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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><b><font
size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:
bold'>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>CONTACT:<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Fred Wurtzel, Spokesperson<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>National Federation of the Blind of <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place></st1:place></st1:State><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>(517) 485-0326<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>(517) 256-5575 (Cell)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>f.wurtzel@att.net<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1 align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
3.0pt;margin-left:0in;text-align:center'><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial'>National Federation of the Blind of <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place>
Calls for Reversal <br>
of Executive Order on Commission for the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h2 align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
3.0pt;margin-left:0in;text-align:center'><em><b><i><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Blind Citizens to Protest Order
Tomorrow</span></font></i></b></em><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></em></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Dearborn Heights, Michigan (February 29,
2012):</span></font></b><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'> The
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, the voice of blind citizens in
Michigan, calls upon Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Senate and House of
Representatives to rescind Executive Order 2012-2 and conduct an open and
transparent review of services to blind citizens. In response to
legitimate concerns about mismanagement, poor performance, and a high degree of
consumer dissatisfaction over the past ten years that reached a crescendo this
year, Governor Snyder issued Executive Order 2012-2 abolishing the Michigan
Commission for the Blind and transferring its remnants to the Michigan
Department of Human Services (the welfare department) and the Michigan
Department of Technology, Management and Budget.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan vigorously
objects to Executive Order 2012-2 on several grounds:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>It appears to violate federal
laws and regulations regarding rehabilitation and it jeopardizes nearly 15
million dollars in federal funds targeted to provide rehabilitation and
training to approximately 2,500 blind <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place>
citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>It threatens the jobs of more
than forty blind persons who operate vending facilities on federal
property and along <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place>’s
interstate highways plus an additional sixty employees of these blind
entrepreneurs.<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>It abolishes the Michigan
Commission for the Blind, a consumer-driven board that sets policy for the
agency serving blind persons. Three of the five persons on the board
are required to be blind. This arrangement assured that blind
citizens have oversight of services to the blind of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l4 level1 lfo4'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Neither the Governor, nor his
staff, consulted with the board of the commission or any other blind
person or organization representing blind persons. No staff of the
agency was consulted about the necessity, viability, or legality of the
executive order.<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l3 level1 lfo5'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Blind people object to being
served by the Department of Human Services (the welfare department).
Blind people want work, not welfare.<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>“Given the Governor’s emphasis on open,
transparent, and data-driven decisions in state government, we are astonished
by the poorly-thought-out executive order and the potential negative
consequences it brings to blind people and the citizens of Michigan,”
said Larry Posont, president of the National Federation of the Blind of
Michigan.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>“Where will the forty blind vendors go for
work?” Posont continued. “What will happen to their
families? This will force more people into unemployment and on to welfare
rather than creating jobs as the agency is designed to do.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>“We do not have any problem with the legal structure,
the staff, or the funding of the commission,” said Mike Powell, the
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan’s first vice
president. “It is the mismanagement of services and programs, the
lack of results, and the lack of responsiveness to which we object, not the
legal structure of the commission. We want a strong commission board that
will make good public policy, set high goals for job placement, and raise
respect for blind people here in <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place>.
We call upon the Governor and the legislature to consult with the
representatives of blind citizens in this state to craft a better approach than
this ill-considered executive order.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Members and supporters of the National Federation of the
Blind of Michigan will gather at noon tomorrow in front of the <u1:PlaceName u2:st="on">Romney</u1:PlaceName>
<u1:PlaceType u2:st="on">Building</u1:PlaceType> in <u1:City u2:st="on">Lansing</u1:City>
to protest the executive order and inform the public about the negative impact
that it will have on blind citizens of <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place>,
their families, and their employees.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>###<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>About the National Federation of the Blind
of <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan is the
state’s oldest and largest organization of blind consumers. Founded
in 1941, we have chapters in most large cities in <u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State>
and provide advocacy, information about blindness, scholarships, and many other
services that work toward our goal to change what it means to be blind in <u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:State u2:st="on">Michigan</u1:State></u1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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