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Trang chủ / Đề mục / Columbus Ohio, fall 1999 29
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[Headline] Disabled activists continue their protest [Subheading] No arrests reported; 5 demonstrators meet with state Medicaid official BY JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU COLUMBUS Protests on behalf of the disabled continued to plague state offices for a third day yesterday, but this time the chants and street theatrics weren't accompanied by arrests. "We're ADAPT! You're trapped! Get used to it!" about 100 members of the activist group American Disabled for Attendant Pro-grams Today shouted as they pro-tested for two hours outside the downtown Riffe Center. The building houses the offices of Governor Taft, Speaker of the House Jo Ann Davidson, and many state agencies. A Franklin County temporary restraining order prohibiting pro-testers from blocking the entrances of state government offices remained in place. About 118 were cited for violating that order during a protest at the Riffe Center Monday and 97 were arrested Tuesday at the nearby Rhodes Tower. The Ohio Highway Patrol guarded the doors of the Statehouse yesterday in case the demonstration moved across the street. The activist group has been pushing for more money to promote independent living by the disabled as an alternative to nursing homes and other institutional. settings. A patrol spokesman, Sgt. Gary Lewis, confirmed that no arrests were made. State Sen. Mike Shoemaker (D., Bourneville), assailed the police reaction to the protests earlier in the week, calling it "militia-like." "To present such massive display of law enforcement power to intimidate disabled citizens who just want to live as independently as possible is a classic over-reaction on the part of those who want to hear no problems, see no problems, and speak about no problems," he said. The state figures damages from the protests have cost taxpayers $9,327. Damages include carpet and plants outside. the governor's office because of urination by pro-testers as well as several locks on revolving doors, said Paul Krimm, general manager of the two buildings. Five ADAPT members members did meet with Barb Edwards, deputy director of the Department of Human Services' Medicaid office, department spokesman Jon Allen said. Mike Eakin, 37, a Toledo man suffering from muscular dystrophy, and his wife, Shona, 30, who has cerebral palsy, said they were among those detained and photographed by troopers this week, but they were not cited. "I want to be able to continue to live in my own home and not be forced into a nursing home," said Mr. Eakin, who uses a wheelchair. "If they cut. off the assistance they're talking about cutting off, I may be in a situation where I may have to go to a nursing home." Although discussions had been held about a meeting with Governor Taft, none materialized. He was in Cleveland yesterday. "At this point, we're more interested in the safety of state employees and the people who have business with the state," he said. "Their behavior shows they're less interested in meetings than they are in media." ADAPT is expected to leave Columbus today. Many of those from outside the state don't plan to stick around for their Franklin court dates, beginning Monday. Michael Auberger, ADAPT's national organizer from Denver, Colo., said the organization has made arrangements with a local attorney.
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Dayton Daily news SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1999 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1999 [Headline] OtherViews [Subheading] Speak Up >- Re the Nov. 2 front-page article about the protesters in Columbus ("Protesters shut down office tower"). The picture shown was of a man from El Paso, Texas. Do the protesters really find it necessary to import people from as far away as Texas to complain about something in Columbus? >- I could not believe my eyes when I saw the Nov. 3 front page: Ohio Highway Patrol officers arresting people in wheel-chairs, actually taking them out of their wheelchairs. Doesn't the Highway Patrol have some real criminals to be. apprehend-Me It needs to get its priorities straight. [Subheading] COMMENT BY PHONE Have a brief compliment, criticism or comment? Call us and make your point in 30 seconds. Comments on local issues are especially welcomed. Dial 463-4636, then 1015. E-mail comments of no more than 30 words are accepted at speakup@coxohio.com
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Toledo Blade 11/3/99 [image] [image caption] ASSOCIATED PRESS State troopers remove a man from his wheelchair during a protest in Columbus. [headline] Arrests mark 2nd day of protests in Columbus BY JAMES DREW BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF COLUMBUS As state troopers arrested Bob Kafka, lifting him from his wheelchair into a van for those with disabilities, he shouted over and over "You're making a big mistake." A half-hour earlier, Mr. Kafka, a national organizer for American Disabled for Attendant Pro-grams Today, had used a bull-horn to announce that Jacqui Romer-Sensky, director of the state Department of Human Services, had agreed to meet with ADAPT members. It was a victory for the disability rights activists. For the second consecutive day, they had blocked access to a state office building here, banging on the glass doors and chanting slogans. But the victory was only temporary. At 3:29 p.m., after warning the disabled activists to stop blocking the James A. Rhodes Tower, the arrests began, as snow swirled around Statehouse Square. Troopers wheeled and carried the activists into vans along Broad Street. The Highway Patrol cited 97 protesters for criminal trespass, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. They were processed at a state building and released, said Sgt. Gary Lewis, a patrol spokesman. ADAPT members "from across the nation are protesting that the majority of federal and state funds for long-term care of the disabled flows to nursing homes and other institutions. Scott Milburn, the governor's press secretary, said ADAPT members called Ms. Romer-Sensky and offered to leave the entrance to the Rhodes Tower if she would meet with them. [pulled quote] Protesters were cited twice yesterday for criminal trespass [text resumes] Ms. Romer-Sensky agreed, but ADAPT members did not halt their demonstration and time ran out as vans arrived to take away those who were arrested, Mr. Milburn said. "We have 4,000 state workers in this building, and we have to get them out safely. The issue is safety and access. Any talk about meetings is secondary," he said. Yesterday, security was tight at the Riffe Center, a state office building where 118 disabled activists were cited early yesterday for first-degree criminal trespassing,. State troopers took action after activists occupied the floors where the governor and House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson (R., Reynoldsburg) have their offices. Yesterday, about 100 ADAPT members moved their protest to the other huge state office building on Statehouse Square, the Rhodes Tower. Toledoan Mike Eakin was among the protesters in wheel-chairs who blocked the building's main entrance. He said Governor Taft was making excuses to avoid meeting with ADAPT. Mr. Milburn said the governor had disarmed the group by offering late last week to meet, but ADAPT declined. State troopers stood inside the Rhodes Tower yesterday afternoon to enforce a temporary restraining order that the governor's office received from a Franklin County judge. The order said ADAPT members could not obstruct public access to state office buildings or interfere with the operation of state government. A half-hour before the arrests, about 10 state troopers sprinted around the side of the Rhodes Tower and grabbed -a large wooden cross that one of the protesters held. "We were putting up our cross; I guess they don't like religion," said Frank Crall, an ADAPT member from Denver. But Mr. Milburn said state troopers took the item because of suspicion it could have been used as a "battering ram."
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[image] [image caption] Members of ADAPT, a disability-rights activist group, take over the 14th floor lobby in the Riffe Center. About 200 members protested on two floors of the building yesterday, seeking a meeting with the governor and criticizing Ohio's funding of community-based services for the disabled. Grace Beahm/Dispatch [Headline] Daylong protest turns into standoff [Subheading] Disability-rights activists came to support a bill that would give more independent-living options. By Matthew Marx, Connie A. Higgins and Kevin Kidder Dispatch Staff Reporters State troopers early this morning continued to clear the Riffe Center of most of the hundreds of members of a national disability-rights activist group that occupied portions of the building throughout the day. As of about 12:50 a.m., 41 protesters had been charged with one count each of criminal trespassing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. None of those charged was taken to jail. All were ordered to appear Monday in Franklin County Municipal Court. Everyone charged is from out of state and a member of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, an activist group with chapters in 39 states. Several dozen protesters, most in wheelchairs, were removed--carried, wheeled or pushed--from the building. One man fell from his wheelchair and appeared to shake until picked up. Information about him wasn't available, though paramedics weren't called. [image] [image] Larry Biondi of Chicago handcuffed himself to a door in the building during the protest. [text continues] Troopers wore surgucal masks, rubber gloves, and goggles as they dealt wuth the crowd. Sgt. Gary Lewis of the State Highway Patrol said the gear was worn because some of the protesters had urinated on the floors. Some of the protesters said they weren't allowed to use restrooms, which Lewis sais was untrue. "There was nothing that prohibited their access to use any of the public restrooms." As troopers cleared people from the building early this morning, it marked about the 15th hour that the protesters had been in portions of the Riffe Center. At one point yesterday, more than 450 protesters lined the State Street entrance of the Riffe Center, 77 S. High St., and positioned themselves in the lobbies of two floors. It started at about 9:30 a.m., when the group asked for a meeting with Gov. Bob Taft. "We came here today in good faith, and we plan to stay here as long as it takes," said Mike Oxford, a member of the activist group. But Lewis told the group that members would be charged when the building closed for the day. "The building closes at 6 p.m., and as of 6:01 they'll be trespassing and arrests will be made," Lewis said of the protesters. The group's organizers said they are in Columbus to support House Bill 215--legislation that would give people with disabilities more independent living options. They are expected to be in town through Thursday for a national conference at the Hyatt on Capitol Square. The state obtained a temporary restraining order late last night that restricts the protesters' access to all state buildings, Taft spokesman Scott Milburn said. "We need to keep these buildings open so the people of Ohio can conduct their business," he said. The order keeps activists from blocking access to state buildings and allows five at a time to protest on the 14th and 30th floors of the Riffe Center. Hundreds of the protesters had gathered on those floors because the office of Ohio House Speaker JoAnn Davidson is on the 14th floor and Taft's office is on the 30th. "We would like to sit down with Gov. Taft and explain the importance of what it means to live in your own home and what freedom and dignity it gives to people when they have control of their lives, opposed to someone else," said Mike Auberger, a co-founder of the organization based in Denver. He said that Ohio is one of the 10 worst states in regard to spending dollars on community-based services for the disabled. Auberger also said that Ohio and other states force those with disabilities to live in nursing homes or state institutions by pouring state and federal funding into those institutions. "Ohio spends 89 cents on institutional services such as nursing homes and state institutions and 11 cents per person on community-based services," he said. State officials countered, saying that from 1992 to 1998, the number of people receiving home and community care grew by 200 percent and that the number of people in nursing homes grew by only 6 percent. Milburn said the governor sent a letter to the organization last week to welcome it to Columbus. Taft was interested in talking to members of the group, but a hectic schedule this week is making that difficult, Milburn said. "We're going through significant lengths to arrange his schedule so he can meet with them sometime this week," he said. The protesters chanted and held signs that read: "Real Choice, Real Freedom" and "Taft wants to keep us locked up, why?" State workers maneuvered through wheelchairs at doors and elevators that blocked the way. At one point, security officials directed people to use the stairs. Lewis said more than 40 troopers were on hand. He said the Riffe Center also received a bomb threat at about 1 p.m., but the patrol's canine unit found nothing. He said the building was not evacuated, but state officials allowed some workers to leave at 3 p.m. Bertha Coward drove from Washington, D.C., with her quadriplegic son, Bobby, who yesterday was holed up on the 30th floor. "I'm all ready with the bail money. I've got it right here," she said of expecting his arrest. The two attended a protest this summer on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. "I don't mind him being arrested, as long as it's for a cause," she said. Coward said she had thought yesterday's protest would produce a compromise quickly. "I thought we'd be here for an hour. All we wanted was a little meeting." Toledo native Roh Ford, clad in his red group T-shirt, stood outside the Riffe Center lobby. "It's our whole lives being affected," he said. "But obviously, they haven't scheduled a meeting."
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4B Dayton Daily News News [image] [image caption] Ohio highway patrol officers escort a disabled man and a blind man from one of the doorways of the Rhodes Tower in Columbus on Tuesday after a group of about 100 demonstrators blocked entrances to the government building. Several demonstrators were arrested when they refused to leave. Gary Gardiner/Associated Press
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Monday, November 8, 1999 Section 8 Local Dayton Daily News [Headline] Capitol Corridors [Subheading] Disabled activists leave mark pointing to Medicaid concerns Columbus--They came, they protested, they relieved themselves on the governor's plants. About 50 disabled activists, most in wheelchairs, crammed into the lobby of Gov. Bob Taft's office last Monday. They wanted to meet with the governor and want him to change Medicaid so more disabled people can receive long-term care at home, rather than in nursing homes. Taft was out of town that day, but the protesters didn't care. They weren't going to leave his lobby for anything--and that included using the restroom. Some protesters--knowing Highway Patrol troopers were waiting for them outside the lobby-- turned hallway garbage cans and plant containers into portable bathrooms, according to state officials and workers on the 30th floor of the Very Riffe Center for Government and the Arts. Damages for the carpet and plants were estimated at $2,200. But that was nothing compared to other expenses related to the protest. There was about $6,000 damage to an elevator and a whopping $138,000 spent on state patrol work hours, overtime and equipment used to control the protesters, said Scott Milburn, the governor's press secretary. The state is considering suing the group that organized the protest, Denver-based ADAPT for the cost of the damage during the three days of demonstrations. [Subheading] Democrats, Republicans claim victory The Democrats won. No, the Republicans won. No, the Demo... Following last Tuesday's statewide election results both the Ohio Democratic and Republican parties were declaring a victory. The Democrats cited mayoral wins in Columbus--where Michael Coleman will become the first Democrat to hold the office in 28 years--Cincinnati, Akron, Parma, Mansfield and many other communities. The Democratic newsletter boasted that for the first time since 1913, Democratic mayors will serve simultaneously in Ohio's three largest cities: Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Republicans were also spinning their victories. They cited a net gain of seven mayoral seats across Ohio. Cities where Republicans unseated Democrats include, Lorain, Bowling Green, Cambridge, Perrysburg, Norwalk, Circleville, Bellefontaine, Defiance, Logan, Fostoria and Cadiz. [Subheading] Columbus Gets its First Black Mayor Voters in Columbus made history last week by electing Michael B. Coleman as the city's first black mayor. But even before Election Day, Coleman and his republican opponent, Dorothy Teater, had made history on their own. Through Oct. 13--the last date covered by pre-election campaign finance reports--they had spent nearly $2.7 million on the race, making theirs the most expensive mayor's race in the city's history. They surpassed the previous record of $2.5 million spent during the entire 1991 race, according to The Columbus Dispatch. [Subheading] Big Apple Sells Tobacco risk New York City has begun selling $705 million of bonds backed by money it's scheduled to receive from the national tobacco settlement. The idea is to get the money now and let investors bear the risk of the tobacco industry. The strategy is now being used in California and elsewhere around the nation, but Ohio lawmakers didn't like the idea. Ohio is scheduled to receive $10.1 billion over the next 26 years from the settlement. State Treasurer Joseph Deters wanted Ohio to also sell the award, as New York is Financial experts consulted by Deters' office believe the state could receive $4.1 billion up front, annual residual payments totaling $3.5 billion over 30 years and another half-billion as a final payment. Deters believes the proposal makes sense because the long-term profitability of the tobacco industry is questionable and the state should sever ties with an industry whose products have caused devastation to countless Ohio families. But others around the Statehouse said the strategy is the same as giving money away. Ohio is expected to recieve its first installment of about $130 million next summer. On Tuesday, lawmakers are expected to again take up the issue of how to spend the money. [subheading] Dayton Official Appointed by Taft Julia "Rita" McNeil, the Dayton law director has been appointed to the Governor's Community Service Council by Gov. Bob Taft. McNeil's term will run through April 21, 2002. She replaces Bobbi Stern, whose term expired. The council helps local communities establish service programs. -Columbus Bureau
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Wheelchair army got attention CLEVELAND www.cleveland.com [Headline] Wheelchair army got attention Monday, November 08, 1999 By T.C. BROWN PLAIN DEALER BUREAU COLUMBUS - A small but determined wheelchair army descended on the state capital last week, primed for confrontation and eager to draw attention to the plight of the disabled who need long-term care. The national group known as ADAPT, American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, wants to see community-based care for the disabled expanded. ADAPT claims Ohio spends 89 percent of its long-term Medicaid dollars to house the disabled in nursing homes and institutions for the mentally retarded or developmentally disabled. Only 11 percent of the funds are spent for home and community services, the group said, making Ohio one of the 10 worst states in the nation. "Our long-term care system has a heavy institutional bias," said Mike Auberger, of Colorado, ADAPT's co-founder. "This state has been unwilling to shift spending from institutional care to the community." ADAPT's numbers are correct to a point, but the group includes the aged in its figures for institutional care, skewing the results, said Mel Borkan, an assistant deputy director for the Ohio Department of Human Services. About 250,000 younger Ohioans with disabilities qualify for Medicaid coverage, and up to 19,000 of those are in institutions, she said. Ohio spends about $1 billion of the $2.6 billion in Medicaid funds on such younger disabled people in institutional care, Borkan said. ADAPT representatives did meet with officials from Ohio's human services department, although no issues were resolved. However, ADAPT's militant tactics attracted attention. For three days, more than 300 activists - most in wheelchairs - blocked access to the Verne Riffe Center and Rhodes State Office Tower. The group Wheelchair army stages similar actions twice a year across the country. In 1990, ADAPT shut down the U.S. Capitol for seven hours in an effort to jump-start stalled legislation that eventually created the Americans with Disabilities Act. "Unless they have a direct connection to a disability, the average person has no clue this is an issue," Auberger said "Our job is to create an opinion. If we put out enough of this stuff, I believe the public opinion will be extremely supportive of what we are doing." Not in all circles. State Rep. George E. Terwilleger, a Lebanon-area Republican, is sponsoring legislation pending in an Ohio House committee to establish a uniform community-based personal assistant program for the disabled, a proposal favored by ADAPT. But several lawmakers suggested last week that Terwilleger withdraw the bill. "This has had a bad backlash," Terwilleger said. "They've said, "Why have hearings? We don't need this kind of disruptive process.' I don't blame them." Nonetheless, Terwilleger said he hoped to carry the bill to the floor for a full House vote. ADAPT caused more than $9,300 in damage to carpets, revolving-door locks and elevator walls, but because the group is actually a loose network of activists, it may be difficult to bill it, said Scott Milburn, Gov. Bob Taft's spokesman. Milburn said Taft wanted to meet with the group's leaders, but not until ADAPT agreed to withdraw from Taft's reception area and the 14th and first floors of the Riffe Center. "One of the conditions of the meeting was that they cease their illegal activity," Milburn said. "Once they did that, we could work out details." But the activists refused to leave the building because Greg Moody, Taft's executive assistant for health and human services, would commit only to a "discussion" about setting up a meeting, not to an actual meeting. A 14-hour standoff ensued. No one was jailed over the three days, but the State Highway Patrol arrested or cited 215 people for criminal trespassing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine. The patrol, which tallied more than $53,000 in overtime, got good marks for handling a potentially dicey and politically sensitive situation. "With people in wheelchairs this way, logistically it is most challenging, because you do not want to hurt the people or their equipment," said the patrol's Lt. John Born. "But you have to use some level of force." Besides drawing attention to the issue, the action aided the disabled in another way, said ADAPT's Auberger. "We're breaking all the stereotypes that we're so fragile," Auberger said. "And this empowers people who don't have a whole lot of anything else going on. You may not have control of all of your life; but you have a level of control. And how you see yourself becomes completely different." E-mail: tcbrown@plaind.com Phone: (216) 999-4213 1999 THE PLAIN DEALER. Used with permission. Discuss this topic in Chatter Box Chat live with others Copyright 1999 Cleveland Live. All rights reserved. Please read and understand our Online User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
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4-8 sw THE PLAIN DEALER Ohio TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2, 1999 [Headline] Disability-rights protesters invade state office By SANDY THEIS and T.C. BROWN PLAIN DEALER REPORTERS COLUMBUS State troopers arrested four disability-rights protesters and cited them for disorderly conduct last night, after about 200 protesters, most in wheelchairs, took control of a state office tower and demanded to meet with Gov. Bob Taft. What began as a peaceful sit-in apparently turned violent about 7:30 p.m., when the foursome attempted to break through a glass doorway in the lobby where they had camped out since about 10:30 yesterday morning, said a spokesman for the governor. The protesters are members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, a national group that wants Ohio and other states to earmark a greater percentage of their Medicaid Money for in-home care, rather than for nursing homes. ADAPT is meeting this week in Columbus. [quote]`We didn't come here with just one trick in our bag. At least this governor wants to play.' -MIKE AUBERGER, organizer, American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today [text resumes] In addition to arresting the four, all of whom were released, the state secured a temporary restraining order from a Franklin County Common Pleas judge. The order prevents the group from "continuing to obstruct main elevator access" in the Vern Rife Center for Government and the Arts. State officials said they would allow only five protesters to remain on the 14th and 30th floors today. "At some point this evening, we have to clear the building so people can return to work," Brian Hicks, the governor's chief of staff said about 9:30 p.m. About 70 ADAPT members filled the lobby of the governor's office on the building's 30th floor, and an additional 40 crammed into the 14th floor, where House Speaker JoAnn Davidson's office is located. The arrests occurred outside Davidson's office. Throughout the day, about 100 more picketed the ground floor and perimeter of the Rife Center. ADAPT organizer Mike Auberger said Taft "probably saved face by coming with this TRO," but he hinted at escalating trouble. "We didn't come here with just one trick in our bag.," said Auberger, whose group has blocked public transportation and shut down government buildings in other cities. "At least this governor wants to play." Armed with bullhorns, sirens and signs, group members made their case for increases in home-based services for the disabled. Ohio ranks seventh in the country in per-capita spending on nursing homes, Auberger said. It ranks near the bottom, he said, in the percentage of long-term care dollars spent on home-based services. Ohio already is expanding in-home services, said Scott Milburn, a spokesman for Taft. He cited statistics showing that between 1992 and 1998, the number of people receiving home- and community-based care jumped by 200 percent, while the nursing home population grew by just 6 percent. By midday, chants from the protesters rang through the hall-ways and stairwells of the Riffe Center. "We're ADAPT, and you've been trapped," chanted protesters who used their wheelchairs to jam elevators and block the lobby to Davidson's office. Both Davidson and Taft were out of town and unavailable to meet with ADAPT, although Milburn maintained throughout the day that the governor hoped to arrange a meeting later this week. When the building closed at 6 p.m., ADAPT members refused to leave, despite warnings that they faced possible trespassing charges. "Nursing homes take everything you have," said Gabe Lawson, a 24-year-old protester from Indiana who once spent five days in a nursing home. "It's so depressing," Lawson said. "All you see is people dying." Throughout the day, Auberger attempted to negotiate a meeting with Greg Moody, the governor's executive assistant for human services, acting as the state's liaison. "We will consider it, but I cannot commit to a decision as long as the building is inaccessible," Moody told Auberger, who broadcast the negotiations to the assembled crowd via speaker phone: "As soon as we return to normal functions, we will be flexible either late, Wednesday or Thursday." The protest disrupted state workers and angered dozens of parents who had trouble getting to their children enrolled in the day-care center on the building's seventh floor. "Are you a mother?" one angry woman shouted at a protester. "I don't make the laws. I'm just here to have lunch with my daughter."' E-mall: Esthels@plaind.com Phone: (216) 999-4213 E-mail: thrown@plaind.coni Phone: (216) 9994213
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News Net [Headline] Caught in the headlights [Subheading] Statehouse showdown [Subheading] DISABLED ACTIVISTS STIR UP TROUBLE AND DRAW ATTENTION TO HEALTH FUNDING LEGISLATION by Jamie Pietras If the purpose of political protests is to grab voters' attention and newspaper headlines on the way to affecting change, hundreds of disability rights activists succeeded in dramatic fashion last week Amidst the election frenzy, a mass demonstration from national group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) managed to stir the air in the normally reserved halls of Statehouse office buildings. Beginning with a day-long protest November 1 at the Riffe Center and continuing with a demonstration the following afternoon at the Rhodes Tower, ADAPT eventually elicited a total of 215 citations for criminal trespassing in a civil disobedience battle that was covered prominently by local and state media. The national collective of activists was in town to draw attention to state and federal legislation designed to funnel resources from nursing homes toward home health care. Condemning Ohio as one of the 10 worst states for attendant services, approximately 500 ADAPT members came to Columbus. And while the group considers its.mission successful in bringing an other-wise invisible issue to the public forefront, state legislators wonder whether the organization's brazen tactics did more to help or hurt its cause. For those with disabilities, the choice of home-based health care over nursing homes is one of personal freedom. "It means you get to choose what time to get out of bed; what you're eating and what time the TV goes off," explains Woody Osburn, director of the State Independent Living Council. ADAPT claims Ohio-spends 93 percent of its Medicaid funds on institutional health care, with the rest going to attendant services. Ohio Department of Human Services spokesperson Jon Allen said those figures include expenditures on the elderly. Speaking strictly in terms of people with disabilities, Allen said the numbers are reverted. Approximately 60 percent of expenditures for people with disabilities go towards home-based care, Allen said. Out of 250,000 people with disabilities, only 19,000 are in institutional or nursing home settings. ADAPT hopes to raise awareness of the federal Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act, which the group expects to be introduced soon in Congress. The bill would establish a national program of community-based attendant services for people with disabilities and let people choose where they receive services. Anyone entitled to nursing home or other institutional services would be eligible for community-based services. A bit closer to home is the state House Bill 215, introduced• by Representative George Terwilleger, a Warren Republican, last March. The state legislation would create a waiver program to fund home health care for people with disabilities. Terwilleger said in the long run this is the most cost-effective way to provide care for people with disabilities. ADAPT's Riffe. Center demonstration lasted. well after midnight, as Members chanted and crowded the floors that house the offices of Governor Bob Taft, and Speaker of 'the house Jo Ann Davidson. Activist J. "Quinn Brisben said the group had made seven requests to meet with Davidson, to no avail. The group had no luck with Taft either despite a letter the governor had sent a week before. "I am interested in hearing what you have to say and would be pleased to meet with representatives of ADAPT next week during your Columbus visit," the letter read. It further instructed the group to schedule a conference with Taft's aide Greg Moody. Taft Spokesman said the governor went out of his way to try to meet with the group. He said ADAPT made no effort to contact the Taft ahead of time--meetings are typically scheduled at least a month in advance—and the governor sent the letter as a gesture of good will after reading a previous article in the Columbus Dispatch about the upcoming rally. Despite a schedule that was packed early in the week because of the November 2 election, Milburn said Taft had suggested meeting with the group Wednesday evening, under the condition they abandon the Riffe building. Osburn said he tried to facilitate communication between the group and the governor last Monday, but after ADAPT members began to surround Taft's office, communications fell flat. "ADAPT felt that because of the urgency of the issue, he could clear some time Tuesday morning," Osburn said. "If that had occurred, ADAPT would have vacated that building. State Highway Patrol Spokesman Gary Lewis said at both the Riffe Center and Rhodes Tower protests, officers gave activists the option of whether or not to be cited. And while Brisben acknowledges that the State Highway Patrol was "simply following orders" when it made arrests, he had one serious gripe with the way the Riffe Center situation was handled. He said officers were blocking activists' access to public restrooms. Milburn explained that the restrooms being blocked. were in a "secure area" and , that the activists Were supposed to be contained in the lobby. While they had the option of restrooms in a downstairs lobby, ADAPT members were not allowed back up to the 14th and 30th floors to continue protesting if they did so. So the bottles came out. Because they didn't want tom lose their strategic positions for the sake of the restroom, several of the protesters instead urinated in bottles. Police reacted by showing up in gloves, surgical masks and goggles when dealing with the activists. Brisben called it an overreaction. "Of course it was it always is. They were using leather gloves, but in other cities they come in and make mass-arrests in rubber gloves. I always congratulate them for practicing safe search," he said. Lewis said officers acted for their own safety and health. "The use of those types of tools are no different than when we respond to an accident scene or anything," he noted. The next day at the Rhodes Tower, activists banged on windows and blocked entrances to the building. Highway patrol officers took ADAPT members to the Ohio Fairgrounds where citations were processed, and then gave them a ride back to their downtown hotel. All of the ADAPT bases were heard in Franklin County Municipal Court this week by Judge Charles Schneider. All were granted a continuance as attorneys try to work out a plea deal. All in all, last week's events cost about $53, 334 in officer overtime, with about another $1,000 needed to replace the carpet on the 30th floor lobby and another $1,000 to replace and install new plants at the Riffe Center, according to Milburn. Despite their setbacks with Davidson and Taft, five ADAPT activists were able to meet with Medicaid Director Barbara Edwards on November 3, trying to gain her support for the state issue. Spokesperson Allen said the department would first have to study the bill's fiscal impact before it could take a stance. Brisben told Columbus Alive the ADAPT members succeeded in what they came for. "The people-of Ohio are aware of our issue," he said. "The state authorities have been challenged to make good on their rhetoric or they've been exposed as liars if they don't make good on it." But Representative Terwilleger, who sponsored the legislation. ADAPT has championed, is dismayed at the group's behavior last week. "It hurt the cause," Terwilleger said. "I've heard several legislators say, 'George, you don't reward unruly children with favors.'" As Brisben points out, being unruly is often the only option for a community that generally doesn't have a lot of money. "You know we can't make big campaign contributions like the nursing. home chains. The only way we have of getting people's attention is mass action." Osburn agrees. 'They've planted some seeds. I hope the state government allows those seeds to blossom."