Curtis man likes keeping busy, helping where he can

John Owens sits behind the wheel of the vehicle he recently purchased. Getting a car has helped him become more independent and he can now drive himself to doctor’s appointments, to the store and anywhere else he wants to go.

Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette

CURTIS, Neb. — If there’s something that needs to get done in Curtis, people of this town know who to call.

John Owens, 32, is known to give a helping hand to anyone who needs it. This means mowing peoples’ lawns, volunteering at the food pantry, helping out with concessions with the high school and most recently, assisting in remodeling an apartment at the housing complex he lives.

“He volunteers for anyone who needs help. He has a very giving nature and gets along with everyone,” said Leila Koetter, developmental disabilities service coordinator with Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. “He also has a great sense of humor, coming up with little sayings showing his easy-going attitude toward life in general.”

Koetter, along with John’s independent providers and Randa Musil, employment specialist and program manager of Goodwill Industries, has worked with John to be as self-sufficient as possible. They’ve helped him become his own payee and set up automatic withdrawals, payments and deposits withdrawals taken from his local bank account to pay bills.

John is also in control of his own health issues and advocates for himself at medical visits. He sets up his own appointments for physicals, dental and vision needs and knows when they need to be done.

He’s very budget-conscious, Koetter said, always checking to make sure bills are paid and there is money in his account. He knows exactly how much he has, how much his payments are and when they are due or coming out of his account.

In addition to volunteering, John has two part-time jobs at minimum wage or higher: washing dishes a few nights at week at the Senior Living Choices Retirement Center in Curtis and helping with maintenance, mowing the park lawns and doing other beautification projects a couple of hours each week for the City of Curtis.

“He likes to have projects to do and we enjoy having him here,” said Doug Schultz, administrator, clerk/treasurer of Curtis.

One of his goals was to learn how to drive and John recently studied for a driver’s license and passed the test. Using the PASS program offered through Social Security, he is now the proud owner of a used vehicle, using his Social Security payments. John now drives himself to the store and doctor’s appointments in Curtis, North Platte and McCook, Neb., no longer having to rely on other people.

People with disabilities constitute the largest minority group in the United States and is also the most diverse, including all genders, ages, religions, socioeconomic levels and ethnic backgrounds. One out of every five individuals in America has a disability, about 54 million Americans.

Besides collecting Hot Wheel cars and toy Monster trucks, John has another passion: traveling. He’s gone on many trips with Special Journeys, an organization that gives individuals with disabilities the opportunity to travel. But the trips aren’t free, or cheap. He pays for all of his trips up-front, carefully keeping track of his savings and is currently saving his money to take another trip, this time to Disney World in Florida with two friends.

Being in total control of his finances and health issues and making plans for upcoming trips, John intends to live life to the fullest. Asked for the secret to his success, he smiled and said, “I guess I’m nice to everyone.”