined into one mid-summer afternoon to dor at the big upcoming Bears and Barbecue give abused women and children a better benefi t for Abuse Counseling and Treatment, chance. Inc., the shelter for women and children. Sponsors include the Minnesota Twins, Last year ACT purchased a facility in La- Fort Myers Miracles, PG Waterfront Hotel, Belle and has been working ever since to Hurricane Charlie’s, Dean’s South of the transform it into a safe place for women and Border, Sweet Party Rental, Hendry County children to begin the healing process. Sheriff’s Offi ce, UPS Store of LaBelle and On Saturday, July 19, noon-6 p.m. barbe- Everglades Seasoning are supporting this cue chefs, backyard and professional, will be effort for local women and children. Spon- center stage in a huge competition to claim sorships are still available so give Lonnie a prizes, trophies and bragging rights. call at 1-941-286-3317 or email Bill Duncan If your attraction to barbecue runs more at [email protected]. to fi lling your belly with the tender, succu- That same number is good for informa- lent meat, you can taste test the contestants’ Submitted photo/Belinda Smith tion for vendors, competitors and donors. Stephanie Schneider Busin is fl anked by Hendry County Assistant Superinten- best offerings in lots of different categories. Taste test for just $10 adult or $5 for a child. Sign up now and start making plans for a dent Gordon Swaggerty (left) and Superintendent Paul Puletti as she presents a very big day. check to be used to help students with autism. Of course, plates will also be for sale. Vendors for all types of food and wares are welcome to take part in this fi rst ever LMS students event. Booth rentals are $50 each. If you’re interested in having a vendor spot, call Lon- Donation nie Brick at 941-286-2317 or email Terral- raise FCAT scores Continued From Page 1 [email protected] for information. An invitation is also going out to biker Congratulations to the 8th graders at La- Hendry County,” she continued. families,” said Busin. groups to participate. Belle Middle School for boosting their 2014 “The lack of medical and therapeutic re- Mrs. Busin expressed to the school board And bring a teddy bear for deputies to FCAT writing scores 20 percentage points sources are also a major concern. There is that the speech and occupational therapy hand out to kids caught up in the middle of over last year’s scores! currently no doctor in Hendry County who services the school district provides are, in a very bad situation. The following students were high-scorers diagnoses or treats autism spectrum disor- many circumstances, the only help and in- Vendors, music, food and drinks - along of 5.0 on the test: Paige Danforth, Jocelin ders and there are no certifi ed private pro- tervention many of these students will ever with lip smackin’ barbecue - all com- Nunez, Marshall Platt and Alondra Reyna. viders of speech, occupational or behavioral receive and urged the school board to sup- therapy services for children with ASD. The port enhanced services like social skills les- treatments and services available on the sons provided under speech and language coast are often out of reach, both fi nancially services. and geographically, for the majority of our She spoke of the need for cost effective programs like peer-to-peer mentoring in the middle and high schools that pair au- tism spectrum disorder students with non- ASD peers who accompany them to class County and provide additional academic and social Continued From Page 1 support, improving their academic perfor- mance and decreasing instances of bullying The board decided to donate two glass due to social and behavioral challenges in- book cases in the Administrative Conference herent to autism spectrum disorder. Room to the LaBelle Heritage Museum. The “I stand before you today asking for your bookcases belonged to Judge H.A. Rider support in getting these children the help and fi lled with Florida Reports from 1847- they need and to offer support to you. I’ve 1948. The museum just moved the judge’s been fortunate over the past three years to offi ce and home from their previous location have had overwhelming support from the on Lee Street to the museum’s new home community in my quest to bring autism on Bridge Street. The donation will free up awareness and resources to Hendry Coun- space in the conference room and will also ty through autism awareness t-shirt sales. be a great addition to the museum. Funds raised in the past have purchased Also, a set of old brass keys to the Hendry books for families and schools, provided County Jail were recently found in an old fi l- trainings and training resources to Hendry ing cabinet. They are also being donated to County teachers,” said Busin. the museum. This year, I wanted to put funds directly The next commission meeting will be into teachers’ hands so they are able to pro- June 24 in LaBelle. vide classroom resources for their students There will be no county commission with autism because trainings can only meeting on July 8. The regular July 22 meet- take you so far without tangible resources ing will be in LaBelle as usual. to work with, so it is with great love and In August both commission meetings will gratitude to the folks who purchased autism be held in Clewiston. The regular August 12 awareness shirts this year that I am able to commission meeting will be in Clewiston, present a $3,000 check to the Hendry Coun- as usual. However, the August 26 meet- ty Public School Foundation in memory of ing will also take place in Clewiston due to one of Hendry County’s great champions of the scheduling of the sector plan for a joint children, Ray Clinard, to be used for class- United States Sugar Corporation and Hilliard room mini-grants for teachers with autistic Brothers venture known as Sugar Hill. students. June 12, 2014 Caloosa Belle 3 Lock restrictions The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jack- sonville District has announced restrictions on lock operations on the Okeechobee Wa- terway due to falling water levels on Lake Okeechobee. Effective Thursday, June 5, locking opera- tions at the W.P. Franklin Lock & Dam near Fort Myers and the St.