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Joan Snyder works for People with Disabilities Professor, others use wheelchairs for a day Wheelchairs used as part of People with Disabilities Awareness Day By JEWELS PHRANER of the Journal Star Posted Oct 30, 2008 @ 12:03 AM PEORIA - Billy Cook, a chemistry professor at Illinois Central College, wheeled into a small room on the top story of CityLink's Downtown offices like a natural. But for him, using a wheelchair for most of Wednesday was a choice he made as part of People with Disabilities Awareness Day. Peorian Joan Blessington Snyder wasn't as lucky to choose being a wheelchair-user. For her, it was a necessity. "When it's a choice, it's simple," she said. "But when it's necessary, it hits you right in the face and smacks you down." Snyder has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease for the last 18 1/2 years and works with Central Illinois Advocates of Lives Interrupted by Parkinson's Support Organization and the Mayor's Advisory Council for the Disabled. She organized the opportunity for three people, including Cook, to spend the day in a wheelchair. "It was really eye-opening," Julie Spears said. Spears works for Brewer Distributing Company, owned by At-large City Councilman George Jacob. Jacob had signed up to participate in the wheelchair-using day, but got called out of town, so Spears and her co-worker Emily Hampton took his place. Hampton said, though her workplace is handicapped accessible, it was still difficult to get around. "Those doors might be lighter, but it was still difficult to get them open and closed," she said. Cook said ICC is handicapped accessible for students but not for faculty. "The blackboards, the podiums, they're all made for people on their feet," he said, adding writing on the board was frustrating for both he and his students. "I had to get up to teach my lab class. There was just no way I could have done my lab class without standing up." Nearly 20 different agencies sent representatives to CityLink to give presentations about living with disabilities or community services offered to the disabled. "Some people don't have the awareness or don't really have patience when waiting for someone in a wheelchair to get secured onto a bus or something like that," CityLink Director of Special Services John Williams said. "We want to try to get the community to have more awareness of individuals living with disabilities." Agencies such as the Peoria County Health Department, the Agency on Aging and Bradley University's stem-cell research department spoke about what they offer to the Peoria community. Vanessa League, a puppy raiser for Canine Companions, brought service dogs in training Yogi and Tessie to the event to show people how service dogs can contribute to people living with disabilities. Jewels Phraner can be reached at 686-3196 or [log in to unmask] Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn