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SOUTHERN
VOCE
Don't Miss!!
Dos Lesbos
mmmm mmmmmmmm
Feb. 9-26
See Calendar for Details
Vol. 1, No. 25
Taking Pride in Our Culture
February 2,1989
Kowalski Moved from Nursing Home
Father Retains Guardianship
Sharon Kowalski, a disabled lesbian who
has been under the legal guardianship of her
father since 1984, was moved on January 17
from a nursing home to the Miller-Dwan
Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota to
receive communications and rehabilitation
therapy.
The move was made despite a last-
minute appeal submitted to Judge Robert V.
Campbell by Kowalski's father, Donald
Kowalski.
The appeal included an affidavit from Dr.
William Wilson, the Kowalski family
doctor, stating that he had reviewed the
medical evidence and deemed that the move
would be harmful to Kowalski, and further
stating that he would order nursing home
personnel not to cooperate with the move.
Judge Campbell refused to respond to Dr.
Wilson's letter and arranged for the transfer,
which had originally been scheduled for
January 3.
"I'm thrilled this has finally happened,
but I'm infuriated that the move has taken so
long," said Kowalski's partner, Karen
Thompson.
Kowalski was severely injured in an
automobile accident in 1983 and has been
kept in a nursing home since 1985. She has
received little rehabilitation there and was
not allowed to see visitors of her choice,
including Thompson, who has been
pursuing legal action since 1984 for proper
medical care for Kowalski, as well as for
the right to visit her.
"Visitation has now been taken totally
out of the hands of her parents. I think I
will be able to see Sharon-it's just a matter
of when," said Thompson.
Judge Campbell's court order stated that
"Ms. Kowalski may have visitation with her
family and with those personal friends who
she specifically and reliably request visit
her."
Thompson told Southern Voice on
January 26 that no one has been notified to
visit Kowalski as of yet. "I don't think that's
good," said Thompson.
"I think Sharon would be adjusting better
if she were able to see people, but at least
she is getting rehabilitation," she said.
Results of a recent court-ordered
competency test showed that Kowalski can
clearly and consistently communicate her
needs and wishes, and that she understands
the communications of others.
But Judge Campbell, in the December
order, found that Kowalski is still
incapacitated at this time and reaffirmed
Donald Kowalski's guardianship, except as
might be limited by this or subsequent court
orders.
-Wendy Morse
venture on Cheshire Bridge Road in
February, the outspoken supporter of lesbian
and gay rights says she is happy with what
she has done. .
"The kids need a place to come out in,"
Deana expounds, glancing around the
brightly lit lounge featuring a mirrored
stage, hardwood dance floor, cabaret seating
arrangement and matching plush sofas
flanking an operative fireplace. While the
horseshoe bar encourages conversational
interchange, more private socializing is
available in the pool room and on the
outdoor patio. <
"This is my dream," Deana boasts,
recounting almost thirty years of
involvement in the Atlanta bar scene. "I
took the first dollar spent at the Sports Page
for B.C. She was my role model, and a
good one...I know, because I've seen her
heart."
Following her own heart, Deana opened
her first bar, Chez le Femme, during die late
70s on the same spot where Bulldog and
Company is today. Subsequent endeavors
included the Uptown on Peachtree Road
and the Rose at Cheshire Square as Deana
sought to establish just the right social
atmosphere for her dream.
"Basically, I didn't want to go back into
the bar business," Deana recalls. "But I
Cont'd Page 6
Deana Collins Does it for Atlanta -
One Mo' Time
On October 11,1988, more than 1000 members of the AIDS Coalition to
Unleash Power (ACT UP) from 15 states successfully blocked entrances to
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Rockville,
Maryland. Since its inception in March, 1987, ACT UP has taken on
corporations around the country, as well as the federal government. While
each of their actions may not be completely successful, ACT UP members
say they always succeed in drawing attention to their cause-people with
AIDS. See story Page 11.
In fifty years, Deana Collins hasn't
learned a thing.
She's just as stubborn and determined
now as when growing up as an only child in
Southern California.
Attributing her high-spirited nature to a
combination of Catholic, Portuguese and
Spanish/American influences through
heritage, Deana recalls "the worst beating I
ever got was down in the tortilla flats when
I gave a barefoot, homeless little Spanish
girl my new pair of shoes...my family was
mad at me, honey."
Half-a-century later Deana elicits similar
resistance to this kind of benevolent
behavior from accountants questioning her
incessant giving and unrelenting penchant
for assisting the oppressed and
downtrodden.
"There's no monetary thing I really
want," admits the youthful-looking
grandmother to nine and proprietor of
Deana's One Mo' Time. "Money is no big
deal. What is a big deal is participating in
life, and touching the lives of others."
As Deana prepares to celebrate the
second anniversary of her latest business
Deana Collins has rocketed into local
prominence for the warm, community
atmosphere of her bar and her intense
involvement in gay/lesbian and AIDS
causes.