The Jackson Hole Guide from Jackson, Wyoming • 42

Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Jackson Hole Guide, B7 Mem fights onai bicycle ride Accepting applications for Melody Ranch Category I Homeownership Opportunities Category I Family Size 1 2 3 4 Income $36,600 41,850 47,100 52,320 for park paths will death of Axelrad. 11 i Applicants will be requested to qualify for $150,000 home purchase. All applications will be due by 4pm on Friday, August 2, 2002. Applications are available at Teton County Housing Authority located at 180 N. Center St.

7 or call 307-732-0867. i i Xv 1 4 J'' "i Your Health Insurance Expert Group benefit coverage for companies of all sizes, customized to your needs. -ifs vdll lUUdy IUI llfcJfcJ loullcHlUI I dllU review of your current benefit plan. Lee Shannon 1 160 Alpine Lane, 1E Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 733-3909 Courtesy Photo LIFE LOST: Gabriella Axelrad was hit and killed by the driver of a minivan while she was biking on Teton Park Road in 1999. The Gabriella Axelrad Memorial Bicycle Ride attempts to increase awareness about bicycle safety and the need for bike and pedestrian pathways in Grand Teton National Park.

jkty Wyoming An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Public Notice Wyoming Department of Health TAX REBATES FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED The tax rebate for the Elderly and Disabled Program for this year will be managed in your county by the local Senior Citizens Centers. Applications will be available at the center after May I by calling for an appointment. To be eligible, an applicant must be age 65 or over, or totally disabled and age 18 or over, with an annual income the preceding year less than $10,000 for a single person, or $14,000 for married couples. The maximum benefit is $500 for single, or $600 for married, qualified applicants. A new application must be completed each year in order to be considered.

When applying, applicants should bring verifying documentation of income, age, and disability. They should also bring copies of pages one and two of their income tax return. If they did not file a tax return, the applicant (and the spouse) needs to initial the application to that effect. Certain types of income are not reportable for Federal IRS purposes. However, they do count as income for this program.

These types of countable income would include social security payments, VA disability payments, supplemental social security, all of the Railroad payments, Native American Per Capita payments, state supplemental social security, AFDC, and child support. Applications must be postmarked no later than August 3 1 to be considered. Applications will be available through the senior center. Determination of eligibility will be made by the Wyoming Department of Health and checks will be mailed directly to eligible applicants around December 20. People with disabilities or elderly who cannot get to the Senior Center should call them for assistance.

SENIOR CENTER OF JACKSON HOLE Phone 733-7300 THAYNE SENIOR CENTER Phone 883-2668 Sunday's ride commemorate the 13-year-old Gabriella By Marie Ewald Jackson Hole Guide David Axelrad has not returned to the Teton Park Eoad since his daughter, Gabriella Axelrad, was hit and killed while biking there on July 24, 1999. "It's taken me three years just to muster up the courage to go back there," Axelrad said last Saturday from his home in California. But this year, he has decided to participate in the third annual Gabriella Axelrad Memorial Bicycle Ride set for 11 a.m. Sunday, July 28, in Grand Teton National Park. The public is invited to attend.

"It's not easy for me to come to the bike ride," Axelrad said. However, Axelrad would like to honor Gabriella, as well as support construction of a pathways system in the park, he said. Gabriella Axelrad, who was 13 at the time, was struck and killed by a minivan while bicycling with her family on an organized bike tour near Jenny Lake in the park. The driver was distracted while changing a CD. Gabriella, who was wearing a helmet and riding on the road's shoulder, was hit from behind.

"If there had been pathways in the park, she would have been alive today," said Liza Bercovici, Gabriella's mother. Bercovici organized and participated in the original memorial ride. She plans to return each year until the park establishes safe bike routes, she said. "I wanted to commemorate my child and I wanted to do whatever we could to prevent this from happening to another family," she said last week. "Gabri was one of the most wonderful people I've ever known.

She was my best friend." Gabriella was an avid cyclist and accomplished dancer. In her daughter's honor, Bercovici established a nonprofit dance organization through the Gabriella Axelrad Education Foundation. In previous years, it was too hard for David Axelrad and Gabriella's brother, who is now 11 years old, to attend the memorial bike ride. The people in Jackson proved to be so caring and supportive, Bercovici said, that her husband was moved to attend this year. The memorial bike ride this year is more significant because Teton park is working on a new transportation plan, which is likely to involve pathways.

"Supporting this ride will support pathways in the park said David Vandenberg, director of Friends of Pathways, a local advocacy organization that is helping to organize the ride along with the National Parks Conservation Association. Participants will ride the 10-mile Jenny Lake Loop. Cyclists will ride past the site of Gabriella's death and on to Jenny Lake. The Axelrad family will share memories about Gabriella and discuss the importance of safe bike routes. Riders will meet at the Moose Visitor Center between 11 a.m.

and 11:30 a.m. to receive details about the ride, which will begin at noon from the String Lake parking area. The national park entiy fee will be waived for ride participants. Riders must wear helmets and they will receive a complimentary T-shirt and refreshments. United Cyclists of Jackson Hole is organizing a bike ride from town, which will total roughly 70 miles round-trip.

"Park roads are increasingly busy. We hope these types of conversations will prevent future accidents," said Tim Young of the National Parks Conservation Association. "I just hope that as many people as possible will come to the ride," David Axelrad said. The more people there are, the greater effort the park will make to ensure safe cycling in the park, he said. Gabriella is one of two cyclists struck and killed by motorists in the park since 1999.

Jackson resident Jeff Pool, 33, was killed last year while biking the main highway in the park. The two deaths have increased awareness about bike safety in the park. Since 1999, the National Park Service has embarked on an effort to study how Teton park can be more amenable to travel by bike and foot, Young said. The park is currently considering a plan that would include a comprehensive pathway system for biking and walking. This fall, the park is scheduled to select a preferred alternative, which will be open to public comment, Young said.

For more information about the ride, call the National Parks Conservation Association at 733-4680 or Friends of Pathways at 7334534. ebouf i ACJ' Governor for WYOMING Eli Bebout is a strong conservative. He is the former Speaker of the Wyoming House and served in the State Legislature for 14 years. Eli Bebout: Protects Second Amendment rights Favors greater local control and reducing government regulation Opposes state income-tax www.bebout4governor.com Paid for by Bebouf (or Governor i i i i -j 1 i -J 1 1 1.