Readers Write for Monday, Sept. 7

I was happy to see some attention finally directed to the transportation problems at the State Fair, but I'm afraid neither the Star Tribune's Sept. 3 news story nor its Sept. 3 Opinion Exchange post went far enough with questions to be posed.

First, why were wheelchair occupants like me (paraplegia) and other handicapped riders never given warning of the fair's use of charter buses instead of Metro Transit uses this year? Why were parking lot attendants and bus drivers not told how to inform us of the changes? Why no signs in the parking lots? My wife and I waited at a Roseville church lot for 20 minutes and when the charter bus arrived, I asked about a lift for my power chair. The driver said he'd carry me aboard or stash me in the baggage compartment. Big joke. When I pressed him for some explanation, he yakked into a collar mike and said he was sending for a special bus.

Finally a man in uniform showed up to explain that all people in wheelchairs had to go to the Oscar Johnson recreation center to catch a Met Transit bus with a lift. We found a space for our ramped van, but barely -- too many people without wheelchairs violating the law and hopping those buses with no resistance from lot attendants or drivers.

The State Fair blames a new ruling from the Federal Transportation Department, which yielded to pressure from charter bus companies seeking equality with subsidized public bus companies. Since these charter companies do not accommodate wheelchairs, is this not a violation of the federal disability law?

Profit over public service out of Washington, as usual.

DICK CALDWELL, ARDEN HILLS

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This year we entered with the same expectation but were almost immediately struck with the beautiful art. We were not alone. The gallery was packed with people also admiring the variety and talent on display. Keep up the good work, judges. Best year that I remember.

TERRI CARROLL, PRIOR LAKE

For the sake of society's vulnerable, let's hope that "Protective services" aren't "outdated" (Opinion Exchange, Sept. 2).

These are the services that ensure that your neighbor with dementia receives home care services rather than die at home because he or she didn't remember to eat, turn on the heat or take medicine, and that the predator who exploited money from your cousin with a developmental disability is arrested and prosecuted, or that your friend with brain damage from chemical dependency doesn't die in a coma after a binge.

So, thank you, social workers, law enforcement, attorneys, judges, guardians and conservators. Thank you for working to meet the needs of the vulnerable despite inadequate funding for needed community services and little understanding from those who don't have your experiences in the day-to-day challenges of trying to balance the wishes of your clients with the protection of our vulnerable and cognitively impaired neighbors, friends and family members.

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I was very pleased to see Rosalie Kane mention the Minnesota network of Centers for Independent Living in her Sept. 2 column.

The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) and our seven sister CILs across Minnesota do indeed provide many valuable services living in nursing homes or in the community. Most relevant to Kane's remarks is our Nursing Home Relocation program, which provides service coordination and assistance to individuals with disabilities living in nursing homes or other institutional settings, and who desire to relocate to a home of their choice in the community. This coordinated service assists individuals to locate appropriate housing, and ensures that necessary community-based services are available once relocation takes place. We can also provide independent living skills assessment and training, peer supports, personal care attendant services and individual advocacy services.

Community-based services are most often far less expensive, and certainly less confining, than nursing home or institutional settings. In 2008 CILs across Minnesota assisted in the relocation of 91 individuals. Had they remained in nursing home settings, cost for basic care would have exceeded $4.5 million -- more than the combined total received by the eight Minnesota CILs in state funds in 2008. MCIL provided services to more than 9,000 individuals last year at an average cost of $53.47 per person served.

Community-based services and supports are not only more cost effective, but they also provide individuals with the opportunities to be active, contributing participants in their communities.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MCIL

The recent letter reminding us to remember Chappaquiddick in assessing Sen. Ted Kennedy's legacy reminded me of an experience I had while editor of a weekly newspaper in central Minnesota.

Many of my fellow weekly editors, largely conservatives, had no problem working the hard-to-spell "Chappaquiddick" into their editorial comment but seemed to have trouble working the much smaller "Watergate" into their opinion pages.