| Getting back to basics
His career as a professional hockey player had stalled and Duncan Milroy knew he had to do something to jump start it again. So when Hamilton Bulldogs head coach Don Lever suggested to him at the end of last year that the best thing he could do to impress the Montreal Canadiens was to start by getting in the best shape of his life, Milroy took the message to heart. The 23-year-old Edmonton native spent two months this summer in St. Louis working with the Blues strength and conditioning coach Nelson Ayotte. His weight is down about eight pounds but Milroy has added muscle and reduced his body fat by about 4 per cent. The new, svelte, Duncan Milroy says he feels better both as a person and as a hockey player. "That's the reason he got in a game in Montreal during training camp," said Lever, who feels that Milroy has to continue to build on his apparent new commitment to his career.
Man loses paratransit ride
For the past four years, Utah Transit Authority's efforts to get more people out of paratransit vans and onto buses and TRAX has been working, thanks to stepped-up enforcement of eligibility standards.
UTA's goal was to shrink costs without hampering disabled riders' access to their wider communities. The agency believes it has been successful.
But this month, UTA's paratransit manager denied further service to Matthew Padley, a 31-year-old North Salt Lake resident whose family doesn't believe he can ride the bus safely.
Padley has had brain damage since birth. He is autistic, obsessive-compulsive, has club feet and severe arthritis. But because paratransit evaluators examine riders' mental and physical abilities, not their maladies, UTA declared Padley could ride paratransit vans only under certain conditions.
Disabled cruisers need to plan ahead
Cruise-bound travelers with disabilities, especially wheelchair users, can't take anything for granted. While cruise lines profess to be wheelchair-user friendly, there are instances where they are not. For anyone with a serious disability who is interested in cruising, full disclosure of your problem to the cruise line or travel agent doing the booking is a must. Every cruise line has a toll-free number and guest access specialists to help passengers with disabilities, whether it's a wheelchair issue, a hearing or sight impairment, questions about oxygen for those with respiratory problems or other medical problems. Ask the cruise line or your travel agent questions until the answers are crystal clear to you and you feel comfortable embarking on a new experience.
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