[NFBMT] NFB Newsline

[Rik James]

Any word on how our efforts are going?

Rik

On Fri, Nov 22, 2019, 12:56 PM president--- via NFBMT <nfbmt at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> FYI, here is the message I sent to Governor Steve Bullock regarding NFB
> Newsline.
>
>
>
> Jim Marks
>
> President at nfbofmt.org <mailto:President at nfbofmt.org>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Bullock, Governor [mailto:governor at mt.gov]
> Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2019 7:20 AM
> To: James Marks <president at nfbofmt.org>
> Subject: Comments Submitted to the Governor
>
>
>
> Dear James:
>
> Thank you for contacting me. My staff and I will review your message, and
> we
> will respond as soon as possible. I appreciate you writing to me and please
> let me know if you have any further questions or comments regarding this
> matter.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> STEVE BULLOCK
>
> Governor
>
>
>
> Comments Submitted to the Governor
>
> Prefix:
>
> First Name:   James
>
> Middle Name/Initial:  P.
>
> Last Name:  Marks
>
> Suffix:
>
> Email:  president at nfbofmt.org <mailto:president at nfbofmt.org>
>
> Second Email:  blind.grizzly at gmail.com <mailto:blind.grizzly at gmail.com>
>
> Address:  309 Westwind Way
>
> City:  Helena
>
> State:  Montana
>
> Zip Code:  59602
>
> Primary Phone:  406-438-1421
>
> Mobile Phone:
>
> Business Phone:
>
> Topic:  State Agencies
>
> Comments:  Governor Bullock,
>
> As the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Montana, I
> represent the voices of Montanans who are blind or who have other
> disabilities that impair reading of print. We request that you direct
> Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind Services of the Montana Department of
> Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to continue funding NFB Newsline.
> NFB Newsline is an information service for people with print disabilities
> that assures access to newspapers, emergency weather alerts, job searches,
> and other vital information.
>
> DPHHS Director Sheila Hogan chose not to continue funding for NFB Newsline
> effective July 1, 2019. NFB Newsline stopped providing its services in
> Montana on October 31, 2019. The loss of NFB Newsline in Montana means that
> nearly 400 Montanans with print disabilities are isolated and segregated
> from community information others access easily and routinely.
>
> I will provide a copy of an e-mail I sent to Director Hogan requesting
> reconsideration of her decision to discontinue funding for NFB Newsline. To
> put the matter in a larger context, over 45 states fund NFB Newsline either
> through their public vocational rehabilitation programs or through state
> telecommunications access programs. Montana's cost for NFB Newsline is
> approximately $38,000 per year. That relatively small amount of funding is
> all that stands between inclusion and exclusion for many Montanans.
>
> Thank you for considering our request to continue funding NFB Newsline in
> Montana. Those I represent are very upset about losing NFB Newsline because
> the service matters so much in so many ways. Isolation and segregation are
> terrible burdens, yet the exclusion is so easily remedied. I look forward
> to
> your reply.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jim Marks
> President
> National Federation of the Blind of Montana
> president at nfbofmt.org <mailto:president at nfbofmt.org>
> www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org>
>
> Would you like to hear from us? Yes
>
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