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Início / Álbuns / Cincinnati, Spring 1986 39
Data de envio / 2016 / junho / 8
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The Cincinnati Post, Thursday, May 22, 1986 [We don't seem to have the beginning of this article] Protest (from page 1B) from the city if they chose to post bond. They did not. Kelli Bates, 21, of Denver, the only woman arrested, was the only ADAPT member to plead no contest to a disorderly conduct charge against her. Albanese found her guilty and sentenced her to 30 days in jail if she has not left the city by Friday or enters the city before Friday. Lonnie Smith, 30, of Denver, charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, pleaded not guilty. Albanese set a $2500 10-percent bond for the resisting charge and a $1500 10-percent bond for the disorderly conduct charge. Those pleading not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and placed on a $1500 10 percent cash bond were Ernest Taylor, 31, of Hartford, Conn.; William Bolte, 54, of Los Angeles; Glenn Horton, 46, of El Paso, Texas; Joseph Carl, 47, of Denver, and James Parker, 40, of El Paso. Those pleading not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and given higher bonds because of prior records were Robert Conard, 32, of Denver, on a $2000 10-percent cash bond and George Roberts, 37, of Denver on a $3000 10-percent cash bond. Those pleading not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and released on a $1500 unsecured bond because of medical problems were Arthur Campbell, 39, of Louisville; Kenneth Heart, 36, of Denver; Efrain Lozano, 35, of El Paso; George Florom, 43, of Colorado Springs, Col; and Rick James, 36, of Salt Lake City. In all cases where bond could be posted, Albanese warned the people not to return to Cincinnati except for court appearances or meetings with their attorneys. The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is investigating complaints that some handicapped people may have been denied access to the Westin Hotel. Robert Harris, the commission’s community representative for the disabled, said today at least four handicapped persons not connected with ADAPT were at least temporarily denied entrance to the hotel. “The process was geared against people in wheelchairs,” Harris said.
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The Cincinnati Post Tuesday, May 20, 1986 Lighthouse logo of Scripps Howard and the motto: "Give light and the people will find their own way." Editor Paul F. Knue, Editorial Page Editor Claudia Winkler, Managing Editor J. Stephen Fagan, Associate Editor James L. Adams 125 East Court Street, Cincinnati. OH 45202 (513)352-2000 Editorials Title: Buses and the disabled Shades of the civil rights movement returned to Cincinnati yesterday when members of ADAPT, which stands for American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, interfered with the operation of Queen City Metro buses. One latched onto a wheel well, and two others boarded and refused to leave. The protesters say members of the American Public Transit Association, who are meeting here this week, are moving slowly or not at all toward making all buses and trains fully accessible for the handicapped. They point to Metro, which has many buses without wheelchair lifts and 87 with lifts that it refuses to operate, as a microcosm of the problem nationwide. Some may condemn the protesters’ tactics of interrupting normal transit service, albeit by relatively non-violent means. The larger question, however, is whether the transit systems are going out of their way to leave the handicapped at curbside. That's certainly not the case with Metro. Metro has contracted with a private company to provide door-to-door (more accurately, curb-to-curb) service for the handicapped within Cincinnati. The system isn't perfect, but it is growing. Complaints abounds that scheduling the Access vans is difficult, and Metro has failed to meet a five-year goal of providing van service to all of Hamilton County, says general manager Tony Kouneski. The problem, here and elsewhere, is one of money. ADAPT wants the lifts as well as the door-to-door service. It’s tough to have it both ways, especially since federal dollars for mass transit have been cut almost 25 percent by the Reagan administration. States have been hard-pressed to fill that gap, and a sales tax increase for Metro failed miserably in 1980. Kouneski says if Metro did, indeed, have an extra $350,000 for operating and maintaining the 87 wheelchair lifts, the money would be better spent on door-to-door service. That's a decision that groups such as the Greater Cincinnati Coalition of People With Disabilities and Metro's own advisory council for the handicapped should help make and implement. Members of national groups such as ADAPT, meanwhile, have made their point. They should now turn their efforts to such things as legal parades and peaceful picketing. Instead of continuing their Cincinnati protest, they should devote their energies to lobbying Washington and the legislatures to fund their full-access plan before someone is seriously injured.
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The Cincinnati Post, Wednesday, May 21, 1986 I-B Title: Disabled activists may defy court order in bus protest By Mary Kane, Post staff reporter Wheelchair-bound activists are prepared to defy a court order today and force a showdown with city authorities over what rights the handicapped have to public transportation. The Rev. Wade Blank, a founder of Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, said three activists ordered to get out of town will hold a news conference at noon in front of the Westin Hotel. Robert Kafka of Austin, Texas, George Cooper of Dallas and Michael Auberger of Denver risk being jailed on disorderly conduct charges if they show up at the Westin. Judge David Albanese of Hamilton County Municipal Court on Monday ordered the three to leave Cincinnati Tuesday or forfeit their $3000 bonds. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for June 26. The men were arrested Monday during a demonstration in front of the Westin, where conferees of the American Public Transportation Association are meeting. The activists have been staying at a Newport hotel, an arrangement that does not violate Albanese's order. However, once inside Cincinnati city limits they are in violation. Members of ADAPT, a national handicapped rights group, have pitted their wheelchairs against the steel frames of buses to protest what they call a lack of accessibility to public transportation for the handicapped. Mr. Blank, a Presbyterian minister, said 12 severely handicapped ADAPT members also will attend the news conference today and announce their intent to block buses in the street. That tactic is intended to challenge law enforcement authorities. Mr. Blank said police have been reluctant to arrest the most severely handicapped of the group. A member with cerebral palsy will be among today's protesters, he said. Mr. Blank said the 12 will risk arrest by the action.
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May 22, 1986 - Cheyenne Wyoming State Tribune—27 [Headline] Handicapped Protesters Arrested CINCINNATI (UPI) — A group of handicapped protesters charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass refused to post bond and spent the night in the Hamilton County Justice Center. The demonstrators, protesting the lack of access to public transportation for the disabled, were arrested Wednesday for blocking entrances to the Westin Hotel and the building housing offices of the city's bus system. The Westin was singled out because the American Public Transportation Association was holding a regional conference there this week. Barricades had been erected to keep the protesters from entering the hotel. Several of those arrested were released on unsecured appearance bonds for medical reasons. The first defendant's trial was scheduled for next Wednesday. “If the Cincinnati transit system, police and judicial system deny access to disabled people, why can't the disabled block the access to the system,” said Michael Auberger of Denver before his arrest. “We just want to be treated like everyone else.” Auberger was among those who spent the night in jail. About 40 wheelchair-bound members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, based in Denver, participated in the demonstration. Fourteen were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Robert Kafka of Austin, Texas, George Cooper of Dallas and Auberger, all of whom had been arrested earlier in the week, were charged with criminal trespassing for blocking the entrance to the building where Queen City Metro's offices are located. The three men, confined to wheelchairs, had been arrested Monday for refusing to get off a bus they had paid to board. A Hamilton County Judge had ordered them to leave Cincinnati until their trial, but another judge rescinded the order Wednesday morning. Auberger, Cooper and Kafka attempted to speak to Queen City officials but were not permitted to enter their offices. When they returned to the ground floor, they chained their wheelchairs together to block the entrance. One worker was forced to use an alternative route to return to her office. "We asked one lady to wait a few minutes," Auberger said. “The disabled are told to wait a lifetime.” The Rev. Wade Blank, director of ADAPT, said some staff members would remain in Cincinnati and that local clergy would be asked to monitor and support those arrested.
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The Cincinnati Post 6/26/68 Local report Courts Title: Wheelchair protestors ignore court CINCINNATI - The arrests of four wheelchair-bound protestors were ordered after they failed to appear for their trial today in Hamilton County Municipal Court. The four men were charged with disorderly conduct during protests against Queen City Metro and transit officials here for a conference. Defense attorney Joni Wilkins said she wrote a letter to each of four men - George Florum, of Colorado Springs: Colo.; Rick James of Salt Lake City; Kenneth Hart, of Denver, Colo.; and Arthur Campbell, of Louisville, Ky. -- advising them of the court date. Only Campbell acknowledged the letter, she said. Judge J. Howard Sunderman ordered warrants for the arrests of the four on a charge of failure to appear in court and forfeiture of the $1500 unsecured bonds of each defendant. Ms. Wilkins said it is unlikely any of the four would return to Ohio where they could be arrested on the warrants.
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THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER THURSDAY, MAY 22, 1986 section B PHOTO by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Michael E. Keating: From inside a van you see a man with long braids, a headband and a trimmed beard (Mike Auberger) sitting in a motorized wheelchair. He is wearing an ADAPT "no steps" logo shirt with a band across his chest. His expression is calm, almost removed from the situation. On either side and behind him police officers stand as a lift raises him up to van level. Through the window of the front door you can see a crowd standing by. Caption reads: Michael Auberger, Denver, Colo., is loaded into a police van Wednesday after being arrested for trespassing at Queen City Metro headquarters, where handicapped activists are protesting the lack of access to city buses. [Headline] Disabled protesters won’t post bail BY DAVID WELLS The Cincinnati Enquirer Eleven disabled men remain in the Hamilton County Justice Center Wednesday, unwilling to post bonds set by the court after they were arrested downtown Wednesday, during a protest over lack of public transportation for the handicapped. Municipal Judge David Albanese ordered five other protesters released against their will, saying their medical conditions could not be adequately treated in the jail. All 16 protesters pleaded not guilty. "This is the first time in the history of our movement that the disabled haw been locked up in jail overnight for making their protests,” said the Rev. Wade Blank, a founder of ADAPT (American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation), to which all the protesters belong. The protesters plan to stay in jail because "bonds just play the game they want us to play," said William Bolte, one of those arrested. "We aren't just going to pay a bond and go away." The ADAPT members came to Cincinnati this week from all over the United States to demonstrate before a convention of the American Public Transit Association being held at the Westin Hotel. ADAPT wants the transit association to pass a resolution in support of full accessibility to public ...[the rest is missing.] Boxed Text: Rights violations charged By Tony Puch, The Cincinnati Enquirer The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is considering an investigation into allegations against Westin Hotel of violating the civil rights of some handicapped citizens. Robert Harris, the commission's community representative for the disabled, said he had received four "solid" complaints and four to six possible complaints about the Westin's policies toward the handicapped while the ... (Pease see WESTIN, back page, this section) [We are missing second part of this story]
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Cincinnati Enquirer 5/28/86 Disabled protesters released on promise to leave city by David Wells, The Cincinnati Enquirer Leaders of last week's disabled rights protests of Cincinnati left jail four days early Tuesday after Municipal Judge J. Howard Sundermann agreed to reduce their sentences. Last Friday, Sundermann sentenced Robert Kafka of Austin, Texas, George Cooper of Dallas and Michael Auberger of Denver to spend 10 days in jail for disorderly conduct. The judge gave each man credit for two days already served, but said they would have to remain incarcerated until this Friday. He modified those sentences Tuesday, saying the medical condition of at least one man seemed to be deteriorating and all three promised to leave Cincinnati if released. The men are members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT). They came to Cincinnati last week to demonstrate against the American Public Transit Association, which was holding a convention at the Westin Hotel. The group also demonstrated against Queen City Metro in an effort to get the company to include wheelchair lifts on all new buses. The rest of 17 protesters arrested last Wednesday with Auberger, Kafka and Cooper were released by Friday, but Sundermann said the three leaders deserved more severe sentences than the others because they disobeyed an earlier court order. The three first were arrested for disorderly conduct May 18 during a demonstration against Queen City Metro at Government Square. They were released on bond and told to stay out of Cincinnati until their trials. Sundermann modified that order last Wednesday morning, saying the men could rejoin the ongoing protests as long as they did not break any laws. Within three hours, Kafka, Auberger and Cooper were rearrested, accused of blocking the Fourth Street entrance to Metro headquarters by chaining their wheelchairs together. “They apologized for that this morning," Sundermann said. “They said they just got caught up in the spirit of the protest.” Sundermann agreed to reduce the sentences on a motion from defense attorney Joni Wilkens, who noted that Auberger had been taken to University Hospital Sunday because of a recurrent medical problem related to his disability. Assistant City Prosecutor Charles Rubenstein did not object to the reduction of the sentences. All three men are confined to wheelchairs, and Wilkens said she was afraid continued time in jail might impair their health. After leaving jail Tuesday, Kafka said the three “felt we had made our point and raised awareness (of) the problems of the disabled."
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The Cincinnati Post, Wednesday, June 11, 1986 11A Opinion Small photo of the head of a white man with short hair and black rimmed eye glasses. James L. Adams Crosscurrents Title: Pretenders to the Civil Rights movement The attempts of minorities of all stripes to identify with the black experience in America to gain even legitimate goals strike me as being a deception and a fraud. It also trivializes the dehumanization the blacks suffered at the hands of the white majority for 350 years. Only one group was brought to this country in chains, treated like animals, sold on the block like livestock, forced to live in shanties and valued only for the labor they could produce. And even after being freed from the shackles of slavery, blacks were denied their civil rights for another 100 years. No other group in this country has had to suffer those indignities. Yet minorities as diverse as militant feminists, homosexuals and the handicapped hoist the banner of oppression and try to do a black face routine as farcical as the old showboat acts on the Mississippi of the last century. The wheelchair protests staged by the Denver-based American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) here last month are only the latest examples of groups with gripes trying to piggyback on the black civil rights struggle. Let us all agree that more needs to be done to make sure the disabled among us can get where they want to go. And there obviously are cities doing more than Cincinnati to make public transportation accessible. Denver is one. But that is begging the question. Cincinnati is not Denver. Queen City Metro is strapped for funds. It cannot provide all the service it would like for the handicapped—or even the able-bodied. But the issue is money, not civil rights. Determined to get arrested, the wheelchair protesters blocked the Westin hotel entrances, grabbed onto the wheel well of buses to keep them from moving, and one wacko with a death wish even rolled into the path of a bus going 40 mph. Bob Kafka, one of the 14 arrested—and given special treatment at the Hamilton County Justice Center—wrote a letter to The Post that began: “I am writing this letter from the Hamilton County Jail, in which I am spending Memorial Day, for the crime of trying to ride public transportation." Kafka's emotional appeal falls flat. (He obviously was trying to imitate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail" stirred the conscience of a nation.) Kafka's crime was not that of trying to ride public transportation. He was charged with disorderly conduct for crawling aboard a bus, dragging his wheelchair, dropping 50 cents in the fare box and then demanding to ride - knowing full well the bus could not move with him on it. But Kafka, in his letter, attempts to equate the problems of the handicapped with those of blacks who were forced to ride in the back of the bus: “Those in power have decided to oppress us and make sure disabled people do not ‘step out of line’ and assert their rights," Kafka wrote. “Queen City Metro decided they were going to keep disabled people in their place.” By couching his complaint in vintage 1960s language, Kafka confuses the issue. The disabled should be heard. But they should give rational reasons for their demands for equal access to public transportation and not try posing as an oppressed minority that dares not “step out of line." I didn't see any cattle prods or police dogs used to quell the demonstrations. After the protesters had left town, Council Member David Mann had pangs of conscience that caused him to make some of the silliest statements in the annals of Mann. “It seems to me that every human being in Cincinnati — visitors, handicapped or otherwise — had the absolute right to enter the Fountain Square South complex on equal terms," Mann wrote, as if he had been living in a cave during the four-day wheelchair protests. “If you and I were free to move unfettered into the public areas of the Westin, then those who happen to move by wheelchair should have been treated precisely the same." I know philosophers have struggled for centuries to define reality. After reading Mann’s views on what took place in front of the Westin, I can understand why. His perceptions are unreal. Those who happened to “move by wheelchair” were not treated precisely the same as others because they were intentionally trying to block the entrances and disrupt bus service. That's called breaking the law. It seems to me that even a council member from Clifton, who happens to be a lawyer, should be able to make that distinction. The restrictions were not based on class discrimination. Rather, they were triggered by those misguided handicapped persons who believe they can gain greater access to public places by denying that right to others. The wheelchair protesters would have scored more points with the public by shunning crazy antics and making their appeal in a sane manner. I think it revealing that the Greater Cincinnati Coalition of People With Disabilities refused to participate in the public demonstrations. The coalition leaders believe they can accomplish more by talking with local city and bus officials than by trying to disrupt traffic. They certainly will gain more public sympathy. James L Adams is associate editor of The Post. PHOTO by the Associated Press: Two men in wheelchairs, one with dark curly hair and a beard in a manual wheelchair (Bob Kafka), and the other with long braids, a headband and a dark beard (Mike Auberger), block a narrow hallway. Both are wearing light colored shirts with the ADAPT no steps logo in black. Behind them at least seven men -- two appear to be police officers -- stand, looking somewhat exasperated. caption reads: Bob Kafka. left, and Mike Auberger chained themselves together to block the entrance to Queen City Metro offices.
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Friday. May 45, I986, Gazette Telegraph -- A3 headlines Gazette Telegraph wire services the nation Title: Cincinnati called civil rights battleground CINCINNATI — Leaders of 17 wheelchair-bound protesters who were arrested while demonstrating for access to public transit buses say Cincinnati has become a civil rights battleground. “This is the Selma, Ala., of the disabled civil rights movement,” said the Rev. Wade Blank of Denver, a co-founder of the group American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, which staged this week's protests. Seventeen protesters from Texas, Colorado and Utah were arrested Wednesday, when the American Public Transit Association concluded its regional meeting. Some boarded buses and declined requests that they get off. Others blocked a parking entrance to the hotel where the association met, while three others chained themselves together to block a doorway in the Queen City Metro headquarters.
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2A The Cincinnati Post, Monday, May 19, 1986 PHOTO by Lawrence A. Lambert/The Cincinnati Post: Shot from the back, the picture shows a long line of people in wheelchairs, little in the distance, across the bottom of the shot. They are marching across the end of the bridge from Kentucky into Cincinnati, OH. In the background the large solid buildings of downtown Cincinnati form almost a protective wall, and their little windows peer out. At the end of the bridge in the bottom right side of the shot, two officers stand facing the marchers. Caption reads: Handicapped protest: Some of the 85 visiting members of ADAPT, a national group protesting inaccessibility of city buses to the handicapped, wheel their way to the Westin Hotel Sunday to demonstrate at the start of a convention of the American Public Transit Association. There were no arrests Sunday, but some protesters have vowed to disrupt Queen City Metro service this week by chaining themselves to buses. Story on Page 1B.
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The Cincinnati Enquirer (This article continues on ADAPT 232 but the story is included here in its entirety for easier reading.) Title: Disabled protesters spark Metro debate BY PAUL FURIGA The handicapped protesters who halted Queen City Metro buses have left jail and Hamilton County, but the controversy they created remains. Leaders in the disabled community shied away from the demonstrations and arrests, but quietly applauded members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation's (ADAPT) actions. Almost two weeks ago Cincinnati police arrested 17 ADAPT members when they attempted to block the Vine Street entrance to the Westin Hotel and the Fourth Street entrance to Queen City Metro's offices. The demonstrators came from all over the United States to protest at the convention of the American Public Transit Association at the Westin. Their protests raised hopes in Cincinnati. A fire has started; and it's important to keep the flames fanned," said Basil Vlahopoulos, co-chairman of Metro‘s Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC). “if it dies, it will take another 10 years to get it started.” Metro officials who run Access, the local transit service for the disabled, also find themselves in the public eye for the first time in several years. “I think we" understand the need is there for more service,” said Judith Van Ginkel, spokeswoman for Metro. “The question is one of funding and do we have the funds available.” “Every dollar is precious, and the issue is to put each dollar to best possible use,” said Murray C. Bond, Metro's assistant general manager. Both camps agree that the ADAPT visit raised the public awareness of public transportation for the handicapped. Both also agree that a big debate on Access is in the future, the result of the ADAPT visit and recent changes in federal regulations. Metro officials and handicapped leaders do not agree on the extent of problems with the current situation, or on the solutions that might improve transportation for the handicapped. At Metro, Access manager Carl Palmer and Bond point out that each one-way Access trip costs taxpayers more than $10. The annual cost for Access, Palmer said, is more than $1 million. For that money, he said Metro makes an estimated 105,000 one-way trips for passengers each year, charging them 60 cents each. Palmer said Metro turns away only 4% to 5% of those who call to schedule Access service. But he acknowledges that Access meets only 6% of the estimated potential demand in Hamilton County. A new federal interpretation of regulation 504, which mandates handicapped service, will require Metro to add about $200,000 to its Access service in 1987. That may allow service with two to three new vans, Palmer said. But even that, he said, will not make much of a dent. Bond says he sees few alternatives. As expensive as the Access service is, he argues that it would cost $6 million to equip Metro's 379-bus fleet with lifts that would accommodate handicapped passengers in lieu of Access.
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OHIO DIGEST 5/86 Title: Disabled to protest in Cincy ASSOCIATED PRESS CINCINNATI — About 100 people in wheelchairs plan to disrupt city bus service for four days starting tomorrow because they say public transportation is frequently not available to the handicapped. The action by Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, or ADAPT, a Denver-based organization, is timed to coincide with a meeting of transportation industry officials here, said Michael Auberger, an ADAPT community organizer. An estimated 800 to 1,000 members of the American Public Transportation Association, the nation’s major public transportation association, begin a five-day regional conference downtown today. “We have not decided upon specific strategy, but some type of civil disobedience will be taken, Auberger said. “We might inconvenience the public, but the fact is, we can’t even get on the bus.” Judith Van Ginkel, a Queen City Metro spokeswoman, said police and the company were prepared for a protests and that a disruption in service was possible.
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The Cincinnati Post Saturday, June 21, 1986 125 East Court ST, Cincinnati, OH 45202 513-352-2000 Editor Paul F. Knue Managing Editor J. Stephen Fagan Editorial Page Editor Claudia Winkler Associate Editor James L Adams Editorials Title: Transit for the disabled The recent tactics of the handicapped militants who attempted to block traffic, obstruct entry to the Westin Hotel and stop buses by grabbing onto the wheel wells to protest the lack of wheelchair lifts on public buses detracted from the legitimate claims of the disabled for better transit service in Cincinnati. The fact is bus service for the handicapped here is inadequate. On that score, Queen City Metro management and the handicapped agree. Both sides also agree that dwindling public transit funds compound the problem. It is a problem, however, that Queen City Metro needs to resolve. Service for the disabled should be improved and expanded. Metro officials sat down four years ago with the Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee, representing the handicapped, and worked out a five-year plan to develop service for the disabled. The plan called for providing curb-to-curb service with a fleet of vans called Access. But a shortfall in public funds prevented that plan from being fully implemented. As a result, the committee is charging Metro with failing to keep its promise. On the surface, the Access service is impressive. The 15 vans operate six days a week and make as many as 400 trips a day, carrying 105,000 passengers annually for 60 cents a ride. But the demand is so great that handicapped persons often have to wait as much as a week or longer to get a van to carry them to the dentist or grocery store. Understandably, frustration is mounting. Now the disabled are lobbying for dual service—Access vans and expensive lift-equipped buses on the regular routes. The handicapped contend they have as much right to ride the bus as able-bodied citizens. But Tony Kouneski, Metro president, still believes he can get more for the money—serve more disabled people—by expanding Access. Kouneski’s argument is hard to refute. Experience in some other cities bears him out. In Los Angeles, 1800 buses equipped with lifts are transporting all of 40 wheelchair users a day. But the issue has now become philosophical as well as financial, and Queen City Metro officials must take care to remain responsive. The leaders of the handicapped in Cincinnati are to be commended for their refusal to participate in the demonstrations staged by the Denver-based group. Metro management, by demonstrating its good faith, should make sure that the handicapped never regret their choice.
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PHOTO: AP LASERPHOTO: A small man with curly hair and glasses (Jack Warren) stands, looking a bit unsteady and concentrating, on the steps of the front doorway of a bus. A police officer in front of him holds Jack's right hand, supporting him as he holds the railing with his left hand. Behind him, inside the bus, another police officer leans forward toward the man's back, presumably supporting him from behind. The officer in front is holding his other hand out gesturing toward a scooter that is in front of the steps. Bus protest Cincinnati police help Jack Warren, of Cleveland, to his motorized cart after he was told he could not ride a bus Monday. Warren is a member of group protesting the inaccessibility of buses to the handicapped. The bus company serves handicapped riders with special vans rather than letting them ride buses. Bus officials say cuts in federal funding for public transportation have left the agency without money to equip its regular buses with wheelchair lifts.
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The Cincinnati Post May 27, 1986 Wheelchair protesters freed early Post staff report A motion for early release of three wheelchair-bound activists was granted today by Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge J. Howard Sundermann Jr. On Friday, Sundermann sentenced Michael Auberger of Denver, George Cooper of Dallas and Bob Kafka of Austin, Texas, to 10 days in jail for their part in a protest last week at the main office of Queen City Metro. Attorney Joni Wilkens had argued against a jail term for health reasons. Today Sundermann ordered the three released after serving six days of their sentences for trespassing. Before granting the motion for early release, Sundermann asked them if they planned to go to another city and “do the same thing?” Auberger and Kafka said no, that they planned to return to their homes. Cooper did not reply.w “I think we made our point. The issue (of access to public transportation) won’t go away,” Kafka said following the hearing. Auberger, Cooper and Kafka are members of Americans Disabled for Public Transportation, which demonstrated against the lack of access by the handicapped to Queen City Metro buses.