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PLEASE COME TO A WALK FOR JUSTICE IN SUPPORT OF KELLY DILLERY!!
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Kelly Dillery is a Mom who has a significant disability and uses a
wheelchair. She has been arrested twice in her hometown of Sandusky, Ohio
for carrying her 4 year old daughter on her lap in public.

LEAP\Center for Independent Living in Ohio is planning a Walk For Justice to
support Kelly and her daughter. PLEASE make your way to Ohio for this event.
Details about the event are below, and a report from Ohio CIL reps who
visited Sandusky follow that.
(Re-post widely, please!!!)

More history on this can be found on the St Johns Advocacy list archives.

In Freedom,

Jill Jacobs
"To sin by silence when the should protest makes cowards of men."  ~Abraham
Lincoln
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We will be meeting at 11:00 a.m. the morning of Dec. 29th at Jackson Street
Pier in Sandusky.  The more people we have,the better it will be.

We are in the process of obtaining a "parade permit" for Dec. 29th.  A
registered letter was sent more than two weeks ago requesting the permit.
We have the route mapped out and it is being sent to those interested.

I will be there for sure, along with my husband, daughter (31 years old),
and her
two children(just 13 years & 7 years old---their birthdays are both within
the week
before Christmas).  Her youngest will be riding on my wheelchair (as both
kids have done since the day each was born.  I was primary "babysitter"
while my daughter and her husband both worked.) I have been very affected
by Kelly's troubles because of my own situations.

If I can give you anymore information, feel free to call me at LEAP/CIL,
afternoons, at 1-800-410-5327.  We are closed from noon Dec 24th to January
4th.  We will be monitoring the general delivery on the phone and I can be
reached at home, if needed.  I also can be reached each LATE evening (10:00
& later) by email ([log in to unmask]).

Mary Butler, LEAP/CIL in Ohio

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MORE INFO BELOW

Update on Kelly Dillery and plans for a Walk for Justice in Sandusky to be
held on December 29th:

Last Wed. two of us (from two different CILs in Ohio) spent the afternoon
with Kelly.  She does NOT have a prior record (of receiving citations for
jaywalking or other charges).  She is a young mother, without a car or van,
who is trying to take her daughter to the Library, playground, store, etc.
like ANY OTHER mother.  Below is my account of our visit and our trip to
Sandusky today to map out our route for the walk on Dec. 29th.  We met her
brother (who is her personal assistant) who was fixing her dinner, and her
Mom, who lives closeby Kelly and who stopped in for a few minutes.  Her
family is very supportive of her.


We (my husband, Bob, & I and my support dog, French-fry)were out in
Sandusky today writing out the path to be taken and timing it.  I will get
more specifics to you as soon as they are "for sure".  I am working with a
lady, Shona (also my friend), from the Sulvania CIL.  Shona & Bob & I
 were at Kelly's home last week and went for a walk with her.  (We traveled
the original route she took when she was arrested for child
endangerment---and she lead the way.)    She goes into the road when the
sidewalk is in bad condition or there are no curb cuts.  Bob guessed that
at least 75% of the curb cuts were NOT put in correctly (with anywhere from
1 to 2+ inch dropoffs).  We are guessing that the city does NOT enforce
sidewalk repairs that are needed.  There were sections of sidewalk that had
lifted up "inches" (heaving with freezing and thawing, we think).

They are persecuting her.  One of our consumers who lives in Sandusky, (I
will NOT use her name to protect her), has a police scanner and heard the
police talk about trying to find Kelly to give her another ticket.  They
did not know where she had gone.  Our consumer called Kelly the next day
and asked her if she had gone out the day before.  Kelly said that she had
gone to the Library.  That was the area they said she had been seen in, but
they didn't  look in the library! (Kelly does not even know this as it was
felt she has enough to deal with now--without more.  She was just warned
that they will be looking for her.)

Kelly's speech has been affected by her disability.  We think that is part
of why she is being persecuted.  Kelly makes the person withOUT a
disability uncomfortable. She is a really neat lady--fiesty, as Shona says,
but very quiet (not boisterious). There have been people from Sandusky
(among them "lawyers") that have been heard saying "Why doesn't she just
stay home?"

I would like to request everyone who can not be in Sandusky to write
another letter or email and send it to the Sandusky Register and/or City
Hall.  Even to the Police Department! There seems to be two specific
policemen who are "hounding" and "harassing" her. One tells her to go on
the right side of the road (with traffic) and the other tells her to go on
the other side (against traffic).  One tells her to go OVER the railroad
tracks and the other tells her to go by way of the underpass.  She is wrong
no matter what she is doing!!

(Kelly did not show up at her last hearing date because SHE WAS TOLD SHE
DID NOT HAVE TO!  Her lawyer was there representing her.  As it was, the
judge did not show up for hearing her case and it was postponed to another
time.)

We had a Statewide conference call last Thursday (with ADAPT & CIL people
from all over Ohio & PA also).  People took responsibility for parts of the
walk and/or preparation. I will post more when more plans are firmed-up.
We will be doing that this week.

Mary Butler, LEAP/CIL