Betty, Mr. Zwyer's forwarded synopsis of the events are more in line with what I saw. I find it amusing that Mike Shoemaker would send up this red herring: "He continued: "The citizens of Ohio should be ashamed of the fact that we have secured the comfortable offices of the state's royal leaders and arrested those seeking more independent living options. Perhaps a speeding wheelchair is more dangerous than drug traffickers or drunk drivers on the highway." It's suprises me that he feels so strongly about dealing with drug traffickers and drunk drivers. One couldn't tell by his legislative voting record, that's for sure! "Comfortable offices of the state's royal leaders..."??? Ok, Mike, whaddya say you give back the big raise you voted in for yourself and give up the nice new, remodeled office in the statehouse? What a maroon! -----Original Message----- From: Betty Alfred [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, November 08, 1999 4:46 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Fwd: ADAPT's Aftermath --part1_0.663b1136.25589eac_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mr. Zwyer is the director of ODDC (the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council), and was kind enough to forward this legislative report to me. I am assuming by his comment that he meant an Ohio State legislative report. This gives more detailed information about the ADAPT incident that occurred in Columbus than was included in the ADAPT release. Betty --part1_0.663b1136.25589eac_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: <[log in to unmask]> Received: from rly-za02.mx.aol.com (rly-za02.mail.aol.com [172.31.36.98]) by air-za05.mail.aol.com (v62.15) with ESMTP; Mon, 08 Nov 1999 12:56:33 -0500 Received: from mrcentral2.mr.state.oh.us (dmr.state.oh.us [198.234.132.125]) by rly-za02.mx.aol.com (v62.10) with ESMTP; Mon, 08 Nov 1999 12:56:11 -0500 Received: by dmr.state.oh.us with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) id <VW28HJW4>; Mon, 8 Nov 1999 12:56:10 -0500 Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]> From: "Zwyer, David" <[log in to unmask]> To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> Cc: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: ADAPT's Aftermath Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 12:56:10 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit FYI, from one of our legislative news services . . . PROTEST GROUP DEPARTS IN PEACE, BUT LEAVES A TRAIL OF DAMAGE BEHIND After three days of protesting and blocking entrances to the state's government buildings in Columbus, the American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) halted its protests Wednesday after its representatives had an hour-long meeting with staff from the Ohio Department of Human Services. The costs to the state because of the group's unlawful behavior, however, will continue to grow when they leave town Thursday as the state has spent nearly $7,200 to re-carpet the governor's offices and make other repairs at the Vern Riffe Center. ADAPT, a Colorado-based group comprised mainly of out-of-state protesters, met in Columbus this week and targeted Ohio for being one of the worst states in supplying in-home care for its sick and disabled. On Wednesday more than 100 of those in ADAPT remained vigilant outside the Riffe Center while some of its members met with ODHS staff. Nearly 20 Ohio State Troopers guarded the inside of the building, standing shoulder to shoulder. ADAPT members left the Riffe Center shortly after the meeting was over. Jon Allen, spokesperson for the ODHS, said members from ADAPT talked with three staff members from the Office of Medicaid, including office director Barbara Edwards. ADAPT reiterated their support for legislation (HB 215) that would secure funding for in-home care. Mr. Allen noted the ODHS staff refused to take a position on the bill because its cost have yet to be analyzed. ODHS indicated it would continue discussions with the group on the matter, Mr. Allen said. No citations were issued after Wednesday's sit-in, which was calm, said Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Gary Lewis. "It was a peaceful gathering. . .with a peaceful resolution," he said. The beginning of the week, however, was far from calm. On Wednesday, top Senate staff, expecting that the Statehouse would be the site of the next demonstration, advised employees of building evacuation routes. And the Ohio Supreme Court, an entity known for sticking to deadlines in terms of accepting filings, extended by a day the due date for documents required Tuesday - the day ADAPT protested and blocked entrance to the Rhodes Tower. According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, 97 protesters were cited Tuesday, and they are to appear in court Nov. 8. On Monday , ADAPT protested for nearly 12 hours in an attempt to secure a meeting with Governor Bob Taft, who was campaigning for Issue 1 throughout the state. The protest resulted in blocked elevators, exits and entrances. As a result, nearly 140 people were trapped on the 30th and 14th floors of the Riffe Center, where Mr. Taft's and House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson's offices are located. Because many doors were locked, people did not have access to restroom facilities. After Monday's incident, 118 people were handed citations and ordered to court Nov. 8. The state obtained a Temporary Restraining Order barring ADAPT members from blocking entrances to state buildings or interfering with state business. The Ohio State Highway Patrol has been using 40 to 50 officers each day this week to guard three key state government buildings. Typically the state relies on private security in state office buildings, with the exception of the Ohio Supreme Court where they have four of five officers on staff. Security should be lessened Thursday, but Troopers still will be visible at some buildings, Sgt. Lewis said. Scott Milburn, spokesperson for Governor Taft, said all the carpet and the plants in the governor's offices were replaced this week because of damage from limited access to restrooms and other problems associated with the demonstration . Many broken locks on doors also had to be replaced, he said. The tab for such repairs is about $7,200 now, but he said expects that to increase when overtime pay for the Troopers' is factored into the equation along with costs associated with hiring handicapped accessible buses and vans to transport those charged to a processing center. Mr. Milburn said the state is assessing its options and didn't rule out filing a suit to recover the damages. All this could have been averted, Mr. Milburn pointed out, because Governor Taft sent a letter to ADAPT last Friday requesting a meeting when he discovered the group was coming to Columbus, but the group didn't respond. Because the governor was busy promoting state ballot Issue 1 on Monday, his schedule didn't permit a meeting, Mr. Milburn said. "We wrote a letter and asked to meet with them," he said. "They only had one trick in their bag and didn't know how to deal with that. They had an opportunity to have a substantive policy discussion." It remains uncertain whether Governor Taft will meet with ADAPT members. The events of the past days have caught the eye of many Statehouse observers and state officials, including one senator, who said the law enforcement presence on site at the events represents "a classic overreaction" on the state's part. Ohioans, Senator Mike Shoemaker (D-Bourneville) said, should be "ashamed" of the buildup. "The recent militia-like build up of state troopers around the Statehouse and nearby government offices is a glaring example of the paranoia that fosters itself in the isolationism of Ohio's elected leaders," Senator Shoemaker said in a prepared statement. "These chosen public servants have forgotten that many Ohioans don't enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous and struggle every day to survive. To present such a massive display of law enforcement power to intimidate disabled citizens who just want to live as independently as possible is a classic overreaction on the part of those who want to hear no problems, see no problems and speak about no problems. He continued: "The citizens of Ohio should be ashamed of the fact that we have secured the comfortable offices of the state's royal leaders and arrested those seeking more independent living options. Perhaps a speeding wheelchair is more dangerous than drug traffickers or drunk drivers on the highway." --part1_0.663b1136.25589eac_boundary--