Dayton mom gives face to state budget cut fears

FBI investigating possible threat of 'domestic terrorism' at local business
New 13 min. ago
Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival violated religious free speech, court rules
9:18 a.m.
Companies expected to announce expansions, increase in jobs
9:03 a.m.
Bullying law brings rule changes
7:42 a.m.
Victoria Theatre announces 2012-13 lineup
7:22 a.m.
> More headlines

By William Hershey Updated 3:45 PM Sunday, June 28, 2009

COLUMBUS — It’s sometimes tough to make a direct, personal connection to state government.

City Hall pays for the cop on the beat and for the firefighter who rushes into a burning building to save a crying baby or bed-ridden grandma.

The president has his finger on the nuclear trigger.

These days, for better or worse, Washington determines which banks live and die and whether once-mighty General Motors fades away or lives to sell another car.

The Statehouse, however, often seems more like a faceless financial exchange. Tax dollars — not enough of them recently — flow in and then get distributed to schools, colleges, prisons, state parks and folks who need a safety net.

It’s only during budget crises like the current one that the money changing gets a face.

Last week that face belonged to Donna Thielman, 80, of Dayton, among hundreds of protesters who showed up in Columbus to denounce the $2.4 billion in cuts proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland to balance the budget.

Thielman came with her son Tom, 47, who lives in a group home on Salem Avenue.

Tom suffers from neurofibromatosis, a disorder of the nervous system that has caused seizures and tumors, including one in his brain. The seizures are controlled by medication, Thielman said.

Until about 10 years ago Tom lived with Thielman and her husband Robert, 82. Doctors advised them to find a place where Tom could live apart from them and receive the supervision he would need when they became unable to care for him.

Thielman is a retired teacher’s aide and her husband worked until 1997 as a restaurant service repairman, she said.

They found the home on Salem Avenue.

“He likes it and I like it because they’re good to him,” Thielman said in a telephone interview.

Strickland has proposed cutting $4.2 million over two years from the residential state supplement, the program that helps Tom stay at the home.

Under a scorching sun outside the Statehouse on Wednesday, June 24, Thielman was matter-of-fact and soft-spoken when she shared her fears with a crowd of about 300 at a rally to protest the cuts.

“I don’t want him to become a street person,” she said, Tom at her side.

Her desire to make sure her son is taken care of took on added urgency after she recently was diagnosed with cancer. She expects to begin chemotherapy next week.

Thielman hadn’t spoken to such a crowd before.

“It made my day,” she said. “I felt good talking to all those people.”

For Tom, the story so far has a satisfactory ending. Karla Warren, spokeswoman for the Aging Department, said the program that helps Tom serves about 1,800 people statewide, with a waiting list of 100.

Under Strickland’s plan, those now being served like Tom would continue to get help but the program would be closed to newcomers, Warren said.

“That’s good news,” Thielman said. “I just feel sorry for the kids that need it but can’t get in. I hope there’s something else they can find.”

Share this article