Inclusion Daily Express -- Portwood Says He Will Take Sidewalk Fight To Next Level

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Portwood Says He Will Take Sidewalk Fight To Next Level
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
April 22, 2008

LANCASTER, KENTUCKY--Ohmer Portwood says that his battle with the city of Lancaster has just begun.

Garrard County District Judge Bill Oliver found Portwood guilty Monday of breaking the city's pedestrian code by riding his motorized wheelchair in the streets. The judge then ordered him to pay a $20 fine and court costs -- and to stay out of the streets.

Portwood had been charged with reckless driving.

He claimed that he had no choice but to ride in the streets because many of the neighborhoods in the small town do not have any sidewalks. Even where there are sidewalks, they are often too dangerous, he said.

Portwood said the city is violating his rights and the rights of other wheelchair users by not making sidewalks safe and accessible as required under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

The prosecutor said that was a separate issue.

After he left the courtroom, Portwood told WKYT-TV that he plans to launch a lawsuit against the city.

"I'm Irish," he said. "That means I don't give up. I'm a fighter."

Related story with video clips:
"Wheelchair-Bound Man Found Guilty" (WKYT-TV)

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