KUSA-TV reports in the video below on DeafNewsToday.com about the Rocky Mountain Deaf School's attempt to build a much needed new facility. To read the story, click here.
The Rocky Mountain Deaf School wants to move to a new location - but nearby homeowners are protesting. The school is now renting space in a strip mall near a bar. The roof leaks and the emergency system is not designed for hearing-impaired students. A new facility is planned with a $13 million grant from the Colorado Department of Education at a 10 acre site owned by the Jefferson County Public School system. But homeowners in Lakewood's Hutchinson Park area claim the school will lead to traffic problems and disturb the tranquil setting. They've created a website here and posted a YouTube video which you can watch before.
Another deaf man is joining a lawsuit against the sheriff of a Colorado county, accusing him of violating ADA law. Michaelee Owen and the Colorado Association of the Deaf are joining a suit filed in November by Timothy Siaki along with the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition. Siaki and Own claim Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr kept him behind bars for 25 days without providing a sign language interpreter or communication devices for the deaf. The Sheriff's office says an interpreter explained the charges against Siaki on his second day in jail, then he was able to communicate in written English and that was good enough.
The Rocky Mountain Deaf Theatre will offer its first performance of 2012 in one week. The Gin Game will run from January 12-15 in the Denver suburb of Westminister, Colorado. The story is set in a seedy nursing home where elders look back over their lives.
Find out more here.
A Denver man is suing Adams County law enforcement for keeping him in jail for 25 days without providing an sign language interpreter. Timothy Siaki was charged with domestic assault charges - charges which were eventually dismissed. According to his lawsuit, the county jail does not have procedures in place to stay in compliance with ADA law. Siaki and his fiancee were staying at a Super 8 motel last year when they began to argue. Because the couple did not respond to knocks at their hotel room door, deputies broke it down with guns drawn and ordered Siaki to the floor. When he did not obey the spoken orders, a deputy forced him down and arrested Siaki. During the entire ordeal at the hotel and for days later in the county jail, he was not provided an interpreter, according to his lawsuit, even though both he and his fiancee primarily communicate through American Sign Language. The county is not commenting on the lawsuit.
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