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Chronology of ADAPT Actions 2
[This is the second page of the chronological list of ADAPT actions] 2009 - April Washington DC; September Atlanta 2010 - April Washington DC; September Washington DC 2011 - Spring Washington DC; September Washington DC – My Medicaid Matters 2012 - Spring Washington DC; October Harrisburg, PA 2013 - April Washington DC; September Washington DC 2014 - Spring Washington DC; September Little Rock 2015 - Spring Washington DC; Fall Salt Lake City 2016 - Spring Washington DC; Fall Boston 2017 - Spring Washington DC; Fall Washington DC 2018 - Spring Washington DC; November Denver, CO
Chronology of ADAPT Actions 1
Chronology of ADAPT Actions: 1974 - Atlantis started 1983 - October National ADAPT started in Denver at APTA Convention 1984 - McDonalds campaign; October Washington DC 1st national action 1985 - February San Diego; April San Antonio – 1st regional action; October Los Angeles, Long Beach 1986 - May Cincinnati; October Detroit 1987 - April Phoenix; Fall San Francisco (trolley cars) 1988 - Spring St Louis; Fall Montreal 1989 - Spring Reno/Sparks; September Atlanta 1990 - March Washington DC: Wheels of Justice (Crawl, Rotunda) 1990 – Summer Denver meeting re: new focus; Fall Atlanta 1991 - Spring Baltimore (Social Security); Fall Orlando 1992 - Spring Chicago; Fall San Francisco 1993 - Spring Washington DC; Fall Nashville (Opryland) 1994 - Spring Washington DC (Bridge to Freedom); Fall Las Vegas 1995 - Spring Washington DC; Fall Lansing, MI 1996 - Spring Houston; Fall Atlanta 1997 - Spring Washington DC; Fall Washington DC 1998 - May Memphis; Fall Washington DC 1999 - May DC; July St Louis, NGA Regional; October Columbus 2000 - January ANA – Freedom Day; June Washington DC; October Washington DC 2001 - May Washington DC; October San Francisco, Laguna Honda 2002 - May Washington DC; October New Orleans – Virtual Action 2003 - May Washington DC; September Free Our People March – Philadelphia to DC 2004 - July Seattle; Fall Washington DC 2005 - March Washington DC; September Washington DC 2006 - Spring Nashville – Testimony; September Washington DC 2007 - April Washington DC; September Chicago 2008 - April Washington DC – 25th Anniversary; September Washington DC – DUH City
ADAPT (799-A)
* 10 WORST NURSING HOMES * ***CERTAIN DEATH*** **** AWARDS **** HERITAGE MANOR CARE CENTER (NOW FIESTA CENTER) HONDO, TX KNOWN FOR DEATH OF CHILDREN THIS "HOME" KEPT CHILDREN IN CAGES. CITED FOR FOR "ACCIDENTAL" DEATH OF THREE CHILDREN, THE NEWSPAPER COVERING THE AFFAIR REPORTED THE "HOME" ALMOST LOST THEIR MEDICAID FUNDING OVER THE INCIDENT. ONE DISABILITY ADVOCATE ASKED: "HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU HAVE TO KILL BEFORE YOU DO LOSE FUNDING?" MANAGED ALTERNATIVE CARE CHATSWORTH, CA FOR: STAFF INCOMPETENCE COMMONLY KNOWN AS A "COMA HOMA", THIS PRIVATELY RUN UNIT FOR PEOPLE IDENTIFIED AS COMATOSE AND NO-CODE, IS WHERE THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES FORCES VENTILATOR USERS TO "LIVE". ONE RESIDENT OVERHEARD STAFF SAY "IT WOULD BE SO MUCH BETTER IF HE WERE IN A COMA. THEN WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO GET HIM UP. WE'D ONLY HAVE TO TURN HIM, WIPE UP HIS SHIT AND CHANGE HIS FEEDING BOTTLE." BROOKSHIRE HOUSE (FORMERLY ASBURY CIRCLE) DENVER, CO FOR: MAGGOTS MAGGOTS IN THE UNATTENDED, OPEN WOUND OF A RESIDENT WAS ONLY ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY PUBLICIZED VIOLATIONS OF THIS NURSING HOME. THE $10,000 A DAY FINE LASTING TEN (10) DAYS - UNTIL HEALTH DEPT. VIOLATIONS WERE CORRECTED - WAS A FIRST. (continues p.4...) unavailable at this time [This page also includes the continuation of "D. C. Action." The full text is available under Image 799. Please refer back to 799]
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[Headline] Hike on hold [Subheading] PUC stalls Trailways bid for higher fares; hearings set By MARK THOMAS Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer [Image] [Image caption] Beverly Furnice of Denver was one of several people and groups at a PUC hearing to protest a proposed rate increase hike by the Trailways Bus Co. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS STAFF PHOTO BY JAY KOELZER 12/27/84 The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday suspended a rate increase by Trailways Bus Co. that would have raised fares up to 321 percent starting Jan. 7, officials said. Dale Cunningham, a PUC spokesman, said the PUC has received more than 2,500 letters and petition signatures from Trailways customers opposing the increases. Cunningham said the commission will hold public state-wide hearings on the proposed increases. He said no dates have been set. Trailways filed for the increases Oct. 25, but the date they would've gone into effect was delayed to Jan. 7 because the company failed to post proper notices at its bus terminals, Cunningham said. Unless the PUC rules on the fare increases by Feb. 20 120 days after the Oct. 25 filing date — Trailways can ask the Interstate Commerce Commission to approve them, Cunningham said. Under the rate hikes asked by Trailways, fares on all the company's routes in the state would rise an average of 140 percent. For example, the Colorado -Springs-to-Denver fare would jump from $4.80 to $11, while the Denver-to-Pueblo fare would go from $7.80 to $20. The cost for the Denver-to-Glenwood Springs route would be hiked from $11.85 to $31. And a passenger would pay $40 for a trip from Denver to Grand Junction instead of the current $17.90. The largest increase would be levied for trips of less than 20 miles, which would go up from 98 cents to $4.
ADAPT (1853)
8A The Denver Post/Thursday. Dec. 27. 1984 REGION [Image] [Image caption] Beverly Furnice displays sign during PUC hearing to bring attention to the difficulties that riding Trailways buses pose for the disabled. The Denver Post / Brian Brainerd [Headline] PUC suspends proposed bus fare increases By Kit Miniclier Denver Post Stan Writer Protests from more than 1,800 people have prompted the Colo-rado Public Utilities Commission to suspend proposed bus fare hikes of 140 percent to 300 percent. The commission now plans to hold public hearings on the fare hike plans. The fare increases, sought by the parent Trailways Bus Co. and its Colorado subsidiaries, American Buslines Inc., Denver-Colorado Springs-Pueblo Motor Way Inc., Trailways Bus System Inc. and Trailways Inc. were scheduled to become effective Jan. 7. Some sample one-way fare in-creases in the proposal include: from $17.95 to $40 for travel be-tween Grand Junction and Den-ver; from $8.55 to $20 between Sterling and Denver; from $7.80 to $20 between Pueblo and Denver; from $4.80 to $13 between Denver and Colorado Springs; from $8.30 to $20 between Lamar and Pueblo. The round-trip fare between Denver and Alamosa would jump from $31.10 to $70. "I don't think people on the Western Slope are fully aware of the impact of the proposed rate hikes:" said Eugene Eckhardt, su-pervising rate analyst. As of last Friday, Eckhardt told the -commission Wednesday, he had received 890 protests from Pueblo, 795 from Alamosa, and 178 from La Junta. He told the three-member commission that the average rate hike requested is 140 percent. However, the fare for a trip of less than 13 miles, some of which now go for 95 cents or a dollar, would jump to a flat $4, representing an increase of more than 300 percent, Eckhardt said. Harry Galligan, the commission's executive secretary, said a formal order suspending the rate increase and setting dates for public hearings will be prepared later this week. The commission acted after nine wheelchair-bound citizens rolled into the hearing room and distributed fliers asking the PUC to "deny the bus companies' request for rate hikes until they have wheelchair-accessible buses that can serve everyone."
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[Image] [Image caption] George Roberts peers into bus cargo hold as Trailways personnel, in background, help Bob Conrad back into wheelchair. The Denver Post Jim Preston [Headline] Limits to access [Subheading] Palsy victim on bus, removed when wheelchair won't fit By Fred Genies Denver Post Stan Writer 1/18/85 Robert Conrad, a 35-year-old cerebral palsy victim, couldn't ride a Trailways bus Thursday from Denver to Colorado Springs. After buying a ticket at the Denver bus depot, he maneuvered his wheelchair to the bus door. Then slowly, with great effort, he left his wheelchair, mounted the stairs into the bus and settled in a front seat. But after many attempts, depot employees outside couldn't fit Conrad's wheelchair, upright, in a bus baggage compartment. The electrically powered chair couldn't be put on its side because it might leak battery acid. That meant that Conrad had to leave the bus or travel without his wheelchair, "his legs." He left the bus. His effort and another unsuccessful try later Thursday by cerebral palsy victim Ernie Butts to ride a Greyhound bus from Denver to Colorado Springs — were designed to show that the disabled don't have the access they need to interstate buses, said Wade Blank, co-director of the Atlantis Community for the handicapped in Denver. At the bus depot, Frank Meggitt, city manager for Trailways, said his company's policy is to "take the wheelchair, set it on the bus for you, and provide a free ticket" for an attendant for a disabled rider. "We handle a tremendous lot of the handicapped," Meggitt said. "The handicapped person has to take care of himself or herself on the bus." But Meggitt had to concede Thursday that Trailways buses, as they now are de-signed, can't carry battery-powered wheelchairs used by many disabled. The disabled "live in their wheelchair . . . and they should not be required to give up their legs to travel," Blank said. Requiring the disabled to travel with an attendant all the time "is contrary to the entire independent-living movement for the disabled," he said. Conrad, Butts, and other disabled people, Blank said, "will pack the hearing room" today when the Colorado Public Utilities Commission continues its hearings on fare increases proposed by Trailways. On routes within Colorado, the pro-posed new fares would be an average of 140 percent higher than current rates. And, in some instances, the rates could be increased as much as 321 percent. The commission is charged with ensuring the public gets served fairly by companies it regulates, but the disabled don't always get the same breaks, Blank stressed. Conrad said he will tell the commission that Trailways "sold me a ticket, but they wouldn't let me use it." Trailways and Greyhound, Blank said, "are selective in the disabled they take. They haven't even tried to make their buses accessible."
ADAPT (1851)
Jan 18, 1985, Denver, Colo Rocky Mountain News [Image] [Image caption] After Bob Conrad's 450-pound wheelchair would not fit In the storage area of a Continental Traltwayrest he was told he would have to get off. A group of wheelchair-bound people are trying to convince bus lines to provide a way to keep their wheelchairs with them. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS STAFF PHOTO BY KEN PAPALEO [Headline] 'This isn't cargo; this is my legs' By KEVIN FLYNN Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer A group of wheelchair-bound people tried Thursday to`convince Continental Trailways and Greyhound bus lines to give them a lift, a power lift that would allow them to travel by bus without leaving their wheelchairs behind. "This isn't cargo," said Mike Auberger of Denver, looking, down to the, electric-powered wheelchair he used to get to an afternoon protest at the Denver Bus Center 49th and Arapahoe streets. "This Is my legs." Bob Conrad, Auberger's companion, had just been helped off a Trailways bus after bug line personnel couldn't fit his wheelchair into the cargo bay. Conrad, who'd bought a ticket to Colorado Springs, had to give up the trip, which he confided was only symbolic. Had he successfully boarded the bus, chair and all, he probably would have gotten off iti Littleton, he said. The protesters want Trailways and Greyhound, each of which has a bus-building subsidiary to begin buildable seats to accommodate handicapped passengers. Instead, they said, Greyhound has fought a Canadian requirement [or such lifts. The group also plans to fight a request from Greyhound for a rate increase by Friday at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Wade Blank of Atlantis Community, an advocacy group for the handicapped, said the group would oppose any rate increases until the bus companies agree to begin building accessible buses. "If they can't serve all the public, why should they get a rate hike?" said Conrad. A Trailways spokesman said the line frequently takes wheelchair-bound passengers. But Conrad's wheelchair is battery powered and wouldn't fold up or store on its side because the battery acid would have spilled, creating a hazard, he said. "Handicapped with wheelchairs, we take them all the time," said Frank Meggitt, city manager for Trailways and building manager for the joint depot. The protest was organized by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, a national group fighting for the rights of handicapped people to ride on regular public transit vehicles.
ADAPT (1850)
The Handicapped Coloradan vol.7, No 6 Boulder, Colorado January 1985 [comic] [no comic caption] [Headline] $300 Versus $10 Trip Sparks PUC Hearing Like a lot of other young adults living away from home, Ernie Butts wanted to go home to spend the Christmas holidays with his parents. But Butts is severely handicapped and uses an electric wheelchair for mobility. He can't climb the stairs onto a Continental Trailways bus, and neither Trailways nor its primary competitor Greyhound are willing to build wheelchair lifts in their buses. So Butts approached Denver Mobility, a non-profit paratransit agency that transports people in wheelchair vans, who said they could take him from Denver to Colorado Springs--for $300 a round trip. The same trip on Continental Trailways costs an able-bodied rider less than $10. A local wheelchair activist group the AmericanDisabled for Public Transit (ADAPT), has asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to hold a hearing on the matter. ADAPT wants the PUC "to take a moral stand that services provided for the public serve all the citizens with the price of a fare without discrimination." ADAPT estimates that there are 20,000 wheelchair users in the Denver area (90 percent of whom are in the low income category) who are prohibited from traveling by bus. ADAPT requested that the PUC "deny the bus companies' request for rate hikes until they have wheelchair accessible buses that can serve everyone." Most of the major bus manufacturers have refused to build lifts into such over the road coaches.
ADAPT (1849)
[image] [image caption] "The police and the officials wanted us to give up and go away. We don't give up and we don't go away. We'll always be here." Bob Varely [image 2] [image 2 caption] "My wheelchair is my legs. I get mixed reaction when I ride buses. Some people get mad at me that I hold up the bus, but some like the idea." Greg Buchanan
ADAPT (1848)
[Headline] Disabled urge no rate hike for Trailways By Kevin Flynn Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer 1/19/85 Handicapped-rights activists Friday told the Colorado Public Utilities Commission that Trailways Bus Systems should be denied a rate hike until it agrees to make its buses accessible. "It's not that we don't have the technology," said the Rev. Wade Blank, representing a handicapped-rights group known as Atlantis. "But we are dealing with an old mind set and an old prejudice. The technology is here now to make those buses accessible." Blank, who is able-bodied, and four people confined to wheelchairs testified before the commission in a hearing over Trailways' proposed rate change. The bus company wants to restructure its system so that charges are based on mileage instead of destination. In some cases that could raise the cost of a ticket to certain points in Colorado by 300 percent. Ernie Butts of Denver, one of the witnesses, testified he tried to take a bus to Colorado Springs over Christmas to visit his family. He ended up renting a U-Haul trailer because the bus couldn't accommodate both him and his wheelchair. "They should have buses I can get on," Butts testified. "The point is, I wanted to go down there on my own because I live on my own and I want to be independent." Blank said the group is asking bus companies to rig their existing coaches [text cuts off for image] [image] [image caption] Handicapped people leave Public Utilities Commission hearing on Trailways request for rate increases. Rocky Mountain News Staff Photo by Dick Davis. [text resumes] with wheelchair lifts. But both Trailways and Greyhound have bus-building subsidiaries, and Blank and his group want the PUC to deny any more rate hike requests until those subsidiaries, Eagle Coach and MCI, begin to build buses with lifts. "If in fact the bus system is going to serve the public, it ought to serve all the public," said Bob Conrad, another witness who is confided to his wheelchair. "I'm part of the public and I'm not being served." Trailways' attorney, Ed Lyons, asked no questions of the handicapped-rights advocates. He later said he couldn't respond to the issues raised by the witnesses. Robert Temmer, PUC hearing officer, said he would issue a decision on the rate restructuring "in the near future," but wouldn't specify when that would be.
ADAPT (1847)
[Headline] Trailways fare-hike request angers handicapped, parents By Fred gillies Denver Post Staff Writer 1/19/85 A proposal by Trailways Bus Co. to double and in some cases triple its fares would impose a hardship on some parents of blind and deaf children who depend on the buses to maintain family ties, witnesses testified Friday. More than 100 children at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in Colorado Springs depend on the buses to take them home on weekends, Milly Long, a supervisor at the home, testified at a Colorado Public Utilities Commission hearing in Denver. Some of the children's parents would be unable to afford increased bus fares, depriving the children of those weekend visits and resulting in "very sever" deterioration of family relationships, Long testified. A spokesman for a number of wheelchair-bound disabled people also challenged the PUC to require Trailways and Greyhound bus lines to begin to develop a plan to make their buses accessible "for people who use a wheelchair." "We ask that the PUC not allow an increase in (the cost of) tickets until Trailways shows good faith toward the disabled," said Wade Blank, co-director of the Atlantis Community for the handicapped in Denver. Of the 13 disabled people who appeared in wheelchairs at the hearing, four testified, opposing the rate increase and calling for accessibility of all Trailways and Greyhound buses. Other witnesses testified that rather than being allowed to increase its fares, Trailways should improve its sometimes slow and poor service and should act more vigorously within Colorado to fulfill needs for new bus routes that would increase its revenues. Robert Temmer, chief PUC hearings examiner, indicated he will make a decision, in the form of a recommendation to the PUC, "in the near future." Trailways has proposed that on routes within Colorado its fares be increased by an average of 140 percent over current rates. In some instances, the rates could be increased by as much as 321 percent. Trailways' revenues "are down, and we need addition revenues," Gene Stegall, traffic administrator for Trailways in Dallas, said in a recent interview. The proposed rate increases would put rates in all states served by Trailways on a rate-per-mile basis, he said. Increases proposed for Colorado are greater than in other states because rates have been lower in Colorado.
ADAPT (1846)
[Headline] Disabled push for bus access By Constance Johnson Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer Ken Heard gets few things without a struggle. His speech is slurred. When he talks, his wheelchair-bound body contorts until he finally spills out the sentence. He needs three attendants to make it through a day. Heard, who was born with cerebral palsy, also needs a wheelchair lift to ride a bus. Today, he will ask the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to make Greyhound Lines Inc. put lifts on their buses so that he and 20,000 other wheelchair-bound people in the state can ride them. Heard knows the hearing is just the first round of another lengthy battle. "What I want and what they're going to do are two different things," Heard said. "I want them to put it in black and white that they will buy a wheelchair-accessible buses from now on. They're not going to do that. They don't want to do that." A spokesman for Greyhound Lines in Dallas said the company already provides a Helping Hand program for disabled people, which allows the companion of a disabled person to ride for free. "We think this program works well in most cases," said George Gravely. But Wade Blank, co-director of the Atlantis Community, a disabled-rights organization in Denver, said that often a disabled person has to pay a companion at least $5 an hour. If Greyhound refuses to put lifts on buses, then Blank wants the company to pay the travel cost for disabled people who can't use the bus service. Atlantis gained a national reputation by forcing the Regional Transportation District to make its buses wheelchair-accessible through protests during the late 1970s and early '80s. Blank said that while the Greyhound program works for disabled people who use a manual wheelchair, people like Heard are out of luck because Greyhound does not provide for battery-powered wheelchairs. Gravely said the law prohibits the company from [text cuts off for image] [image] [image caption] Ken Heard is seeking a requirement that Greyhound buses have lifts for wheelchairs. Frank Murray/Rocky Mountain News [text resumes] allowing battery-powered wheelchairs on buses because of the chemicals in the batteries. But he said the company could provide manual wheelchairs for passengers. Heard and others said it comes down to civil rights. Heard gets about $370 a month in Social Security benefits and $65 a month from his job with Atlantis as an organizer.
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[Headline] Wheelchairbound Denverite credits Wade Blank for corner ramps [Subheading] Activist helped breach the prison of curbs [section (?) heading] People By Greg Lopez George Roberts was going up Broadway in his motorized wheelchair Wednesday afternoon, explaining why he could go up Broadway in a motorized wheelchair. It was in 1971 outside the nursing home where Wade Blank was an orderly, and Roberts was a resident with cerebral palsy. Blank walked. Robert was in a wheelchair with no power. He turned to Blank and said, "Wade, I can't go any farther." Blank said, "Come on, you can't just quit." "I'm not quitting, Roberts said. "There's no ramp, and I'm sure as hell not going to ride this wheelchair over a curb. You've got to understand that." "I'll try, " Blank said. Blank, 52, the founder of the Atlantis Community and a national handicap rights leader, drowned Monday in Todos Santos, Mexico, trying to save his 8-year-old son, Lincoln. Blank's body was returned Tuesday to Denver, but searchers had not found Lincoln's body. Roberts is 44 and spent the first 26 years of his life in nursing homes and the Ridge Home for the developmentally disabled. Blank had been a Presbyterian minister in Kent, Ohio, earned a master's degree in the theology of rock music, and came to Denver to work as an orderly. It makes sense they became friends. Blank began by organizing fund-raisers at churches to buy Roberts a motorized wheelchair. He took Roberts to a restaurant for the first time. When other residents complained somebody was stealing from their rooms, Blank gave Roberts a flashlight and told him to patrol the hallways. [image] [image caption] George Roberts, who suffers from cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair, credits Wade Blank with helping to improve access for disabled Denver residents. Roberts now has a job and lives independently. Glenn Asakawa/Rocky Mountain News [boxed text] Still Fighting. Disabled activists protest move to reduce nursing home fines/12 [text continues] Two nights later, Roberts shined the flashlight on a man taking a portable radio from a room. The man backed away. Roberts pinned the man against a wall with his wheelchair. "People didn't think I could do it," Roberts said. "I didn't even think I could do it. I think Wade was the only person who did." In 1975, Blank started Atlantis. Roberts moved out of the nursing home to work for him. A year later, Roberts, Blank, and 18 others were charged with disobeying an officer for blocking an RTD bus that didn't have a wheelchair lift. Since then, Roberts has been arrested 36 times in demonstrations for handicap accessibility, and Denver has installed wheelchair lifts on all of its buses and there are ramps at every curb. Roberts is an inspector for Atlantis, going into businesses and riding buses to make sure everybody else can. He lives in a house with a friend. He takes care of himself. Blank helped them to get the ramps, and now it is up to Roberts to see how far he can go. "Wade used to tell me I could do anything I want to do," he said. "He said I didn't need him or anybody to live a good life. Now I've got to prove he was right."
ADAPT (1843)
Rocky Mountain News Wed., Feb. 17, 1993 Greater Denver Deborah Goekeh, City Editor 892-5381 [Headline] Wade Blank, advocate for disabled, drowns [Subheading] Minister who led Denver bus demonstrations and spurred U.S. laws dies as effort to save son fails By Katie Kerwin Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer Wade Blank, who carried the fight for disabled Americans from Denver buses to the halls of Congress, died Monday in Mexico as he tried to save his drowning child. Violent waves and a powerful undertow claimed them both as Blank's wife, Molly, and daughter, Caitlin, watched from the shore. Their other daughter, Heather, 22, was in Denver. Blank was 52. His son, Lincoln, was 8. Co-director of the Denver-based Atlantis Community and a Presbyterian minister, Blank is credited with spurring groundbreaking state and national legislation guaranteeing rights to disabled Americans. Although he was not disabled, Blank was inspired to improve living conditions for the disabled after working in a Denver nursing home in the mid-1970s. "The Americans With Disabilities Act would not have passed without his leadership," said Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities. "Wade Blank was a great moral person-a great loving human being," Dart said. "He marched in the footsteps of the great moral leaders who have used civil disobedience combined with loving leadership to change the world. Presi-[text cuts off] [image] [image caption] Wade Blank, center, and Atlantis Community co-workers Robin Stephens and Ken Herd head South Broadway near the headquarters of the organization, which aids the disabled, in 1991. Rocky Mountain News file photo. [text resumes] -dent Clinton and the 43 million Americans with disabilities would join me in celebrating the life of this great soldier of justice and extending our most profound sympathy to his family and colleagues." Blank, his wife and children were vacationing in Todos Santos, Baja California, Mexico. He had been there since Feb. 9. The village, about 50 miles north of Cabo San Lucas, was a favorite getaway for the family. "Lincoln was out swimming and was pulled in by the undertow, and Wade went out to get him. They were both pulled in by the undertow," said Mike Auberger, co-president of the Atlantis Community. Molly Blank tried to summon help. "It was just too quick. The area has real rough water. It happens, and it happens quick," Auberger said. Blank's wife and daughter returned to Denver late Tuesday. They brought Blank's body home, but Lincoln's body has not yet been recovered. Funeral plans have not been determined. A demonstration planned for May in Washington, D.C., will become a tribute to Blank, Auberger said. Just last week Blank and the Atlantis Community filed formal complaints with the Department of Justice protesting the lack of wheelchair access to taxis in Denver. It was just the latest chapter in a long civil-rights battle. Blank called the disabled "the most powerless people in our society." "I fight the notion they should just be Jerry's kids. I want them to have control," he said. Blank grew up in Canton, Ohio, went to an all-white high school and college, and supported Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon for president. A black friend dared him to go to Selma, Ala., to march with Martin Luther King, Jr. Blank became pastor of a church in Kent, Ohio, which became an underground meeting place for the Students for a Democratic Society. After the killings of Kent State students by national guardsmen during a war protest, he went back to McCormick Theological Seminary for a master's degree. He moved to Denver and worked as an orderly in a nursing home. In 1975, Blank co-founded the Atlantis Community to tech the disabled how to live outside institutions and, soon after, he began attacking the barriers to independent living with confrontational, non-violent protests. In 1978, Atlantis members made national headlines when they surrounded two RTD buses with wheelchairs at Colfax Avenue and Broadway because RTD would not install wheelchair lifts, making Denver the first city in the nation with 100% accessible public transportation. Staff writer Kerri Smith and the Associated Press contributed to this report.