The holidays are here again! Access Press has been blessed over the last year. I hope each of you have been equally fortunate and hopefully we will all be more prosperous in 2004.
Kevin Kling has been gracing our pages for several months now. I hope everyone has been enjoying his stories. The only thing better than reading his stories is hearing him tell them. On Monday, December 15, Kevin will be performing, “Tales From The Charred Underbelly of The Yule Log,” at the Guthrie. I’ve never seen his Christmas shows but after reading his stories these past few months, I can’t wait to see it! I hope to see you there. Thanks, Kevin, for the laughs.
Jerry Smith followed the Interact Theater Company to Europe. Several organizations sponsored Jerry’s filming of the experiences of the theater group and how they fared in a foreign country with foreign crowds using American satire. I’m not going to give away Jerry’s story—it is a must read. Jerry, we can’t thank you enough for putting this article together on short notice and while you were under the weather! I’m sure our readers will appreciate your efforts as much as we do.
Derek VanderVeen, assistant editor, has had another revelation about his disability. Derek has a unique way of looking at his disability and it might suit more of us to see our disabilities as he does. As long as I’m talking about staff, Terri Ricci, office manager, takes a look at employers awarded for employing people with disabilities. Thank you Derek and Terri.
Medicare has been the hot topic recently—particularly the prescription drug program and how it will affect the elderly. John Tschida points out that too much of the scuttlebutt about Medicare has been focused on seniors and not enough on the disability community. John looks at who and how it may affect us in the disability community. John’s “ranting” about the state of Medicare’s prescription drug plan and its effects is certainly appreciated.
Last month we gave you part one on trust funds. This month we bring you part two; thanks to Lori Guzman and Brigitta Sharpe of Guzman, Kalheim & Sharpe. Also see their ad on page six for contact information. They will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have regarding this or any other legal matter. Along with the trust fund article, Joel Ulland looks at some legislation that could potential create problems for trust funds and for eligibility of medical assistance when giving away assets.
If you have experienced problems or lost benefits because of the budget cuts, we would like to gather and print some personal stories of how the cuts have effected the community.
To everyone that has read and supported Access Press this year—Thank you and Happy Holidays.
