Disabilities

Recently, a Federal judge in Baltimore ruled that a Boy Scout chapter did not have to provide accommodations for its disabled members under the Americans with Disability Act. What has happened the basic Scout tenets, "do a good turn daily, help other people" and the Scout Law "A Scout is ...helpful, friendly, kind ... " Are these no longer the basic creed of Scouting? Benjamin J. Dubin, Baltimore The writer is vice chairman of Baltimore County's Commission on Disabilities.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority's mobility program for the disabled looks like an expensive and unnecessary luxury. On a recent 20-minute trip to West Baltimore I spotted three of these vans that were either empty or had only a single passenger. This program must cost millions of dollars; how can we possibly afford it? If there is a justifiable need surely it can be met more efficiently by a private carrier. It seems there could be a good story here about an opportunity to cut excessive government spending.

Bonnie Heneson Communications, a full-service marketing communications agency hired Owings Mills-resident Amanda Garman as graphic designer. Garman specializes in web design, logo design, branding, typography and layout. Prior to joining BHC, Garman interned for Baltimore Magazine, where she helped the art director create advertisements for events, including web banners, signage and magazine ads. In addition, Garman conducted image research and photo editing, and helped with editorial layout.

An Odenton man who tricked a mentally disabled Glen Burnie postal worker into giving him more than $250,000 over the course of three years pleaded guilty Wednesday to exploiting a vulnerable adult, according to Anne Arundel County prosecutors. Eugene Allen Hinson, Jr., 59, of the 1300 block of Tab St. in Odenton was sentenced by Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Paul Hackner to serve 18 months of a 10-year prison term, prosecutors said in a news release. Hackner also required Hinson to pay full restitution to Thomas "Tommy" Newberger, 50, who is mentally retarded and has worked various jobs at the U.S. Post Office in Glen Burnie for about 30 years, prosecutors said.

The lively young woman and a fragile older man walked hand-in-hand on a nature walk, slowly trailing a long line of fellow participants in a residential summer camp for adults with disabilities. Ronnie Meusel, the 23-year-old counselor, and Eugene Harvey, 58, are longtime attendees at Camp Glow, begun nearly 40 years ago by a Catholic nun and funded annually by the Archdiocese of Baltimore and its parishes. "I won at bingo last night," said Harvey, who lives in Gambrills and prefers "Dude" to his given name.

When twin brothers Reid and Sam Shafley, 16, first tried to teach their younger brother Will to ride a bike, they thought it was hopeless. Will is considered to be in the autism spectrum, which makes some tasks difficult. "We had tried to teach him for many years, but we just couldn't get him to ride a bike," Reid said. Then their mother, Sue Ann Shafley, found Lose The Training Wheels, a small, nonprofit volunteer camp based in Virginia that travels around the country with a fleet of special bicycles.

WHEN George Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to fill the vacancy of retiring Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, I said, "Clarence who?" I think the question must have been on the minds of many people, because there's been a great deal of activity lately on the part of the press to come up with the answer.People with disabilities, whose civil rights are often obtained through federal and state laws, are less curious about who he is and more interested in what he thinks. What Clarence Thomasthinks and does could affect our lives in the not too distant future.

Exposition on disabilities scheduled at Jewish center OWINGS MILLS - A free Disability Awareness Expo will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Jewish Community Center, 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave. The event provides information about disabilities, services and resources, and celebrates the accomplishments of people with disabilities, organizers say. The event is sponsored by agencies of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation...

The Harford County Commission on Disabilities is searching for a junior or senior high school student with a disability who is interested in developing leadership skills and providing input on the needs of disabled youths. Nominated by the county executive and approved by the Harford County Council, the student representative will serve on the commission during the 2003-2004 school year. The student must be available to attend commission meetings at 5 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month at the McFaul Center, 525 W. MacPhail Road in Bel Air. Commission members work as advocates for citizens with disabilities, investigating opportunities for improvements in quality of life and supporting community participation.

The Harford County Commission on Disabilities and the Harford County Public Schools' Office of Special Education will sponsor Expo 2004: Successful Futures, a conference for teens and young adults with disabilities who face the challenges and opportunities of the transition to adulthood. The free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 27 at the Harford Technical High School on Thomas Run Road in Bel Air. Dr. Eric B. Levey and Judith M. Levy from the Kennedy Krieger Institute will present the keynote address.

The Orioles revolving door kept spinning again on Saturday afternoon. Veteran Bill Hall has been called up from Triple-A Norfolk and is in the lineup batting seventh and playing left field Saturday night. Meanwhile, third baseman Mark Reynolds is heading to the disabled list for the first time in his career. He said he suffered an oblique injury making a throw during batting practice Friday. He said it's not severe, but he doesn't want to keep playing and let it get worse. “I hurt my oblique yesterday, and it's not too bad, but it's one of those things where if I push it, it'll get worse, so we're going to get it better before anything else happens," said Reynolds, who has hit .191 with two homers and nine RBIs in 27 games.

The Orioles have placed right-handed reliever Matt Lindstrom on the disabled list with a right middle finger injury in order to make space on the 25-man roster for tonight's starter, left-hander Dana Eveland. Eveland's contract was purchased from Triple-A Norfolk, and the Orioles designated minor-leaguer Zelous Wheeler for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move. Lindstrom allowed his first earned runs of the season in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader (3 runs, two earned, in one inning)

The Orioles' starting rotation, a strength during the team's early-season success, will be pieced together with patchwork the next two days. Right-hander Jason Hammel, who has anchored the rotation with a 4-1 record and 2.09 ERA, will most likely be pushed back from his scheduled start Thursday with right-knee soreness that he said had regressed the past two to three starts. But Hammel said he's confident that being pushed him back will avoid a stint on the disabled list.

A survey of 549 community-based organizations suggests that housing discrimination is on the rise, particularly targeting disabled individuals, immigrants, minorities and families with children, according to the nonprofit Consumer Action . Locally, Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc. has said it found similar problems. The organizations, which has sent “testers” out in the region to inquire about available housing, filed suit last year and in 2010 over alleged discrimination.

For eight years, Renee Gordon's son, Alex, has been attending Camp Greentop, a summer getaway in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains for people with disabilities. Now Gordon is now spearheading a campaign with Michael Hettleman to raise $1 million for the Baltimore-based League for People with Disabilities, which runs the camp. The money will be used to help families pay for the programs, which cost about $260 a day, and to provide training for counselors. "The camp provides the most incredible experience," Gordon said.

Lose The Training Wheels, a program that teaches individuals ages 8 and older with disabilities to ride a conventional two-wheel bicycle, is accepting applications for its second annual summer camp held at and sponsored by Mountain Christian Church in Joppa July 30 to Aug. 3. "Last year's campers were amazing," volunteer camp director and Harford County resident Lori Ginley said in a press release announcing the camps. "To see the determination and sense of accomplishment in their eyes as they progressed each day until they became independent two-wheel bicycle riders was truly inspirational.

Three county residents were among the eight people with disabilities honored for outstanding achievement by Gov. William Donald Schaefer.At an awards ceremony Tuesday afternoon, the governor praised theeight for their strength and determination in overcoming obstacles. He also honored three organizations that provide treatment and support for people with disabilities."It's time to recognize that people with disabilities are productive members of society," Schaefer said.Among the recipients were:* James Cutter, a 53-year-old Glen Burnie resident who has cerebral palsy.

I would like to respond to the article (July 5) and editorial (July 7) that appeared in The Sun for Howard County regarding my resignation from the Howard County Equal Business Opportunity Commission.Both the article and editorial were correct and fairly explained the event that triggered my resignation. However, I want to provide some background on the long series of events that led up to my decision.The article does state that my company, a certified disadvantaged business owned by persons with disabilities, was denied an opportunity to perform a Fair Housing contract for the Howard County Office of Human Rights -- a contract which my company was well- , if not the best, qualified to perform.

The San Francisco Giants placed former Oriole Aubrey Huff on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, two days after he left the team because of an episode of anxiety. Huff has been getting treatment in Florida and is expected to rejoin the team Friday in San Francisco, where he will continue to get help. Manager Bruce Bochy spoke with Huff on Wednesday afternoon after days of exchanging text messages. Asked whether Huff's anxiety was related to personal or baseball problems, Bochy said: "I don't know if he even knows.

Don Backe and Karl Guerra share more than a love for sailing: After their lives were transformed by tragedy, both men used the sport and the organization they now run to regain their sense of purpose. Backe helped found Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating in 1991, four years after a horrific one-vehicle automobile accident in Crownsville left the former independent private school headmaster a paraplegic at age 51. Guerra is now executive director for the Annapolis-based nonprofit organization that helps those with physical, mental and emotional handicaps - along with others who can't afford financially to sail - gain entrance to a sport Guerra thought he had lost when he suffered a massive stroke in 2000 at age 52. But it could take the dream of a much younger man without any disabilities with the same love of being on the open waters to help keep CRAB afloat.