Developmentally Disabled

Students studying Old Testament prophets Ezra and Nehemiah read steadily, stumbling over a difficult Hebrew pronunciation here and there. After Heather Manning completed the passage, they began to interpret it with their teacher, the Rev. Joanna White. "What's a scribe?" White asked, choosing an unfamiliar word. "Wasn't that a very smart, important person who could write everything down? They didn't just pull out their Palm Pilots." The students, who have developmental disabilities, are part of an outreach effort by St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Sykesville to be more inclusive of parishioners with special needs.

The 19-year-old Harford County man with developmental disabilities who is accused of killing his 2-month-old niece was ordered Monday to continue being held without bail. Colin Christopher Wolf, of the 2000 block of Bay Meadows Court in Forest Hill, is facing first degree murder charges after he allegedly struck the child, who had been left in his care, in the face Thursday night and she later died, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office. After an earlier bail review hearing Friday where Harford County District Court Judge Mimi Cooper questioned Wolf's competency, District Court Judge Victor Butanis ordered Wolf to continue being held without bail Monday and made no mention of any competency concerns.

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland got federal approval yesterday for a program that provides community-based services to developmentally disabled people who would otherwise be in institutions.The action gives the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene access to $12 million in federal funds this fiscal year for programs to wipe out the state's waiting list of 5,000 disabled people. Services provided will include case management, respite care and assistive technology.Pub Date: 11/03/98

State Sen. Edward Kasemeyer, who represents District 12 which includes Catonsville and Arbutus as well as portions of Howard County, is one of three state legislators honored for their efforts in support of people with developmental disabilities. Kasemeyer received a Champion for Real Lives Award from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Coalition at the 2013 annual Developmental Disabilities Day in Annapolis last month. "Throughout his tenure in the Maryland General Assembly, Sen. Kasemeyer has been a tireless advocate for the issues most important to Marylanders with developmental disabilities," said Ken Capone, public policy coordinator for People on the Go, in a release.

Vonnie Kay Jenkins was an activist for the developmentally disabled. The Woodlawn woman sat on committees formed for that purpose, spoke to the state legislature and even appeared on television.Ms. Jenkins, who was mildly developmentally disabled herself, was described by those who knew her as outgoing, pleasant and always willing to help.On Tuesday the 40-year-old died of a stroke at Northwest Hospital Center.Since 1983, Ms. Jenkins lived in Woodlawn at Chimes, a home for people with developmental disabilities, and became well known to those who resided and worked there.

Adam Terry's No. 1 fan is his mother, Cindy. No. 1a might be Emily Rose Locklin. Who is Emily Rose Locklin? She's a 20-year-old developmentally disabled woman from Terry's hometown of Queensbury, N.Y., who has shown the Ravens offensive tackle the power of determination and the hope in humanity. Ravens@Seahawks Sunday, 4:15 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Off the board

Tim O'Neill walks into work as if he owns the place. With a quick greeting to his cafeteria co-workers, he's already unstacking chairs.Leah Alikahn wants to be a writer, but for now she's content straightening greeting cards and clothing in the Towson University bookstore.From afar, it's hard to tell they're both developmentally disabled. Their comfort is due, in part, to the Towson University Outreach Program, which gives developmentally disabled adults between the ages of 18 and 21 an educational transition into the "real world."

Attention all business owners, companies large and small, government officials and other interested parties.Change Inc. is looking for a few substantial volunteer situations for clients anxious to perform various services in their community.Change Inc. (formerly known as Carroll Haven), is a private, nonprofit organization in Westminster that serves developmentally disabled adults.Cindy Martin, community volunteer program manager for Change Inc., said she has been working to initiate a new volunteer program to help enhance her clients' quality of life.

PARENTS of developmentally disabled children need a break now and then from the demanding, fatiguing rituals of their lives. So Arc of Anne Arundel County, a United Way agency, gives parents a respite for a day or a weekend. Sometimes the agency finds more than one need to tackle. One year ago, for example, an Arc of Anne Arundel worker was returning four mentally retarded children to their mother after a supposed weekend respite. The worker walked into the home to find domestic abuse occurring.

September Song, the community theater group that produces a play every fall to benefit the developmentally disabled, has picked its cast for the 1996 play, the classic story of "Mame."The play will be produced this year by Joan Crooks, who succeeds longtime producer Arnie Hayes. Hal Fox will direct, Ken Berry and Joan Eichhorn will assist, Lois Powelson will provide choreography and Phillip Hale the music.Cast members and their character are: Ann Barcroft, Mame Dennis; Beverly Wells, Vera Charles; Ken Berry, Beauregard J. P. Burnside; Justin Barcroft, young Patrick; Chuck Lambert, older Patrick; Katy Hale, Agnes Gooch; Hal Fox, Dwight Babcock; Harry Langmead, M. Lindsay Woolsey; Edith Burbage, Sally Cato; Jeremy Gill, Ito; Kristen Bolster, Pegeen Ryan; Bob Miller, Mr. Upson; Sandy Eichler, Mrs. Upson; Diana Schmidt, Gloria Upson; Brian Sirman, Junior Babcock; Jimmy Phillips, Peter Dennis; Richard Schmidt, Ralph Devine; Ruth Snow, Madam Branislowski; Cheryl Wilson, Mother Burnside; Dougg Blackiston, Gregor; Monica Walsh, Cousin Fan.Featured dancers include: Delynn Powelson, Nikki Jackson, Trish Szymanski, Kristen Bolster, Susan Tabasko, Frances Cullison, Jane Schultz, Heather Hahn, Rachael Tittle.

Officials at the Developmental Disabilities Administration have launched an investigation into why $25 million was left unspent by the agency, and the new executive director says he expects answers by the end of the year. The agency serves 20,000 but has a waiting list of 5,000, and some could have benefited from the money, said Frank Kirkland, who took over the post in August, about the time when fiscal year-end auditing found that accounting errors had cost funding. Kirkland wouldn't say if anyone was disciplined or what the root of the problem may have been.

A state home for developmentally disabled adults improperly kept nearly $80,000 that it should have returned to the state general fund at the end of fiscal year 2009, the Office of Legislative Audits reported Friday. The state Department of Mental Health and Mental Hygiene, which operates the Potomac Center in Hagerstown, has agreed to return the $79,800 to the general fund, according to a letter signed by Secretary John M. Colmers and included in the OLA report. Auditors for OLA, an agency of the Department of Legislative Services, found that the Potomac Center did not have adequate records to substantiate expenditures it had accrued June 30, 2009, the last day of the fiscal year.

I applaud Senator Thomas M. "Mac" Middleton's opinion piece ("Maryland must support community care for the disabled," April 1) and for his tireless work on behalf of Marylanders with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses and those working men and women that dedicate their lives to caring for them. We urge his colleagues to support Senate Bill 633 and House Bill 1034, which the senator correctly describes as an opportunity to "address the chronic under-funding of services for more than 120,000 adults and children in Maryland."

On behalf of the nearly 700 employees (about 85% of whom are direct support staff) and the nearly 3,000 individuals and families receiving community-based support services from The Arc of Baltimore, we offer a huge and hearty thanks to Sen. Thomas M. "Mac" Middleton for his leadership and support for the nonprofit organizations like ours who are dedicated to providing exemplary services to individuals and families affected by developmental disabilities ("Md....

As a parent of two developmentally disabled sons, I wanted to respond to the editorial "A true need," Dec. 27. I think it's about time that someone highlighted the needs of this important population. The funding for services is inadequate at best and needs to be fixed. These folks could live full, productive lives if the services were there for them. My sons depend on the dedicated service providers who help support them both in school and at work. When the services they receive are cut and they lose the consistency of the coaches they like, it's hard.

Pam Matheson was a young special education teacher when she first went to the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills for training, and before long, she'd fallen in love with Matthew, a 7-year-old boy with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, a set of conditions including small size, gastrointestinal problems, heart defects and other symptoms - often, as in his case, some degree of mental retardation. She arranged to get him admitted to the School for the Blind in Parkville, and when she learned the school would not take someone who lived in an institution, she agreed to become his foster parent.

Marie Horn devoted her life to caring for her developmentally disabled daughter, Lois. The pair did everything together - taking long walks in the neighborhood, gardening and spending time at a nearby church. Yesterday morning, the women died in a fire that destroyed the Cape Cod-style brick house in Linthicum where they'd lived for nearly a half-century. Marie Horn was 80; her daughter was 49. "Everybody said if anyone was a saint, it was my mother," said Arlene Derflinger, 52, Lois Horn's only sister.

Responding to Sunday's escape of a murder suspect from the Rosewood Center for the developmentally disabled, Maryland's top health official said yesterday he is trying to find another facility for the most violent patients being held at the Owings Mills hospital. "I'm going to do everything I can to find an alternative site," said Nelson J. Sabatini, secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "The concerns of the community are legitimate. I intend to address them."

For the parents of developmentally disabled adults, Opportunity Builders Inc. has been a place for their children to make friends, learn life skills and be productive. The parents of children with mental retardation, autism and other disabilities, volunteered and donated money to keep the nonprofit going for the past 47 years, even rescuing it from closure in 1986 when the doors were padlocked because of unpaid bills. Tomorrow, they get to celebrate a hard-fought milestone for OBI - the grand opening of its own 41,000-square-foot headquarters on 14.5 acres.