[nfbmi-talk] State Mourns Death of Blind Vendor of Lansing

Fri Mar 20 17:16:24 UTC 2015

Hi Chris,

I agree with everything you say.  I also would like to point out that you
put Burdon on the victim, that if he had good training, he may have been
able to avoid the accident.  This is possibly true.    I submit that most
pedestrians who are hit and killed are not blind.  There is not enough
accountability for drivers.  Most drivers who hit pedestrians, blind or
sighted, are not sanctioned in any way.  Yet, even the most minor fender
bender causes someone to get a ticket.  This disparity between the
protection of property over human life is not right.

I am advocating for more efforts to educate drivers and police about
pedestrians.  This is not to say that we don't need to continue and redouble
our efforts to get even minimally acceptable training services from the
agency.  What they are doing with our $25 million is unconscionable.  It is
not an either/or thing.  

Warmest Regards,

Fred
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Christine Boone via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2015 9:51 PM
To: terrydeagle at yahoo.com; NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] State Mourns Death of Blind Vendor of Lansing

The estate of Charles Glime may wish to file suit against the State of
Michigan for Gross Negligence for its failure to provide Charles with
appropriate instruction in cane travel, also known as "orientation &
mobility", which could very likely have enabled him to avoid this tragic
accident.  Training is available in other states both in the field and in
long-term training facilities, that equips blind individuals with techniques
that enable them to travel city streets as safely as do sighted persons.
Current cane travel training methods also equip blind persons to travel
safely in rural settings, as well as nationally and internationally.  The
Michigan Training Center for blind persons in Kalamazoo had begun to provide
this kind of travel instruction to customers several years ago.  In order
for this training to be effective, customers need to remain at the Training
Center for a minimum of 4 months.  Sadly, under the administration of
current BS for BP director Edward F. Rodgers and Training Center director
Lisa Kissiel, most customers remain at the center for only 9 weeks, the
length of each training session now offered at the facility. Those who sign
up for a second training session must return to their homes for a 3-week
time period during which the Center provides alternative no blindness skills
training.  After just 9 weeks of training, a trainees momentum is at a
critical point.  They begin the second 9-week course needing to re-learn a
portion of the skills provided during the initial training session and are
simply not able to gain the same level of skill as blind persons living in
states where the most current training techniques are available.  Ed Rodgers
forced the former Center director out by refusing to approve essential
expenditures at the Center and subjecting her to disparate and
harrassingtreatment.  Rodgers took this action, at least in part, because he
wanted to institute the current staggered training system at the Center
despite overwhelming evidence that it would dramatically and negatively
impact the Center staff's ability to prepare most customers effectively for
full participation in employment and community life.  

Those are my thoughts.  This is precisely the kind of tragedy that happens
when an agency is entirely administered by unqualified personnel who are
absolutely and completely ignorant of even the most basic operations of a
legally compliant vocational rehabilitation agency.  
Christine

     .  Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 19, 2015, at 2:00 PM, Terry D. Eagle via nfbmi-talk
<nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Note: Charles Glime was struck and killed by a Jeep driven by a woman as he
walked to his apartment following attending a St. Patrick's Day party.  He
was struck near Walnut and Ionia streets.

State employees mourn blind Lansing man's death LANSING A 31-year-old blind
Lansing resident died Wednesday, but the impact he made at the State of
Michigan's Lewis Cass Building won't be forgotten. Charles Walter Glime
managed three employees at Cass' full-service cafeteria and was called
"Charles of the Cass" because of his drive to give patrons quality food and
service, said Sharon Ellis, the state's Americans with Disabilities Act
compliance director. "Everything he did was great; he was just exemplary,"
Ellis said. "Not just an outstanding example as an employee, but as a person
because he had the attitude 'So what I have a disability? I'm going to
accomplish my goals.' The Lansing Police Department wrote in a press release
Thursday that Glime died early Wednesday afternoon from injuries he suffered
when he was struck by a vehicle while walking in the area of Walnut and
Ionia streets on Tuesday night. Police said the incident took place at
approximately 8:30 p.m. and is under investigation. Ellis said Glime lived
in an apartment near where he was struck. She said he was a driven
entrepreneur who also took business and culinary classes at Lansing
Community College. "People are just devastated," said Ellis, who had known
Glime about four years. "Everybody in the building ate at the cafeteria all
the time because he was open all day and did all he could to make it better
and better. 

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