[Ohio-talk] Fw: position paper -- some background andexplanation

Sun May 24 05:10:01 UTC 2009

We await your email to  contact who ever you think can help. Richard
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Deborah Kendrick" <dkkendrick at earthlink.net>
To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 2:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Fw: position paper -- some background 
andexplanation


> JW and everyone else,
> I am remiss in not having distributed this paper myself, since I am one of
> its authors.
> We need your help, and I will do my best to explain as concisely as
> possible.
> As the paper indicates, the first news we had of the merging of the two 
> Ohio
> libraries for the blind was last August, when Kim Fender, director of the
> Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton COunty, (within whose walls our
> library for the blind is housed), came to our chapter meeting.
> There's no sight like hindsight, and mine tells me that we were very 
> foolish
> to be so easily misled.  Be that as it may, we bought, complacently, the
> story that the two libraries would merge and there was othing we could do
> about it.
> Many milestones have occurred between that date and now, but my own 
> wake-up
> call came around April 12, when two very favorite people of mine, John and
> Georgia Narborough, called to ask what I knew of this merger.  The bottom
> line is that, although they are connected with no consumer organization,
> these two are among the finest people I know -- both in their eighties and
> more active than a half dozen forty-year-olds combined!  Georgie is a
> long-time patron and had just learned of the library closing.
> The light bulb above my head said, "If *they* didn't know, who did?"  Upon
> reflection, I realized that there were only a handful of us who knew at 
> all,
> and that the news was perhaps deliberately being kept quiet until the deal
> was done.
> Enter John Mitchell, executive director of the Cincinnati Association for
> the Blind and Visually Impaired.  Although his earliest job in this field
> was as director of the NLS Multistate center, here in Cincinnati, and even
> though his agency is the officialy machine-lending arm for southwest Ohio,
> he had been kept completely in the dark.
> John called a meeting with Kim Fender, inviting Robin Usalis, head of
> Clovernook.  From that meeting, he concluded that we had, um, been
> hoodwinked, and he called me, Paul Dressell, and Joyce and Rob Rogers 
> (she's
> president of the local ACB chapter, and he's some officer, too).  John and
> Georgia Narborough, of course, were also in this call-to-action group.
> We have met three times in the past ten days -- the final of these being
> Friday morning with state Senator Eric Kearny.  Our reason for meeting 
> with
> him was to get the lay of the land.
> He grasped the picture quickly -- although he spent an amazingly long time
> with us, well over an hour.  He asked lots of questions, and gave the
> following advice.
> The last phase of bbudget development, the senate finance committee, is
> under way, and nearly complete.  Then, as most of you know, the budget is
> considered by a conference committee (of 3 reps each from the house and
> senate).  It will all be decided no later than June 30.
> Senator Kearny's advice to us was that we act as aggressively and quickly 
> as
> possible, calling senators in affected counties and particularly those on
> the finance committee.  He believes that, because we are not asking for 
> new
> money, but rather only for the originally allocated money to be returned 
> to
> our library, that we have a fairly good chance if we're quick enough.
> Shortly, I will send to this list contact info for targeted senators as 
> well
> as some talking points for phone calls.
> PLEASE, please help us in this eleventh-hour effort.
> FYI, Donna Foust, (formerly librarian of Cincinnati's Library for the 
> Blind
> and recently retired) has joined our group and is with us.
> Also, Barbara Mates (director of the Cleveland Library for the Blind) and
> Kurt Cylke _director of the NLS program in Washington) are aware of our
> effort and completely in favor of its success.
> This has been written quickly and spontaneously, so please forgive typing
> and syntax errors!
> Please feel free to email or call me with any questions.
> And please spread the word to get calls made.
>
> Sincerely,
> Deborah Kendrick
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dr. Smith" <jwsmithnfb at verizon.net>
> To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 4:47 PM
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] Fw: position paper re closing cincy librar for
> theblindy
>
>
>
> fyi
>
> JW
>
> Dr. J. Webster Smith
> President National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
> P.O.BOX 458 Athens, Ohio, 45701-0458
> Phone Number - 740-592-6326
> "Changing What it Means to be Blind"
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sammons, Elizabeth" <Elizabeth.Sammons at rsc.state.oh.us>
> To: <jwsmithnfb at verizon.net>; <eduffy at pobox.com>
> Cc: "'Evette Simmons-Reed'" <esimmons-reed at ossb.oh.gov>; "'Cynthia 
> Johnson'"
> <cjohnson at ossb.oh.gov>; "'Elizabeth Sammons'" <antigone at columbus.rr.com>;
> "'Deborah Kendrick'" <dkkendrick at earthlink.net>; 
> <tango_lady at sbcglobal.net>;
> "'Vicky Prahin'" <Prahin at hadley.edu>
> Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 3:30 PM
> Subject: FW: position paper re closing cincy librar for the blindy
>
>
> Colleagues,
>
> This afternoon I received this attachment detailing Ohio-wide concerns on
> the likely closure of the Cincinnati library for the blind merging 
> services
> with Cleveland. Should you wish to take any steps regarding this, I 
> suggest
> dialogue on your part with any Ohio senator including your own, since all
> Ohio patrons will find service affected, and the budget bill is still in 
> the
> Senate for about another week undergoing changes before joint discussion
> with the House on finalizing it before June 30, when the governor is hoped
> to sign it.
>
> I am only passing this information on and not able to answer further
> questions, but I believed that it would be of interest and concern to you,
> which is why I am sharing.
>
>
> Best regards,
> Elizabeth
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
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