[Nfb-editors] Kansas "Tap Tracks" fall Winter 2013

Sun Nov 24 23:32:11 UTC 2013

TAP TRACKS 

The Newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Kansas 

Autumn / Winter 2013 

Tom Page, Susan Tabor Associate Editors

Materials for the next issue of TAP TRACKS which will be in the spring of
2014 should be submitted by January 31, 2014. Send or email your
contributions to:

Tom Page 

topage at swbell.net 

1451 Fairview 

Wichita KS, 67203 

Thank you!

>From The Desk of the our President 

Donna Wood

   Another year has come and gone and it will soon be time for the National
Federation of the Blind of Kansas (NFBK) state convention.  The NFB has had
a busy year on both the national and state level.  .  We started our year
out by participating in the Washington seminar.  Where we sought support
from our congressional delegation on legislation regarding several issues:
ending subminimum wages for disabled workers, including 100% service
disabled veterans in the existing space available program, and providing a
mechanism by which teaching materials used in higher education can be made
accessible.  After returning home we have continued to work on these issues.
As an affiliate we have contacted our congressional representatives by phone
and by e-mail to keep these issues in front of them.   

   Over 10 members of the NFBK attended the national convention in Orlando
Florida in July.  This is always a busy and exciting week for those who
attend.  This year was no different.  Myself and Tom Page were able to meet
with President Maurer at the beginning of the week. We shared with him what
was happening in Kansas and received some good advice and encouragement from
him.  Kansas was thrilled to be represented by not one but two winners in
the 2013 national scholarship class!  Congratulations to Mr. Fredrick
Hardyway and Mr. Tyler Kavanaugh for their achievements.  It is rare enough
to have one scholarship winner from Kansas let alone two!  Our last winner
was Chikako Mochizuki of Lawrence in 2009.  We look forward to big things
from these gentlemen in the future.  

   The leadership of the NFBK has been involved in various forms of advocacy
this year.  Of course we continue our advocacy work with the blind of Kansas
seeking services from the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency.  We have
worked with several blind persons this year to get them started with VR and
to get a plan of employment developed.  

   Not only have we begun the process we have seen the process through to
the successful end, in a few cases. While, it is sad that most blind
individuals need an outside advocate to manage their way through the Kansas
VR program, this is the way it is. Our organization will continue to help
blind persons gain access to important rehabilitation services.  

   NFBK and the South Central Chapter have been involved in an ongoing

collaboration with the City of Wichita and its department of

transportation.  The NFBK has held another successful ride the bus day to
assist the department of transportation to work out the kinks in their
automated city bus system.  We can report that as of August 2013 we believe
the system is at about 85 percent fully functioning.  This is good progress
since last year this time it did not function at a level that was useful to
any blind riders.  We have developed a good partnership with city leaders
and we are going to continue to keep that partnership on a good footing.   

   As you may or may not know there is a new CEO of Envision.  NFBK leaders
and members have had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Michael Monteferrante
and are encouraged that we may be able to form a positive community
partnership with the envision organization.  We will continue to advocate
for the blind employees at envision and are hopeful that positive changes in
opportunity for blind persons are on the horizon.  

   In August as President of the NFB of Kansas I was given the opportunity
to give testimony in the trial of Tina Bruce v. The State of Kansas.  Not
only was testimony provided but as an organization we also came and gave
support to a fellow federationist Tina Bruce.  Who brought suit in federal
court against Vocational Rehabilitation Services for discrimination and
retaliation.  

   The trial lasted a week and there were anywhere from 6 to 9 members of
the NFB of Kansas there every day. The verdict in the trial did not turn out
as we would have wanted but to us it is a victory anyway.  Tina's courage in
pursuing an injustice is to be praised and the organization can take pride
in the support given to a fellow member. We are a family and we are there
for the losses as well as the victories. The State of Kansas presented a
case of misconceptions, half truths and out and out lies. Although the jury
was unable to see them we know what was said and we will preserve this
knowledge. I continue to believe that Tina Bruce was discriminated and
retaliated against.   

   Soon, we will have our NFBK state convention.  On behalf of all the board
of directors I would like to extend to you an invitation to join us at the
Wichita I-35 Holiday Inn on November 8, 9, and 10, 2013.  You will find more
details and information regarding the convention in this newsletter.  We
look forward to sharing our time and energy with you!

The Courage to Make a Difference

Tom Page (1st Vice President, NFBK)

   Kansas Federationist Anna Hindman has reason to celebrate.  She has
accepted a settlement from Kansas Rehabilitation Services (KRS) which will
repay her for dorm fees the VR agency should have paid as part of her
rehabilitation program. Further, the KRS agency will now acknowledge that
maintenance is a valid rehabilitation service.  This is a major shift in
policy as previously KRS denied maintenance services to all their clients.  

   In recent times we have successfully convinced the state to discontinue
their practice of requiring blind SS recipients to submit to a 'needs test'
to determine an individual's financial participation amount in their VR
program. KRS continues to deny that the federal exclusion of persons who
receive SSI or SSDI from financial participation applies to the maintenance
service.  Now that KRS is acknowledging that maintenance is a valid
rehabilitation service a formula has been constructed to determine how much
maintenance an individual will be eligible for.  The formula is the same for
all VR clients whether they are SS eligible or not.  In our opinion this is
just another form of 'needs testing' which SS eligible clients should be
exempt from.  Our organization has worked hard at the federal level to
create protections such as the financial participation exemption. The NFBK
will continue to pursue local policy change on this issue.  

   We all owe a debt of gratitude to Anna for her courage in fighting for
her rights through, a hearing, an appeal, and finally this settlement
process.  She used the resources available to her through the Disability
Rights Center of Kansas and our own Federation legal staff.  Anna has
battled with her physical disabilities and the challenges of blindness
throughout her life but in federation form has always persevered when her
health or others perceptions of her abilities threatened to hold her back.
Anna was recently hospitalized but is building strength in physical therapy.
When she is strong enough she plans to attend blindness skills training at
the Nebraska Commission for the Blind's center in Lincoln.  When she is
prepared she will return to Emporia State University to finish her Masters
Degree in rehabilitation counseling.  I am sure that Anna will succeed in
any endeavor in which she invests her energy and courage!

>From resolution to Reality 

Tom Page

   At last year's NFBK convention we passed one resolution.  The resolution
dealt with problems blind persons seeking services through KRS were
encountering.  There was plenty of discussion at the convention and some
later on the home-on-the-range listserv.  Since then some Kansas
federationists may have been wondering: 'What else has happened?  

   Depending on the topic or directive of a particular resolution the state
president may choose to act in different ways.  In this case Donna Wood
drafted two letters to address the resolution.  One was written to the
secretary of the Department of Children and Families and the second to the
president of Kansas ophthalmologic association.  These letters will be
posted on the home-on-the-range this week.  President Wood will deliver more
information at the convention regarding these letters and how we have acted
on resolution 2012-01.

2013 State Convention

   The 2013 Convention of the National Federation of the blind of Kansas
will take place in Wichita November 8-10.  A convention registration form is
attached to this mailing and available on our web site. www.nfbks.org

   The form will also be reposted on the home-on-the-range listserv later
this week.  

   Rob Tabor (President, Jayhawk chapter) will be conducting a seminar on
Friday November 8 called 'ABC's of NFB'.  This session will introduce the
organization to some and inform others about the programs policies and some
of the mechanisms of how we get things done.  The convention session day
will be broken into three segments that mirror our federal legislative
initiatives and tie them to local issues.  These will include the problem of
subminimum wages for disabled workers, the importance of access to materials
and educational programs, and we will conclude by considering the unique
needs, abilities, and contributions of blind veterans.  The banquet meal
sounds delicious and we plan on live entertainment afterward. Please make
your plans to attend now!  

   Meet Gary Wunder, Editor of the Braille Monitor and our National
Representative to the 2013 NFBK Convention  

   Gary Wunder was born three months prematurely in 1955, the oldest of four
children. His family lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and Wunder remembers
that, since he had been blind from birth, he managed to persuade everyone in
his family except his father to do precisely what he wanted. It would be
many years before Wunder could appreciate his father's instinctive
understanding that Gary had to learn to do things for himself.  

   Wunder tells with amusement the story of his dawning awareness of his
blindness. When he was quite young, his home had sliding glass doors
separating the living room from the patio. When those doors were closed, he
could not hear and therefore did not know what was happening on the other
side and assumed that no one else could either. One day he found several
soft drink bottles on the patio and broke them. His father then opened the
doors and asked if he had broken the bottles. Gary said he had not and that
he did not know how they had been broken. His father then astonished him by
saying that both his parents had watched him break the bottles and that his
mother was now crying because she had thought surely her baby couldn't tell
a lie. Gary's response was to say, "Well, she knows better now."  

   Wunder attended grades one through five at a Kansas City public school.
When he was ten, a boy who attended the Missouri School for the Blind
persuaded him that he was missing real life by staying at home. At the
school, his friend told him, kids rode trains and buses. They could bowl and
swim and didn't have to listen to parents. As a result Wunder did some
persuading at home and was on hand for sixth grade and some necessary but
painful lessons about that real world.  

   At the close of seventh grade Wunder returned to public schools, having
learned several vitally important lessons: he knew the basics of using a
white cane; he recognized that his father's demands on him had sprung from
strong love and eagerness for his son to succeed; and he understood that
people beyond his own family had worth and deserved his respect. But he had
also learned that the school for the blind was not the promised land, and he
was delighted to be once more in public schools for eighth grade and high
school. He was elected to the National Honor Society his senior year but
struggled with the mechanics of getting his work done. Braille was not
readily available, and readers were hard to recruit without money to pay
them.  

   Wunder planned to attend the University of Missouri at Kansas City in
order to live with his grandmother, but, after a taste of freedom at the
orientation center in Columbia, Missouri, the summer before college, he
decided to enroll at the university's Columbia campus, where everyone walked
everywhere and where he could contrive as many as three or four dates an
evening if he hurried from place to place. 

   Wunder enjoys recounting the adventure which persuaded him that a blind
person should always carry a white cane: "I was having dinner with a young
woman who lived near me, so I had not brought my cane, figuring that I
wouldn't need it. To my consternation and her distress, my plate of liver
and onions slid into my lap. She asked if I wanted her to walk me home so
that I could change. I was already so embarrassed that I assured her I would
be right back and that I did not need her assistance. 

   The busiest intersection in Columbia lay between me and clean slacks, and
after I successfully survived that street crossing, I swore that I would
never again be caught without my cane."  

   Wunder decided to major in political science and philosophy because he
felt compelled to avoid the science and math that he loved but feared to
take. During his sophomore year he met a professor from Central Missouri
State University who suggested that he was ducking the challenge. Together
they explored the question of whether or not a blind person could follow
schematics and read voltmeters. The answers seemed to be yes, so Wunder
transferred to Central Missouri State, where he graduated in 1977 with a
degree in electronics technology. 

   He had done well with the courses, but he did not see how he could run a
repair shop with its responsibility for mastering hundreds of schematics for
appliances. He could teach electronics, but the professors from whom he had
learned the most were those who had firsthand experience. He didn't want to
be the theory only kind of teacher.  

   Wunder looked for interim jobs after graduation while he tried to decide
what to do, and he discovered the hard way that blind job-seekers have to be
better than the competition in order to be considered at all. He vowed to
become so well trained at doing something that would-be employers could not
ignore him. He enrolled in a ten-month course in computer programming
offered by the Extension Division of the University of Missouri. No blind
person had ever entered the program before, but Wunder completed it
successfully and was hired immediately (in the fall of 1978) by the
Pathology Department of the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics in
Columbia. Years and promotions later Wunder is now retired from his job as
programmer analyst-expert in the Information Services Department of the
hospital.  

   Wunder first learned about the National Federation of the Blind the
summer before his senior year of high school. He says, "In the beginning I
thought this talk about discrimination was a pretty good racket. No one did
those things to me, and I assumed that all this Federation talk about jobs
being denied and parents having children taken away from them was an
effective way of raising funds. I didn't realize that my father's name and
reputation in my hometown were protecting me from the worst of real life. So
far I had gotten what I wanted, including a motorcycle to ride on our farm
and my own horse. It was some time before I recognized that these talented
and committed blind people whom I was getting to know in the Federation were
trying to teach me about the world that I was going to inherit. They
frightened me a little, but more and more I wanted to be like them."  

   In late 1973, several months after Wunder started college in Columbia, a
Federation organizing team arrived to establish a new chapter, and he took
an active part in the preparations. Wunder was elected president, and when
he transferred to Central Missouri State two years later, he organized a
chapter in Warrensburg. In 1977 Wunder was elected first vice president of
the NFB of Missouri, and in 1979 he became president. Except for one
two-year term he has continued in that post ever since. 

   Wunder was elected to the board of directors of the National Federation
of the Blind in 1985 and in 2002 was elected secretary of the organization.

   Looking back over the years of his involvement with and commitment to the
Federation, Wunder says: "Despite all I learned from my parents about honor,
responsibility, and the necessity to be competent, what I could never get
from them was a sense of where blind people fit in a world composed mostly
of sighted people. Friends and loved ones had always told me how wonderful I
was (wonderful for a blind person, that is), but until I came to know
members of the National Federation of the Blind, no one had the experience
or knowledge to say how I could expect to measure up alongside the sighted.
The NFB was the first place where I didn't get a round of applause for
performing the routine activities of life. If I wanted my Federation
colleagues' recognition and admiration, I had to merit them.  

   It sounds contradictory, but while I was learning that I wouldn't be
applauded for insignificant accomplishments, I was also learning that I
didn't have to possess special compensatory senses or talents to make my way
in the world. When you believe that your only opportunity for success lies
in being a musician but you know that your only musical talent is in
listening and then you suddenly find that you are capable of doing the
average job in the average place of business, your sense of freedom, hope,
and possibility knows no bounds."  

   Since his retirement Gary has not slowed down.  In 2010 he took on the
job of editor of our own Braille Monitor the nation's leading publication on
blindness issues.  Gary now lives with his wife Debbie in Columbia,
Missouri.

Beth L. Graber, Business woman, Wife, Mother, Federationist  

   Memorial services were held Tuesday, June 18, 2013, at the United
Methodist Church of Pretty Prairie for our departed sister Beth.  We have
known her over the years as the devoted, loving wife, and business partner,
of Kansas federationist Raymond Graber.  Beth and Raymond joined the
Federation in the late 1960's and were part of the new NFBK organized in
1968.  

   Our long time president Dick Edlund often spoke of the Graber's influence
on his joining NFBK. Beth and Raymond also played important roles in the
blind workers strike against Kansas Industries for the Blind in 1974.  This
strike helped secure the right for blind industrial workers to self
organize. For many years Beth and Raymond traveled the region as sellers of
blindness technology and they are often remembered as the first Kansas
distributors of the Kurzweil reading machine.  More recently Beth and
Raymond were active participants in the Reno County Kansas Community
Emergency Response Team. [More on how they became members of the CERT team
in a future newsletter Ed.]  

   Martha Kelly (NFBK assistant treasurer) remembers Beth and Raymond
seeking out the best food available "in whatever town was hosting the
convention."  She fondly recalled living across the street from the Grabers
when Raymond and Jack Kelly were both employees of the Fairbanks-Morse
company.  "They [the Grabers] moved there first and I remember that when our
house was built, Beth brought over the best date pin-wheel cookies".  [I
hope that Martha can lay her hands on the recipe for publication in a later
newsletter Ed.]  

For a very informative obituary please
consult:http://www.hutchnews.com/Obituaries/Graber--Beth-CP-PAID-PHOTO

Chapter Reports 

At Large Chapter:  

   Conference calling has enabled the 'At Large Chapter' to meet every month
of the last year.  Under the able leadership of Sharon Luka (NFBK secretary)
the group on the monthly calls has enjoyed keeping up with NFBK and national
events of interest.  Are you interested but unable to attend one of the
chapter meetings?  Consider the 'at large chapter.'  Subscribe to
home-on-the-range at nfbnet.org to receive information on the next call.  

Kaw Valley:  

   Martha Kelly reports that the Kaw Valley chapter has continued its
venerable tradition and has presented students at the Kansas State School
for the Blind with prizes of a Perkins brailler for excellence in English
and a talking calculator for excellence in Mathematics.  

Jayhawk Chapter:

Rob Tabor (President, Jayhawk Chapter)  

   Our chapter continues to meet on the third Saturday of each month At
Independence Inc. in Lawrence despite the ending of President Rob Tabor's
employment at the close of April. Thanks to vice president Athena Johnson
who is a member of the Independence Inc. board of directors and with the
knowledge and consent of Executive Director Stacey Hunter Schwartz, it is
rather easy to obtain a key to the building as needed.

   Our chapter was represented at the Washington Seminar and in Orlando at
the National Convention. We welcomed a new member at our August meeting. He
is Tim Hornik, a licensed master social worker who is active in advocating
for the many important and worthy causes of disabled veterans.

   As many Kansas Federationists know, the week of August 5 was quite busy
with the employment discrimination trial in US Federal District court in
Topeka of Tina Bruce, a former vocational rehabilitation counselor who was
dismissed by managers at Kansas Rehabilitation Services division of the
state department for Children and Families, formerly the department of
Social and Rehabilitation Services. Unfortunately, the jury failed to return
a favorable verdict, but the show of support among Federationists was
strong. Jayhawk chapter members who attended most days of the trial were
Chikako Mochizuki, Brendy Latare, and Rob Tabor along with Tim Hornik and
Luther Fuller.  

   We have two activities planned for national Meet the Blind Month. On
October 8 we will present a proclamation for MTBM and White Cane Safety Day
for signature by Lawrence Mayor Michael Dever. On October 12, the following
Saturday, a tabling event will be held in the front courtyard of US Bank at
Ninth and Massachusetts in downtown Lawrence from 9:00am until at  least
3:00 pm. NFB literature will be available for the taking and braille name
cards will be created on the spot. This is always a big hit, especially with
the kids.  

   Special recognition should be extended to Dr. Chikako Mochizuki former
Jayhawk Chapter President and 2009 national scholarship winner.  We offer
Chikako congratulations on earning the distinguished title Ph.D. in East
Asian History from the University of Kansas.  We are all humbled by and
proud of our association with this fine individual.  

Johnson County Chapter:  

   The Johnson County Chapter reports that some members participated in a
walk-a-thon hosted by the KCMO chapter. Johnson County Chapter President and
affiliate 2nd VP Susie Stanzel is pursuing a discrimination complaint
against her employer. For more on her complaint please consult the excellent
article entitled 'Section 508 and the Blind: One More Battle in the Fight
for Equality in the Workplace' in the May 2013 Braille Monitor.
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm13/bm1305/bm130502.htm  

South Central Chapter:

Tom Page:  

   The South Central Chapter has had a fun year.  We walked in our local
festival parade and also participated in an evening of the festival entitled
'Ability Day' where we offered demonstrations of blindness skills and
technology.  The South Central Chapter also provided access to the
'Riverfest' schedule of events in large print and via NFB-Newsline.  

   We are proud to report that we have improved the quality of our local bus
service by continuing to work with city officials.  Four of our members lead
groups of city/county transit officials from around the nation on
walkability tours of downtown.  The Wichita organizers intended that the
participants learned about barriers to pedestrians.  They learned just as
much about how skilled blind pedestrians really get around.  

   The Chapter was well represented at both the Washington Seminar and
National Convention. We have continued to meet for social occasions as well
as business meetings and look forward to hosting the State Convention.  

   Congratulations to Emily Schlenker (VP South Central Chapter) and Russell
Romine who have both recently graduated from massage school.  

For more information on where and when NFBK chapters meet consult:
http://www.nfbks.org

Fund Raising

   The work of NFB and NFBK requires monetary support.  We are excited to
bring a new program to Kansas.  The Vehicle Donation Program.  This program
will allow the NFB to directly receive funds from the recycling of old motor
vehicles.  The program's only requirement is that the vehicle rolls.  If you
know of a vehicle that needs donation or want more information please
contact Emily Schlenker at 316-644-4227.  Emily has volunteered to
coordinate the program and will be presenting more information at
convention.  

   We have run out of treasury funds to support NFB-Newsline and although we
are working to gain state funding we are in danger of losing this vital
service.  If you know of any routes or options for newsline funding please
contact Scott White at: 410-659-4310 x2231

Magic Shows 

   We are continuing to partner with Shay Productions a company that puts on
magic shows around the state. They are fun shows and not only do they bring
in much needed funds they are an excellent place for us to meet the general
public and 'change what it means to be blind'.  Here is a list of the show
dates and times.  If you can come to the show please do!  

Wichita Show - Monday, December 2  2:00 pm at Reflection Ridge 2300 N Tyler
Rd Wichita, Ks.  

Kansas City Show - Thursday, December 5 6:30 pm at KCK Community College -
Performing Arts Center 7250 State Ave  KC, Ks.  

Salina Show - Sunday, December 8 2:00 pm at Salina South High School
Auditorium 730 E Magnolia Rd Salina, Ks.

As always check http://www.nfbks.org  for ongoing updates.  Also to stay in
touch register for the home-on-the-range listserv by sending an email with
the word subscribe in the subject line to

home-on-the-range-request at nfbnet.org   

Contact us at:

National Federation of the Blind of Kansas

President, Donna J. Wood

11405 W. Grant

Wichita KS 67209

http://www.nfbks.org

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Text Downloads

The National Federation of the Blind of Kansas produces a periodic
newsletter to inform members and interested persons of the work of the NFB
of Kansas. Articles include stories of successful blind Kansans, news of our
local chapters and affiliated divisions, up-coming state and national
events, our work on the national level and information of interest to
different populations within the blind community.

The following issues are available for online viewing or downloading for
off-line reading by selecting a link below.

NFB OF KANSAS Newsletter: Autumn / Winter 2012

NFB OF KANSAS Newsletter: Autumn / Winter 2011

NFB of Kansas Newsletter: Autumn / Winter 2010

NFB of Kansas Newsletter: Spring 2010

NFB of Kansas Newsletter: Fall 2008

NFB of Kansas Newsletter: Fall 2007

NFB of Kansas Newsletter: Fall 2003

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