[Nfbk] FW: [Chapter-presidents] Arbitrator rules in favor of Christine Boone, former director of Michigan Commission

[cindy smith]

I absolutely agree with you!

Cindy Smith


On Jun 5, 2011, at 8:44 PM, Nickie Pearl wrote:

> Read the following and see if you agree with me...Maybe Mr. Cannon  
> was just
> scared of what the consumers would do to him!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: chapter-presidents-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:chapter-presidents-bounces at nfbnet.org]On Behalf Of David  
> Andrews
> Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2011 11:02 PM
> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Chapter-presidents] Arbitrator rules in favor of Christine
> Boone, former director of Michigan Commission
>
>
>
>> 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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