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Disabled fairgoers get extra attention

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By Deirdre Cox Baker | Wednesday, August 02, 2006 | 1 comment(s)

As many as 1,200 persons with disabilities may attend the opening day of the 87th annual Mississippi Valley Fair today, but Caleb Hill will not be among them.

It was a year ago when national attention was focused on Hill, 32, after the developmentally disabled man slipped and fell from a seat on a 50-foot-high Ferris wheel. The lunch hour accident was captured on videotape by KWQC-TV, which was doing a live weather forecast segment from the fairgrounds.

Hill was not seriously injured and is doing well, but a relative of his guardian said he will not be at the fair today.

And Bob Fox, the fair’s manager, said, “We’ll be more cautious this year.” Designated personnel will stand near the carnival rides and may intervene if individuals are judged not to be fit to ride a particular attraction, he added.

Hill had attended the fair with a large contingent of guests and caregivers from the Handicapped Development Center, or HDC, in Davenport on the first day of the fair. As was the case in 2005, the first day of the fair has been designated Special Needs Day at the fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St., Davenport.

But a forecast for temperatures near 100 degrees and heat indexes in the triple digits will reduce the number of clients who head out to the fairgrounds, said Nancy Martel, HDC’s senior vice president.

Hill and a HDC caregiver were atop the Ferris wheel when the ride halted to let on more passengers. Hill apparently grew anxious with the stoppage and slid under the bar in the front of his seat. The woman riding with him as a caregiver struggled to hold the 5-foot-tall, 100-pound man, whose skin was slippery from sunscreen that had been applied to him.

He slowly left her grip and fell a few feet, landing on the spokes of the ride, where he was quickly rescued by employees of Evans United Carnival Rides.

The dramatic footage of the accident and subsequent rescue was seen many times by television viewers in the Quad-City region and nationwide on programs such as “Inside Edition.”

Many people with disabilities love attending the fair, and those who wish to go today may do so with family members, Martel said, terming last year’s incident an unfortunate situation.

As for Hill, though, “Caleb’s not going to the fair at all,” said Judy Knutsen of Davenport. She is the sister of Karen Wenndt of Atlanta, who is Hill’s guardian and the woman he calls “Mama.”

Hill, who was taken to a hospital for treatment of some cuts and bruises a year ago, is “doing great,” Knutsen said, and still lives in a wing at the HDC.

Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com