Page 52 of 62 FirstFirst ... 2425051525354 ... LastLast
Results 511 to 520 of 619

Thread: SHAC Reviews Here

  1. #511
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    FCS Title Town
    Posts
    8,671

    Default Re: Bohl News

    Quote Originally Posted by westnodak93bison View Post
    Sounds like someone seeing an opportunity

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
    An opportunity to get the SHAC to do what was right in the first place.
    The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
    Paul Fix
    .

  2. #512
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Fargo
    Posts
    2,124

    Default Re: Bohl News

    Quote Originally Posted by westnodak93bison View Post
    Sounds like someone seeing an opportunity

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
    Except...not? Unless by "opportunity" you mean a chance for someone that lives with issues and complications that someone with a disability has to go through on a daily basis and wants to make sure that others don't have to deal with it an 'opportunity' then yes.

  3. #513
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Fargo
    Posts
    2,124

    Default Re: Bohl News

    https://www.inforum.com/news/crime-a...-at-NDSU-arena

    Disability advocates pleased with settlement over accessibility violations at NDSU arena | INFORUM


    FARGO — Local disability advocates are applauding a federal settlement concerning accessibility complaints at North Dakota State University’s premier multi-sport arena, but wish it wasn't needed in the first place.

    U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley announced on Wednesday, Jan. 29, that his office reached an agreement with NDSU over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, known as the SHAC.

    "It's not a hostile takeover of their facilities, but it is an insistence upon compliance with this important civil rights legislation," said Wrigley, referring to the 1990 federal act prohibiting discrimination based on disability.


    The complaints were first brought by Keith Bjornson of Fargo in the spring of 2017, only months after the SHAC opened.

    Disability advocates pleased with settlement over accessibility violations at NDSU arena

    Volume 90%

    Bjornson, a quadriplegic after breaking his neck in a diving accident as a teenager, was a big sports fan who attended numerous events at the SHAC and experienced the accessibility shortcomings firsthand.

    He wasn't able to realize the result of his efforts, however, as he died at age 67 in late 2018.

    Tammy DeSautel of Fargo added her voice to what Bjornson started with a 2019 letter to The Forum's editor after staff members at the SHAC denied her request for a chair to sit next to her disabled daughter during a high school basketball tournament.

    Macy Stuart is pictured in a wheelchair seating area in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex at North Dakota State University on March 2, 2019. Her mother, Tammy DeSautel, requested a chair to sit next to her daughter but was refused. Instead, DeSautel sat on the edge of the metal bleachers so she could be closer to attend to her daughter's needs. Special to The Forum

    Macy Stuart is pictured in a wheelchair seating area in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex at North Dakota State University on March 2, 2019. Her mother, Tammy DeSautel, requested a chair to sit next to her daughter but was refused. Instead, DeSautel sat on the edge of the metal bleachers so she could be closer to attend to her daughter's needs. Special to The Forum

    Currently, a companion of any wheelchair patron on the floor of the SHAC must sit in the row of seats directly behind.

    "I don’t know if it had an impact on the findings, but it sure brought awareness," said DeSautel about going public with her story.

    The SHAC opened in 2016 as an extension and renovation of the former Bison Sports Arena, originally built in 1970.

    The most significant accessibility issue involves wheelchair seating in the 5,685-seat main arena.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Burkland said those patrons shouldn't be limited to "nosebleed seats" or have to sit on the arena floor alone.

    "They should have a similar offering of selections as someone who doesn't use a wheelchair," she said.

    Burkland said under the agreement, 40 wheelchair spaces will have to be integrated and dispersed throughout the facility, and sight lines will have to be improved.

    Other modifications must be made to accessible parking and signs, concession stands, door handles, ramps and drinking fountains.

    Wrigley said NDSU was cooperative when made aware of the violations, and he doesn't believe they were intentional.

    "I think it does give you a glimpse that this was inadvertent, maybe clumsy, not as attentive as they needed to be," he said.

    Wrigley said being reactive to compliance matters tends to be more expensive than being proactive.

    Mike Ellingson, director of facilities management at NDSU, said he didn't know how much the modifications would cost.

    However, he did say the work would be scheduled around athletic seasons so as not to interfere with activities. Under the agreement, the changes must occur by Dec. 31 of this year.

    Ellingson also said the school will look into how this "fell through the cracks," and what can be done to be sure it doesn't happen again.

    Jerry Christiansen, an accessibility specialist for Freedom Resource Center of Fargo, said he is pleased but disappointed that any new facility is not ADA compliant.

    He said the issues should have been caught by architects, engineers, contractors or building inspectors.

    "Even with those four layers, it’s often missed. It’s frustrating," Christiansen said.

    The case was handled by the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, and most of that division's work focuses on ADA complaints.

    Few complaints result in litigation, however.

    U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley, right, talks about the settlement reached between his office and North Dakota State University over accessibility issues at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, or SHAC. Also pictured are Asst. U.S. Attorneys Melissa Burkland, left, and Tara Iversen, center. Chris Flynn / The Forum

    U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley, right, talks about the settlement reached between his office and North Dakota State University over accessibility issues at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, or SHAC. Also pictured are Asst. U.S. Attorneys Melissa Burkland, left, and Tara Iversen, center. Chris Flynn / The Forum

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Iversen said most cases either end with an informal letter of resolution, where the party agrees to make the changes requested, or in a settlement agreement, like in the NDSU case, which holds more weight.

    “If someone doesn't comply with a settlement agreement, we can then go into court to try to enforce it,” Iversen said.

    Anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging accessibility non-compliance may do so online at ada.gov or contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 701-297-7400.

  4. #514
    bisonp's Avatar
    bisonp is offline Senior Member Gets their mail at the West Parking Lot
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Moorhead
    Posts
    4,356

    Default Re: Bohl News

    Quote Originally Posted by MrSnuffleupagus View Post
    Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Burkland said those patrons shouldn't be limited to "nosebleed seats" or have to sit on the arena floor alone.

    "They should have a similar offering of selections as someone who doesn't use a wheelchair," she said.

    Burkland said under the agreement, 40 wheelchair spaces will have to be integrated and dispersed throughout the facility, and sight lines will have to be improved.
    This should be interesting, considering there are no provisions for wheelchair access anywhere within the folding risers. The only thing I can think of is removing some of the first row seats, but they're not going to do that for 40 spots. Makes me wonder if NDSU thought this through before agreeing to the settlement.

  5. #515
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Posts
    29,295

    Default Re: Bohl News

    Quote Originally Posted by BisonTeacher View Post
    This. Well kinda. The issue of the arena has arisen since day 1. But the ADA issue? Get the woman a chair FFS.
    exactly....
    NDSU TO FBS. HAVEN'T WE WON ENOUGH?

  6. #516
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Mayer, MN
    Posts
    5,298

    Default Re: Bohl News

    Quote Originally Posted by MrSnuffleupagus View Post
    Except...not? Unless by "opportunity" you mean a chance for someone that lives with issues and complications that someone with a disability has to go through on a daily basis and wants to make sure that others don't have to deal with it an 'opportunity' then yes.
    Or the other acceptable answer.. "Hey! You are one of the top level Universities in your state. Follow the effing codes dumbasses!"
    The weather in Fargo keeps the undesirables out.....

    ...Which is why I live near the Twin Cities.

  7. #517
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Fargo, ND
    Posts
    7,318

    Default Re: Bohl News

    I dont want this to come off as insensitive, as we should do everything we can in all buildings to make them accessible for people in wheelchairs; but demanding to have 40 wheelchair accessible seats in the arena and not just on the floor or at the top seems unreasonable. Is there a demand for that many people in wheelchairs coming to events? Like I said, its all about being in compliance, but seems a little crazy.
    "North Dakota State is a big part of the fabric of college football right now."
    "North Dakota State is alive on the college football map."
    -Lee Fitting ESPN

  8. #518
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Oak Ridge, NC
    Posts
    8,088

    Default Re: Bohl News

    Quote Originally Posted by Bison03 View Post
    I dont want this to come off as insensitive, as we should do everything we can in all buildings to make them accessible for people in wheelchairs; but demanding to have 40 wheelchair accessible seats in the arena and not just on the floor or at the top seems unreasonable. Is there a demand for that many people in wheelchairs coming to events? Like I said, its all about being in compliance, but seems a little crazy.
    I kind of feel the same way about handicapped parking spaces. Good idea but it seems like there are more and more of them and often, even when the lot is very full, the majority of the handicapped spots are empty. Good idea taken too far.
    Get your BB tickets now!!!

  9. #519
    IndyBison's Avatar
    IndyBison is offline Senior Member Gets their mail at the West Parking Lot
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Indianapolis
    Posts
    4,633

    Default Re: Bohl News

    Quote Originally Posted by Gully View Post
    I kind of feel the same way about handicapped parking spaces. Good idea but it seems like there are more and more of them and often, even when the lot is very full, the majority of the handicapped spots are empty. Good idea taken too far.
    I am actually surprised how often they are filled. Lots of people with handicap tags.

    My favorite is handicap spots on cell phone lots at airports. There is usually no place to walk to but they probably still have to be compliant.

    Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

  10. #520
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    5,635

    Default Re: Bohl News

    they shoulda renovated the civic and played "downtown"

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •