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Awards hail heroes of disabled persons

Staff reports

(July 23, 2004) — The Regional Center for Independent Living has named the recipients of its 2004 ADA Compliance Victory Awards to those providing equal access in the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The awards are to be presented at a picnic from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Beachfront Shelter at Ontario Beach Park. The picnic is free and open to the public; the awards will be presented at 2 p.m.

This year's awardees include:

Janet Whitaker of Henrietta, of the Rochester River Challenge, for making outrigger canoeing accessible to the disabled.

Heather Elmore, Christopher Jackson, Brandin Jones and Bridget Strong, recent graduates from School Without Walls, for their puppet shows that teach elementary school children to accept people with disabilities. Their shows were part of the American Red Cross Kids' Project. Carol Shuckra, an adult volunteer with the project, will also be honored.

Greece, for its efforts to educate businesses about handicapped parking. The town used fines for illegal parking to produce a brochure, Paving the Way: Business Owner's Guide to Handicapped Parking.

More than 3,000 brochures were distributed in Greece resulting in more than 200 calls from business owners seeking assistance.

Deaf Rochester News, for publishing news about the local deaf and hard of hearing community in print and online.

Deaf Times, a local Web-based news service “for the Deaf, by the Deaf” that features news articles and notices of interest to the local deaf community.

The awards came from nominations from RCIL's Committee of Issues and Advocacy.