Disabled woman wants law to be obeyed

By TOM KANE

DAMASCUS, PA - Barbara Houghtaling is on a mission. Specifically, she wants the town of Damascus and Wayne County officials to become acquainted with provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

The act, passed by Congress in 1990, requires accommodations to provide goods and services to people with disabilities on an equal basis with the rest of the general public.

Houghtaling, who is confined to a wheelchair as a result of a serious automobile accident that injured her spinal column, is speaking to officials throughout Wayne County to urge them to abide by the law and to encourage county businesses to do likewise.

On August 21, she attended the Damascus Township Board meeting. She had already attended meetings in Hawley and Bethany and is planning to attend sessions in Manchester and Buckingham.

“Contrary to what some believe, there is no grandfather provision in this law,” she said.

“The purpose of the law is to afford every individual the opportunity to benefit from our country’s businesses and services, and to afford our businesses and services the opportunity to benefit from the patronage of all Americans,” she said.

Making a building accessible to handicapped people is easily accomplished and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense, she said.

Businesses and municipalities that make alterations in their building can get a 50-percent reimbursement in the cost of the alterations, she said.

Houghtaling, a resident of Wayne County, complained that the Wayne County supervisors were “stonewalling” her. Her principal complaint was that the doorknobs in the county building were conventional doorknobs that many disabled people cannot grasp or turn. The law calls for a lever-type door hardware that can be readily pressed down for entrance, she said.

“We listened to Mrs. Houghtaling when she was here, and assured her that the county building was totally handicapped accessible,” commissioner Tony Herzog said.

“As for the doorknob problem, we have alerted our staff of the need to be aware of handicapped people at their office doors to help them enter,” said county clerk Vicky Lamberton.

Most companies seem willing to make the necessary changes to their building once they know about the law, she said.

“People are afraid that if they do one thing [to correct their buildings], they will have to do many more costly things,” she said. “When they find out how little they have to do, they’re willing to make the adjustments.”

The ADA is not enforced by inspections by federal officials, but by the citizen complaints. Once the federal government hears of a complaint, they send out investigators who then enforce the law.

“I’m afraid handicapped people are not assertive,” Houghtaling said. “I am assertive and will continue to be.”