[Blindtlk] Arbitrator rules in favor of Christine Boone, former director of Michigan Commission

[Ray Foret Jr]

Well, there is justice on the Earth after all!!!  It's about damn time!!!


Sincerely,
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!

Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!

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On Jun 4, 2011, at 10:01 PM, David Andrews wrote:

> 
>> From: "J.J. Meddaugh" <jj at bestmidi.com>
>> To: "NFB of Kalamazoo Michigan List" <nfb-kzoo at nfbnet.org>,     "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List"
>> <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Date: Wed, 25 May 2011 13:40:32 -0400
>> Subject: [Nfb-kzoo] Arbitrator rules in favor of Christine Boone,       former director of Michigan
>> Commission
>> 
>> >From Kalamazoo Gazette
>> 
>>  KALAMAZOO -
>>  The former director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind Training Center here,
>> fired in February, 2010 in a dispute about a marksmanship class
>> offered to students, should get her job back, with back pay and benefits,
>> a hearing officer has ruled
>> .
>> "After careful review of all the facts and circumstances, it is clear that (former
>> director Christine) Boone performed her work in good faith and with reasonable diligence,"
>> arbitrator Michael P. Long wrote in his ruling, a copy of which was provided by Boone.
>> A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth, which
>> oversees the training center, said via e-mail Wednesday that the department had just
>> received the order, had not yet had an opportunity to review it, and so had no further
>> comment.
>> Boone, 51, said she learned the news from her lawyer Tuesday that the state labor
>> arbitrator had ruled in her favor and was "delighted" by the outcome.
>> "I came to Kalamazoo four years to be the training center's director, and my whole
>> mission, my energy,  my time and my passion was to create an environment where blind
>> people would be challenged and receive skills they need to enter the work force,"
>> she told the Kalamazoo Gazette today in an interview.
>> "I'm looking forward to having an opportunity to continue the work I started."
>> Boone was fired after her boss Patrick Cannon, director of the Michigan Commission
>> for the Blind in Lansing, became upset to learn of a marksmanship class being offered
>> at the school,  a year-round training facility for blind adults.
>> In the class, blind students used spring-powered pellet guns to shoot at targets.
>> Boone said Cannon gave his verbal consent for the class; he denied that, and said
>> the class violated state safety and firearms rules.
>> At the arbitration hearing, the record shows, Cannon argued Boone had deceived him,
>> intending to use the class to embarrass him.
>> "It appears that there may well have been a misunderstanding or miscommunication
>> between Ms. Boone and Mr. Cannon," Long wrote. "Ms. Boone believed she had Mr. Cannon's
>> approval for the marksmanship class, while Mr. Cannon believes he had not approved
>> the class.  ... If one assumes both witnesses are telling the truth, there was simply
>> a misunderstanding, and not a work rule violation."
>> The arbitrator said it was clear to all parties that firearms are not allowed on
>> state property, but less clear that the pellet guns used in class constituted firearms.
>> He noted that, "Mr. Cannon, after informing Ms. Boone that the pellet rifles were
>> "firearms," which are not allowed on state property, ordered Ms. Boone to transport
>> the pellet rifles to his office on state property in Lansing so that he could examine
>> them."
>> "It has not been shown that the (Boone) purposely violated any of the rules or regulations
>> with which she is charged," the finding concludes.
>> "There is not just cause for discipline or discharge in this matter."
>> Boone, has been blind since birth. She was  hired as Director of the Michigan Training
>> Center  for the Blind in October, 2006 by the Michigan Commission for the Blind.
>> Best Regards,
>> J.J. Meddaugh
>> A T Guys
>> Your Assistive Technology Experts
>> (269) 216-4798
>> http://www.ATGuys.com
> 
> 
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