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Home / Albums / Keywords hunger strike
+ press conference + seizures 2
ADAPT (443)
Two different articles included here Wednesday, April 12, 1989 Las Vegas Review Journal p7B [Headline] Handicapped protesters refuse food in Sparks Associated Press: SPARKS — Handicapped demonstrators who have been jailed as a result of their picketing outside a gathering of public transportation officials are now refusing to eat, Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney said Tuesday. Swinney said 30 people serving three-day sentences are only drinking water but won't take any meals. About 75 members of a national group calling itself The American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit have been demonstrating outside the Sparks Nugget, where the American Public Transit Association is holding its regional meeting. The protesters contend the transit association is not doing enough to make it easier for people in wheelchairs to gain access to public transportation. Swinney said he realizes the handicapped face a number of barriers, but called the demands the demonstrators are putting on the sheriffs office, on police and on the courts an “inappropriate use of the criminal justice system to educate the public to what is a public problem." He said he doesn't know how much the overtime and extra staffing is going to cost Sparks and the county. Swinney and the jail were to have been the target of a Tuesday news conference called by protest organizer Mike Auberger of Denver, who earlier said the jailed demonstrators had not received proper medical treatment. But Auberger said most of the problems at the jail were worked out in a two-hour conference with officials. Swinney said the jail has brought in an extra doctor with expertise in helping handicapped patients and has called for additional nurses who can work with the handicapped. Meanwhile, Swinney said the inmates' hunger strike is causing him concern over one of the prisoners, a woman with a history of seizures brought on by a chemical imbalance when she doesn't eat. The sheriff said most of the protesters are serving their three days in regular cells or the infirmary because the jail has only two cells for the handicapped. Forty-nine people were arrested Sunday and while most were not fined or jailed, they were told not to get arrested again. Those who were among the 25 arrested on Monday received sentences and fines of $265 to $315 in exchange for their guilty pleas. end of article 1 Reno Gazette-Journal Thursday, April 13, 1989 [Headline] Most handicapped protesters decide to remain in jail By Susan Voyles/Gazette-Journal Sparks Municipal Judge Don Gladstone late Wednesday offered to release 30 jailed handicapped protesters if they pay $100 of their fins and promise to pay the rest later. Two accepted the offer, but Mike Auberger, leader of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT), said he doubts many other members of his group will. The prisoners are entering their third day of a hunger strike in the Washoe County jail today in protest of sentences by Gladstone they claim are too harsh. The 30 protesters were arrested in demonstrations held on Sunday and Monday against the American Public Transit Association, which ended its western regional meeting at John Ascuaga‘s Nugget on Wednesday. ADAPT is picketing the transit group because many of its members operate public bus systems that do not have lifts for wheelchairs. Of the 30, 27 pleaded guilty or no contest to charges of obstructing sidewalks and fire entrances. Most of them were sentenced to three days in jail, which would end today or tomorrow, and given $580 in fines. Gladstone said he will allow them to pay $100 in fines each if they promise to pay the rest later in installments or do community service work in their home towns. Auberger said his group has only $500 to pay the $3,200 in fines needed to release the group. Those arrested would have to sit in jail for another 23 days in order to pay off their fines, which are reduced at a rate of $25 a day. "But I wouldn't be surprised if they say they'll serve the days rather than give them any money," Auberger said. Auberger and others said Sparks is the only city where the handicapped demonstrators have been jailed for such offenses as obstructing sidewalks. Pat Gilbert, a Reno attorney, was to meet with the 30 protesters Wednesday night to see what they want to do. Gladstone was prepared to hold hearings in the jail to begin releasing them. Two people already have been released for medical reasons after receiving treatment at local hospitals, and one woman, still in jail, is having up to 80 seizures a day, Auberger said. Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney declined to comment on the condition of the prisoners Wednesday, saying it only provides more fuel for the media to publicize their plight. However, several officers said the jail now has two doctors and ll nurses on duty, two more than were on Tuesday and nine more than the number of nurses usually assigned to the jail. In an initial court hearing, Gladstone lectured the demonstrators, saying their mass arrests have “tarnished” their cause. “I think you need new leadership" he said. After the hearing Wednesday, Auberger and a band of about 20 demonstrators peacefully protested in front of the Nugget, making a final stand against the transit association. Auberger said most of those who aren't in jail will be leaving town today, although a few will stay to help those in jail. Sparks police say it will take at least a week and half to determine the overtime and other expenses incurred because of the demonstrators. Jerry Peltier, a transit association board member from Richland, Wash., said the protest had no impact on the 500 member group. Parley Johnson, spokesman for the Nugget, said the demonstration cost the Nugget extra money for security guards. He also said business at the Nugget slowed the last few days.
ADAPT (460)
Wednesday, APRIL 12 1989 RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Photo by Tom Spitz/Gazette-Journal : A somewhat frail looking man, Randy Blatz, in a large wheelchair sits sideways looking at the camera. A sign is taped to the side of his chair; it reads "WE WILL RIDE." His legs are extended out in front of him and are covered by a blanket. Behind him another wheelchair protester looks at the camera with his arm up shading his face and his view. Behind them are other protesters in a line, pretty much filling the picture. Caption reads: BACKER: Randy Blatz of Hayward, Calif, shows support for his locked-up comrades Tuesday outside the Washoe jail. [Headline] Disabled protesters maintain hunger strike [Subheading] Jailed demonstrators getting care, sheriff says By Susan Voyles/Gazzette-Journal A hunger strike in the Washoe County jail by 22 handicapped prisoners — arrested for obstructing sidewalks while protesting a public Transit meeting in Sparks -— continued Tuesday night, although nine demonstrators broke their fast. Leaders of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) group encouraged jailed protesters to break their fast after Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney early Tuesday afternoon promised the inmates more nurses, if needed, and more medical supplies. But Lt. Rod Williams said the hunger strike wasn't over medical treatment. "They're protesting the fact they're here,“ he said, “not the conditions in the jail." The hunger strike began Monday night after 25 people were arrested and jailed in a demonstration against public transit officials meeting at John Ascuaga's Nugget. The meeting concludes today. Five others have been in jail since Sunday night, when ADAPT began a planned four-day protest. They're here to protest the western regional meeting of the American Public Transit Association, which is fighting ADAPT's legal efforts to require all federally funded transit systems to buy buses equipped with wheelchair lifts. Swinney said one female prisoner vowed to continue her fast even though she was warned by a doctor that she'll ultimately go into seizures. Another woman, Diane Coleman of Los Angeles, was released from Washoe Medical Center Tuesday morning after being given liquids intravenously for dehydration. She was taken to the hospital about 3 a.m. Tuesday when she began vomiting. Mike Auberger, organizer of the Denver based group, and Pat Gilbert, his Reno attorney, met with Swinney early Tuesday afternoon to discuss jailed ADAPT members complaints. "People in charge are now in the process of trying to respond to the situation, which they've never been in before," Auberger said at a news conference outside the jail. “It's a lot more positive than it was two hours ago." Swinney said the jail has put 11 nurses to work, nine more than usual. And more nurses and a doctor will be brought in if needed, he said. But he admitted the jail did not have enough medical supplies, such as catheter drainage bags, on hand and had to order more. Normally, the jail sees only about six handicapped prisoners a year. Sparks Municipal Judge Don Gladstone defended the sentences handed down to the protesters. Of the 30 in jail, the majority were sentenced to three days for obstructing sidewalks, fire entrances or a police officer, and given an average fine of $580. On Sunday, only five of 49 people arrested went to jail. Those five pleaded innocent and will have their trials Monday. Gladstone said he warned ADAPT members he'd get tougher on them. "Clearly, everyone was put on notice," he said. "We're not following their rules" Auberger, who was also arrested but paid a fine to get out of jail Monday night, was outraged so many of his people were arrested. "I have been in many cities where I have done civil disobedience and I wasn't arrested," he said. "Maybe it's the politics of Sparks that the city has to respond to what the Nugget wants. it's real clear (Gladstone) was being forced to do what he did." “They don't toss people in jail for blocking sidewalks in most cities," complained Pete Mendoza of Marin County, Calif. "They were researching ordinances to arrest us.“ Gladstone who said he supports the rights the handicapped are seeking, said he is simply doing his job and the demonstrators were amply warned. Among the 50 or so protesters outside the jail Tuesday was Beverly Furnice of Denver, with a thick, fresh bandage around one of her twisted legs. She claims her leg was broken Sunday night when a security guard tried to move her out of a doorway. She was treated at Sparks Family Hospital, but officials would not confirm that her leg was broken. She was arrested after the incident, and said she sat in Sparks Municipal Court for five hours before she was released with a verbal warning. Nugget spokesman Parley Johnson said he's not sure what happened to Furnice. "There was a lot of shoving and pushing going on," he said "If it did happen, I'm very sorry about it." Gladstone said he doubted she broke her leg. He said he and his staff held arraignments until midnight Sunday and were far more inconvenienced than Furnice or anyone else arrested.