Kenton Mayor Randy Manns and Kenton Times Staff Writer Dan Robinson enroll at Harco for a day

Like most of the 80 enrollees at Harco, my day began with a bus ride.  Mayor Randy Manns and I were each strapped into a wheel chair and secured on different buses to be transported to the school on the northern edge of Kenton. Floyd Vermillion, an 11-year veteran of driving bus for Harco/Simon Kenton, welcomed me, as he did each of the passengers as they boarded.  “I love doing this,” said Vermillion. “I love working with the handicapped.  This is my bus and we have a good time. I know each one of my passengers personally and we have no problems.”

The county passengers have already found their seats and as Vermillion guides the bus throughout Kenton, Jean Hall, the bus monitor, sees to the needs of those riding to the school. She had worked at Hardin Hills prior to coming to Harco, said Hall, but finds her job on the bus easier and less exhausting.

One of the non-verbal passengers begins to choke. Vermillion and Hall calmly care for the rider and continue the trip to Harco.

“There are a lot of health issues we need to watch for,” said Vermillion.  As each passenger enters the bus, a greeting is called out and, like any other daily bus trip, the riders talk about sports, music and their social lives. In fact, that is what strikes me right away, is how average the Harco workers are. They tease and joke with each other as they enter the school and most find a way to give the “new guy” with the camera a verbal ribbing.  I barely get inside the doors before I am greeted by my mentor for the day,  Freddie Keith. He has been chosen to push my wheelchair from one assignment to the next and is taking the job to heart. Freddie moves me through the crowded room and introduces me to his co-workers.

“I know him,” said one new acquaintance. “He rode our bus.”  After the workers are checked for attendance, they gather around to hear where they will begin their day. Some are going to the box line. Others will be in the bagging area, while a large number, including Freddie and me, begin with the activity room.

Susie Elsasser was preparing the participants for a science experiment in which they would blow up a balloon placed over a bottle of yeast and water.  But before she began the project Elsasser called the group to form a circle and she talked with them about their activities outside of Harco. Myron was teased about his “wife” and he responded with a full grin. Julie and Andrew shared what they did on their weekend date.

Each of the enrollees will divide their time between activities and the work area nearby. But before I make the change, John Thompson and Christian Breedlove tell me I need to use the restroom. Despite my assurances I really didn’t, the two men smiled and told me it was part of my experience of being a Harco worker in a wheelchair.

As they strapped me into a portable hoist, the picked me up from the chair and gently set me on a bed, where my needs could have been addressed. The process can take as much as 30 minutes to perform, they told me as I trustingly allowed them to set me back into the wheelchair.

From the restroom, I went to the work area. My job was to remove plastic bags from a large roll on the floor. I placed five of the bags together and under Breedlove’s guidance, I folded them into thirds. The collected bags
were then taken for rolling and are then bound with two rubber bands. A worker is paid for a stipend after each five groups are completed. The bags are sold at area stores for garbage pickup in Kenton, he explained.

The amount of output depends on the speed of the workers at the bag station, said Breedlove, a program specialist. A slower group will produce about 180 bound units per day, while some send out 300 per day.

Behind me is the faint whine of a paper shredder. Hardin Memorial Hospital and about nine other area businesses pay Harco to shred documents. The workers assigned to this job can’t read what they are shredding, said Breedlove, which assures the information is kept confidential. The workers earn $10 for every 53 pounds of paper they shred. They go through 30-200 pounds of documents a day, said Breedlove.

Nearby a large number of enrollees are working with large boxes for International Paper Products. The disposable bowls and lids are shipped separately and the workers at Harco combine them, place them in new boxes, seal the containers and place a label on them for shipping.  “We have 48 different jobs from International Paper,” said Breedlove.  Baartol also provides work for Harco. Enrollees place weighted balls on cables to keep them from getting tangled on flag poles.

Breedlove said working with people with disabilities just “seems right” for him. He grew up in the Kenton community and has known two of the Harco workers for many years.