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New busines
will increase
By Catherine Blalock
Staff Reporter
July 26, marked the fifth anniversary of the
Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Along
with the anniversary came more changes for
some businesses.
Better Business Bureau (BBB) president,
Scott Mecham, said, “The ADA has changed
the way America docs business. As businesses
come into compliance with the public accom
modations provisions, it means new business
opportunities.”
“Smart businesses set aside
some parking spaces, or bu ild
a ramp, or ividen an aisle and
train sales staff to welcome
customers with disabilities. A
positive attitude, common
sense and common courtesy
are the keys to dealing with the
ADA successfully. ”
m
Scott Mecham
President of the Better Business Bureau
President George Bush signed the ADA into
law, and five different types of areas were
named under the law. Title 1 is Employment,
Title 2 is State and Local Government, Title 3 is
Private and Public Accommodations, Title 4 is
Telecommunications and Title 5 is National
Parks.
Title 1 deals with accommodating employ
ees with facilities, such as installing an elevator
which they need to get from the ground floor to
another, Josalyn Richie, Public Policy Special
ist for the National Advocacy Service said.
Title 1 also includes making restrooms ac
cessible and giving them extra time if the ac
commodations are on another floor, she said.
>s guidelines
: accessibility
Title 2 makes it necessary that there are state
and local government offices accessible to
people with disabilities. If one office in a city is
made accessible and others are not, it’s alright,
Richie said.
Under Title 3, the Council of Better Business
Bureaus’ Foundation have released three new
industry-specific ADA Compliance Guides for
travel and tour agencies, small shops and ser
vices and professional offices, Mecham said.
These guidelines are general guidelines which
affect every business no matter what size,
Mecham said.
| The ADA act defines “public accommoda
tions,” “disability,” and suggests readily achiev
able ways of removing barriers for customers
with disabilities, he said.
“‘Readily achievable’ is defined as easily
accomplishable and able to be carried out with
out much difficulty or expense,” Mecham said.
“The law says no burden and no financial hard
ship for the-owner.”
If a business offers a public restroom for
public use, then one must
for those with disabilities, Richiesaiiu
Some businesses find other ways to deal with
the guidelines rather than remodelingtheir busi
ness.
One local business that is part of a national
chain chose to take a different route when com
plying with the ADA guidelines.
Under the guidelines, the store was asked to
install automatic doors. The business chose to
put greeters at the front doors to open the doors
for everyone, Richie said. Some of these stores
do have automatic doors, some have greeters
and some have both, she said.
The BBB of Lincoln has not received any
complaints about local businesses not comply
ing with the ADA laws, Mccham said.
“Every day thousands of potential customers
with disabilities try to find stores in our area that
are accessible and products that they like,” he
said.
“Smart businesses set aside some parking
spaces, or build a ramp, or widen an aisle and
train sales staff to welcome customers with
disabilities. A positive attitude, common sense
and common courtesy are the keys to dealing
with the ADA successfully.”
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Tanna Kinnaman/DN
Seems Like Old Times!
At last weekends July Jamm, Lincoln artist, Marcia Anderson, displays
her papiermache caricatures of people she used to know.
Native animals displayed at Nature Center
By Doug Kerns
Staff Reporter
Bison, turkey and deer, oh my?
Don’t be afraid, these are just some of
the many native creatures now living
at Pioneers Park Nature Center.
Becky Witulski, Assistant to the
Coordinator of the Nature Center, said
the Park offers a variety of native
species to be viewed by the public.
“We have native animals: bison,
elk, deer, turkey, foxes,” she said.
“We have wild raccoons running
around loose, and probably a couple
of deer, too.”
Upcoming Natural History Pro
grams at the Nature Center include a
“Bone Session” class on Aug. 3 from
6 to 7:30 p.m. explaining the variety,
shape and sizes of bones; a basic local
mineral and rock identification on Aug.
8 from 6 to 8 p.m.; free bird banding
demonstrations held every Saturday
morning throughout the summer from
9 to noon, and free guided hikes on
weekends at 2 p.m.
Natural History Programs for chil
dren at the Center include an aquatic
discovery program on Aug. 13 from
1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and “critter tales”
storytelling time for preschoolers to
be held on Aug. 9 and 23 at 10 a.m.
Also for kids is a “Snakes Alive”
demonstration on Aug. 6 from 2 to 4
p.m., led by Witulski.
“We go to talk about where snakes
live and what they do, and we ’re going
to learn how to handle snakes and, if
we’re lucky, we may even get to feed
one,” she said.
According to Witulski, people from
all walks of life visit the Nature Cen
ter.
“We have families, college stu
dents, older people. From the general
public we see about 65-75,000 people
per year. We do school tours during
the school year, and we see about
15,000 children,” Witulski said.
The Nature Center is open to any
one who wants stop by and enjoy the
animals and trails.
“For the programs you need to call
and register, but if you want to come
out and walk the trails, you can come
anytime between 8:30a.m.to 8:30 p.m.
Monday-Saturday and noon to 8:30
p.m. Sunday,” Witulski said.
Some animals are housed inside
the Nature Center.
“There are animals in the building
you can look at, snakes and birds,
turtles and fish. There’s a naturalist on
duty if there are any questions, and if
you want to sec an animal, they’d be
happy to take one out and show it to
you,” Witulski explained.
For more in formation on pre-regis
tration and pre-payment requirements
contact Pioneers Park Nature Center,
441-7895.