[nfbmi-talk] Straight Stuff

Sun Mar 20 02:20:45 UTC 2011

Mary Ann, 

Today I went to a baby shower for Jackie Paulding.  She and Tim are to have a little girl some time in early May.  Now you are wondering what possible relevance this could have to the discussion that has been taking place under this subject line?  Well, as it happened, there were some young women  in attendance who have been campers at Camp T.  One of them is graduating this spring, heading to college in the fall, and wishing to attend the summer program at BLIND Inc in Minnesota.  

What do you suppose? 
Her counselor quit.  Actually she transferred to another office but I just happened to learn that at the Board meeting.  As far as this young woman knew, the counselor had simply quit and, you guessed it, no word from the commission since that time.  Who will her new counselor be?  How can she find out?  Who should she go to in the mean time?  Who knows.  This is a customer who is preparing to attend college.  Arrangements should be made for Commission assistance with tuition and fees and this is the time to be getting all of that done, and the commission is no where.  

What's more, this customer is not from the southeastern part of the state.  She is from the West.  

As I was walking back from the shower in this beautiful afternoon sunshine, it occurred to me that, during the past year and a half or so,  I have not ever encountered a commission customer who was really being served properly.  And yes, I have been a VR counselor.   I had a quota, and you know what? I had a large caseload, although not as large as the one Doug had when he was a counselor.  So I know whereof I speak.  This should not be happening.  

I will stay in touch with this young woman and try to help in every way I can.  
By the way, the shower was really lovely and how much fun it was to see so many good people 

In spite of my great passion for this work, now I must walk away from this thing.  It is time for me to turn my full attention to earning a living for myself and my family.  I love this field, and I love the blind people of Michigan even more, but my heart and my bank account are squeezed as much as they can bear.  
The state, with its deep pockets and unscrupulous lawyers, will appeal for years, even if I am fortunate enough to win my arbitration.  

I'm not going away, just moving on.  

I love you all!  

Christine

P.S. Yes Joe, I will write about the insulting and disrespectful actions of Assistant Attorney General Michael King in another post, but not tonight.   
On Mar 19, 2011, at 3:32 PM, Mary Ann Robinson wrote:

> Larry, Christine and Joe, I couldn't agree more.  I pray that the commission board will begin to see the light soon!  Blind people in this state deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and they need to begin receiving quality services now
> 
> How many more students will be frustrated?  How many more jobs will be lost? How long will the abominable unjust treatment of competent blind staff  and consumers continue?  How many more thousands of dollars will be spent on grievances, hearings and arbitration cases in the BEP before the commission board takes steps to clean house at the commission and replace incompetent and unqualified staff with employees who will provide blind staff and operators with the respect, services, support and assistance they deserve?
> 
> Mary Ann Robinson !
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
> To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2011 9:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Straight Stuff
> 
> 
>> Hi Chris,
>> 
>> It would be interesting to share the shenigans of King and Zanger at the meeting as blind folks couldn't see, literally what they were doing.
>> 
>> Great for Lydia and Doug to point it out.
>> 
>> Wow, I thought justice was supposed to be blind and I though MCB was for the blind and not the Attorney General's office as a sort of extra-legal overseer. Oh, and might I add what Assistent A.G. Michael King doesn't know about the Rehab Act is a lot. That is clear from his legal breifs in the Eagle case. I trully think that over all the A.G.'s office really also wishes to effectively privatize the BEP program or take other means to eliminate the preference.
>> 
>> Joe
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christine Boone" <christine_boone at comcast.net>
>> To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 11:40 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Straight Stuff
>> 
>> 
>>> Right on Larry!  It was good to see you today at the meeting.  Horrible to sit through was that Meeting, but our Larry Posont did us proud! Lydia and John were great and up-standing too.
>>> 
>>> Public comments were fantastic , with special commendations going to Fred Wurtzel and Dave Robinson.
>>> Pat Cannon knows how to talk, and he does that very well indeed, but as Johnny Cash says, What's done in the dark shall be brought to the light and it is high time that a little light was shed on this smooth tongued man who has robbed so many honest, hard-working, blind people of so much.
>>> May the Lord bless and protect those who seek to do right by the blind citizens of Michigan.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Christine
>>> 
>>> On Mar 17, 2011, at 8:56 PM, Larry D. Keeler wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I have read the article posted about Larry's appointment.  Yah, it sure is a bunch of hogwash!  I only recently became involved with our NFB colleagues because I got tired of having to get hastled because I wanted to do what everyone wants to do!  You know, have a job, raise a family, go to church or the bar, walk down the street with pride wheather I use a dog or cane, which frequently do both and occasionally go fishing or cook for other folks!  I want to do these things because that's what people do, not because I want to have folks think that I'm really different! Well, I am but not for that reason!  That has something to do with my personality or something!  Any way, when I was an opporator, Fred Wurtzel was my supervisor and even though he and I sometimes sort of dissaggreed, he treated me well and I never got the feeling that he was being sneaky in any way.  Larry was also a colleague in Bep as well. I admired the way he does business because he always seems to shoot straight from the hip.  It seems that with Mr. Cannon the shannanigans are to be expected and we sure need to have someone to make his circumloqutions clear to us! Now that I am becoming active, I will look up to Fred and Larry and try to do what they do!  Also, because they are so much older than me!  So, let the fun begin!
>>>> Intelligence is always claimed but rarely proven!
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