MASON — Sarah Hamilton is living her dream. She lives with a roommate in a supported assistance apartment and has just started a job stocking shelves at Wal-Mart.

        Ms. Hamilton, 24, has disabilities that affect her motor skills, speech and sensory perceptions. Her living situation and employment were arranged through Warren County MRDD. And now, there's an advocacy group that wants to make sure she and others like her can live life to the fullest.

        That group is Arc of Warren County, a local chapter of a national organization. According to co-founder Chuck Beatty, Arc plans to work closely with the newly reconstituted Warren County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

        “We come from varied backgrounds but most of us have adult children in the MRDD program,” Mr. Beatty said. “One of our goals is to support the MRDD agency.”

        But that's not the group's only purpose, said Arc Presi dent Dennis Hamilton, Sarah Hamilton's father.

        “We also are an information source for parents and guardians of persons with disabilities,” Mr. Hamilton said. “And while we support MRDD, we are also advocates for the individuals themselves, to make sure they are getting what they need. My wife and I advocate for our daughter every day.”

        Arc began in 1952 as the Association for Retarded Children, later changed to Association for Retarded Citizens. As the organization's focus broadened, it became known simply as Arc.

        Arc of Warren County welcomes the public to its monthly meetings. Today, Stacy Martz, executive director of the PLAN of Southwest Ohio Inc. will speak about her program (Planned Lifetime Assistance Network). It works with families of the disabled in Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties.

        The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Young Conference Room, on the third floor of 300 E. Silver Street in Lebanon. For information, call 398-2629 or log on to www.thearcofohio.org.

Tougher DUI rule faces fight
Meeting on pet limits is tonight
Ohio wants online school to be audited
Digital age boosts vocational training
Justin case may go to federal court
SAMPLES: God blamed for coal sludge
Area in lead for cleanup
Hamilton plans to replace all schools
West Hi, Dater take on a new look
Winton teachers plan work slowdown
Detectives doubled in Mason
Local Digest
Miami students' efforts yield 2 homes
Officer keeps fast beat on interstate
St. Xavier students hold food drive
Time capsule from 1883 yields coins, documents
Airport terminal costs less than thought
Aviation program is for families
School kids produce TV news show
Warren Arc gets organized
You asked for it
Boy killed in hunting accident
Kentucky Digest
Snow falls on parts of Ky.
Letter writer, listed in Guinness, dies at 87
Proposal aims to split Indiana electoral votes