Today, Jack Lakey of The Toronto Star wrote about the tragic and unnecessary death of 71 year old Bowmanville resident Wilma Paul (pictured). Wilma rode a scooter. Jack writes The Fixer column for The Star and wrote about disabled folks in Bowmanville who dangerously had to go into traffic because of misplaced sidewalk cutouts. All they wanted to do was go to a local restaurant without risking their lives.
Bowmanville City Council's response was the usual insensitive bureaucratic whining. "We're going to overhaul the area streets in a couple of years anyway. Live with it." Wilma wouldn't take it. She went to city council and challenged Bowmanville Mayor John Mutton to ride around Bowmanville in a scooter to see what it's like. Of course he declined. They fixed that particular corner but the poor state of the sidewalks is what killed Wilma. She went flying after hitting a bad spot and suffered a broken elbow & cracked vertebrae. Then she was neglected in hospital and died of pneumonia on Oct. 6. Condolences to her family. Get a lawyer.
With a civic election coming up next week, I would like to remind politicians that the disabled aren't interested in harebrained schemes or empty promises. What are you going to do to make the city safer for the disabled so we're not risking our lives every time we go out? Sorry, I forgot. We're society's dirty little secret. We're supposed to stay behind closed doors and not do anything. Journalists like Jack Lakey & Joe Fiorito don't believe that. Why don't you talk to them or someone who actually has to live with this kind of nonsense. Show us that you want to learn something instead of pretending you know everything and you might get some votes.
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