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Home / Albums / Tag Cathy Thomas 6
- ADAPT (375)
San Francisco September 30,1987 S.F. Independent PHOTO (right middle of page) by Rick Gerharter: At least nine wheelchair users (among them, Rick James, Stephanie Thomas, Woody Carlson, Cathy Thomas or Julie Farrar and others) fill the front of the frame blocking a bus with a sign with the APTA logo and Hotels written on it. Most of the blockers are facing toward the bus, away from the camera. Police stand on either side of the bus. Two protesters have Proud and Disabled bumper stickers on the backs of their wheelchairs. Caption: Disabled protesters blocked a SamTrans bus Monday at the American Public Transit Association convention taking place this week at Moscone Center. [Headline] Bitter Protests at Transit Meet By: Carol Farron [This story continues on a second page we do not have at this time.] Disabled people from throughout the United States are angry and have gathered in San Francisco this week to protest the lack of accessibility on public transit systems throughout the nation. The protesters are hoping to force transit officials who are convening at the annual meeting of the American Public Transit Association to change their thinking on transit accessibility for the disabled. APTA, public transit's biggest lobbying group, took the lead in the early 1980s in convincing Congress to overturn federal regulations allowing full transit accessibility for the disabled. What resulted from that decision was a "local option" plan. This allowed individual transit agencies to decide if they would provide accessibility for the disabled on fixed route service or an alternate van/taxi service. Many disabled `groups` are unhappy with that outcome, charging that the local option denies them their civil rights and impedes or prohibits their ability to attend school or hold down jobs because of a lack of transportation. Additionally, many disabled say that paratransit is a paternalistic system that segregates them from society, and users are made to feel helpless. APTA members contend that full accessibility is expensive and unworkable. They say that equipping buses and trains with lifts is too expensive given the number of disabled riders. The disabled, however, say that transit's estimates of disabled riders are low, and accessible transit can work as cities like Seattle, San Francisco and Denver have proven. More than 200 wheelchair bound men and women said last Saturday at a press conference that because the current regulations deny them their civil rights they came prepared to be arrested - and that they were. Thirty-four people, most in wheelchairs, were arrested at a City Hall protest last Sunday, and another 22 were arrested in for blocking a Samtrans bus at Moscone Center on Monday. Many more arrests are expected until the convention's conclusion this Thursday. "This is a militant bunch of protestors," said Jack Gilstrap, executive vice president of APTA. "These people terrified and roughed up some of our members at city hall. "Just because someone is in a wheelchair doesn't mean they're nice." Marilyn Golden of SAAT, the September Alliance for Accessible Transit, said her group is "far from militant." see Rides, page 2 - ADAPT (327)
PHOTO by Tom Olin?: A woman [Beverly Furnice] lying in her motorized wheelchair, her legs fully extended, leads a long line of ADAPT marchers down a broad city street in front of the Hyatt Regency. Behind her, with a very determined look on her face, is a small woman [Cathy Thomas] in a power chair, legs also extended. Behind her is a man in a scooter [Mark McTimmus?] with several signs in his basket on the front of his scooter. Behind him is another man [Sam ____]. In the line you can make out Babs Johnson in an orange shirt, she is riding on the back of Mike Auberger's chair and talking to her daughter Tisha Auberger. Many people have signs over their legs or laps, a few are holding posters on sticks. - ADAPT (298)
Title: Arresting Theater By JIM FINKELSTEIN, Free Press Staff Writer An estimated 25 handicapped protesters were arrested Tuesday as they charged police guarding the McNamara Federal Building Tuesday in a third day of what one protester called "theater" over public transit's limited use of lift-equipped vehicles. Wave after wave of the estimated 100 protesters — many in wheelchairs and paralyzed, missing limbs, or suffering nerve disorders — were hauled away in lift-equipped vans while police photographers recorded the scene to ensure the protesters were properly arrested. Michael Auberger, a spokesman for the 100-member American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, vowed Tuesday that "we're going to escalate" the protest today and Thursday as the convention of the American Public Transit Association concludes at the Westin Hotel. “Everyone's willing to go" to jail. he added, hinting that the protest may move to the Westin today. Seventeen ADAPT members were arrested Monday as they tried to crawl aboard city buses to protest the lack of wheelchair equipment on 80 of 100 buses recently purchased by the city. THE DEMONSTRATORS want lift equipment on all new buses and trains purchased by U.S. public transit systems. The transit association won a court case to prevent more extensive federal regulations requiring lift equipment. Tuesday, the protesters began chanting slogans in front of the McNamara Federal Building just before 1 p.m. ADAPT spokespersons said the group wanted to present a position paper to Sen. Donald Riegle, D-Mich., whose offices are in the building. They refused a police offer to let two representatives meet with Riegle's aides, saying they wanted to send no fewer than nine. Police blocked the entrance and then began arresting protesters who blocked the entrance — both wheelchair users and non-handicapped ADAPT aides. Deputy Police Chief James Ingram said "a couple of hundred" police officers were given special training in arresting people who use wheelchairs. PHOTOS: Photo #1 Free Press Photo by GEORGE WALDMAN: A group of about 10 protesters chant out on the sidewalk in front of a large building. In front Bernard Baker and Stephanie Thomas, next row Kristen? (sitting alone), Fred (standing) & unknown, Renata Conrad (in manual) Marcos Quesada in wheelchairs. And Cathy Thomas and others in the background. Caption reads: Wheelchair-bound protesters chant outside the McNamara Federal Building in downtown Detroit. Photo #2: Free Press Photo by MANNY CRISOSTOMO Two uniformed police officers stand behind a man in a wheelchair (George Cooper) holding his push handles. The police are looking off into the distance and George holds a poster in his teeth that says "...With Liberty and Justice for All?" Caption reads: Detroit police officers carry George Cooper, of Irving, Tex., away from the scene. Photo #3: Free Press Photo by MANNY CRISOSTOMO A woman in a wheelchair (Paulette Patterson) holding the Holy Bible to her chest and with a pained and tearful cry, is being loaded onto a a lift equipped vehicle. Caption reads: An unidentified protester clutches her Bible as she's arrested. Photo #4 Free Press Photo by MANNY CRISOSTOMO A uniformed officer stands jauntily leaning on a barricade, on the other side of which are two ADAPT protesters in wheelchairs (Rick James and an unidentified woman.) Rick has a very intense expression on his face. Caption reads: Rick James, of Utah, left, watches Lt. Greg George, a federal policeman, at a barricade at the McNamara Federal Building. - ADAPT (66)
Dallas Times Herald Wednesday, January 14, 1986 [Headline] Community Close-Up [Subheading] Police on sidewalk wheelchair ramps changed By Lori Montgomery After months of controversy and numerous protests by handicapped residents, the Irving City Council agreed last week to build wheelchair ramps when curbs near intersections are dismantled for any reason. Without amending a disputed 1981 ordinance that requires the city to build ramps only during new sidewalk construction, the council reached a “policy consensus" at last week's work session ordering city road and utility workers to replace curbs with ramps in the course of routine maintenance, said Public Works Director Lewis Patrick. “Any time 50 percent of the curb or 75 percent of the sidewalk is disturbed, we will go to the additional expense of taking the whole (curb) out and replacing it with a ramp," Patrick said, adding that the new policy will “eliminate the guesswork" of deciding when to replace a curb with a ramp. Construction of a standard curb costs about $103, Patrick said, while wheelchair ramps cost as much as $600 to build. The new policy, which takes effect immediately, could cost the city an additional $212,478 annually, Patrick said. “We have no objections to building ramps, but we need these guidelines to determine where you draw the line to spend that extra $500," Patrick said. Most council members dismissed the added financial burden as a necessary expense. "Let's not quibble" over when to build a ramp, Councilman Lars Ehnebuske said. “If a curb is 49 percent (disturbed), let’s go ahead and do it right. We ought to err in that direction rather than err the other way." Councilwoman Jackie Townsell recommended that the council immediately increase the budget for the Department of Public Works and review the financial impact of the new policy when the council meets for its annual budget session this summer. “The idea is to make the entire city accessible,” Townsell said. Townsell also suggested that the city take on the additional responsibility of building ramps on curbs destroyed during maintenance work by utility companies. The council agreed to ask utility companies to notify the city when such work is planned. "I think that's the minimum we can do because l think our city’s really behind in this area," Councilwoman Fran Bonilla said. The dispute over wheelchair ramps erupted last fall when handicapped residents charged at a meeting of the council's Community Services Committee that the city was violating the spirit of a 1981 ordinance by refusing to build ramps on curbs torn up during the course of maintenance projects. Such projects were under way throughout the city. In early December, a small group of protesters rolled in wheelchairs past maintenance workers on Rochelle Road, painting newly replaced standard curbs with the slogan “This curb is illegal." Although the city violated neither state law nor, technically, its own ordinance in rebuilding standard curbs, state officials said last month that most cities in Texas replace curbs near intersections with wheelchair ramps at any time a curb is disturbed. Cathy Johnson [Cathy Thomas], who was among seven handicapped residents at last week's work session, said the City “is on the right track" with the new policy. But, she said, the policy should be expanded and made permanent by amending the 1981 ordinance to require the city to build ramps when even a small part of the curb is disturbed. “I don't see what kind of criteria they're going to use to say what's 30 percent (of curb destruction) and what's 50 percent," Johnson said. "If this were the golf course, they'd go ahead and spend the money." - ADAPT (61)
Dallas Morning News 2/4/86 PHOTO: A small woman [Cathy Thomas] in a motorized wheelchair sits on a sidewalk above a curb. Her legs are extended and she is wearing an ADAPT T-shirt under her jacket; her face is determined. On the side of the curb, which runs the width of the picture, is stenciled the words "this curb is illegal." Caption reads: Cathy Thomas, a member of the ADAPT organization, stops in from of a freshly painted curb in Irving that her group says is not accessible to people in wheelchairs. [Headlines] Group protests curb construction [Subheading] Advocates for disabled say work violates Irving ordinance By Mercedes Olivera IRVING — Members of a support group for the disabled staged a protest Wednesday against recent sidewalk construction and repairs along Rochelle Road that do not provide curb cuts for wheelchair bound citizens. Armed with a can of red spray paint, five people from American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, or ADAPT, sprayed four recently repaired curbs with a stencil-lettered sign reading, “This curb is illegal." In recent weeks, Rochelle Road has been resurfaced and had curbs torn out and replaced, city officials said. "This curb is a clear-cut violation of their own ordinance," Dan Thomas, president of the Handicapped Association of Texas, said as he pointed to a recently poured curb. He accompanied his sister, Cathy, who must use a wheelchair. Group members said they have monitored the city's compliance with its ordinance, adopted in—1981, requiring that curb cuts and barrier-free ramps be included in all street construction. Sandy Cash, assistant city manager for development services, said the issue revolves around “what constitutes ‘maintenance’ and ‘new construction’ " of city streets. He said the ordinance was meant for streets in new subdivisions, not for existing thoroughfares. But "anytime we come in and have to remove a (large portion of) sidewalk and curbing, as a general rule we install a curb cut," Cash said. The city staff is looking to the City Council for direction on this issue, he said. He said city staff members have been preparing information on the cost and number of curbs torn out and replaced last year. The information will be given to City Council members, but Cash said he did not know when the report would be completed. However, Thomas said ADAPT members have become frustrated by what he called the city's slow response to their requests. “We ‘have never before asked that old barrier structures be rebuilt," Thomas said. “But now we are asking that all curbs placed since 1981, which are not in compliance, be replaced." - ADAPT (585)
Handicapped Coloradan [Headline] These are the people who chased APTA George Florum, 47, of Colorado Springs, is a T3 para who fell out of a cherrypicker. He went to work for Atlantis and became involved with ADAPT in April of 1985. Florum has been arrested between 15 and 20 times on charges ranging from instigating a riot, blocking entrances, and chaining himself to doors and buses. "I think the disability movement has really grown," Florum said, "In April of '85 in San Antonio 15 people were willing to be arrested. Now people are standing up for their rights, and I think it's great." Joe Carle, 51, of Dallas, is a single amputee with artery problems. "I was the first to go through the training seminar," Carle said. "The second big seminar was to take on McDonald’s. Now, transportation is fairly won, but access will be a continuing battle. The disability movement can go anywhere." Rick James, 39, had encephalitis when he was two years old. Five years ago he was one of 20 people who did a "crawl on" on a bus, and three weeks later he was part of a group that got together and blocked a bus. “We will get ADA passed," James said, "and then take on any issues we feel necessary, such as health care, attendant care, the Greyhound company, housing - any of a number of issues." Cathy Thomas, 60, of Irving, Tex., has spina bifida and became involved with ADAPT - when a disability group she belonged to that was trying to get accessible transportation in Dallas asked ADAPT for help. She says, “At this point rights for disabled people are inevitable, We want to get as many buses accessible as possible. If President Bush is sincere in wanting to mainstream people with disabilities, then it's time he took the first step in getting us accessible transportation so we, too, can pursue the American dream." Rhonda Lester of Denver is the mother of Kenny Perkins, 5, who was refused access to an RTD bus in October 1987. “They viewed Kenny as a baby because of his chair," Lester said. “They wanted to board him separately from his chair-in other words, he was to be carried on. So I called Wade Blank on a Thursday and on Friday help came. Larry, George, Ken, ET and Julie blocked a bus. They let us on, we changed the policy, and I was allowed to attend a training meeting." When asked if there has been a lot of resistance to Kenny, Lester said, "Oh, yeah. People see one of ‘Jerry's Kids,' not the wheelchair I hope our actions and civil disobedience help to get full integration for my son." As to the controversial issue of children in the disability rights movement, Lester said, "As the mother of a disabled son, I feel that no one has a bigger right than myself to fight for my son's rights, although there are some who would disagree very strongly with this view. "Children need to be in the movement because it is for the children . . .the ultimate goal.” THANK YOU, ADAPT A poem by Rhonda Lester There is a little boy Very close to my heart Who is a bit different But handsome and smart. Strangers who meet him Can't get past the chair, But he goes on bravely, Not seeming to care. He's strong and he's tough- He almost has to be- But he is one of the warriors Who wants to be free. We are always standing by you, For our fight is real. We wanted you to know How grateful we feel. So thank you all clearly For all that you've done For the movement, myself, And my son. All photos in this issue by Bob Conrad. PHOTO: of George Florum looking to the side in an "ADAPT or perish" t-shirt. His dark hair is short and a trim beard and mustache outline his mouth and jaw. He looks fit and determined. PHOTO: George Cooper, an older man in a wheelchair blocks a doorway partially with another person in a manual wheelchair. Walking bureaucrats, some with badges stand behind them looking as though they want to get through. George is speaking with a woman who is looking down toward the floor. Caption: George Cooper of Dallas occupies the Federal Building. PHOTO: A small person in a manual wheelchair being pushed by a woman behind, sits at one end of some police barricades while a man in a manual chair sits at the other end. Behind the barricades a ways off is a line of police standing together. Caption: At the barricades. PHOTO: A group of people in wheelchairs is gathered at one side of the picture, a woman in a wheelchair at the back of the group holds high the ADAPT flag. Beneath it you can see Lincoln Blank and a few other protesters are clustered on the other side. The group seems to be at the entrance of a hotel type building. Caption: A large flag is unfurled.