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The MtamohtEnierpHse-Thunday, December 25^2008 It may be cold ojitsi$e, but we have Hot Diamonds® inside! m * Visit our new showroom. 1890 Western Avenue • Albany Next to Robinson's Hardware •• 518464-4748 —-* r+-*-. — ...Report clears New Visions in fatal accident il|«^<^ to all my friends, clients, and neighbors Your business and referrals hdvekeptnte busy and are greatly appreciated, Uumi Meachain Prudential Manor Homes Homeoffice-765-2981 ! Offrce-690-0510 Ext. 116 For Your Dental Information MOUTHWASHES AND ORAL RINSES Adam A. Edwards, D.D.S. There are,many types of mouthwashes now available in today's dental marketplace, which can be very effective in treating different types of oral conditions. It is important to understand what each product can actually do for you and how it:may be helpful. Some mouthwashes serve only to \sweeten your breath\ while others are actually quite effective in \killing bad germs\ and aiding in the treatment of gum disease. Certain products can help to loosen the attachment of plaque and bacterial debris to \rour teeth, thus helping to increase the effectiveness of brushing and flossing. Other oral rinses contain fluoride compounds, which may decrease the incidence of dental decay and tooth sensitivity. There are also special mouth rinses, which are available from your dentist (or by prescription), which can help cure an acute oral infection or a flare-up of a • chronic inflammatory condition. Some people are under the misunderstanding that using mouthwash can replace proper fundamental oral hygiene habits. You must be careful with your home care and maintain proper, tooth brushing and flossing techniques. Mouthwash use alone is not an effective means of preventing tooth decay and gum disease. However, in many cases, using mouthwashes and oral rinses can be a helpful adjunct in maintaining your complete dental health. Please speak with your dentist and dental hygienist about which products may be useful for your individual situation. Presented As A Public Service By The Offices of: STUART F. FASS, D.D.S. ' and '•:/\ • ADAM A. EDWARDS, D.D.S. 103 Main St., Altamont. Phone: 861-5136 24 Hour Service • Automatic Delivery • Fireplaces Appliances • Water Heaters • Heating Systems LP SERVICE INC. Residential & Commercial Serving Albany & Greene Counties 141 C.R. 406, South Westerlo (Continued from Page 1) on. \Additionally a new safety form idepti^^^^i^j^byap^B'iiii' consumer's fWctioning, behavior or health cojitinues to be com- pleted on. aUtrahsports. These actions appear appropriate given the «&cujddstiaaces:*. ' 1^:\leJ;f^;t^i^^s^the cpm- mission's inyesf4gatiqii consisted of a re*i^-.'6$^i^l!^i%-^jnJ^be WestemTumpuie Rescue S^ St. Peter's toftp*i^i$^^. sions. It notes the caus^ of death on-the autppsy/Sak jCaJo^dtfpspi- • rator^:arreM^eft^^j^^fc^v': ' braih^death ; alfa^ a motor:^^,vehicfe a<^liieiit^ ?, *phfe manner Was' determihed to be accidentali\ itsays^ •^••^/: The letter was iobtatoedb^J^g Enterprise through a Freedom of Information Law Request filed nearly two years ago. ',,. Gaty W.; Masline, assistant counsel for the state's Commis- sion oh QuaUf^pfC^eaiid Advo- cacy for Fersons;!wit|if v... : ..- : , . Disabilities, told, The Enterprise this w.eek that the i4-sentence letter seizes as the commission's^ report \The letter oMnd-, ings serves as .a-•re- port,\ he sand. \Beyond that, we don't release our investigative files and there's good reason for that. If we did, we. wouldn't get the level of cooperation we do from the field/' Speanburg suffered two van crashes The Bethlehem Police issued a report on the Npv. 6 accident in December of 2006 after The Enterprise broke, the, story of | Speanburg's death; police had I np^writt^nivai report earlieiv ? Bethlehem Lieutenant Thomas I Heffernan, said at the time; be- cause they did not Iqipw, she had died and the New Visions van did not collide with another vehicle or go off the road. , The police report says that at 3:21 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2006, Speanburg was riding in a New Visions van eastbpund from the Knunkill Road day facility to her group home on Rapp Road in Guilderland. An unidentified vehicle coining from Beldale Road cut off the line of traffic in front of the van, causing it to \stop abruptly to avoid a colli- sion,''the report says, the sudden stop caused Speanburg to \fall forward,\ it says. \When the operator of the van stopped, abruptly, Mabel was thrown forward, hitting her head,\ Heffernan told the Enter- prise in 2006. She was treated at the scene and transported to St. Peter's Hospital in Albany by the West- ern TimipikeResciiie Squad, The vaii's driver, the police re- port said, checked the wheelchair locks and seat-belt restraints for all five passengers before leaving New Visions and said all thp restraints were secjjre; : she also said that \Speanbttrg .wag physically capableoffeleasirigor unhopkmg the seat belt arid must have,* accorcting '•&$*& *^E$ft< Th^epoHce report alsp says a hospital wp|js:er Stated-; ''she; reqei^ei; h^oto^tion, fjrpin the Western; Tu^hj|iKie> • Amibij&arice personnel that Speaiiburg was ;npt:;testrafre$pj^ it $*as hot tiie &ist time^ this had happened witli New Visions' vans.\ •• ••\/ ;., '••/''fe. former,..Ne^^siori&vie^^ l.glpyfie, ^Tbio. ^ftF^4^f|li^i^^t>^: *lipme,;pn Rdsempn^|>tre^ /Mbajnj^ itpi$ The 'Mnt^prylsey '. two jreaTsagp, that;Spe^btWg; a similar accident oh Kiainikill Road inearly 2005; Speanburg was traveling to the day program when a car turned in front of the New Visions, vehicle and, the • worker told The Enterprise, ?The \I think since V^tergate*., we jump to assumptions : . where we don't really have an evidentiary trail.\ driver slammed on the brakes... Mabel and the staff member went flyiiig.\ Speanburg, received \a gash on her eyebrow and went to St. Peter's [Hospital] where she was bandaged,\ the, worker said, Speanburg, who had been wearing a seat belt, should ,'have been in the front seat or seated next to a staff member, the ^worker .said.\Knpwihg^^ Ma- bel,\ the worker said, that would have been a wise precaatipn., She described Speanburg as \very mischievous at times and fun- loving... very playful.\ That worker said that New Visions needed more staff to run its programs properly. Other workers, after the Nov.,6, 2006 accident, said that Speanburg did not have her seat belt on; they.saidthat, with just one staff member on the van, clients can- not be properly maintained. McKenzie responded in 2006 that New Visions had adequate and competent staffing. At the time, it had about 450 employees to serve a little oyer 600 clients in 22 group homes and 30 apart- ments as well as iri a day facility; clients then Were transported in 68 company vehicles. McKenzie also said after the 2006.accident that seat-belt use at New Visions is strictly en- forced and seat-belt enforcement rules \vere in place well before the accident, \The Albany County Associa- tion for Retarded Citizens' mis- sion is to serve, advocate and offer 1 opportunities' to persons witlidMermgabuities'aUd their fa>n^e$/ says NewVisions? mis- sion statement. w tjnivers<5 ofpossibilities\ The Efyietpnsfi asked Masline this:;^eek: if other accid^nitf or staffing 'Jujsu$B. : at'-;New';ViBip)niS • • ha$)feeh||riye^ /;/.>'»,,'%:; _ •• ,1We'.dip^h$ ; ,gp7 : fetp v 0e^p^ answer questions beyond the let- ter of finding,\ said Masline. • ,.' &fre];Eti%rprise ; $i$pr$$|edif in^s^gf|.|^*$ l ''.';h'a!S' i cpSsid^ed, since Speanburg had had a sipoilar accident earUerahdcould Jf^Si&,.$ervp^ ; Be ; #^^ , • ;&p$u1&:ih^e^eph supervised or had a device that ..yrb^$ ! '^ve'!lp]!^dvib0r/>belt''- , \We'rp not going to go. into the filei arid see which.thMgs,we .16b^ed'!:a.V;pr'''liow\'w¥!''lbok£d at .i^^'''3y[asiiiie{said , ;>; i ..'v/. / , Asked if Speanburg might still be aliyp if she; had had her seat belt fastened, Masline replied, \We: do saiyiit remains undeter- -. •';,.; 'niihed^pw. it became uhifasteh^ of physics say...that's \.''n>t:;ko^iib:'9''tihi^g.'.:We. : would draw a cohclu^- sion On unless we had some indication there were some improprir /-ety.\:: . '.'.•/'.'•.,';'• ... He went on, ^e did , have a recommenda- tion even though we didn't site a deficiency because, again, we couldn't determine how the seat belt became unfastened so we can't connect dots that-there was somehow some deficiency in this case. \It's possible — again, it's just possible within the universe of possibilities — that the deceased did something. to cause the belt to become undone and the staff had done eveiything they should hayedorie.\.'.'. _. ..^..f,,,'. -',.<,(.,, Asked if precautions slipmdn't have been taken since Speanburg had had a similar accident before, Masline said, \People ask me 'all the^ time: Sp-and-sd killed them- selves; why wasn't that prevent- able? People just have a sense of belief that everything can be pre- vented. Arid even though we're in the business of an oversight agency, ofteri...there are times something happens and we can't make a determination that it was because something wasn't done. \Even if there was a prior case where there was. a seat-belt issue —- again, I can't speak to that, but let's assume that there was — the fact that I don't see that addressed in that letter tells ine something,..It tells me it wasn't necessarily relevant to the in- vestigator and their supervisor reviewing th^ investigation in this particular case.\ He concluded, \I think* since Watergate -r- arid you kiiow, I'm guilty Of-the same thirig — we jump to assumptions where We dbri't really have an evidentiary trail.\ ~ Ca(( to,Order ~ 372*0337or 859-4620- A V * f f: o A X m B & N: 1, « m m A * D R 'A.. 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