Handicapped People

Cherry Hill agreed last week to take measures to improve access for handicapped people at 14 township parks, thereby averting a court hearing planned for today on whether recent renovations at the parks had violated state law. The agreement closes a year of sometimes bitter disagreement on the matter, which began when Mindy Rosen, a Cherry Hill resident whose son is disabled, complained to the state that the $470,000, two-year renovation project...

Tired of the same old unfulfilling summer by the pool or the beach? The Citizen Advocacy Program of Mount Holly, which is sponsored by the New Jersey Association for Retarded Citizens, suggests volunteer work for the summer for anyone 18 years or older. The program's coordinator, Deborah Fitzgerald, said volunteers will work one-to-one with individuals suffering from some form of cerebral palsy, epilepsy and/or mental retardation. "A lot of these people are discriminated against and they just need somebody there to ensure their rights and to protect their interests and needs," said Fitzgerald.

The future use of a house on Ladomus Avenue occupied by two handicapped people is causing a stir in Ridley Park. Residents of the first block of Riverview Avenue, which parallels Ladomus, said at Tuesday night's council meeting that they were worried that the property, owned by an organization that finds housing for people with handicaps, would evolve into a group home. They said that the grass on the property had not been cut since the occupants moved in, about three weeks ago, and that trash was not put out for collection during their first two weeks of occupancy.

Most parks don't have a motto, but if the newly opened Pioneer Park had one, it might be "Don't Give Up. " After the community service committee of the Burlington County Association of Realtors decided the group would build a playground accessible to handicapped people, "even a lot of our members said it couldn't be done," said Sam Moore, a committee member. Five years and more than $50,000 later, Pioneer Park opened Wednesday on the grounds of the county Special Services School District's Westampton campus.

Chuck Hallgren and his family live in East Fallowfield, south of Coatesville - away from most forms of public transportation, away from stores and offices. His two sons, Jason, 17, and Christian, 15, have muscular dystrophy and must use wheelchairs. A few years ago, his wife, Susan, lost the use of her right side and often also must use a wheelchair. His 11-year-old daughter, Heather, is in good health. Hallgren is the only family member able to drive. "If you can get yourself down to West Chester, you can pick up SEPTA, and you can get down to 69th Street (in Upper Darby)

The one of the fastest quadriplegic swimmers in the United States can now spend most of her time in the Springfield Country Club pool, instead of getting in and out of it. Mildred Giovanni, of Yeadon, who has backstroked in competitions all over the world, and was named the fastest quadriplegic swimmer in the country last year. She trains at the outdoor Springfield pool, which installed a chairlift for handicapped people this summer. The hydraulic chair allows her to get into the water easily, she said.

On Ilya I. Zaslavsky's otherwise bare wooden desk in a laboratory of the Moscow Textile Institute lay his fan mail: Letters from his new constituents requesting help, and telegrams of congratulations. Some of the telegrams were signed "invalid from childhood. " To those people, Zaslavsky is a hero, a member of the new national legislature who is living proof that a handicapped person - disabled since infancy - can become a vital, important figure in the Soviet Union. But more than that, to them Zaslavsky embodies a fervent hope for a better life.

I'M WRITING on behalf of all handicapped people who have handicap plates (not placards) on their cars. It is a shame that PennDOT can't screen people with placards, as it seems that anyone and his uncle can get one. Just fill out the form and get someone pretending to be a doctor or police officer to sign it. Send it to PennDOT, get the placard and pass it on to friends or relatives so they can park in handicap areas or get out of the car and...

A woman in a wheelchair suggested wheelchair square dancing. A blind man liked the idea of modified fitness classes. The mother of a young woman in a wheelchair said bowling or board games - or just a place to talk - would be nice for teenagers. For more than an hour on Thursday, 35 people brainstormed about offering programs for the "physically challenged" at Lawncrest Recreation Center, 6000 Rising Sun Ave. The proposals were as diverse as the group, which included handicapped people, local businessmen, an Eagle Scout, women's club members, a retirement home representative, a civic association leader and an 88-year-old man. "There are 700 ideas," said Lawncrest Recreation Center supervisor Cathy Maloney-Carchidi, who organized the meeting.

The right of handicapped people to use public transit cannot be limited by the amount of money it costs, a federal judge ruled yesterday. The ruling, which applies to transit agencies throughout the nation, was handed down in Philadelphia late yesterday by Judge Marvin Katz in U.S. District Court. Katz said that putting a cost limit on serving the handicapped allowed transit agencies "to eviscerate the civil right" to transit service that Congress has mandated for the handicapped.

I'M WRITING on behalf of all handicapped people who have handicap plates (not placards) on their cars. It is a shame that PennDOT can't screen people with placards, as it seems that anyone and his uncle can get one. Just fill out the form and get someone pretending to be a doctor or police officer to sign it. Send it to PennDOT, get the placard and pass it on to friends or relatives so they can park in handicap areas or get out of the car and...

McGreevey's literacy push falls short An Aug. 2 article, "Governor details his literacy plan," said Gov. McGreevey was making improved literacy rates among third graders a centerpiece of his administration. If that is so, he has some bad information. Various studies have concluded that children who fall behind in first grade have only a one in eight chance of ever catching up. McGreevey should place the emphasis on first grade, where it would do the most good. The governor's initiative also ignores the 2.8 million New Jerseyans above age 16 who are nonreaders or below-level readers.

Most parks don't have a motto, but if the newly opened Pioneer Park had one, it might be "Don't Give Up. " After the community service committee of the Burlington County Association of Realtors decided the group would build a playground accessible to handicapped people, "even a lot of our members said it couldn't be done," said Sam Moore, a committee member. Five years and more than $50,000 later, Pioneer Park opened Wednesday on the grounds of the county Special Services School District's Westampton campus.

After weeks of criticism from outraged handicapped people and angry residents, Mayor Thomas DiLauro resigned yesterday following the discovery that he had used a fake handicapped parking sticker. DiLauro did not attend last night's Township Council meeting and refused comment when reached at his home. His letter of resignation was read by Councilman Jim Wujcik, who called DiLauro's resignation both brave and unfortunate. In the letter, DiLauro wrote: "I made an error, but some members of the community could not find it in their hearts to forgive me. " DiLauro, who was elected mayor in 1992, said he endured humiliation and constant hammering from Pamela Reid, director of Resources for Independent Living, a Mount Laurel-based group that moniters handicapped issues.

There are two group homes in this township. Directly across the border in Abington, there are two more. That concentration has caused Upper Dublin residents some concern. As a result, the Upper Dublin Board of Commissioners held a special meeting Tuesday to consider an ordinance to amend the township zoning code. The proposed ordinance, which would regulate group homes, is scheduled to be voted on at the commissioners' meeting on Oct. 12. "What (the ordinance) would do is establish some control now, so that in the future, we won't have what we do now," said Board Chairman Richard Rulon.

The one of the fastest quadriplegic swimmers in the United States can now spend most of her time in the Springfield Country Club pool, instead of getting in and out of it. Mildred Giovanni, of Yeadon, who has backstroked in competitions all over the world, and was named the fastest quadriplegic swimmer in the country last year. She trains at the outdoor Springfield pool, which installed a chairlift for handicapped people this summer. The hydraulic chair allows her to get into the water easily, she said.

When James Cottingham went to borough hall to complain about a restaurant that did not have a ramp for his wheelchair, he encountered a problem: Borough hall did not have a ramp, either. "It's frustrating," Cottingham said of his efforts to get into Oaks Hall, which in the 1920s was the office of Leon Todd, a real estate broker who sold building lots in the lake resort community he was developing. It's also risky, since Cottingham's wheelchair tends to tip over when he tries to bounce it up the two small steps leading into the borough offices.

Drowned out by shouts of protest from disabled transit riders, SEPTA's board voted unanimously yesterday for a four-step series of boosts in its ParaTransit fares - 25 cents more each year through 1995. For the first time, the fare increase will require registered handicapped users to pay a premium over regular SEPTA fares for the door-to-door service available through the ParaTransit program. Instead of the one-token ($1.05) or $1.50 cash fares now in effect, ParaTransit will charge one token plus 25 cents, or $1.75 cash, beginning Sept.

When the older of Florence E. Gilbert's two sons was approaching his late teens, the Burlington Township woman was worried about his future because both he and his brother are mentally retarded. "What would you do if your boy was 16 and had to come out of school at 20 and there was nothing for him?" Gilbert asked herself. So Gilbert solved her own problem. She founded the Occupational Training Center (OTC) of Burlington County, the first and still the only program of its kind in the county, a thriving nonprofit organization that provides vocational training and jobs for people with disabilities.