[nagdu] Guide Dog Access Challenge in Indianna

Thu Apr 22 11:30:08 UTC 2010

If it is your only copy, you may want to have nelson take it to a local
photo shop or some like vendor and have a copy burned onto a cd, would hate
to see your only copy lost in the mail.

Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
CEO/Founder
My Blind Spot, Inc.
90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
New York, New York  10004
www.myblindspot.org
PH: 917-553-0347
Fax: 212-858-5759
"The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
doing it."

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-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of cheryl echevarria
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 7:10 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Access Challenge in Indianna

I only have one copy, if I send it to you can you copy it and send it back.

Cheryl Echevarria
Independent Travel Consultant
C10-10646

http://Echevarriatravel.com
1-866-580-5574

http://blog.echevarriatravel.com
Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel CST-1018299-10

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrew J. LaPointe" <alapointe89 at comcast.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 6:36 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Access Challenge in Indianna

> Hi Cheryl, if it would be possible, I could use a copy of that news clip. 
> I
> would have it on Salem's Access T.V.  We had a similar problem a few years
> back but, this would be a good reason to promote the guide.. Andy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
> Behalf Of cheryl echevarria
> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 5:16 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Access Challenge in Indianna
>
>
> I went through this last summer myself, and called the local News and it 
> was
> put on the evening News, in fact I still have the video of it, if anyone
> wants it.
>
> We called the police, etc.
>
> I was wondering, if and I know this is not necessary, didn't the dog have 
> a
> harness on, again I know we don't have to need them.
>
> Could the man tell that she was blind?
>
> Also, the program Through a dog's eyes, which was on last night on PBS it 
> is
> was on channel 13 here at 8pm.  Was about canine companions, it was a good
> story, and in fact it showed the dogs in a mall with there new owners, but
> they didn't go into the laws, that would have helped a lot.
>
> Can't we find a person to do a documentary and not a PBA about one of the
> schools with the full understanding of what the schools go through with
> puppy raising, training, us training with them and the law.  Or maybe a
> documentary on us NAGDU.
>
> My opinion here is that since we are going to have a hotline, then maybe 
> we
> should have some please to put it or something.
>
> This stuff is just getting way out of hand.
>
> The schools say the do it,  but when are they on TV?
>
> Cheryl Echevarria
> Independent Travel Consultant
> C10-10646
>
> http://Echevarriatravel.com
> 1-866-580-5574
>
> http://blog.echevarriatravel.com
> Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel 
> CST-1018299-10
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
> To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; "NFB Chapter
> presidents" <chapter-presidents at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 4:58 AM
> Subject: [nagdu] Guide Dog Access Challenge in Indianna
>
>
> > Dear All,
> >     I want to thank National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU) 
> > member
> > Susan Jones and NFB of Indianna President Ron Brown for their advocacy 
> > on
> > this issue. This story helps to underscore why we need to have an
> > affiliate NAGDU division in each state! Though Indianna has a state
> > statute criminalizing discrimination based upon disability, the local 
> > law
> > enforcement told Ms. Kirby that "this is not a police matter".
> >     If you would like information about how to organize an affiliate 
> > NAGDU
> > division, please feel free to get in touch with me. My contact 
> > information
> > is below my signature.
> >
> > Fraternally yours,
> > Marion Gwizdala, President
> > National Association of Guide Dog Users
> > National Federation of the Blind
> > 813-598-7161
> > President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
> > HTTP://NFB-NAGDU.ORG
> >
> > Misunderstanding raises awareness: Woman with service dog turned away 
> > from
> > Terre Haute restaurant
> >
> > Howard Greninger and Arthur Foulkes The Tribune-Star
> >
> > TERRE HAUTE - Hannah Kirby wanted to enjoy a belated celebration of the
> > birthday of a good friend, so she selected a Terre Haute restaurant she
> > had heard
> > has good food and which she had never visited.
> >
> > As it turns out, she never made it past the counter of the Sunrise 
> > Family
> > Restaurant near Fifth Street and Margaret Avenue on Saturday.
> >
> > Kirby is blind and uses a guide dog to help her get around.
> >
> > "They refused to let us in with Lanie," Kirby said of her nearly
> > 4-year-old golden retriever guide dog. "She is my eyes. She is what gets
> > me around and
> > through the stores. We go everywhere together.
> >
> > "They would not let us in the restaurant," Kirby said Monday. "We could
> > only go in if we left the dog outside. I told him [the restaurant 
> > worker],
> > 'I have
> > my leader dog identification card if you need to see it,' but he said,
> > 'No, you cannot come in.'"
> >
> > Kirby also said that a customer at the checkout counter agreed she 
> > should
> > be allowed to enter the restaurant.
> >
> > Kirby's friend, Judy Sweeney, has worked for the past 40 years as an
> > orientation mobility instructor, teaching skills for independent travel 
> > to
> > visually
> > impaired people.
> >
> > "I explained that it was a service dog and that federal law had to allow
> > it. He said no, we have to leave the dog outside. He said that the
> > customers would
> > not like it and that we could not come in," Sweeney said.
> >
> > Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, privately owned businesses 
> > that
> > serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs,
> > theaters,
> > concert halls and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating
> > against individuals with disabilities. The ADA law requires businesses 
> > to
> > allow
> > people with disabilities to bring service animals onto business premises
> > in areas where customers are generally allowed, according to the U.S.
> > Department
> > of Justice.
> >
> > Pamela Kieft, co-owner of the Sunrise Family Restaurant, said the
> > family-style restaurant welcomes service animals. "Service dogs are
> > allowed, no problem,"
> > Kieft said. "If there was a misunderstanding, I feel terrible about 
> > that."
> >
> > According to Kieft, the manager on duty - who "comes from another 
> > culture"
> > and speaks with an accent - could not tell that Lanie was a service dog
> > and told
> > the women that the restaurant does not allow pets. Kirby noted that the
> > restaurant worker "sounded foreign."
> >
> > To him, "It looked like two ladies with a pet," Kieft said. When told 
> > the
> > dog was a service animal, the manager wanted to verify this by asking 
> > what
> > sort
> > of service it provided, she said. The restaurant, which employs about 20
> > people, trains its employees to welcome service animals; however, it's
> > important
> > to ensure the animals really are service animals, Kieft said.
> >
> > "People try to bring pets in here all the time," she said. "We 
> > definitely
> > do not allow pets."
> >
> > Sweeney, meanwhile, said she "kept asking for [the employee's] name or
> > name of the owner or the manager and was refused the information. I just
> > got a card
> > for the restaurant. I got a little upset. I offered to put a blindfold 
> > on
> > him and let him experience what it is to be blind."
> >
> > The two then left the restaurant to go to another place for lunch.
> >
> > "Hannah was so embarrassed," Sweeney said. "When we got out to the car,
> > she said, 'You know, I feel like I have leprosy,''' Sweeney said.
> >
> > "I felt angry," Sweeney added. "Working with visually impaired, life is
> > not easy for them. Hannah has gone to a lot of effort, she lives alone 
> > and
> > maintains
> > her apartment, then to be humiliated like that. I see her as someone
> > striving to be independent, and she was put down for it."
> >
> > "The manager said they were welcome to come in, but he needed to make 
> > sure
> > clearly it was a service dog," restaurant co-owner Kieft said Monday 
> > when
> > asked
> > about the situation. Kieft was not present when the incident happened, 
> > but
> > was subsequently informed by the manager.  "The lady got very upset,"
> > Kieft
> > said she was told.
> >
> > Kirby started losing her eyesight when she was 9 years old and now only
> > has light perception. "I can tell when it is light or dark," she said.
> >
> > Lanie was trained through the Leader Dogs for the Blind program in
> > Rochester Hills, Mich., where Kirby trained with the dog for a month
> > before assuming
> > ownership.
> >
> > Kirby said being denied access to a restaurant happened once before in
> > Terre Haute, about two years ago when she went to a chain restaurant. 
> > She
> > contacted
> > that restaurant's corporate headquarters, which "apologized all over
> > themselves and said they would train their people to not ever do that
> > again.
> >
> > "That is the whole point of this. I am not trying to be mean. It is
> > embarrassing and you feel dirty when they won't let you in. You can see
> > Lanie is clean
> > and is taken care of," Kirby said of her guide dog. "I just want to make
> > sure it doesn't happen to someone else because there are several guide
> > dogs in
> > this town and it is the law."
> >
> > But Kieft said the restaurant manager would never wish to turn away 
> > anyone
> > with a service animal and worries about potential bad publicity.
> >
> > "From the bottom of my heart, if this woman was hurt by something that 
> > was
> > a misunderstanding, I feel so terrible about that," Kieft said. "She had
> > to have
> > clearly misunderstood or she was clearly so mad she did not want to have
> > service.
> >
> > "This is not me. This is not us," Kieft said. "Something like this could
> > really hurt a small business like ours," she said.
> >
> > After the incident, Kirby contacted the National Federation for the 
> > Blind.
> > Kirby is secretary for the Terre Haute chapter, which has about 10
> > members, she
> > said. The federation suggested she make a police report. Kirby said she
> > contacted police, who instructed her to contact the Better Business 
> > Bureau
> > or the
> > media.
> >
> > Sweeney on Monday called Mayor Duke Bennett's office, which put her in
> > contact with the city's Human Relations Commission. Sweeney said she 
> > will
> > provide
> > Kirby with the information "and let her decide what she wants to do."
> >
> > Kirby said she's had no other recent problems at other Terre Haute
> > restaurants or retailers such as Walmart, where she is given individual
> > assistance while
> > shopping.
> >
> > Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or
> > howard.greninger at tribstar.com
> >
> > Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or
> > arthur.foulkes at tribstar.com.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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