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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Testimony: ‘It’s not right - I don’t agree to it’

Becky Woodhead tells lawmakers she doesn't want services for people with developmental disabilities cut.
Becky Woodhead tells lawmakers she doesn't want services for people with developmental disabilities cut. "It's not right - I don't agree to it," she said, testifying against HB 221 on Tuesday. (Betsy Russell)

Numerous people with disabilities have made personal pleas to the House and Senate Health & Welfare committees to reject HB 221 and not cut their services. Becky Woodhead, pictured here, told lawmakers, "Without the support, I don't know where I would be right now." She said, "My provider has taught me how to be accountable." She said she has just 10 years to go before she's 45, and doesn't want to lose services then. "It's not right - I don't agree to it," she said.

Kevin Thompson told the committee, "Thousands of people that are going to lose services - what's going to happen to them? Where are they going to go?"

Kimi Maas, speaking haltingly, told lawmakers she had a "horrible accident on Christmas Day 1985," and said the accident killed her brother and left her with a head injury. "I had a lot of things I had to learn all over again," she said.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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