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

Tue Mar 24 20:31:57 UTC 2015

You are quite right Fred.  Excellent point.  We still do not know what really happened, do we?  Forgive me for I have not read all of my waiting emails.  But it is most likely that both driver and pedestrian were partially responsible for the accident.  I only wished to point out that, with the proper training a blind pedestrian has a pretty good chance of avoiding an accident, but this is certainly not always the case.  Until all of the facts are truly known, no one can say more.  

With warmest Regards,
Christine
> On Mar 20, 2015, at 1:16 PM, Fred Wurtzel <f.wurtzel at att.net> wrote:
> 
> 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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