Hello folks, my name is Ann Kendrick. Some of you may have heard of me (gotta brag here) since I had the wonderful date of July 26th named “Ann Kendrick Day” in Hot Springs. I was given this honor for my efforts as a volunteer working to make Hot Springs businesses handicapped parking compliant.

The first and foremost thing I have learned is that people with no proper credentials or rights for handicapped parking DO IT ALL THE TIME!

My conundrum is how to get them to stop this business. They are rude, crude, obviously cannot read (and that goes for all the other eight crammed in that car), and on top of all this…they are breaking the LAW!

Now, about me and the law. I had a few uncles who were police officers, but I never really knew them. I have always respected the badge, if not, sometimes, the man. But I believe in the LETTER OF THE LAW. I wish they would remove the words ‘officer discretion” from the police handbook. If I am breaking the law….then ticket me. I have been stopped for speeding….and yes I got the danged expensive ticket. But I was admittedly breaking the law. In my eyes, I deserved it.

When talking to any of you who are disabled and have a disabled tag for your car – you most likely have a placard, too. But if you only have a placard, I will stress LOUDLY to you that you have a job to do. You deserve that placard. You worked hard and painfully to get it, so do your job and ensure it is HANGING ON THE MIRROR or the car’s dashboard. This you earned as identification to be allowed to park in that place and to be identified as such. I will say the same to you as I do the police – If it is not hanging from the mirror or on the dash, then that vehicle SHOULD BE TICKETED BECAUSE A LAW IS BROKEN. No, it can’t be on the console. No, it cannot be on the floor. YOUR JOB IS TO SEE THAT IT IS IN ITS PROPER PLACE.

There is more in depth topic to be discussed about sitting in your vehicle, perhaps waiting for the person who ran into the store quickly…but for right now, let me say to you that if you are in a handicapped parking place and just sitting there…HANG THAT PLACARD UP!!! Again, it’s your right…show it off…be legal, and hang the danged thing. Even if you are sitting in the car to make a quick phone call, hang the placard so you are identified.

I hear complaints routinely about people driving with their placards hanging from the mirror. The law again…states plainly…remove while the vehicle is in motion.

There is nothing in the rule book that says you cannot report a handicapped parking violation. When I first moved here I recognized some signs were out of date, and the lines were all but unseen, so I called to report the violation. Nope. Can’t do it, the police told me very kindly. What? Why? They could not ticket anyone in that spot because it wasn’t considered “legal”!!! Splain it to me, Lucy I said. And they very kindly informed me that it needed a sign in front of the parking space and it had to be a certain height. OHHHH. I learned something.

Then I began seeing something…not too many of those “legal” parking spaces around town that I could find.

Thus began my journey of seeking help. Something should be done. I couldn’t walk a mile to get into the grocery store and back without passing out…literally. Surely somebody would help. Well, folks – another fact about Ann. I am stubborn. You tell me I can’t do it, and by George, I’ll show you I can. I called the city ‘departments’ and their superiors in those offices. I know I must have called or talked to whoever answered the phone at least three times a week. FOR TWO YEARS!!! My friends kept telling me to quit and that I wouldn’t get anywhere. Nobody would listen. I told my friend JoEllen that I may not get what I wanted, but by George, before I left there, EVERYONE OF THEM WOULD KNOW MY NAME.

TO BE CONTINUED, IF YOU’RE INTERESTED

By Ann Kendrick, ADA Parking Advocate