By J.J. Huggins
Eagle Tribune Staff Writer
Oct 6, 2008
METHUEN – Students applauded when 7-year-old Bryce LeConti pushed a button to open the door to Timony Grammar School yesterday.
LeConti uses a wheelchair, and until recently, people had to manually open the door to enter the school.
The Methuen Disability Commission paid about $25,000 to make the entrances to Timony and the city’s other three grammar schools handicapped accessible. The buttons are about 2 feet above the ground and easily within reach for someone using a wheelchair.
Several residents, school officials gathered at Timony for a ribbon cutting ceremony to publicly thank the disability commission.
Second-grade teacher Jeannie Malloy spearheaded the effort to get the automatic doors. She said there are two places children should always feel welcome – home and school.
“When people struggle to get into a building, that sends a negative message, “Malloy told the crowd.
The teacher is familiar with accessibility problems. She has twin 12 yer-old daughters, Kerry and Shannon, and Shannon has cerebral policy.
The commission paid for the doors with money from fines paid by people caught illegally parked in handicap parking spaces, for which the fine is $200, said Chairman Sid Harris.
Harris spent three and a half years in a wheelchair after a car accident 30 years ago and now walks with a cane.
“Try to maneuver that chair in and out of doors, it was terrible.” he recalled in an interview.
Harris said the door opening devices are convenient for anyone, not just people with disabilities. For example, they could come in handy for a teacher entering the building with an arm-full of books, he said.
The schools did not violate building codes by a lack of automatic doors; there is no law saying buildings have to have this equipment, Harris said.
About 165 of Timony School’s 15,00 students are physically disabled, according to Principal Judy Scannell. “This has been a long time coming.” she said.
Mayor William Manzi praised the Disability Commission and said, “We look forward to more projects like this.”
Sid Harris