Inclusion Daily Express -- November 29, 2002

INCLUSION DAILY EXPRESS

http://www.InclusionDaily.com

Your quick, once-a-day look at disability rights, self-determination
and the movement toward full community inclusion around the world.

Friday, November 29, 2002
Year III, Edition 181

This edition includes 7 news items, each preceded by a number (#) symbol.

QUOTES OF THE DAY:
"We still have a long way to go in this respect."
--Russian President Vladimer Putin, talking about how Russian society needs to change how it treats the country's 11 million people that have disabilities (First story)

"What I learned from having David fully included in my classroom has actually helped me become a better teacher in meeting the needs of my regular ed learners."
--Third grade teacher Corey Osvog on his experience last year with a student who has Down syndrome (Second story)

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# ADVOCACY / EMPLOYMENT

Putin Hears Concerns From Disability Groups, Orders Government To Make Changes
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 29, 2002

MOSCOW, RUSSIA--President Vladimer Putin this week ordered his ministers to put together plans to improve conditions for the 11 million Russians with disabilities.

Putin met with leaders of several groups representing Russians that are blind or deaf, along with veterans from the Afghan war, and victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The advocates presented Putin with a list of concerns. Most worriesome, they said, is the new tax code which has removed tax breaks and incentives for companies that hire workers with disabilities. The head of the Russian Society for the Blind told Putin that withdrawing those tax breaks would force businesses operated and staffed by such workers to close down.

The President has urged his government to come up with new tax incentives before the end of the current fiscal year.

Putin said that during the Soviet era people with disabilities were outcasts and made to feel ashamed. Accompanied by a sign language interpreter, he said that while some of this has changed, there is much more to be done.

"We still have a long way to go in this respect," Putin said, according to Friday's BBC News.

Nearly one in every ten Russians has a disability, and the numbers are growing, the news service noted.

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# EDUCATION

"For Educator, Teaching Is Elementary"
November 29, 2002

BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA--The following paragraphs are excerpts from a brief item in Friday's Bakersfield Californian:

When Norris Elementary School third-grade teacher Corey Osvog first had a Down Syndrome student in his class, he believed that he was going to make a difference in the student's life. But as the year wore on, what Osvog found was that the student educated him.

"What I learned from having David fully included in my classroom has actually helped me become a better teacher in meeting the needs of my regular ed. learners," said Osvog, speaking of David Almberg, whom he had the opportunity to teach full time during the 2001-02 school year. "We need to realize that all children learn differently."

This year, Osvog has two special education students in his classroom part time, as well as 20 full-time regular education students.

Here is the entire article:
http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/2240211p-2306780c.html

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# COMMUNITY LIVING / PARTICIPATION

Family And Rescue Workers Are Thankful For Daughter's Action
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 29, 2002

BEND, OREGON--Twelve-year-old Sally O’Neill has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair, and cannot speak.

Who would have thought that she would be responsible for her parents and the family dog being alive the day after Thanksgiving?

About 4 o'clock Thursday afternoon, Sally's father noticed the family dog had slipped through the thin ice on the lake behind Sunriver Nature Center. Her father went out to rescue the dog but soon fell into the icy water himself.

The girl's mother then went out to save her husband, but also broke through the ice.

After witnessing the entire incident, Sally began screaming as loud as she could. Some bystanders heard her screams, saw the urgency of situation, and then called 9-1-1.

Rescue workers arrived soon and pulled all three out of the freezing water.

On Friday they presented Sally with a letter of recognition for her part in the rescue.

More details are available in this story from Friday's Bend Bugle:
http://www.bend.com/news/ar_view%5E3Far_id%5E3D7162.htm

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# INSTITUTIONS / ABUSE

Advocates, Families And Newspaper Prompt Justice Department To Investigate CHDC
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 29, 2002

CONWAY, ARKANSAS--The U.S. Department of Justice has notified Governor Mike Huckabee that it will be investigating the treatment of residents at Conway Human Development Center.

"There was not one particular incident that triggered it, but they were aware of . . . newspaper stories and complaints from advocates and family members," said John Selig, the deputy director of Arkansas Human Services Department.

Conway Human Development Center currently houses 576 people ranging from 10 to 64 years of age. Most have mental retardation, but many have epilepsy, autism, cerebral palsy or spina bifida.

The institution recently was informed that it would receive two "immediate jeopardy" citations after a federal inspection determined that there is potential for serious harm or injury to the residents.

The new investigation will begin in January, according to this Associated Press story from Monday's Log Cabin Democrat:
http://www.thecabin.net/stories/112502/loc_1125020011.shtml

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# ACCESSIBILITY / LAWS

Work Halted Temporarily On Accessible Pathway
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 28, 2002

SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK, WALES--Construction work has stopped on a £200,000 ($300,000 US) wheelchair accessible pathway being built near Wales' most popular tourist attraction.

Local residents around the village green near Snowdonia complained that the work, commissioned by the National Trust, was ruining their picturesque neighborhood and coming dangerously close to the grave of the legendary dog Gelert. According to a fable, Gelert's master destroyed the dog thinking he had killed his baby. In fact, the dog had bravely fought a wolf to save the child's life.

The National Trust, which oversees hundreds of important and historic properties in Wales, England and Northern Ireland, has agreed to come up with an alternative pathway that will be accessible to visitors who use wheelchairs, while accommodating the wishes of the local villagers.

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# TODAY'S FEATURED INCLUSIVE EDUCATION WEBSITE

Educating Students With Disabilities in General Education Classrooms: A Summary of the Research

We hear and read a lot about school improvement, school reform and restructuring. However, educators still have many questions about how to provide a quality education for students with disabilities in school. This document shares current research on achievement and successful practices, related to educating students with disabilities in inclusive general education classrooms.

http://interact.uoregon.edu/wrrc/AKInclusion.html

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# ONE YEAR AGO (From the November 30, 2001 Inclusion Daily Express)

ADVOCACY

Court Says Kevorkian Must Stay Behind Bars
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 30, 2001

DETROIT, MICHIGAN -- It looks like Jack Kevorkian won't be getting out of prison anytime soon.

Last week, the Michigan Court of Appeals denied the notorious "Dr. Death" his request for a new trial.

In 1999, Kevorkian was convicted and sentenced to prison terms of 10 to 25 years for second-degree murder and seven years for delivering a controlled substance. The crusader for "physician-assisted suicides" has claimed that he "assisted" more than 130 people to die. He was finally stopped after he sent a video-tape of the "mercy killing" of Thomas Youk to the television news magazine "60 Minutes" for national broadcast.

In his appeal, Kevorkian claimed that his defense attorney, David Gorosh, did not help him enough during his trial. But the appellate court noted that Kevorkian had demanded to represent himself while ignoring the trial judge's repeated reminders of the consequences.

"Defendant chose - almost certainly unwisely but nevertheless knowingly, intelligently, voluntarily, and unequivocally - to represent himself," the appeals court wrote. "He cannot now assign the blame for his conviction to someone who did not act as his trial counsel."

Kevorkian also argued in his appeal that the trial judge acted improperly by not allowing testimony from Houk's widow. But the appellate court wrote that the testimony was irrelevant, that it had nothing to do with the case.

For years, many disability rights advocates have strongly opposed Jack Kevorkian and others who want "assisted suicide" and "mercy killings" to be legal. The advocates argue that making these acts legal would essentially make it "open season" for people with disabilities and any other group that is considered vulnerable or a burden on society.

The group Not Dead Yet applauded the appeals court's decision.

"Kevorkian is a serial killer of disabled people and should stay in prison for the full term of his sentence," said Not Dead Yet's Carol Cleigh in a press statement. "Allowing him freedom would be an insult to disabled people everywhere."

For past stories and related resources on Kevorkian and his link to people with disabilities, go to this Inclusion Daily Express webpage:
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/advocacy/kevorkian.htm

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