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--
|
