美国Westford市:本周六,经过少数反对,多数支持的投票决定后, 美国Westford市(马萨诸塞州)决定为当地的Abbot小学安装电梯.
　　此次投票决定是在Abbot小学官员的长期努力下实现的,学校将响应美国1990年出台的<残疾人法案>,为其1955年建成的教学楼安装电梯.电梯安装后，将方便那些短期或长期行走不便的学生和老师到达教学楼二层的教室和图书馆。
　　2/3的投票赞成学校借50万美元建造一座一、二层楼之间的电梯，并保证不会减少教室数量。
　　学校委员会主席David Keele.说：“教学楼建于1955年，有56年历史；了，可能是城市中最古老的建筑，唯一的缺点是没有电梯。”
　　安装工程包括安装一台液压电梯、挖掘5英尺深的凹槽、安装电梯框架和机房、砌墙。工程建筑师Ron Alex表示电梯需要新的电梯系统，活着将已有电力系统进行改进。
　　在学校的会议中，有人质疑工程的昂贵费用，对此一名委员会成员说：“工程太贵了，我们本想是否有其他方法。”不过大多数投票者支持这一旅行法律义务的决定。
　　财政官员John Amato说：“《残疾人法案》是赋予人民的权利。我们应该支持和响应它。”
　　委员会成员Judith Culver说：“电梯关乎尊严的问题。”Judith Culver的儿子几年前在一起车祸中瘫痪，现在依靠轮椅行动。她很高兴今后儿子可以在楼中依靠电梯自由行动。
　　她说：“电梯给了特殊人群尊严，让那些行动不便的人们感觉自己像正常人一样。我们有义务为城市提供服务。这栋教学楼里有400个孩子，他们像我儿子一样不能走路，不过一旦有人这样，我们就要给他尊严。”

Voters approve elevator for Westford's Abbot School

　　Westford —Despite strong opposition from a small faction of voters, Town Meeting approved the appropriation of $500,000, Saturday, for the installation of an elevator at the Abbot Elementary School.
　　The vote caps a long-term effort by school officials to make the 1955 building compliant with the American Disabilities Act of 1990. The only access to the building’s second floor classrooms and library is a two-tiered stairway, creating a hardship for students, teachers, and visitors who have been temporarily or permanently immobilized due to accident or injury, according to school officials.
　　The two-thirds vote gives town officials permission to borrow up to half a million dollars to build a two-level elevator and small addition that won’t cut into any classrooms.
　　“The building was built in 1955,” said School Committee Chairman David Keele. “It is now 56 years old. There are many who would argue that it is probably the most successful building in town history. It has one flaw. It does not have an elevator to bring people up to the second floor.”
　　The project will involve installing a dual jack hydraulic elevator, excavating a five-foot pit, building an elevator frame and machine room, and using masons to build walls. New power must be brought to the elevator, or the existing system must be upgraded, according to Ron Alex, the architect who designed the project.
　　Town Meeting reconvenes tomorrow evening at the Abbot School.
　　The project’s price tag caused some residents to question the cost.
　　“It’s a lot of money, and I was hoping we had some other alternatives,” said Bob Pellegrino of Russell’s Way. “It’s a pricey project.”
　　But most voters could not be dissuaded from fulfilling the town’s legal obligation.
　　“For those of you who don’t realize it, ADA is a civil right. We should move the vote and vote to make it happen,” said John Amato of Chamberlain Road.
　　“An elevator for this school is about dignity,” said Judith Culver, of Stone Ridge Road. Culver, who is also a School Committee member, related that her son had been paralyzed in an automobile accident some years ago, and confined to a wheelchair. She recalled how gratified he felt when he could enter a building independently.
　　“Being able to enter a building and do your task, gives you dignity,” she said “It allows you to be the person you are. We have an obligation to our town to provide town services. We have 400 children in this building. God forbid they should have the injury my son had. But if they do, we should give them dignity.”