                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR

                          August, 1990

                    Kenneth Jernigan, Editor


     Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc, 
                        and cassette by 


              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT 
 


                         National Office
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

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                      THE BRAILLE MONITOR
       PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            CONTENTS
                          AUGUST, 1990

DRUGS, SEX, AND ALCOHOL ARE WAY OF LIFE AT CALIFORNIA CENTER: 
REHABILITATION OFFICIALS SAY GOOD ENOUGH FOR BLIND
by Barbara Pierce

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LOOSE ENDS: 
BLIND VETERANS CASE RESOLVED
  by Barbara Pierce

POSITIVE NOTES: REPORT FROM SOUTH CAROLINA

OPEN MEETINGS AT FLORIDA SERVICES FOR THE BLIND, NAC STYLE 
FEDERATIONIST NAMED TRUSTEE OF 
FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR DEAF AND BLIND

BOOK REVIEW:  A HANDBOOK FOR ITINERANT AND RESOURCE TEACHERS 
OF BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 

THE PALMER HOUSE REVISITED

A VICTORY FOR VIRGINIA VENDORS
  by Charles S. Brown

SEVILLE ALLEN ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE 
VIRGINIA BOARD FOR THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED
by Charles S. Brown

BLIND WOMAN'S TOOLS AID SUCCESS

IS SPECIAL DESIRABLE?
  by Susie L. Stanzel

NEW JERSEY: LAND OF GREAT POTENTIAL
  by Donald C. Capps

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES

Copyright, National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1990

            DRUGS, SEX, AND ALCOHOL ARE WAY OF LIFE 
AT CALIFORNIA CENTER: 
REHABILITATION OFFICIALS SAY 
GOOD ENOUGH FOR BLIND
                        by Barbara Pierce

When Muhammad Karim, a young blind Californian, sought training
in the skills of blindness, state officials tried to force him to
take instruction in a program which he regarded as inappropriate.
His requests for placement elsewhere were rejected, and when he
brought evidence that the California Orientation Center for the
Blind at Albany (the center he was being told he must attend) was
characterized by widespread drug abuse, pervasive and open sexual
promiscuity, and a general atmosphere not conducive to learning,
rehabilitation officials seemed, so to speak, to shrug and take
the position that that is the way society is these days. The
circumstances surrounding Mr. Karim's case (his urgent attempts
to get training, his insensitive treatment by California state
officials, and his revelations of what is taking place at the
California Orientation Center for the Blind at Albany) need to be
known by the blind of the nation and by responsible program
officials.  Every day hundreds of blind people across this nation
make rehabilitation decisions that, whether they know it or not,
will profoundly affect the rest of their lives. These men and
women have come to recognize that they must master at least some
of the alternative techniques of blindness if they are to have
any chance of improving the quality of their lives. For the most
part they know nothing and care less about the program
alternatives among which they must choose. Will the teachers come
to me? Can I commute? How long do I have to stay?  How hard is it
going to be? These are the questions they ask, and
it is usually on the basis of the answers they receive that they
make their decisions on these answers and on the recommendations
of their rehabilitation counselors.
But what about the people who know something of the
rehabilitation facilities in their states and have informed
opinions about their options? There are now a handful of private
rehabilitation centers willing to take students from their own
states (or anywhere in the nation) as long as those students
understand that they must be prepared to work hard and invest
long hours of their time to succeed. Blind people who have
already experienced haphazard or shoddy rehabilitation
instruction and who truly want to learn the techniques of
blindness are understandably eager to enroll in one of these
centers, in which dedicated staff members expect much and give
even more.
As has already been said, Muhammad Karim is a bright young
Californian who has never been given much of a chance to succeed.
He goes where he needs to go (when he must do so) on nerve and
the principle that, if you want to get there badly enough, you
will. He has never been taught to cook or keep his clothing or
home in order. He has already attended one California
rehabilitation program, where for many reasons he says he learned
virtually nothing. He has now become a member of
the National Federation of the Blind, and he has learned about
rehabilitation centers in other states. He believes that if he
could attend one of these, he could learn the techniques and the
philosophy that would enable him to live a productive life. Mr.
Karim has acquired the maturity to recognize that he needs a
disciplined, focused environment in which to work. If he is to
master the skills he needs, he must be surrounded with people who
believe in him enough to set high standards which they expect him
to meet.
When Mr. Karim broached with his rehabilitation counselor the
subject of attending the Louisiana Center for the Blind, she made
it clear that there were several other rehabilitation options in
California which had not yet been offered to him, and that he
should consider
one or more of these. Her recommendation was the California
Orientation Center for the Blind (OCB) in Albany.
Federationists will remember that in the fifties this agency
employed Dr. Kenneth Jernigan. It was here that much of the
Federation philosophy and excellent teaching that would later
distinguish the Iowa Commission for the Blind were pioneered. It
is accurate to say that the independent rehabilitation centers in
Colorado, Louisiana, and Minnesota have some semblance of being
the grandchildren of the program almost forty years ago at the
California Orientation Center.
But times and personnel change, and the California Orientation
Center has fallen on hard times. The director is Allen Jenkins, a
member of the board of directors of the National Accreditation
Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped
(NAC), whose credentials for leading (or not leading) are
painfully laid bare in the documents
that follow. His chief assistant is that same Al Gil, who often
distinguishes himself at social gatherings by imitating a
Greyhound bus (see article on American Council of the Blind
convention in the October-November, 1987,  Braille Monitor ). At
the Orientation Center today, students and teachers are,
according to reliable sources, frequently absent from class; and,
to say the least, a party atmosphere prevails at least this was
Muhammad's impression, and he knew that this was not the
environment he needed for success. His inquiries only confirmed
his first impressions. He officially requested that he be sent to
Louisiana, and his counselor officially denied that request. He
then asked for an Administrative Review of her decision, and on
August 3, 1989, his appeal was also denied. He then appealed that
decision with the help of the National Federation of the Blind,
and a hearing before the California Department of Rehabilitation
Appeals Board was conducted on March 2, 1990. Here is the letter
that Sharon Gold, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of California, wrote to Dr.  Jernigan the day following the
appeal hearing:

                                           Sacramento, California
                                                    March 3, 1990

Dear Dr. Jernigan:
Yesterday a hearing was held before the Appeals Board of the
California Department of Rehabilitation in the matter of Muhammad
Karim, who wishes to attend the Louisiana Center for the Blind as
a client of the California Department of Rehabilitation. This
appeal arose when Muhammad's rehabilitation counselor refused his
request. I am enclosing herewith a copy of the brief and attached
affidavits, which were filed in this proceeding.
In addition to Michael Baillif, Annette Coe, Charles Coe, Todd
Elzey, Edith Esty, Joanne Fernandes, and Mildred Rivera, whose
affidavits you will find attached,  Louis Lucero, Maria Morais,
Sheryl Pickering, Fred Schroeder, and Robert Stigile attended the
hearing and testified for Muhammad.
George Allen, District Administrator from the Santa Barbara
District Office of the Department of Rehabilitation, represented
the Department; and Manuel Urena, Program Manager, served as
witness for it.  Muhammad's argument for attending the Louisiana
Center is that there are no rehabilitation services suited to his
needs in California.  Notwithstanding the Department's contention
that there are a number of services available to Muhammad, we
showed during the hearing, and the Department agreed, that there
are only two facilities in the state that could be considered at
all the Vocational Independence Program (VIP) in Los Angeles and
the Orientation Center for the Blind located in Albany. Muhammad
has already spent time at VIP, where he was not
taught the techniques and information necessary for successful
rehabilitation.  For example, in mobility training Muhammad
reports that he was taught to travel by walking around a square
block making only right turns
and that he was never taught to cross a street. The Orientation
Center's instructional program has deteriorated so much that it
is unlikely anyone can receive adequate services there, and
Muhammad does not wish to attend it at all.
 Robert Stigile also spent time at VIP and testified to the
inadequacies of the program offered there. Among other things, he
testified that he is blind from retinitis pigmentosa, and even
though everyone knew his vision was deteriorating, VIP refused to
teach him Braille and other alternative techniques to prepare him
for functioning as a blind person.
Last year, Robert went to OCB, where he hoped to receive the
training that he did not receive at VIP. He was shocked and
disappointed in what he found at OCB and therefore went home
after one week. Robert offered testimony about poor class
attendance by both instructors and students and rowdy dormitory
life. He said that students appeared to carouse all night and
sleep all day. Robert further testified that he often could not
use his bedroom because of the sexual activities of his roommate
and the roommate's girlfriend.
On two different occasions before leaving the Center, Robert
testified that he attempted to discuss his disappointment in the
entire program with Al Gil, who  failed to recognize the problems
or to offer any help to Robert. A three-way conversation between
Robert, Al Gil, and Robert's rehabilitation counselor served to
terminate his OCB experience at Robert's request, and he went
home. I asked him during the hearing if he had met the OCB
administrator while there. He answered that he had not. One can
only conclude from this fact that Mr. Jenkins apparently had no
interest in ascertaining for himself why a student was leaving
after only one week.
Maria Morais visited OCB during the spring of 1988, when she was
considering attending the Center for rehabilitation. She
testified that she spent twenty-four hours at the Center and that
she felt unwelcomed by the students and staff and frightened by
the behavior of some of the students.  During the Blind Law
Class, Maria testified that a guest speaker presented a political
pep talk for an upcoming local election which had nothing to do
with blindness or blind law. One of the students asked what the
subject matter had to do with blindness, and the instructor Henry
Kruse said  nothing.  Another student said for all to hear that
it didn't matter to her since, as a convicted felon, she couldn't
vote anyway. Another student commented that she was a convicted
felon, too. Maria further testified that later in the evening,
when she was in the TV room, two male students made inappropriate
advances toward her and also told her that drugs were available
in the dorm if she wanted them. She said she was frightened by
the whole atmosphere and went to her room, locking the door.
To the allegations of heavy drinking and drug abuse among the
students and sexual promiscuity within the dorm, Manuel Urena
testified that the students are  adults  and rehabilitation is a 
learning process.   He further stated that he is  proud of OCB. 

On the other hand, Dr. Allen was apparently horrified by the
testimony submitted concerning the conditions at OCB. He first
tried to attack Muhammad personally in an apparent attempt to
discredit him before the Appeals Board. When that didn't work, he
tried to diminish his share of the responsibility in the decision
to require Muhammad to use California rehabilitation services by
admitting that a person
has a right to be in an alcohol- and drug-free environment. He
further stated that he had spoken with Joanne Fernandes, that
Mrs. Fernandes was very proud of her program and that he thought
the program at the Louisiana Center had many good things to
offer.
The Rehabilitation Appeals Board has 60 days to render its
proposed decision and forward it to the Director of the
Department of Rehabilitation.  The Director may adopt the
proposed decision without change, or she
may review the decision in whole or in part and issue a separate
decision, or she may send the matter back for further hearing.
The Director has 20 days from the date of the proposed decision
to choose among these options.
I shall keep you apprised of the progress of this appeal.

                                                       Cordially,
                                           Sharon Gold, President
                                 National Federation of the Blind
                                                    of California
____________________
That was Sharon Gold's cover letter, and the material that came
with it might be described as lurid. Space will not permit
inclusion of all the affidavits. Michael Baillif, a native
Californian, and Mildred Rivera, a young attorney about to take a
position with a California law firm, recounted in glowing terms
their experiences at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Todd
Elzey described in agonizing detail the frustration of dealing
with the California Orientation Center staff who would not do
what was necessary to get the replacement batteries he
desperately needed for his hearing aids while he was a student
there.
Edith Esty admitted that, as a mature adult who knew what she
wanted out of the rehabilitation experience, she had been able to
make the training program at the Orientation Center work for her.
But she said that there was always lots of noise, alcohol, and
general temptation around, and a young person would have trouble
getting the most out of the program. In his testimony, Manual
Urena, Program Manager for the Department of Rehabilitation,
admitted that students as young as sixteen can be enrolled at the
Orientation Center, a fact which raises the possibility at least
of statutory rape at a facility in which sexual activity is
alleged to be frequent and wide-spread.
Here is the brief prepared by Muhammad Karim and the National
Federation of the Blind of California:

                           BEFORE THE
                         REHABILITATION 
APPEALS BOARD
                       STATE OF CALIFORNIA
                        IN THE MATTER OF 
THE APPEAL OF
                         MUHAMMAD KARIM

Case No. 335-58-6011

Muhammad Karim hereby appeals from the August 3, 1989,
Administrative Review Decision of George A. Allen, District
Administrator, Department of Rehabilitation, 350 South Hope
Avenue, Santa Barbara, that, because the California Department of
Rehabilitation offers rehabilitation training for the blind
through the Orientation Center for the Blind, and alternative
sources through the Foundation for the Junior Blind in Los
Angeles, the Living Skills Center in San Pablo, the Lions Blind
Center in Oakland, and local training by a Counselor-Teacher
supplemented by a mobility instructor, the Department of
Rehabilitation correctly declined to fund rehabilitation training
for Mr. Karim through an out-of-state facility, the Louisiana
Center for the Blind, located in Ruston, Louisiana.
FACTS

Muhammad Karim is a twenty-two-year-old legally blind male, who
is a client of the California Department of Rehabilitation. Mr.
Karim gained most of his elementary education in Chicago before
moving to the Los Angeles area, where he attended intermediate
and secondary schools through the Los Angeles City Schools
program for blind students, in which he continued to learn typing
and the skills of Braille reading and writing. While in public
school, he did not adequately learn mobility and the other skills
necessary for independent living as a blind person.

Following Mr. Karim's graduation from high school, he spent
approximately five months at the Vocational Independence Program
of the Foundation
for the Junior Blind in Los Angeles under the sponsorship of the
California Department of Rehabilitation. While at VIP, Mr. Karim
learned some
elementary mobility skills; however, he was not taught to travel
independently at a distance from his home, to cross streets, or
to travel on public transportation independently. Also while at
VIP, Mr. Karim was not taught to do his own cooking or laundry or
to master the other skills necessary for successful independent
living as a blind person.  Realizing that he needed further
training in independent living skills, on May 12, 1989, Mr. Karim
wrote to Shelley Alshire, his rehabilitation counselor,
requesting that the Department of Rehabilitation sponsor him at
the Louisiana Center for the Blind, where he could learn the
skills necessary to function as a blind person and also the
proper attitude towards blindness. The counselor denied Mr.
Karim's request for out-of-state rehabilitation training, and Mr.
Karim requested an Administrative Review of the counselor's
decision.
The Administrative Review was held on August 1, 1989, at the
Santa Maria Branch Office of the Department of Rehabilitation. On
August 3, George Allen, District Administrator of the Santa
Barbara Office
of the Department of Rehabilitation, held that Mr. Karim's
rehabilitation counselor was correct in declining to authorize
Department  funding to train him for independence at the
Louisiana Center for the Blind, an out-of-state facility, because
suitable alternative sources of training are available in the
State of California. 

ISSUE

Is it appropriate for the California Department of Rehabilitation
to refuse to sponsor rehabilitation training for Muhammad Karim
at
the Louisiana Center for the Blind in Ruston, Louisiana, an
out-of-state facility?
Muhammad Karim contends that:
1. He needs rehabilitation training in the alternative techniques
of blindness.
2. At the present time there is no program in California which
meets his individual needs.
3. The Department of Rehabilitation should provide out-of-state
rehabilitation training because suitable courses, training, and
environment are not available to him within the State of
California.
In his Administrative Review Decision of August 3, 1989, George
Allen, District Administrator, outlined four alternative in-state
options to the out-of-state rehabilitation training requested by
Mr. Karim:
(1) training at the California Orientation Center for the Blind,
(2) additional training at the Foundation for the Junior Blind,
(3) a program linking the Living Skills Center in San Pablo and
the Lions Blind Center in Oakland, and (4) local training
combining the services of a Department Counselor-Teacher and a
mobility instructor.  California statutes mandate that the
Department of Rehabilitation provide a residential rehabilitation
center for the blind. At the center, blind clients are to receive 
an intensive program designed for maximum vocational and personal
rehabilitation and for the preparation of blind persons for
useful and remunerative work.   Welfare and Institutions Code
Section 19500 and 19501. The program at the center should include 
techniques of daily living, techniques of travel, physical
conditioning, sensory training, instruction in Braille,
instruction in skills for the handicapped, typing, and business
principles and methods and shall provide for social and
vocational diagnostic testing and individual counseling.  
Welfare and Institutions Code Section 19502.
As an alternative to the California Orientation Center for the
Blind, the Department contracts with the Foundation for the
Junior Blind
in Los Angeles to provide rehabilitation training through its
Vocational Independence Program and with the Living Skills Center
in San Pablo.  Each of these facilities has a residential
program, which offers courses similar to those offered by the
Orientation Center.
In addition to the residential programs offered by the Department
of Rehabilitation, the Department is mandated to provide
counselor-teachers who  give individual instruction in those
techniques which will enable the blind to adjust to daily living
in the home and in the community.   The counselor-teachers shall 
teach the blind reading and writing of Braille, typing, travel
techniques, household arts and crafts...and such other
instruction as may enhance their opportunities for personal
rehabilitation.   Welfare and Institutions Code Section 19525.
The instruction by the counselor-teacher is supplemented by
mobility instructors who work with the client in the neighborhood
environment.
The Lions Blind Center of Oakland is a private agency not under
contract with the Department of Rehabilitation. Individuals
attending this center are assessed fees for services based on
their income.
The Louisiana Center for the Blind is a residential center
serving the citizens of Louisiana and persons from such other
states as may request its services. About twenty-five percent of
the students attending the Louisiana Center for the Blind are
out-of-state residents who are receiving services under contract
from their home states.
The center offers a well-structured program of training in the
alternative skills of blindness and develops a positive
philosophy of blindness and a strong belief in the capabilities
of the blind. The staff and programs of the center emphasize
self-discipline and self-motivation, and negative reinforcement
is absent from the training.
At one time the California Orientation Center for the Blind
provided a positive approach to the rehabilitation of blind
persons. Through the years the curriculum has not kept pace with
the times, and the rehabilitation training program has
deteriorated to the point where both the students and staff
members are casual about attending classes.  The staff has poor
self-esteem and displays negative attitudes toward blindness and
blind people.
Whereas the Orientation Center has a duty to provide an
environment in which blind and newly blind persons can find
strength during the process of adjusting to their disability, the
students and guests at OCB report that the environment of the
dormitory is laced with alcohol, drugs, and promiscuous and
perverted sexual behavior. It
is reported that students return to the campus in a state of
drunkenness and that some students bring liquor on to the
premises.
Some students have left the Center without completing their
training because of the complacent attitudes in the classroom,
the negative attitudes toward blindness, and the environment of
the dormitory.  Other persons do not wish to attend OCB and
subject themselves to the current environment at the center.
Students and visitors have reported the availability of drugs in
the dormitory and on the premises of the Orientation Center for
the Blind.  They have reported the odor of incense in the
dormitory, which they believe to be a cover for marijuana. Most
students are fearful of presenting documented statements
concerning the availability and use
of drugs on the OCB premises; however, an investigation by Chad
Investigations of Richmond, California, reveals the presence of
drugs, including cocaine, on the premises of the Orientation
Center for the Blind.  The investigation also confirms  parties 
on the premises during which drugs and alcohol were present. This
investigation further confirms some of the sexual relations
between students and also mentions rumors of sexual relations
between students and at least one member of the staff, who was
reportedly fired because of her behavior with students. It has
been reported that this staff member was later rehired and
subsequently resumed these relations with the students. Finally,
this report describes physical confrontations between students
while on the premises of OCB.
Similar reports to those concerning the California Orientation
Center
for the Blind have come from students attending the Vocational
Independence Program. However, Mr. Karim has already spent some
months (March through August, 1985) at the Vocational
Independence Program. Notwithstanding these months of training,
Mr. Karim possesses limited mobility skills and reports that he
was refused instruction in street crossing and adequate training
in using public transportation.
The Living Skills Center in San Pablo provides a program which is
unstructured and does not provide daily instruction in the
alternative skills of blindness. Teachers go to the students'
apartments to provide some instruction in daily living skills,
such as the management of personal affairs and daily activities
like cooking, cleaning, and
doing laundry. Mobility training is based on daily activities in
familiar areas and does not include long and intensive travel
routes. The Living Skills Center is designed to be a stepping
stone between the sheltered home environment and total
independent living.
It has been suggested that Mr. Karim could incorporate
instruction at the Lions Blind Center in Oakland with the program
at the Living Skills Center. Students enrolled at the Oakland
Lions Blind Center attend classes all day, one day per week; thus
they do not have the advantage of continuity that comes with a
daily training program.

The Louisiana Center for the Blind offers daily instruction in
the alternative skills of blindness. Students attend class from
8:00 a.m.  to 5:00 p.m. with an hour lunch break. The Center
provides intensive seminars for students, discussions which lead
to the development of self-esteem and a positive image of blind
persons.
The extra-curricular activities at the Louisiana Center for the
Blind help the students progress from travel on foot in the one-
half mile area between the Center and their apartment complex to
independent travel throughout the state and across the country.
Alcohol and drug abuse is not present at the Louisiana Center for
the Blind. The General Information and Guidelines of the Center
clearly state the rule that  NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE PERMITTED
ON THE PREMISES OF THE LOUISIANA CENTER FOR THE BLIND, INCLUDING
THE STUDENT APARTMENTS. THE USE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS WILL RESULT IN
IMMEDIATE TERMINATION FROM THE PROGRAM. 
Muhammad Karim currently possesses little or no mobility skill
with a white cane. He travels from place to place solely
dependent upon sighted help. He is so fearful of street crossings
that he is a potential danger to himself; thus he stands at
intersections and waits for someone to take him across the
street. He lacks the technique of locating obstacles with a cane
and also lacks  the self-confidence necessary to travel
independently. Further, Mr. Karim cannot cook for himself, nor
can he clean his home or properly handle his laundry. Therefore,
Mr. Karim needs rehabilitation training in the alternative
techniques of blindness.
Mr. Karim needs a structured, well-disciplined, and intensive
rehabilitation training program. He needs the discipline of
apartment living, compelling him to cook, shop, and clean for
himself; and if that apartment were so situated that he had to
walk some distance to attend mandatory daily classes, he would
benefit greatly. No such program currently exists in California.
As evidenced by the above discussion and attached documentation,
the environment at the California Orientation Center for the
Blind, the only residential rehabilitation center for the blind
administered
by the Department of Rehabilitation, does not encourage students
with high morals to attend. Mr. Karim finds both the dormitory
and classroom environments offensive, and thus the OCB would not
contribute to his successful adjustment to blindness. Further,
the Vocational Independence Program has already proven to be
unsuccessful for Mr. Karim, and neither OCB nor the Vocational
Independence Program offers on-the-job training or a large
computer lab, where he can use a Braille embosser, learn computer
skills, and become familiar with several forms of speech-output
software and hardware.
According to Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations,
clients of the Department of Rehabilitation  may be provided
out-of-state training when: (a) Suitable facilities or courses
are not available within the State.   Because of the curriculum,
environment, and philosophy of blindness exemplified by the
Louisiana Center for the Blind, no California rehabilitation
agency, combination of agencies, and/or field orientation
services can provide comparable courses in this state. Therefore,
the California Department of Rehabilitation should authorize
funding for out-of-state rehabilitation training for Mr. Karim.


Date: March 2, 1990
Sharon Gold
____________________
                          AFFIDAVIT OF
                        JOANNE FERNANDES


I, Joanne Fernandes, hereby swear and depose:
1. My name is Joanne Fernandes.
2. I reside at 2509 Foxx Creek Road, Ruston, Louisiana, 71270.
3. I am legally blind, and during the mid-1960's I attended a
residential rehabilitation facility for the blind where I
developed a positive philosophy concerning blindness and received
quality instruction in the skills of blindness.
4. I am a trained rehabilitation specialist and hold a Master's
Degree in Counseling and Guidance.
5. Since 1985 I have been the Director of the Louisiana Center
for the Blind, 101 South Trenton, Ruston, Louisiana, 71270,
telephone (318) 251-2891, a privately owned, non-profit
residential training facility which provides quality instruction
in the skills of blindness.

6. The Louisiana Center for the Blind serves blind adults from
Louisiana and throughout the United States. About one-quarter of
the students come from states other than Louisiana and are funded
by their home state rehabilitation agencies, which recognize the
unique services offered by the Louisiana Center for the Blind.
7. The Center has a highly qualified staff, most of whom are
blind persons, and adequate equipment to meet the individual and
classroom needs of each student. The center houses a complete
computer laboratory, where the students can use many different
computers; Braille-embossing equipment; and screen-reading
hardware and software.
8. Each student at the Louisiana Center for the Blind lives in a
local apartment complex, where the student must plan all meals;
cook for himself; and do all of his own laundry, cleaning, and
shopping. On foot and using a white cane, the students
independently travel the approximately one-half mile between the
apartment complex and the training center. Generally during the
evenings and on weekends the
students at the Center are free to participate individually and
collectively in community activities and to socialize with other
residents in the apartment complex and in the community of
Ruston, Louisiana.
9. The Louisiana Center for the Blind maintains and stringently
enforces rules prohibiting the use of alcoholic beverages on the
premises of the center and in the student apartments. The student
use of illegal drugs results in his or her immediate termination
from the program.

10. Daily required classes at the Louisiana Center for the Blind
are scheduled during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and
1:00 p.m.  to 5:00 p.m. and include Braille, one hour; Home
Economics, two hours; Cane Travel, two hours; Typing, one hour;
and Independent Study, two hours. The Independent Study class
includes the following optional courses:  Abacus, GED Training,
Sewing, Computer Literacy, Handwriting, and Talking Calculator.
Meeting twice weekly for two hours are classes in Exercise and a
Seminar program, in which students discuss and develop a positive
philosophy of blindness. A copy of the Louisiana Center
for the Blind brochure  Training Today ... For A Better Tomorrow! 
is included as Attachment #1. The Louisiana Center for the Blind
General Information and Guidelines, which is distributed to
incoming students, is included as Attachment #2.
11. In addition to the formal classes described in Paragraph 10,
the Louisiana Center for the Blind regularly plans and carries
out Field Trips, which are designed to place the students in a
variety of situations which will increase their exposure to and
successful participation in a broad range of experiences, many of
which the sighted public and the newly blind themselves believe
the blind can not accomplish and enjoy.
12. When beneficial to a student, the Louisiana Center for the
Blind arranges for on-the-job training to help the blind person
enter or re-enter the job market.
13. In the Spring of 1989 Muhammad Karim of California telephoned
my office to inquire about entry into the Louisiana Center for
the Blind. I subsequently met personally with Mr. Karim and
discussed and evaluated his rehabilitation needs.
14. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Karim has experienced some
rehabilitative training, he lacks the substantive skills in
mobility and daily living that are required to function
independently as a blind person.
15. The Louisiana Center for the Blind can offer Mr. Karim a full
rehabilitative program, including training in mobility with the
long white cane and in-depth instruction in word processing and
other computer skills.


                                                 Joanne Fernandes

                         ACKNOWLEDGMENT


I, Maria T. Kirchhofer, a Notary Public in and for the State of
Louisiana certify that Joanne Fernandes, personally known or
satisfactorily proved to me to be the same, personally appeared
before me and took oath in due form of law that the statements
made in the foregoing affidavit are true and correct this 24th
day of February, 1990.  ____________________
                          AFFIDAVIT OF
                           CHARLES COE

I, Charles Coe, hereby swear and depose:
1. My name is Charles Coe.
2. I reside at 1500 7th Street #9-A, Sacramento, California,
95814.

3.  I am legally blind with decreasing residual vision.  Since I
need and want to learn the alternative techniques necessary to
function as an independent blind person, on or about June 26,
1989, I went
to the California Orientation Center for the Blind to begin
rehabilitation training.  I remained at OCB until about July 31.
4.  The Orientation Center for the Blind exercises loosely
enforced rules concerning the behavior of the students in the
dormitory and their attendance and participation in classes.
5.  While at OCB, I observed that many students were frequently
absent from classes.  It appeared that these students slept
during the day so that they could carouse around at night.
6.  Some students left the premises and returned to the dormitory
from evening outings, obviously intoxicated and in a drunken
state.
7.  Henry Kruse, the instructor of business skills and the
abacus, canceled class on several occasions; and other staff
members failed to report for classes.
8.  The Center has an exercise room with assorted exercise
equipment.  Misuse of this equipment can cause serious injury to
the individual using it.  The students at the center did not
receive proper training and supervision in its use.
9.  The attitude of both the staff and students toward class
attendance made continuity within the classroom and group
participation among the students impossible.
10.  There appeared to be much sexual promiscuity between
students in the dormitory. Petting and other sexual familiarities
between male and female students were common in public areas of
the center.
11.  At night, there was much noise and activity in the
dormitory.  On most nights, even after midnight, there was lots
of noise and disruption with boombox radios blaring throughout
the building and sleeping room doors opening and closing.
12.  On two weekends during my stay at OCB, my wife came to visit
me.  The behavior of the students was such that I was embarrassed
to have my wife on the premises.
13.  Because of the lack of continuity in instruction, the poor
attendance at classes by both staff and students, and the
terrible environment in the dormitory, the California Orientation
Center for the Blind
did not satisfactorily meet my rehabilitation needs.  Therefore,
without completing my rehabilitation training, on July 31, 1989,
I left OCB to return home.


                                                      Charles Coe

                         ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


I, Shirley O'Key, a Notary Public in and for the State of
California certify that Charles Coe, personally known or
satisfactorily proved to me to be the same, personally appeared
before me and took oath
in due form of law that the statements made in the foregoing
affidavit are true and correct this 28th day of February, 1990.
____________________
                    AFFIDAVIT OF ANNETTE COE


I, Annette Coe, hereby swear and depose:
1. My name is Annette Coe.
2. I reside at 1500 7th Street #9-A, Sacramento, California,
95814.

3. I am the wife of Charles Coe, a legally blind man who attended
the California Orientation Center for the Blind from about June
26 through July 31, 1989.
4. During the weekend of July 1 and again during the weekend of
July 15, I went to the Orientation Center for the Blind to visit
my husband, who was residing in the student dormitory.
5. On both occasions, while I was at the dormitory at the
Orientation Center, I found the behavior of the students shocking
and disgusting.

6. Petting and other sexual familiarities between male and female
students could be observed in public areas of the dormitory and
around the center.
7. At night the students in the dormitory were rowdy and noisy,
and several were apparently drunk.
8. One evening I stepped into the hall from the visitor's room on
the second floor which had been assigned to my husband for our
use during the weekend and found a door to a neighboring student
room standing open. I could see into the room. A woman and two
men were on the bed. The trio was obviously engaging in sexual
activity with both men fondling the woman.
9. On one occasion I went into the downstairs guest bathroom,
where
I found pornographic pictures. In this same bathroom there was a
bathtub full of water, which apparently had been vacated
recently. There was a dildo in the bathroom, and women's
undergarments could be seen lying around the room.


                                                      Annette Coe


                         ACKNOWLEDGMENT


I, Shirley O'Key, a Notary Public in and for the State of
California certify that Annette Coe, personally known or
satisfactorily proved to me to be the same, personally appeared
before me and took oath
in due form of law that the statements made in the foregoing
affidavit are true and correct this 28th day of February, 1990.
____________________
There you have a sample of the affidavits submitted by Muhammad
Karim supporting his request for rehabilitation at the Louisiana
Center for the Blind and illustrating his contention that the
California Orientation Center for the Blind does not provide a
conducive environment for a young man who needs discipline and a
productive lifestyle if he is to master the skills he needs.
In preparing for this appeal, the NFB of California obtained
access to reports on the Orientation Center prepared during the
summer of 1988 by a private investigation service. An operative,
posing as the brother of a blind man who was considering
returning to California for rehabilitation, toured the Center,
maintained surveillance of the facility for several days at a
time during two periods several weeks apart, and struck up a
friendship with a student named Ron,
who provided him with a student's point of view. The reports are
filled with routine information of the kind one would expect to
find in any observation of a rehabilitation center. The operative
found the facility clean and neat, and he worried about seeing
blind students doing the things that most sighted people assume
to be beyond the capacity of the blind precisely what one would
expect to read as the comments of an uninformed observer.
But scattered through the pages of this material are some
disturbing comments and some information that provides evidence
of the distressing limitations in the rehabilitation offered at
the Orientation Center.

One would have thought, for example, that the Director of a
rehabilitation facility serving some thirty-six residential
students at the time (according to Ron's count) would have found
enough work to do to keep him busy at the Center many hours a
day. An informal check with the directors of the independent
rehabilitation centers for the blind in Minnesota, Colorado, and
Louisiana indicated that they spent an average of eleven to
twelve hours a day at their centers and additional time working
at home or attending meetings. All three laughed at the idea of
leaving their desks for lunch, though they all made a point of
saying that they would like to have lunch with their students
more often than they can make time for. All of them say that they
teach classes and are prepared to substitute for other staff
members when necessary. In such a setting no student could
complete the rehabilitation program without becoming very well
acquainted with the director.  Contrast these schedules with that
of Allen Jenkins as reported by the investigator:

                                              CHAD INVESTIGATIONS
                                             Richmond, California
                                                     July 1, 1988

Subject: California Orientation Center
for the Blind
400 Adams Street
Albany, California
Director: Allen Jenkins

                          INVESTIGATION

6/21/88: Surveillance began on the Director, Mr. Jenkins. The
operative arrived at his residence at 7:30 a.m. There was no
activity noticed until 9:00 a.m. when Jenkins was picked up in a
lime green VW, California license 2JBH6O9.... This vehicle drove
directly to the Center at 400 Adams, arriving there at 9:1O a.m.
Jenkins got out of the vehicle and entered the Center.
At 11:30 a.m. Jenkins left the Center in an orange vehicle with a
State exempt plate of 861151. This vehicle is apparently one used
by the Center. At 12:45 p.m. Jenkins arrived back at the Center
in the orange vehicle. The driver of this vehicle is unknown....
At 2:32 p.m. Jenkins left the Center in the same orange vehicle,
this time
being driven by a female believed to be his secretary. They went
directly to Jenkins's residence. The female stayed in the
vehicle, and Jenkins exited and walked to his residence.
The operative surveilled the residence until 3:30 p.m. and no
further activity was noted. The operative returned to the Center
to see if the orange vehicle had returned there, and it was
observed parked.  Surveillance was terminated at this point.
6/22/88: The operative parked on San Pablo Avenue at the
intersection near the entrance to the Center and waited for
Jenkins. At 9:05 a.m.  the lime green VW was sighted and went to
the Center. Jenkins exited the vehicle and went into the office
area. This vehicle drove away....  At 11:33 a.m. this vehicle
[the orange car] left the Center being driven by what appeared to
be the younger female in the second office in the Center. Jenkins
was the passenger. They were followed to the area of the Marina
where they parked at H's Lordships, a restaurant.  They exited
and went into the restaurant. The operative stayed in his vehicle
and waited.
They apparently had lunch and left the area, returning to the
Center at 1:08 p.m.... At 2:48 p.m. the orange car left, but the
operative could not see who was in the vehicle. The operative was
blocked by traffic and lost sight of the vehicle. The operative
went to Jenkins's residence to see if the vehicle was there. On
arrival, the operative could not see any sign of the vehicle and
could not tell if Jenkins was in the residence. The operative
waited for ten minutes to see if the vehicle would arrive and
decided to go back to the Center.  The orange vehicle was parked.
The operative waited at the Center until 4:00 p.m. for movement
with none occurring. It was apparent that Jenkins was in this
vehicle earlier and had been taken to his residence. The
operative telephoned Jenkins's residence and recognized
the voice that answered as that of Jenkins. The surveillance was
terminated at this point.
6/24/88: The operative arrived at Jenkins's residence at 8:30
a.m.  and observed the green VW in front of the house. The
operative drove to the area of the Center to wait for the arrival
of the VW. At 9:09 a.m. Jenkins arrived in an '81 Plymouth coupe,
1BXXl94.... The operative had noted that this vehicle was one
that had been parked in front of Jenkins's residence. Jenkins
exited this vehicle and entered the Center.... At 12:11 p.m. the
orange vehicle left the Center, driven by the same young
secretary as before with Jenkins as a passenger.  They were
followed to the Marina, and again went into H's Lordships,
arriving at 12:20 p.m. They went into the restaurant, and the
operative later entered.... At 1:00 p.m. the female and Jenkins
left the restaurant.

The operative followed, and they drove to a shopping center down
the street from the Center. The female went into Long's Drug
Store, and Jenkins remained in the vehicle. In a couple of
minutes the female returned to the vehicle and said something to
Jenkins. She then returned to the store. She came back to the
vehicle a short time later with a medium brown bag. The contents
appeared to be thin and rectangular and may have been cigars. At
1:20 p.m. they left the shopping center and drove to the
Center.... The operative did not see any activity until 4:00 p.m.
when he observed Ron walking down a pathway leading
to San Pablo Avenue. This pathway was not being watched by the
operative routinely. The operative concluded that Jenkins might
have gotten by him without his noticing. The operative telephoned
the residence, and the phone was answered by Jenkins. The
surveillance was terminated at this point.
SUPPLEMENTAL INVESTIGATION, FRIDAY 8/12/88: Surveillance was
established at the Center at 8:15 a.m. At 9:00 a.m. the subject
arrived in the green Volkswagen. Jenkins exited this vehicle and
went into the Center.  At 11:35 a.m. the subject and a male
driver (faculty member) left the Center in a yellow station
wagon, license number E85O172. They proceeded to H's Lordships
and had lunch.... They left the establishment at 12:58 p.m. and
returned directly back to the Center.
At 4:15 p.m. the subject left the Center and went directly to his
residence.
MONDAY 8/15/88: Surveillance was established at the Center at
8:15 a.m. The subject arrived as a passenger in the lime green
Volkswagen, exited, and entered the Center. At 11:38 a.m. the
subject left the center in a Honda Accord driven by a young
Oriental female, California license 1SNB628. They went to H's
Lordships for lunch.... At 12:48 p.m. they left the restaurant
and returned directly to the Center.  The subject left in the
above Honda at 4:20 p.m. and went directly to his residence.
WEDNESDAY 8/24/88: Surveillance was established at the Center
at 8:15 a.m. The subject arrived at 9:05 a.m. and went into the
Center.  He did not leave the Center until 11:48 a.m. He was a
passenger in a vehicle driven by a young Oriental female in an
Omni with State
Exempt plate E861751. This vehicle was followed to the Baltic
Restaurant, where these two individuals were observed to have
lunch.... They left this restaurant at 1:30 p.m. and drove
directly back to the Center, arriving at 1:45 p.m.
There was no further activity on the part of the subject until
4:15 p.m. at which time he left the Center and was driven
directly to his residence.
____________________
There you have the sections of both the original and
supplementary reports that allegedly record the comings and
goings of Allen Jenkins, and the impression they create is not
comforting. To be sure, most
of us would enjoy a job which provided a hefty paycheck, a
nine-to-four day, an hour or more for lunch, and chauffeur
service; but if blind adults are going to be offered the quality
rehabilitation they need in order to take their rightful places
in their communities, they need the support and guidance of
professionals with more commitment than Mr. Jenkins's reported
schedule demonstrates.
The investigator's report disclosed several other interesting and
significant pieces of information and impressions from the
student point of view. What follows is a series of passages from
the report.  Each provides a glimpse of life at the Orientation
Center. As you
read, compare the picture that emerges with that drawn by Mrs.
Fernandes of the Louisiana Center for the Blind in her affidavit,
and decide which facility you would prefer to entrust yourself
to.
In June of 1988 the operative had an interview with Al Gil to
discuss the possibility of his brother's coming to the Center. He
asked for a tour after the interview but was told that it could
not be arranged on such short notice. Another date was set for
it, and on that morning a student named Ron was assigned as his
guide. Ron showed the entire facility to the private detective
and talked freely about the Center and the students and staff.
Subsequently, the two had several other conversations, and the
operative eventually told Ron that he was a detective engaged in
an investigation of the Center. Here are excerpts from the report
that are indicative of the more custodial facets of the program
and that reflect student perceptions of the facility:


July 1, 1988
Subject: California Orientation Center
for the Blind
400 Adams Street
Albany, California
Director: Allen Jenkins

INVESTIGATION: On 6/15/88 the operative went to the above
location.  Observation of the exterior of the grounds was that it
was clean in appearance, and the grounds were maintained
efficiently....  Adjacent to this room was the laundry room
containing two washers and two dryers. This room also had glass
windows to clearly see into.  On the floor and on the washer and
table were various pieces of clothing that someone had apparently
overlooked when using the facilities.  Ron advised the operative
that this was where the laundry was done and the students had the
option of using it on their own or having someone else do their
laundry for them.
Next Ron took the operative to what was referred to as the
personal care classroom. On the way there a black female seemed
to be confused.  She was saying some things out loud that were
not discernible. As they were approaching her, she explained she
was lost and wanted to go to her room. She had forgotten
something for her class and did not want to be there anymore. Ron
asked if he could help, and she said all she wanted was to get to
her room. Ron directed her to the interior courtyard and sent her
on her way. Ron and the operative then entered the personal care
classroom. It resembled a small house with each section teaching
students to adjust to normal home living.  They walked in, and
the operative noticed that the bottom metal door of a metal file
cabinet was off and lying in a narrow hallway, easy for one of
the students to trip on.... As Ron and the operative walked back
into the first room, the teacher noticed the metal door on the
floor and stated,  Darn thing is broken again.  She began
to explain how she taught the students. (She did lean the door
against the cabinet, out of the way.)....
Ron and the operative then went to the cafeteria. Everything here
appeared clean and orderly. Ron stated that breakfast was served
from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon,
and dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m....
Ron said they get clean towels twice a week and bedding once a
week.  Each student has the option to just pick them up or do
their own in the laundry room. Ron and the operative went
downstairs, and Ron gave the operative his home telephone number
in case the operative wanted to call him about anything. During
their discussion, Ron told the operative that occasionally there
was alcohol in the dorm. It is not allowed, but it still happens,
and sometimes they have little parties....  The operative
arranged a meeting with Ron under the pretense that
he wanted to take him out for some dinner and a few drinks. Ron
appeared very elated at this and agreed to do so.
The operative arrived at the Center at 3:40 p.m., and Ron was
waiting outside. They went to H's Lordships, where Ron related
the following information during the course of the evening:
- There are approximately 36 students living at the Center now.
This number varies. The breakdown of males vs. females was
unknown.
- He stated there were times when the men and women at the Center
would get together and have sexual intercourse in their rooms.
The counselors are not supposed to allow this, but in most cases
they look the other way. He stated that if they do get caught,
nothing is done. He iterated that they are all adults; they can
basically do what they want in this regard. He did not feel that
this was a problem area, and no one that he knows of sneaks
anyone in for the purpose of having sex. There are times when two
people get lonely and want the sexual company of another of the
opposite sex.
- There is no curfew for the students, and they can come and go
as they please. There is no direct supervision of their habits
while at the dorm.
- There are alcohol and drugs in the dorm. He knows of people
doing drugs there those drugs being basically marijuana and
cocaine.
It is not allowed by staff. However, it is still done and is
difficult, but not impossible, for the staff to prevent. There is
no drug dealing going on, and what is used is for personal
consumption and is brought in by the students. At times friends
of the students will bring alcohol or drugs in for them, but this
is not rampant. He has no knowledge of any staff members being
involved in the use or supply of drugs or alcohol.
- Sometimes the students get together and have parties where
drugs and alcohol are present, but this is seldom. He felt that
staff knew these parties were going on, but they did not say
anything. Usually, in occurrences such as these, the staff looks
the other way.
- Ron likes the Center and feels most of the students do also. He
feels it has helped him very much. He stated you could get out of
it what you want to put in. Some of the students do not really
try that hard, and therefore they do not get that much out.
- Ron stated that it was hard to get into the Center, but that,
if you knew someone it would be easy. He stated that Mr. Jenkins,
Mr.  Gil, and the head counselor had the power to get in whomever
they wish.
- Ron stated he did not know much about Mr. Jenkins. He said that
Jenkins did not interact with the students much, but Mr. Gil did. 
He has only spoken with Mr. Jenkins twice since he has been there
(December, 1987, to August, 1988). Normally, Jenkins does not mix
with the students. His knowledge of Jenkins is limited, but he
thinks Jenkins is quiet and has been there since the Center was
opened.
- Ron stated that everyone at the Center knew the operative was
coming to visit the Center. The people at the Center always seem
to know when there is going to be an inspection or a visit from
someone. It is common knowledge that, when there is an inspection
or a visitor, everyone is to be on their best behavior and that
things are to be cleaned up more than usual. He stated that
someone at the Center knows someone in the system who tells them
when there is going to be an inspection by the State.
- Ron does not know the comings and goings of the staff. They all
seem to be doing a good job, and he has had no problems. He has
not heard any of the students having any problems with any of the
staff.  Sometimes they grumble, but this is usually in general
and nothing in particular.
- Ron stated that he has not had to pay extra for anything at the
Center. Everything he needs is provided for him. The gist of this
conversation was there does not appear to be any internal graft
occurring....

- As far as he knew, the Center is kept clean. There have not
been any accidents due to neglect that he knew of. Most of the
time safety seems to be of importance with the teachers....
When this meeting was over, the operative felt that Ron was being
very candid and that he could approach Ron again if necessary and
that Ron would be truthful with him....

                                                    END OF REPORT
                                          Respectfully submitted,
                               Charles Del Biaggio, Owner/Manager
____________________
The following is an account of what Ron stated about the Center
in a later interview: Ron was advised that the operative was
actually investigating the Center and ascertaining whether or not
there were any improprieties in the administration of it. Ron was
asked if he knew anything about Jenkins's comings and goings. He
stated he really did not know that much about Jenkins other than
he wasn't there much.  When asked how he knew that, he said he
could smell his cigar when he was there.
Ron said that Jenkins had met a lady (he wouldn't say who) in
Hawaii in November or December of 1987 while he was on a trip.
All he knew was that this lady stayed with Jenkins at his house
for December of 1987 and January of 1988. She then was enrolled
in the school and is presently still attending. As far as he
knew, there was nothing occurring between Jenkins and this lady
that was romantic in nature.  It seemed odd that this occurred,
however.
Ron felt that the members of the staff at the Center were too
loose with the students and there is not much discipline. He said
the students run the school more so than the staff. The students
come and go as they please and often do not attend classes. This
practice prolongs their stay, and the State pays $1700.00 per
month for each student.  He stated he did not feel it was fair
for this to be allowed.
As far as alcohol and drug usage are concerned on the property,
Ron stated that there is no control over this. The students come
and go as they please, and there is quite a bit of alcohol usage
that he knows of. The counselors just look the other way in this
regard. As for drugs, Ron stated he did not know of any of late.
There was a past student that was heavily involved in them named
Michael. Ron
did not know how the drugs got in but assumed that Michael just
brought them in when he wanted. These drugs included marijuana
and cocaine.  There was some other usage of these drugs by other
students, but he did not feel that it was prevalent.
Ron told the operative of a fight that he got into the other day
at the Center. He said the student who struck him was sighted. He
stated that the counselor on duty had just left the room when it
happened.  The Albany police were called, and the other student
requested the State Police be called also. The other student was
expelled until Ron left school, which is August 29.
Ron knew of one other fight that occurred on the grounds since he
had been there, but he could not remember when this was or what
it was about. He knew of no physical abuse by any counselor but
did say a female counselor in her middle 40's was having sex with
a student.  He would not say who this counselor was or who the
student was, but
the counselor works from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. She was employed
previously at the Center and fired for some type of sexual
problem. He did not know why she was hired back but stated this
was a typical example of how the school was run, too loose.
Ron felt that if the State ever investigated the administration
of the school, they would probably close it up. Ron stated he
asked the abacus teacher for an extra hour of class one day and
was refused.  He stated that if the school was closed, it would
be because of the teachers. Most of them are good, but they are
not dedicated to their profession. Basically they are good
teachers, but they do not teach.  Ron's feelings were that there
was dead wood that needed to be cleaned out at the school. He
stated after 20 or 30 years things fall apart.  There is a new
person at the Center on the staff named Carl Green who seems to
bring new blood. He is a sighted man.
People staying there for a full year aren't applying themselves,
and they are not supported by the staff. There is a student there
now
that misses two to three classes a day. Only 5 or 6 classes are
required.  The students there think that the Center is a Club Med
and do what they want. He referred to a lady that was leaving the
Center; but, before she did, she took two weeks off to go to
Hawaii. She then came back and checked out. He could not
understand this because there is supposedly a waiting list to get
in. The State was paying for two weeks of her enrollment at the
school while she was in Hawaii. Ron talked some more about his
altercation at the Center with the other student. He said that
the other student struck him first and Ron struck back. The State
Police were called. Both men pressed charges against
each other, but nothing happened. Ron was expelled for one week,
returning on the 17th, and the other student was expelled until
Ron leaves this Monday.
Ron feels that the students that are allowed to come to the
Center need to be screened better. Mr. Gil is the one with the
final decision as to who is allowed to enroll. He is a nice guy,
but in business one cannot always be a nice guy. A few people
presently at the Center only need mobility since they already
know everything else.
Too many people there want to party. He was asked if it would be
possible for the operative to bring a six-pack of beer into the
dorm. He said it would be easy because most of the counselors are
blind and they would not know.
He said that the students are over 21 and will go to local pubs
to buy six-packs of beer and take it back to the school. He said
this is not allowed because the Center is state property, but it
happens all of the time. He said he did not feel it was that much
of a problem.  He said again that student attendance in classes
was more of a problem.

Ron was asked if he would be willing to talk with someone else
regarding the Center, and he said he would. He stated he could
not give much of an opinion of Mr. Jenkins since he has only met
him twice....
Ron stated that, as far as he knew, the Albany police have been
called to the Center for various troubles three or four times
since he has been there.
Finally, Ron stated his concerns are about the teachers going on
vacation without having replacements. During that period of time,
no one goes
to those classes. Some of the vacations of the various teachers
overlap, and there are times when there are two or three classes
canceled daily because of vacations. This allows the students a
lot of free time, and with so much time on their hands, they
think of things to do that are not always productive.
____________________
There you have a small part of the documentation presented by
Muhammad Karim and the National Federation of the Blind of
California at the March 2, 1990, appeal hearing. The panel had
sixty days in which to make its decision. The state notified
Muhammad of the decision in early May. The proposed document,
which was sent to the Director of the Department of
Rehabilitation, bears the date of April 26. To no one's surprise,
the Appeals Board upheld the earlier decision to deny Muhammad
Karim's request for out-of-state training on the grounds that,
among other things,  The OCB is a suitable facility; it is
provided by the State of California, and attendance at OCB would
not impose undue hardship upon the appellant.  The Board did
encourage  the Department to look into the allegations made in
the previously mentioned documents. 
At this writing it is not clear what the next step will be. An
appeal in the California court system is a possibility, though
the investment in time and money would be sizable. In recent
months we have been reminded painfully of the scandalous
treatment that California vendors have received at the hands of
the Department of Rehabilitation. (See the January and June,
1990, issues of the  Braille Monitor .) Now the state's finest
rehabilitation facility has been charged with being a place in
which neither students nor staff care particularly about
attending classes; and alcohol, drugs, and sex seem to be the
order of the day and of the night as well. Very few states in the
country offer excellent or even good rehabilitation training, but
one can hope that most blind students don't have to put up with
the complications to life and concentration faced by those who
are required to attend the California Orientation Center for the
Blind.         FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LOOSE ENDS: 
BLIND VETERANS CASE RESOLVED
                        by Barbara Pierce
In the February, 1989, issue of the  Braille Monitor  we
published a story entitled  Civil War or Backyard Skirmish?
Blinded Vets Take to the Fox Holes.  It reported on an ongoing
struggle between the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) and the
Blinded American Veterans Foundation (BAVF). The latter group was
created in 1985 by several disenchanted members of the
forty-five-year-old Blinded Veterans Association.  The Blinded
Veterans Association said that the names of the two groups were
similar enough to cause confusion to would-be contributors, so
the BVA sought and obtained a federal court injunction in 1987
preventing the Blinded American Veterans Foundation from using
that name or the words  Blinded,   Blind,  or  Veterans  in
combination. The Foundation immediately appealed this ruling, and
the case was heard on February 6, 1989.
There the situation stood at the time of the February, 1989,
article; and in the press of other business, we have neglected to
report the final resolution of this dispute. In April, 1989, a
three-judge panel
in the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against the Blinded Veterans
Association, finding that  Blinded Veterans  is a generic term
and that  BVA's name and logo are not entitled to trademark
protection.  It sent the case back to the District Court for
further consideration, and in late July the parties reached
settlement in which the Blinded American Veterans Foundation
agrees to display a disclaimer on all
its literature saying that it is not affiliated with the Blinded
Veterans Association a gesture it had been prepared to make from
the beginning of the dispute, according to its press release and
in return the BVA would drop its lawsuit. Subsequently the suit
was dismissed with prejudice by the court, which means that
neither side can raise the matter again.
When reached for comment, Ron Miller, Executive Director of the
Blinded Veterans Association, said that his membership was
disappointed at
the court ruling. He said that despite the disclaimer on BAVF
literature, potential contributors are still confused and are
making contributions intended for the BVA to the BAVF. But the
court has now spoken, and both sides are moving ahead with plans
for the future.         POSITIVE NOTES: 
REPORT FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
From the Editor: I first met Don Capps in the mid-fifties when I
went to South Carolina to help put together the NFB affiliate. At
that time he was head of the Columbia Chapter and one of the
principal leaders in the state. As I remember it, there was a
chapter in Spartanburg, another in Columbia, and a third one in
Charleston. Don's first national convention was San Francisco in
1956, and he hasn't missed one since.  Today the Federation in
South Carolina is far different from what it was thirty-five
years ago, but Don and Betty Capps are still in the leadership.
In fact, the reason for this difference is primarily the team of
Capps and Capps. Yes, there are other leaders in the state (many
of them more than in most states), but that does not diminish the
stature of Don and Betty. Quite the contrary.
All of this was brought to mind by recent developments in and out
of South Carolina. As Federationists know, the New Jersey
affiliate has been struggling for a long time to find itself,
often being on the verge of destruction. On the Memorial Day
weekend Don and Betty went to New Jersey to revitalize the
organization and prepare for
the state convention a week later. Their success was outstanding
a new president (Dorothy Cafone), new board members, a
substantive agenda at a well-attended convention, and the best
prospects for stability and long-term growth we have had in New
Jersey for many a year. How did it happen? How did one couple put
together a successful convention and revitalize an affiliate in
less than one week?
The answer can be found in two recent issues of  Positive Notes ,
a weekly publication which Don sends to the chapter presidents
and
other leaders in South Carolina. He first started publishing 
Positive Notes  in 1986, and he hasn't missed a week since. As
you read, consider the amount of effort expended over a two-week
period by the team of Capps and Capps. It goes a long way toward
explaining the power and prestige of the National Federation of
the Blind of South Carolina. Of course, quality of work counts as
much as quantity, but without quantity quality won't matter. Here
are excerpts from two issues of  Positive Notes , along with a
tribute to the President and First Lady of the National
Federation of the Blind of South Carolina:

                    Positive Note Number 196
                          May 17, 1990

Another busy week Last Thursday night (May 10, 1990) the head
of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind addressed the
Columbia Chapter. One hundred and thirty-one persons attended the
meeting, the largest turnout for the chapter in my memory.
Last Friday night we visited with the Aiken Chapter and discussed
their transportation needs since we are trying to help them. 
This past Monday morning Commissioner Gist and I went to Union to
attend a meeting. Our Union Chapter officers, Linda Scales and
Jeff and Eve Scales, had arranged a meeting with several city,
county, state, and federal officials. These officials included a
legislator,
the mayor, county commissioner, and the legislative aide to
Congresswoman Liz Patterson. The needs of Union County's blind
citizens were discussed, including awareness, education,
transportation, and employment. It
was the first trip of this nature that I have made with the
Commissioner of the Commission for the Blind in the
twenty-four-year history of the agency, and that should tell you
something.
Monday night we traveled to Florence to meet with our chapter
there and with Telephone Pioneers who sponsored a banquet. It was
a wonderful occasion. The Florence Chapter is renting a van for
its members to attend the National Federation of the Blind
convention in Dallas.  Tuesday night we were again on the road,
traveling to visit with and speak to the Oconee County Chapter.
As recently reported, this chapter has a traveling trailer
canteen. In its first outing it earned $300.  This chapter was on
the ropes three years ago but was reorganized at that time and
now has about thirty active members. It has more than $2,000 in
its treasury and is giving a scholarship at the state convention
for at least $500. Isn't that something? Its member, Mrs.  Marie
Yelajian, celebrated her ninety-fourth birthday at the chapter
meeting. She is a special lady, and I recall visiting with and
recruiting her for the chapter in April, 1987.
After attending this meeting we made the thirty-five-mile trip to
Rocky Bottom to spend the night. We were greeted by the Bells,
who were there looking after camp matters. The old dining hall is
now coming down, making way for the new Morris facility. Tonight
(Thursday, May 17) the Federation Center is having a fund raiser
in the form of a covered dish supper provided by the membership,
who also pay $5 per plate. The Center works hard to meet its
budget.
While we are glad a number of you have responded with your $28
deposit on the motels where we will be spending the night to and
from Dallas, we do need to hear from many others.

                    Positive Note Number 197
                          May 24, 1990

Today (Thursday, May 24, 1990) the National Federation of the
Blind of South Carolina is a bigger, better, and stronger
organization than it was a week ago when I dictated the weekly
positive note. This is because on Saturday evening, May 19, the
Greater Summerville Chapter
of the NFB of South Carolina was established. Thus, the Greater
Summerville Chapter becomes the thirty-first chapter,
representing continuing phenomenal growth of the NFB of South
Carolina. With the formation of the Greater Summerville Chapter,
our national organization is also now bigger, better, and
stronger since the addition of each and every chapter across the
nation strengthens the organized blind movement.  On January 19
Betty and I traveled to the Summerville area to make a
preliminary evaluation of the prospects of organizing a chapter. 
Exactly four months later the Greater Summerville Chapter became
a reality. However, the organizing of chapters requires ongoing
planning since names of prospective members in a given area are
carefully secured from a variety of sources. I found the blind of
the Greater Summerville area to be very receptive to the
Federation. It seemed that they were just waiting for someone
with an attractive program and with enough energy to establish a
local organization in the area. The NFB of South Carolina has
those programs and needed energy to attract new chapters. 
Twenty-six persons assembled at a downtown Summerville restaurant
Saturday evening, May 19, for a dinner meeting, and some two
hours later the blind enthusiastically joined the Federation and
now had their own local organization. This was the culmination of
our calling on the blind of the area for two days, May 18 and 19.
I believe the NFB of South Carolina probably has more chapters
than any other state affiliate of the national organization, but
whether it does or not,
more chapters are planned for the future as continuing growth is
assured.  The new chapter has excellent officers, who are as
follows: President, Mrs. Lorraine McDonald; Vice President, Mrs.
Freda Hucks; Secretary, Shirley Council; Treasurer, Mrs. Wanda
Korpanty; and Social Director, Mr. Clement Singleton. The new
chapter immediately adopted a project of selling NFB of South
Carolina World's Finest Chocolates to begin earning funds for its
treasury. The chapter will expand since there are a number of
prospective members who expressed the desire to be
a part of the organization but were prevented from attending the
organizing dinner. Congratulations to our new Greater Summerville
Chapter, and welcome into the ever growing NFB of South Carolina
family.
Tuesday night I spoke to the Greenville Chapter, which is also
growing.  Patricia Tuck is the newly elected president of that
chapter, succeeding Mrs. Rosa Robinson, who did an outstanding
job during her presidency.  Final thought:  There are three kinds
of friends. One wants you to do something for him. Another does
nothing especially for you and expects nothing in return. The
third always seeks nice things to do for you, expecting nothing
in return. 
                        OPEN MEETINGS AT 
FLORIDA SERVICES FOR THE BLIND, NAC STYLE
Most people know that fairness and the appearance of fairness are
two different things. This principle is so thoroughly established
that the Code of Ethics for lawyers discusses both. Those who
practice law are required not only to be fair but to avoid the
appearance of unfairness.
The Division of Blind Services (DBS) of the Florida Department of
Education has been accredited by the National Accreditation
Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped
(NAC). NAC accreditation was once touted as an indicator of
quality services.
However, rather than providing a kind of Good Housekeeping Seal,
association with NAC has come to be recognized as a badge of
another sort. Of course, not everyone who has ever associated
with NAC has been tarnished by its heavy-handed procedures and
irrelevant standards, but most have. Consequently, the current
set of revelations from the Florida Division of Blind Services is
not particularly astonishing. After all, this agency is
NAC-accredited what would be more consonant with NAC behavior
than shaky ethics and shady practice?
The Division of Blind Services is preparing a report for the
legislature.  Part of the process requires the agency to seek
input from the clients or potential clients, those who have a
right to be served by the agency.  Consequently, public meetings
must be held, in which the views of the blind can be gathered. It
seems obvious that organizations of the blind should be included
in such a process, and of course, the general public should also
be informed so that concerned individuals can participate. This
would be the fair way to handle the matter.

Carl McCoy has recently become the agency's director. His long
association with NAC is painfully obvious in the way he has
handled the public hearings regarding the agency's performance.
DBS prepared and distributed a television spot for broadcast.
However, the stations were told to
hold the announcement until the day of the meeting. Thus, agency
administrators could claim that the public had been invited to
participate without their having to deal with any unexpected
opinions. They could trot out the television spot to demonstrate
that public notice had been given, even though there was no
opportunity for the public to come.  Shady? Underhanded? Read the
correspondence, and examine the behavior of the agency for
yourself. Our forceful president in Florida, Marilyn Womble, has
taken the agency to task. Is it any wonder that the Florida
Division of Blind Services is critical of the National Federation
of the Blind? Is it a surprise that agency officials don't want
to
hear comments from consumer representatives whom they have not
hand-picked?  Here is the correspondence disclosing the facts:
                                               Homosassa, Florida
                                                   April 12, 1990

The Honorable Robert Crawford
President
Florida Senate
Tallahassee, Florida

Dear President Crawford:
As President of the National Federation of the Blind of Florida,
I
am writing to you to bring to your attention certain facts
surrounding the formulation of a report being delivered to you by
the Department of Education, Division of Blind Services.
The Division of Blind Services (DBS) held meetings around the
state for the purpose of seeking input from the blind regarding
needs in the area of blind services. Ostensibly, these meetings
were held in regional areas, consisting of several adjacent
counties, and were open to all blind residents.
One of these meetings was scheduled for Gainesville, Florida, in
November, 1989. I was contacted by an employee of a Gainesville
television station who was concerned about the unusual manner in
which the meeting was advertised. As you can see from the
enclosed copy of the public service announcement sent to the
station by DBS, although the text invites all blind residents to
attend, the instructions to the station clearly restrict the
airing of the announcement to the day of the meeting.  Concerned
that it must be a mistake, the employee called DBS and was
advised that it was no mistake. He was told that airing it
earlier might cause too many to attend and that DBS had already
invited specific participants and didn't want additional blind
persons.
I wrote to Education Commissioner Castor to seek explanation and
remedial action since this limitation clearly violated the
Sunshine Law and amounted to a fraud's being perpetrated on the
Florida Legislature.  See enclosed copy of letter by Betty
Castor. Mr. Carl McCoy, Director of the Division of Blind
Services, answered my letter to Commissioner Castor. As you can
see from the enclosed copy, he confirms the method used in
contriving the public forum.
I have recently been informed by Mr. Whit Springfield, Assistant
Director of the Division of Blind Services, that DBS has
concluded its regional meetings and will shortly be providing its
findings and recommendations, based on the public forums, to the
legislature.
Obviously, any findings or recommendations resulting from these
sham public forums are useless since the constituency was hand-
picked and the general public was systematically excluded. It
appears DBS believes the best way to avoid dissent is not to
invite those who
may disagree. This may make for smooth and easy meetings, but it
rarely produces an accurate picture.
I don't understand the attitude of DBS in structuring these
fraudulent meetings, and I don't understand why Commissioner
Castor continually referred my criticisms of DBS to that agency's
Director. I urge you
to take steps to ensure that DBS's contrived report is not given
credence in the Legislature.


                                                       Sincerely,
                                        Marilyn Womble, President
                                 National Federation of the Blind
                                                       of Florida


cc: Marc Maurer, President, NFB
All Florida Senators
____________________
That was the cover letter Marilyn Womble sent to Florida state
senators.  Here is the DBS District Manager's memo to television
stations and the spot announcement:


                                             Gainesville, Florida
                                                 November 2, 1989


ATTN.: Station Manager
WCJB - TV 20
Gainesville, Florida

RE: Public Service Announcement

Dear Station Manager:
Please broadcast the attached article as a Public Service
Announcement on Channel 20. It is specifically requested that the
article be aired  only  on the following date:

                   THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1989 

Your assistance is appreciated for ensuring that article will be
broadcasted on date indicated; please do not broadcast on any
other date.
Feel free to call upon me should questions or concerns arise
relative to this matter.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                   Henry J. Scott
                                                 District Manager
                                       Division of Blind Services

                   Public Service Announcement
                        for Broadcast on
                   THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1989

                Division of Blind Services Forum 

Florida Division of Blind Services will host a  Needs Assessment
Forum  at the Gainesville Hilton Hotel on November 30, 1989.
Blind and visually impaired residents from Alachua, Marion, Levy,
and Columbia counties will be given opportunity to express
opinions on issues which directly affect them in their daily
lives. Information gathered will be utilized by Blind Services in
planning services to address unmet needs of the visually
impaired. Division of Blind Services Director, Carl McCoy, will
deliver opening and closing remarks.

(Please  do not  broadcast any other date except on November 30,
1989.)

                                                    Submitted by:
                                 Henry J. Scott, District Manager
                                       Division of Blind Services
                                             Gainesville, Florida
____________________
There you have the text of the public service announcement and
the explicit directions for airing it. Now read Carl McCoy's lame
justification for stacking the deck in the agency's favor. Anyone
who has ever planned public meetings knows that there is always a
good chance that people will not attend unless they are very
happy about a program that they fear is about to be ended or very
unhappy about conditions as they are. Planners who are sincere
about hearing from their constituencies make every effort to
spread the word of the meeting as broadly as possible and
encourage everyone to come. Then, if they are still concerned
that not enough people will make the effort, they specifically
invite people from the groups they suspect will be under-
represented. That
is the fair way to invite open feedback. Here is Carl McCoy's
explanation of the DBS method of listening to consumers:

                                             Tallahassee, Florida
                                                November 29, 1989

Marilyn Womble, President
National Federation of the Blind of Florida

Dear Ms. Womble:
Commissioner Castor's office has requested that we respond
directly
to you regarding your letter to her dated November 16, 1989. We
appreciate your concern, and we are aware there has been some
misunderstanding regarding this process, particularly in
Gainesville.
We have, for many years, conducted public forums in order to
receive input from consumers. However, we have been somewhat
disappointed with this process because of its lack of structure
and failure to attract a wide range of consumers with different
priorities. Therefore, we elected to pilot a new approach to
needs assessment.
The Focus Group concept is a structured format allowing consumers
and other individuals impacted by our program an opportunity to
express needs and problem areas of service delivery. The process
calls for a group facilitator and group recorder, and ideal group
sizes are around 15 individuals. In order to effectively organize
and plan Focus Group sessions, a certain amount of assurance must
be obtained that participants will be on hand. In addition we
wanted to insure that parents and children had input, working age
individuals had input, and non-working individuals had input.
Therefore, we have arranged a format that allows a  minimum  of
three groups of 15 people with similar needs and concerns.
Given these circumstances, known consumers in the community have
been contacted and specifically asked to attend, but no one has
been turned away from a meeting or refused participation in the
process.  Please be aware that this is a pilot process for the
Division, and we are anxious to see how it will work. To date, we
have conducted two (2) focus group sessions. Two more will be
conducted in the near future. At that time we will review the
process and make any changes necessary to insure full
participation from all interested parties.  Following completion
of Focus Group sessions in all twelve districts,
we would expect to have had direct quality contact with over 600
consumers throughout the state. In addition we are prepared to
make telephone and mail surveys to add dimension to the needs
survey.
As the leader of a statewide organization of blind people, we
will certainly solicit your participation in the Focus Group
process which is scheduled in Tampa between January and March,
1990.
Please contact me if you have any further concerns or questions
regarding this new process. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Carl McCoy, Director
____________________
That is the letter Carl McCoy wrote to Marilyn Womble. True to
his word, garbled though his promise was by a misplaced modifier,
McCoy did see that Mrs. Womble was invited to the Tampa, Florida,
meeting.  Ted Hull, Manager of DBS's Tampa office, issued the
invitation with the admonition that she could speak only about
the problems that she herself had had with the Department for
Blind Services. Mrs. Womble pointed out that she is not a client
of the agency but that she speaks with hundreds of blind people
every year who are. That made no difference; if she had no
personal problems to discuss, she must remain silent.

The region served by the Tampa office covers seven counties, and
it has 1,200 blind people on its rolls. Only 900 of these
received written invitations to the meeting, according to Ted
Hull. When Mrs. Womble inquired about why the other 300 had been
overlooked and who they were, Hull admitted that he didn't know
and that he would look into the matter. Mrs. Womble could see no
reason to waste time attending a meeting at which she could not
speak, so she did not go.
Now the much ballyhooed report is out, and one can only hope that
members of the Florida Legislature will not depend heavily on it
in making their decisions. The Department worked hard to ensure
that its most astute and informed critics had no voice in the
compilation of the report. We can only hope that the Legislature
will notice the injustice and demand to hear both sides before
making judgments about the Department's future.
                FEDERATIONIST NAMED TRUSTEE OF   
FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR DEAF AND BLIND
 From the Associate Editor:  Melody Lindsey is a past National
Federation of the Blind scholarship winner. She has just been
graduated from Stetson University and is a leader in both the
Florida affiliate of the NFB and the national Student Division.
The Spring edition of
the  Blind Floridian,  the newsletter of the National Federation
of the Blind of Florida, reprinted a story about Melody Lindsey
first published in the  Florida Baptist Witness.
Monitor  readers will remember that the Florida School for the
Deaf and Blind has achieved national notoriety in recent years
because of profound problems in safely caring for the
institution's residential students. (See the March, 1989, issue
of the  Braille Monitor .) Changes are being made, however, and
the appointment of an energetic, bright blind consumer
representative to the Board of Trustees is in itself a positive
step. This is the way the  Florida Baptist Witness  reported the
story: 

Melody Lindsey, a 21 year-old Stetson University senior from
Stuart, Florida, has accepted an appointment from Governor Bob
Martinez to serve a four-year term as a trustee of the Florida
School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine.
Melody, who is a member of Tropical Farms Church in Stuart, will
graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in English. The
four-year commitment doesn't worry this young woman, who is
possibly the youngest person ever appointed to the board. She
says she has wanted to do something like this for a long time.
Melody is blind. In her application to Governor Martinez, she
pointed
out that only one of the seven trustees is blind, an unequal
representation, she believes. The school's charter states that
one of the trustees must be visually impaired and one must be
hearing impaired.
Founded in 1885, The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind is a
state-supported residential school for the visually and hearing
impaired. The school, which is tuition-free for Florida
residents, currently has 450 students.  The eldest of five girls,
Melody has been a champion of the blind
in Florida. Unlike many college students, her extra-curricular
activities do not include a long list of campus organizations.
She is a member of a sorority and the law fraternity, but the
largest slice of her time, other than for her studies, has been
dedicated to helping the blind.
She is a member of the National Federation of the Blind and
Second
Vice President of the organization's Florida affiliate. She is
President of the Florida Association of Blind Students.
It was at a recent State Convention meeting of the National
Federation of the Blind of Florida, in Miami, that she learned of
the open trustee position at the Florida School for the Deaf and
Blind. She was interested, and several of her friends encouraged
her to apply.  I didn't tell my parents at first, because I
wasn't sure I would get it,  she recalled.  As it became certain
that I was a contender, I told them. My parents, as always, were
very supportive. They were
one of the first ones I called when I received word. They are so
excited almost as much as I am! 
Education is very important to Melody, who views life as a
learning process. When looking at colleges or universities to
attend, her choices were Florida State University, Duke
University, or Stetson.   All three schools were equal, as far as
I was concerned, on the academic level,  she said.  When I
visited Stetson, I found the atmosphere to be more personal...and
the climate was better.   I think through college I've learned a
lot,  she said.  I've grown a lot spiritually. I've also
encountered a lot more tests...to my Christianity. 
 Those tests have been part of the learning process,  she
said.  I think overall it's helped me to grow, to become
stronger...just in knowing what I believe in and who I am. 
At Stetson, Melody found there were few obstacles for the blind.
It is easy for her to get around in her residence hall. When she
had made her decision to attend Stetson, Melody came a week early
to learn the campus and where her classes would be. She does it
all herself.  Though her path around campus and through life may
be a little more perilous than others, Melody said her faith
hasn't been tested any more than anyone else's.
 I've had my share of tough times but no more than anyone else. 
Melody started school at 4.  I guess they thought I'd have an
advantage by beginning sooner, and they sent me to Hobe Sound
Bible Academy,  Melody said.  School is all I've ever known.  In
addition to her work with the organizations of the blind, Melody
has another interest, sort of a hobby, as she puts it.  I enjoy
local, state, and national politics,  she said.  I grew up in a
political family, and I want to remain involved. 
The daughter of Barbara and Richard Lindsey of Stuart, Melody
says her parents have run for public office. Her mother was a
state leader of the Republican Party.  It was fun just being
involved in a campaign,  Melody said.  My parents have worked in
several political campaigns. It becomes a family project. 
Melody said she is planning to travel for a year after graduation
and then apply to law school or maybe a graduate program in
special education.
                          BOOK  REVIEW: 
 A HANDBOOK FOR ITINERANT AND RESOURCE TEACHERS 
OF BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 
From the Associate Editor: From time to time this year you have
read in these pages references to a new publication:  A Handbook
for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually
Impaired Students  by Doris Willoughby and Sharon Duffy. The
first copies arrived at the National Center for the Blind in
January, 1990, and I was among the earliest to put down my $20 to
purchase a copy.  For the past five months it has been my
consolation. Whenever I get depressed and angry about the
injustice and discrimination still faced by blind people, I read
another chapter or two of this book. In my position as Associate
Editor of the  Braille Monitor  I hear
a good number of the horror stories, and I write about many of
them.  But this book restores my faith that things can change
that out there a few wise and dedicated teachers are doing a good
job of giving blind youngsters the tools they need.
At last we have a text to recommend to college and graduate
students in special education who really want to learn to do
things right.  Here is a reference guide for parents who know
that they don't know what is best for their children and
recognize that they must become knowledgeable if their youngsters
are to reach their full potential.  Now the teachers who are
looking for more good ideas or who know that they are floundering
in waters too deep for them have a desktop manual bursting with
suggestions and information.
It is our job to see that all these people learn about this book.
That means talking with acquisitions librarians at university,
college, and public libraries. School administrators should learn
about it, and university instructors and students should hear the
word from enthusiastic blind people and parents of blind
children. The solution in most cases is not to purchase books and
present them to libraries, university programs, and teachers.
Most of us do not appreciate what we have not sacrificed, at
least a little, to obtain. The book will be taken more seriously
if we enable it to sell itself. I have handed my copy of the book
to potential purchasers for examination. I have also photocopied
the dust jacket reviews and the table of contents to send to
people at some distance. Lorraine Rovig, a librarian by training,
has written a brief review aimed at the professional audience. 
Print copies of it are available from the Materials Center at the
National Center for the Blind. It is an excellent way of getting
a short description of the text into the hands of those who
should know about it.
For the sake of blind children today and tomorrow, we must spread
the good news about this wonderful book. Here is Lorraine Rovig's
review:

Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and
Visually Impaired Students by Doris M. Willoughby and Sharon L.
M. Duffy, NFB, Copyright, 1989, 533 pages.
* Illustrated, black & white photos, bibliography, appendices.


* ISBN 0-9624122-0-1 
371.91'1 
HV1631.W54 1989

* Softcover: $20.00 plus $3 shipping and handling from NFB. 
(Checks, money orders, credit cards, purchase orders from
agencies; no C.O.D.)

Blind or visually impaired students are such a small part of the
school-age complement of any school district that few classroom
teachers, school administrators, or other school personnel have
had any experience
with them. Teachers who have gone through specialized courses at
universities to obtain their state's  VI Certification  find that
in the real world of working day by day with visually handicapped
children, their college classes only began the training. The
teachers, the parents of these handicapped children, and the
children themselves must often  reinvent the wheel  for lack of
information on how other such children succeed in the
multitudinous tasks involved in a modern education. This 
Handbook  by teachers Willoughby and Duffy provides help that has
long been needed in an easily read format.
Both authors have many years of experience and complementary
backgrounds for the task of compiling the largest, most practical
handbook yet written on the subject. Doris M. Willoughby taught
for eleven years
in a regular second grade in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before becoming
certified to teach blind and visually impaired children. She then
taught in this specialized field for three years as a resource
room teacher, followed by fourteen years as an itinerant teacher,
a profession in which she continues.
Sharon L. M. Duffy has been blind all her life. Having attended
both a residential school for the blind and a public school, she
brings personal knowledge of the point of view of a blind student
to her professional qualifications. Miss Duffy has taught Braille
and cane travel for many years, as well as other independent
living skills, in Iowa, Idaho, Chicago, and now, New Mexico.
Miss Duffy has helped blind children and adults learn how to cope
with every type of travel problem from getting around  the
back 40  cornfield to riding the downtown subway. Her clear
directions on successful methods of teaching cane travel to
children from preschool age on up are accompanied by black and
white photographs, a sequential list of skills, a most intriguing
list of things not to do, and
many, many suggestions for providing variety while building in
success in a series of travel lessons.
The  Handbook  concentrates on teaching Braille from page 95
to page 140. These 45 pages are a must-read for teachers and
parents.  Willoughby and Duffy are outspokenly pro-Braille. Why
to teach Braille, when to teach, how to teach, what to do when
the student is having problems, or when the teacher is stumped
all are covered. Additional ideas for incorporating Braille in
the curriculum are found throughout the  Handbook .
All the topics one would expect in a book with this title are
covered.  There are chapters or subsections on:   Working in
Partnership
with Parents,  methods for success in mathematics, reading,
physical education, shop courses (co- authored by John Cheadle,
an innovative rehabilitation shop teacher),  Testing and
Evaluation,   Fitting in Socially,  science courses, geography,
use of computers, handwriting, use of low vision aids,  Home
Economics and Daily Living Skills,  dealing with multiple
handicaps, Public Law 94-142, understanding medical assessments,
and so forth. Each topic is written about in
a straightforward, narrative style divided with headings,
sub-headings, and lists, that allow the reader quickly to zero in
on needed data.  Let's look at the table of contents. Chapter 30,
pages 255-258, is
on  Notetaking.   That topic has the following divisions:  CLASS
NOTES Learning How Condensing A List of Directions to Give the
Blind Student; THE CLASSROOM TEACHER'S PRESENTATION; MATERIAL ON
THE CHALKBOARD; RESEARCH NOTES A List of Suggested Procedures by
Which to Teach this Skill; THE NOTEBOOK A List of Ideas for
Notebook Organization.
 Handbook  exceeds the expected with the kind of hard-learned
advice from the school of hard knocks that only master teachers
can provide. Willoughby and Duffy offer anecdotes, both positive
and negative, that should save every reader from at least one
mistake. Their clear directions and repertoire of ideas for each
of the subjects covered will be of help even to the experienced
teacher.
Unexpected in educational handbooks is the chapter of advice to
the newly graduated teacher on building a workable rapport with
other
school staff who work with  your  student. There are
serendipitous chapters on organizing one's professional
paperwork, on the use of sleepshades, on techniques for teaching
the use of a typewriter keyboard, and, in an appendix, a playlet
to enhance the understanding of sighted classmates.
Few resource room or itinerant teachers have much experience with
teaching the Nemeth Code. Yet it is the acknowledged Braille code
for mathematics and science. One lengthy appendix offers an  Easy
Guide to the Nemeth Code  while another teaches  The
Paper-Compatible Abacus. 
Two sections of the  Handbook  are specifically addressed to
the itinerant or resource room teacher who is blind or visually
impaired.  These chapters are not only a compendium of workable
ideas for the intended audience, but would be most useful reading
for blind students contemplating a professional career in any
field.
One more thing must be said.  Handbook for Itinerant and Resource
Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students  is exemplary
for its positive approach. The authors are pointed in their
comments on educational approaches which build in defeatism. They
are equally forceful in presenting techniques, tasks, and
attitudes that will assist visually handicapped children toward
equality in the classroom and in their future adult life.
I recommend the purchase of  Handbook for Itinerant and Resource
Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students  to every
teacher, administrator, or parent who is concerned with providing
an equal educational opportunity to blind and visually impaired
children.           THE PALMER HOUSE REVISITED
 From the Editor:  Many of us look back with fond memories to the
NFB conventions at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago 1972, 1974,
and 1975. The Palmer House is a veritable aristocrat of hotels,
and most of its staff live up to the part. The dining, the
accommodations, and the treatment were elegant. 
 In planning for the 1972 convention the hotel staff and the city
fire marshal took elaborate precautions for our safety and
well-being.  They thought that since blind people would be
present by the thousands, raised maps of the premises would be
needed. At first the Palmer House personnel got their feelings
hurt because no one would take time to feel of their drawings,
but soon they were laughing along with the
rest of us at the misconceptions they had had. The same pattern
prevailed concerning other aspects of the convention. By the time
we came back in 1974, it was routine no special preparations, no
problems.   In view of this background the experience which
Curtis Chong had on a recent visit to the Palmer House is
particularly disappointing.  It underscores the problem we have
in educating the public and changing society's attitudes. The
task is not impossible as our continuing progress demonstrates,
but it is not easy and sometimes requires plowing the same field
over. Nevertheless, we are getting the job done, conversation by
conversation and letter by letter. Here is what Curtis Chong
wrote to Jim Claus, the General Manager of the Palmer House: 

                                           Minneapolis, Minnesota
                                                      May 4, 1990

Dear Mr. Claus:
I am writing this letter to recount an incident which occurred
while I was a guest at the Palmer House hotel. It relates to how
I, a blind person, was treated by your staff. It is not my
intention to be unduly critical. Rather, I hope, through this
letter, to improve your policies and procedures regarding the
treatment of blind guests at the Palmer House.
On Saturday, April 28, I checked into the Palmer House. As a
systems programmer, I was attending a three-day seminar on data
communications, which was being held at the hotel.
I checked in at the front desk and, as many guests do, asked for
a
bellman to assist me with my luggage. My request was cheerfully
accommodated, and the bellman and I boarded the elevator. While
on the elevator, this announcement was made over the two-way
radio that the bellman carried:  Attention all units. Stand by
for a general broadcast announcement. We have a blind guest in
the hotel. His last name is Chong. His room number is 18210. I
repeat, we have a blind guest in the hotel. His last name is
Chong. His room number is 18210. 
I was rather taken aback by what was coming over the radio. The
bellman
said that it was  standard operating procedure  for such
announcements to be made about people in my situation. (It was
clear that he meant my blindness.) He went on to tell me that it
was necessary for hotel staff to be aware of certain guests so
that in the event of an emergency, they could be provided with
assistance should evacuation of the hotel become necessary.
I have stayed at many hotels in many states around the country.
Never once have I been the object of a general broadcast which
presumes that I have no more competence than a child or a
helpless invalid.  Not a single staff person at your hotel
bothered to ask me if, indeed, I wanted or needed any special
assistance during a hotel emergency.  It was automatically taken
for granted that I, a blind person, would be unable to fend for
myself should a disaster strike.
In all the hotels where I have stayed, it has generally been
assumed that I need no more assistance than any other guest. In
fact, with respect to blind people, this assumption ought to be
taken for granted.  Suppose there really is an emergency and the
hotel has one or more
guests who happen to be blind. Unlike people with some other
disabilities, blind people are not restricted to elevators or
ramps. We can, with perfect ease, locate and use any stairwells
provided for emergency evacuations, or any other facility in the
hotel for that matter. Any policy which assumes that a blind
guest will wait patiently in his or her room for some obliging
hotel staff person to come along simply cannot be regarded as
being in accord with reality. It simply doesn't work that way.
In this last decade of the twentieth century increased attention
is being paid to persons with disabilities. Unfortunately this
has resulted in the conglomeration of all disabled people into a
single group referred to as  the handicapped.  This simplistic
approach ignores the all too obvious fact that people with
different disabilities,
or characteristics if you will, possess a wide range of talents,
abilities, and requirements for assistance. For example, while a
person who is deaf may require a flashing indication that the
phone is ringing, a blind person obviously does not. While a
person in a wheelchair may require assistance negotiating a
stairwell, a blind person does not.
When viewed in historical perspective, my experience at your
hotel and the offensive two-way radio announcement that was made
about the  blind guest  is surprising. Your fine hotel was used
as the headquarters hotel for no less than three national
conventions of the blind. In 1972, 1974, and in 1975 the National
Federation of the Blind held conventions at the Palmer House.
Literally thousands of blind delegates from all over the country
attended those conventions.  I myself was one of those delegates,
and I have many fond memories of your hotel. You can understand
why, in light of the foregoing,
I had hoped to receive better treatment from the Palmer House of
all places. I naturally took it for granted that hotel management
had learned something from the experiences of accommodating three
national conventions of the blind.
The mere fact that a practice is a  standard operating procedure 
does not make it right. Before the civil rights movement it was 
standard operating procedure  for some hotels in the South to
deny rooms to persons who were black. Today, in a somewhat more
enlightened era, no self-respecting hotel would even consider
denying a room to a person for that reason. It is high time for
the Palmer House to re-examine its policies and procedures
dealing with the blind.
Let me say in all fairness that the two-way radio announcement
made about the  blind guest  was the only offensive experience
I encountered with the Palmer House hotel staff. In every other
respect hotel staff treated me with propriety and courtesy.
However, I do believe that steps need to be taken to correct your
current policies and procedures regarding the treatment of blind
guests.
First of all a policy should be adopted which clearly states that
blind guests are to be treated exactly like other guests,
requiring no more in the way of help, concern, and assistance.
Secondly, to prevent future occurrences of inappropriate
treatment
of blind guests, hotel staff should be provided with positive
information about blind people and blindness. In this regard you
should contact the National Federation of the Blind at 1800
Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230; phone: (301) 659-9314.
For local assistance you may get in touch with the National
Federation of the Blind of Illinois.  Its President is Stephen O.
Benson, 3032 North Albany Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60618. The
phone number to call is (312) 267-1123.
As I said at the beginning of this letter, I am writing not to be
unduly critical but to press for positive change. Hotel policy
regarding the treatment of blind guests needs to be modernized.
Hotel staff
need to understand that blindness is totally different from
paraplegia, deafness, or any other disability. I believe and
understand that the Palmer House prides itself on the quality of
the service it provides to its guests, and I believe that you are
not deliberately trying to give offense to people who are blind.
However, the best way that the Palmer House can serve the
interests of its blind clients is to treat them as normal,
competent, human beings.

                                                 Yours sincerely,
                                                     Curtis Chong

cc: Stephen O. Benson, President
    National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
Marc Maurer, President
   National Federation of the Blind
Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director
   National Federation of the Blind
                 A VICTORY FOR VIRGINIA VENDORS
                       by Charles S. Brown
 Charles Brown is the President of the National Federation of the
Blind of Virginia and a member of the Board of Directors of the
National Federation of the Blind. Here is his account of a recent
victory for the vendors of Virginia. 
What organization or group really helps vendors when it counts?
This is a fair question one which the vendors of the nation
should consider carefully and objectively. Recent developments in
the state of Virginia give a clear-cut, indisputable answer.
Eighty thousand dollars is a sizable sum of money. A thousand
dollars in the pocket of each vendor is not to be taken lightly.
Here is how it happened.
In early April of 1990 the NFB of Virginia helped Virginia's
Randolph-Sheppard Act vendors obtain the return of $80,000 from
the Virginia Department
for the Visually Handicapped (VDVH) and its nominee, Business
Opportunities for the Blind.
The case arose as a result of a meeting on vendor issues called
by
Ed Peay, President of the Blind Merchants Division of the NFB of
Virginia.  I attended that meeting in Richmond on March 9, 1990.
Many concerns were expressed, including the need to make the VDVH
give more than
lip service to the rights of vendors to have  active
participation  in the management of the program. Vendors were
also concerned about the tendency of the VDVH and its nominee to
build its own bureaucracy with money collected from the earnings
of the vendors. A symptom of these problems involved the agency's
attempt to transfer $80,000 from one reserve account in order to
create a new reserve account.
It seems that the money in question was no longer needed in the
management fringe benefits reserve account. It also seemed
reasonable for the vendors to assume that money no longer needed
for the purposes for which it had been originally intended would
be returned to them. The VDVH had other ideas. They wanted to set
up a brand new reserve account.  The problem is that the
Randolph-Sheppard Act is pretty clear on the point that the state
agencies are not supposed to be collecting money from vendors
beyond the reasonable needs of the program.
Shortly after the vendor meeting the NFB of Virginia prepared the
necessary paperwork for Joe Shankle to file a complaint
challenging the VDVH on its proposed transfer of $80,000. Joe
Shankle is Chairman of the Virginia Vending Facility Vendors'
Council. He is also an active Federationist. After Mr. Shankle's
complaint was filed, many other Virginia vendors filed similar
complaints by executing documents prepared by the Federation. A
number of these vendors, like Mr. Shankle, asked the Federation
to represent them. Meanwhile a preliminary hearing date was set
in the original Shankle case, and the NFBV was eagerly looking
forward to presenting his case. Then, just before our state
convention began on April 6, acting VDVH Commissioner Don Cox let
Mr. Shankle know that he was willing to settle the case and
distribute the $80,000 to the vendors, as we and the vendors had
requested. This means that each of the state's vendors received
about $1,000.
The Federation has had a long-standing commitment to work for
Randolph-Sheppard programs that stress maximum participation by
vendors in program management as well as maximum independence for
vendors with respect to the use
of their hard-earned dollars. I believe that this latest victory
serves to underscore our Federation commitment. There are many
reasons why we need the National Federation of the Blind and
especially there are many reasons why the blind vendors of the
nation need it. But
the vendors of Virginia save a lot of unnecessary discussion by
giving a simple answer, $80,000.
  SEVILLE ALLEN ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE  VIRGINIA BOARD FOR THE
VISUALLY HANDICAPPED
                       by Charles S. Brown
 As  Monitor  readers know, Charles Brown is the President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and a member of the
Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. 

On April 28, 1990, the Virginia Board for the Visually
Handicapped unanimously elected Federationist Seville Allen to
serve as the Board's chairman, effective July 1, 1990. The
Virginia Board for the Visually Handicapped is the seven-member
body that supervises the operation of the Virginia Department for
the Visually Handicapped. From all appearances, Ms. Allen's
victory that day was relatively easy. Appearances can, however,
be deceiving. In fact, this victory was the result of more than
twenty years of hard work by the blind of Virginia.
In 1978, when I first became President of the National Federation
of the Blind of Virginia, the affiliate had already been working
for some time to see if we, the largest organization of the blind
in the Commonwealth, could obtain at least some representation on
the Board for our state agency. In those days Bill Coppage was
the director
of the agency, and he was, to say the least, no friend of the
Federation.  The Board at that time pretty much acted as a rubber
stamp for Mr.  Coppage's decisions. He was very active in the
American Foundation for the Blind and in NAC. During his tenure
as the agency's director
he served at one time or another on the boards of each of those
organizations.  It was therefore no surprise to the
Federationists that none of our candidates for the Board was ever
appointed, no matter how qualified they were. It also didn't seem
to matter how many letters were written to the Governor on behalf
of our candidates  the Governor always found someone else to
appoint. Meanwhile the Board continued to be out of touch with
the blind population of Virginia. Board meetings were described
by the Board's chairman during that period as  just like Lions'
meetings. 
In any case, we kept at it. By the mid-1980s we had become more
active as an organization in a wider array of state issues,
making more friends at higher levels. Meanwhile in 1986 newly
elected Governor Gerald Baliles decided to remove Mr. Coppage and
appoint John McCann to replace him as Commissioner of the
Department for the Visually Handicapped.  While Virginia's blind
people did not weep over the departure of Mr.  Coppage, they
certainly did not rejoice at Mr. McCann's appointment.
He was relatively new to Virginia and had very little previous
management experience. He was also very much identified with the
American Council of the Blind, a group with limited support in
Virginia. In spite of our misgivings, it was our desire to try to
work with Mr. McCann,
and we wished him success in his important new position. During
Governor Baliles' tenure, however, we formed a close working
relationship with his Secretary for Health and Human Resources,
Eva S. Teig. She even expressed some appreciation for our desire
to have true representation of the blind on the Board. While that
did not come about initially, more attention was being given to
the need to appoint quality members to the Board. And as a whole
the Board became much more effective
in exercising its oversight role. Then, all of a sudden in the
summer of 1988 there was an unexpected resignation for this
position. We moved quickly to nominate Seville Allen for this
position. Also at that time it was becoming apparent that
Commissioner McCann was in serious trouble. It was therefore
doubtful that he could have blocked Ms. Allen's appointment even
if he had tried. In any event Seville Allen was appointed to the
Board by Governor Baliles in September of 1988.
Ms. Allen was, of course, an excellent choice. She had served two
terms on the agency's advisory committee on services, including a
stint as chairman of that body. She was also serving as a member
of the Arlington County Commission on Citizens with Physical
Disabilities.  In addition, she was and is very active in the
Federation and known and respected by blind people throughout
Virginia. She has for some time served as an elected member of
the board of directors of the
NFB of Virginia, as the editor of our affiliate newsletter the 
NFBVigilant , and as president of our Potomac Chapter.
Since her appointment, Seville Allen has done her homework and
made a number of significant contributions to the Board's
deliberations.
The Board has had a lot to deal with. In the spring of 1989
Commissioner McCann resigned. He was replaced by Nell Carney, who
served for three months before moving on to become Commissioner
of the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration in
Washington, D.C. Upon Ms. Carney's departure,
a long-time employee of the agency, Don Cox, was named Acting
Commissioner.  In January of 1990 a new governor, L. Douglas
Wilder, was inaugurated.
His administration has conducted a nationwide search for a new
commissioner an approach originally recommended by the NFB of
Virginia. An announcement as to Governor Wilder's choice for
commissioner is expected soon.  While all of these personnel
changes were taking place, the Department for the Visually
Handicapped, with the approval of the Board, was also called upon
to issue revised regulations governing most of the agency's major
programs. Further, the Board undertook a review of the usefulness
of the agency's long-standing association with NAC, which began
back in the Coppage era.
During these difficult times Ms. Allen's colleagues have come to
know her as we have known her a constructive voice for positive
change in programs affecting the lives of blind Virginians.
Accordingly, on April 28, 1990, when the current Board chairman,
Paul Bullock, announced that he would not seek re-election to the
position, the Board turned to Ms. Allen for leadership, even
though she is still a relatively junior member. This continues to
be a time of challenge and transition for the Virginia Department
for the Visually Handicapped.  The blind of Virginia are
confident that Seville Allen is well prepared for her important
new leadership role.
                                 
BLIND WOMAN'S TOOLS AID SUCCESS
 Karen Edwards was a 1984 winner in the National Federation of
the Blind Scholarship program. Today she is a leader in the New
Mexico affiliate as well as a devoted wife and mother. In
addition she works at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In all
these activities she lives her Federationism. On March 31, 1990,
the  Journal North , the section of the  Albuquerque Journal 
delivered to the northern half of New Mexico, printed a story by
Camille Flores about Karen, which captures her philosophy of life
and of blindness. Here it is: 


At 28, Karen Edwards has a great career, a happy marriage, and a
beautiful child. She's attractive, athletic, and smart. And,
incidentally, she's blind.
Blindness is incidental to her busy life because she's developed
such a bag of tricks to compensate for the handicap. She says it
hasn't stopped her from doing anything she's ever really wanted
to do.  Next month she'll fly to California for a business
conference, and
she says her boss at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) never
hesitated before asking her to go.
 If there's a job that needs to be done, they trust me enough to
know I'll find a way to do it,  says Edwards, who has been blind
since birth.
Edwards, who earned a master's degree in human resource
development from New Mexico State University, is an
administrative specialist who helps design employee programs from
hiring to training at the lab.
Her work space is filled with equipment that helps her overcome
the blindness, but it's not a crutch, she says.
 Karen does her own research to come up with tools that can make
her more productive, and so does everyone else at the labs,  says
LANL computer consultant Nick Blackwell.
 Other people here have scanners, devices that read documents and
transmit them into computer memory, but Karen makes better use of
hers,  he says.
After the scanner puts information into her computer, Edwards
uses a Braille printer to read it. Edwards says a positive
attitude and surrounding herself with positive people enable her
to accomplish so much.
 About 70 percent of blind adults are unemployed, and it's mostly
because sighted people find the idea of blindness so
overwhelming;
they just assume we can't do the job,  says Edwards, who is
president of the LaLuz chapter (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los
Alamos counties) of the National Federation of the Blind.
Edwards earned a bachelor's degree in speech pathology, also from
NMSU. She says faculty members were so negative about a blind
person working with children, she feared they wouldn't allow her
to go on to advanced studies.
 All they did was point out the obstacles, and when I addressed
their concerns, they found some more,  she says.
Instead of giving up, she found human resource development as an
area where she could make a contribution and where people were
willing to give her a chance.
But once out of graduate school, she began to fight the
prejudices of potential employers.  I received one rejection
after another.  My self-esteem was at its lowest,  she recalls.
Edwards, who was born and reared in Los Alamos, always dreamed of
working for Los Alamos National Laboratory. But she was rejected
there, too. Then one day she ran into her former junior high
school counselor, now employed by the lab, who  became my mentor.

 We met once a month, and she educated me about the labs in
general and, specifically, how to market myself. I would make
appointments to talk to people here so they could meet me and
learn what I could do,  says Edwards, who has worked at LANL for
the past 14 months.  But work is only part of her life. She's
happy to answer questions about how she manages a home, family,
and social life.
About child-rearing and housework:  My home life is so very
typical,  she says.  Other than Braille cookbooks, I use very few
special tools. Mostly it's just techniques I've learned over the
years.  She loves to read to her daughter Krista and uses printed
books with Braille overlays. She and her husband Randy, who also
works for LANL as a chemical technician, drive the 2 1/2-year-old
to the baby sitter together every day.
About clothing and make-up:  My mom and I love to shop and have
the same taste in clothes,  she says.  I only need help with
color, and I can do the rest. 
Edwards' mom, Marty Arrelano, is a beauty consultant for Mary Kay
cosmetics. She advises her daughter about color.
How about social life?  Skiing and cycling!  she says. Randy
leads her down the slopes, and the couple tool around Los Alamos
on a tandem bike.
Edwards says her parents are responsible for her willingness to
work, and sometimes suffer, to succeed.
When Edwards was 5, her mother and father Jose took her to
Alamogordo, to the state school for the visually handicapped.
 I literally broke their hearts,  she says, remembering that it
took two matrons to hold her down as her parents turned to leave. 
 Even then, I understood that, as soon as I learned the
techniques that would enable me to live in the sighted world, I
could come home.  She returned to Los Alamos in the fifth grade.
Then she attended Los Alamos Middle School, where a single
teacher was willing to take her into the classroom.
 She had no background, no training to help her teach a blind
child. She just had a lot of guts and a willingness to help me, 
Edwards remembers.
By the time she entered Los Alamos High School, she was a
well-adjusted student. Edwards and her husband were high school
students together, attended college together, and have been
married for five years.  Edwards says life is so wonderful that
there's hardly anything she's really wanted to do that she hasn't
done.
 Well, there is one thing,  she admits.  I tried to ride Randy's
motorcycle in a shopping center parking lot once and failed
miserably stitches and everything.  Not even a positive attitude,
she says, could make her want to try that again.
                      IS SPECIAL DESIRABLE?
                       by Susie L. Stanzel
 Susie Stanzel is the Treasurer of the National Federation of the
Blind of Kansas and President of the affiliate's Johnson County
Chapter.  This article appears in the Spring, 1990, issue of the 
Freestate News,  the publication of the NFB of Kansas. 

As individuals in our society, each one of us wants to know
he/she is a special person. This starts at birth and continues to
grow as we do. Each baby wants a great deal of attention, and if
the baby thinks he/she is not receiving enough attention, that
situation is soon changed by crying.
As the child grows, this trend becomes increasingly evident. Each
child wants to carve his/her own niche. If this is not done by
good behavior, it is done by attention-getting naughty behavior.
This need to be special is particularly noticeable in certain
parts of our society. We as Federationists are trying to change
what it means to be blind. All of us from time to time either
consciously
or unconsciously use our blindness to draw attention to our 
special needs.  Some students, for example, want all the special
privileges and exemptions they can get, taking advantage of the
opportunity to
have course work or parts of course work waived because of their
blindness.  There are some colleges and universities that provide
note takers.  Students who are blind are capable of making these
arrangements themselves, thus gaining management skills and
preparing for their futures when that kind of service won't be
available. Instead, as human nature predicts, they take the  easy 
route.
Although there are times when preboarding an airplane is helpful,
it is a decision to be made by an individual and not regarded as
a special need and/or privilege just because one is blind.
It has come to my attention in these last few months that a blind
Lions club is being organized in the Kansas City metropolitan
area.  Why should there be a Lions club exclusively for blind
Lions when Lions is open to anyone who would care to join a club?
In a Baptist church in Wichita there is a special class for deaf
individuals.  Recently there has been a move to form a special
class for blind persons as well.
As another example of how blind persons receive special
treatment, some sighted and even a very few blind persons think
that auditory
traffic signals are surely a great help to the mobility of blind
individuals.  I do not mean to say in all of this that there are
no times when special treatment is good or desirable. However,
before accepting special treatment or privileges, we need to give
careful consideration to the price we will be paying for them.
What happens when we want to get regular jobs in the regular work
place? If the potential employer has observed all the special
accommodations needed by the blind to function (such as audible
traffic signals, university-provided note takers, etc.), it is
possible, even likely, that the applicant will not receive equal
consideration for the job, no matter what his/her qualifications
are. There are plenty of other well-qualified applicants out
there who do not need all that special assistance. On the other
hand, if the employer had seen blind persons who were taking
charge
of their own lives, taking all the courses, traveling about
independently, and managing ways to get class material, he/she
would be far more likely to give a blind individual's application
positive consideration.  Often sighted individuals feel
uncomfortable with blind persons, so they suggest either outright
or subtly that the blind should participate in activities with 
their own kind.  I have no problem with blind people
participating in activities together, but there are plenty of
opportunities to do that socially or in organizations such as the
National Federation of the Blind.
I believe my point is very clear by now. We want to be  equal ,
not  special . Discrimination takes many roads. You might be
given too many privileges or too few. What we in the National
Federation of the Blind believe is that  equal  is the only way
to go. Let's
all examine the circumstances under which we take advantage of 
special person status  and make sure that we don't pay too high a
price both for ourselves and our fellow blind.
     NEW JERSEY, LAND OF GREAT POTENTIAL by Donald C. Capps
 From the Editor:  Don Capps (President of the National
Federation of the Blind of South Carolina and a member of the NFB
Board of Directors) and his wife Betty are two of the most
dedicated, hard-working, and skillful Federationists in the
organization today. They have been members since the mid-fifties,
and Don has been a leader in the movement for about as long.
Betty, loyal wife and committed Federationist that she is, has
worked alongside Don steadily, and the two have become a team
that can and does accomplish miracles almost as a matter of
course. The following article recounts a case in point. It
describes the revitalization of a state affiliate; the
organization and execution of a state convention; and the
discovery of talented, committed new Federation leaders. All this
was done in a week a week that included a national holiday. Of
such as Don and Betty Capps is the Federation made. Here is the
way Don tells the story: 

I like a challenge; I always have. When challenged the most, I
work best. In early May I was contacted by our National Office.
There was a clear tone of urgency in the telephone call. I was
told that the then president of the NFB of New Jersey had
resigned her office, having accepted a position with the New
Jersey Commission for the Blind.  And, as if that were not
enough, I was also advised that the 1990 New Jersey Convention
had been scheduled some time ago for June 2 in Newark but that
nothing had been done about a convention program.

After hearing about this distressing situation, I was asked
whether or not I would be willing to go to New Jersey for the
express purpose of recruiting the best possible person to serve
as state president.  In addition, the assignment included
recruiting new members across the state and restoring the
vitality and enthusiasm of the affiliate.  It might even include
reorganizing the whole thing. On top of this
I would have the unenviable responsibility of putting together a
substantive convention agenda.
It was enough to make anyone say,  No thank you,  and suggest
hopefully that there must be someone else in the national
organization who could do the job, and do it better.
The National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina is one of
the biggest and busiest state affiliates in the country. As
president I have my hands full. Going to New Jersey would mean an
absence of
at least ten days. My May calendar listed a number of scheduled
events and commitments. In all honesty, I think that I could have
respectfully declined to go to New Jersey with reasonable
justification. However,
it seems to me that my service and responsibilities to my fellow
Federationists extend far beyond the borders of South Carolina.
After all, I have been a long-standing member of the Board of
Directors of the national organization, and even if I were not, I
would still have the responsibility and obligation as a caring
Federationist to do what I could to assist other state
affiliates.
Fully understanding the magnitude of the assignment which
confronted me, I accepted the New Jersey challenge, and I am glad
that I did.  From the Delaware River on the south to the Hudson
River on the north, and from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to
the Pennsylvania state line on the west, lies the land of New
Jersey with its six million residents and thousands of blind
persons. Arriving in Newark in northern New Jersey on Sunday
afternoon, May 27, 1990, we traveled for the
next week in search of prospective Federationists the length and
breadth of New Jersey the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State
Parkway, and mile after mile of the quaint back roads. Most of us
have heard of Newark, Trenton, New Brunswick, Camden, Atlantic
City, East Orange, Asbury Park, Jersey City, Hoboken, and
Princeton; but have you previously heard of Pleasantville,
Parsippany, Highland Park, Edison, Plainfield, Yardville, and
Freehold? Well, we visited all of these places, and others.
I talked to and got to know many blind citizens across the State
of New Jersey. Some had heard of the National Federation of the
Blind; others had not. It was apparent from my discussions with
them that
they had been given misinformation about the NFB from historic
adversaries, who seemingly believe that they are all-knowing
professionals and frequently demonstrate a big-brother mentality.
While all of us in the National Federation of the Blind know that
the blind have as many individual characteristics as the sighted,
there was one common thread in all of these contacts. After I
shared the successful fifty-year NFB story, the blind of New
Jersey liked what they heard and seemed merely to be waiting to
be approached.
By Wednesday, May 30 (three days after Betty and I had arrived in
Newark) the convention arrangements for the following Saturday
had been completed. Some thought it could not be done on such
short notice, but relying upon more than thirty years of putting
state conventions together and on carefully thought out contacts,
we were able to pull together a fine convention program. However,
an attempt to contact Gerald Boyle, Acting Director of the New
Jersey Commission for the Blind, concerning the convention was
unsuccessful. I placed a telephone call to Mr. Boyle on Tuesday
morning, May 29, but I was told that he was in a meeting and
would return the call. While I received many calls at the Gateway
Hilton, where I was headquartered, and many messages were left
for me while I was out, there were no calls or messages from Mr.
Boyle. After traveling throughout the state and talking with many
blind persons disenchanted with the New Jersey Commission for the
Blind, I concluded that perhaps it was just as well that Mr.
Boyle never contacted me.
We approached everyone we met who could make a significant
contribution to the convention, including successful blind
persons in the state.  By cultivating the understanding and
friendship of the Gateway Hilton Hotel management, I was able to
get all of the convention programs printed without charge,
including banquet tickets and convention badges.  The hotel even
agreed to give a $50 door prize for the lucky winner to dine in
their fancy restaurant. My son Craig made the short trip from New
York City to help out on the registration desk.
Before 9:00 a.m. on the day of the convention the delegates began
to arrive. It was soon clear that our contacts across the state
had paid off. There was an approximate 25-percent increase in
attendance over the 1989 convention turnout. A number of blind
persons who had never attended a New Jersey convention kept their
earlier commitments to me and proudly registered for the
convention. I made sure to greet each and every person, old and
new. It is important for people to feel that they are welcome and
that their presence is appreciated.

To learn more about prospective leaders, I made a point of
talking with as many people as possible to evaluate their
potential. By the time the convention got underway at 10:00 a.m.,
I had made up my mind about the person who (at least, in my
opinion) should serve as president of the NFB of New Jersey. I
was also clear on the others who (it seemed to me) should serve
as officers and board members.
In giving the National Report, I of course, talked about the
upcoming Golden Anniversary National Convention in Dallas,
telling delegates that the NFB had been working for a half
century to improve the quality of life for all blind Americans. I
emphasized the NFB's commitment
to education by pointing to the twenty-six scholarships to be
presented at the Dallas convention, amounting to some $100,000 in
all. I also discussed our successful Job Opportunities for the
Blind program,
through which hundreds of blind Americans have found competitive
employment.

I spoke of our monthly magazine, the  Braille Monitor , available
in four formats: Braille, cassette, flexible disk, and print. It
has the largest circulation of any publication in our field. As a
result of our visit, blind people across New Jersey  are being
placed on the  Monitor  mailing list. It is essential for the
blind in every state to be well-informed about matters vitally
affecting their lives, and the  Braille Monitor , the best
publication in the field, disseminates the kind of information
they need.
I told the convention that the National Center for the Blind is
the finest facility of its type in the country hosting seminars,
national board meetings, and gatherings of other national and
international committees and organizations. The expertise of our
members, including our staff at the National Center, enables us
to assist blind persons in all walks of life. At the very outset
the delegates were told that I was there in a volunteer capacity
and was proud to be there because I deeply cared about them.
In the banquet address I stated that the NFB was founded for the
express purpose of creating a new way of thinking by blind
persons. I told the delegates that our distinguished founder, Dr.
tenBroek, believed in the dignity of each and every blind person.
He maintained that all blind people have the right to reach their
true potential. I said that Dr. tenBroek believed that the blind
themselves know what is best for them and should, therefore, join
hands and work together to solve their common problems. With the
beginning of the NFB fifty years ago, a new and refreshing
philosophy emerged, based on the concept that with hard work and
opportunity blindness need not be a disaster and can be reduced
to a mere inconvenience. With the blind working together in a
spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, the common good of all the
blind is served.
During the business session of the convention, we thoroughly
discussed the future of the NFB of New Jersey. I spoke about the
tremendous potential of the New Jersey affiliate. From my
extensive travel across the state, it was clear to me that the
time is right for the establishment of several new chapters. The
blind of New Jersey are ready and willing to participate in the
Federation. I pointed out, however, that state and local leaders
must be willing to travel and to work hard. Regular board
meetings and frequent communication among officers and other
leaders are essential. Apathy must be replaced by enthusiasm and
energy.  Following the convention, there was a reception at which
the new leaders and members and those of long standing could get
better acquainted.  Mrs. Dorothy Cafone of Lyndhurst is the new
president of the NFB of
New Jersey. With her experience managing an oriental rug import
business for many years, Mrs. Cafone is well equipped to lead the
NFB of New Jersey into the future. As previously indicated, the
National Office wanted me to find the best possible person to
lead the New Jersey affiliate, and in Mrs. Cafone we have found
that person. Five of the nine-member state board are new to the
Federation. This board is well-balanced and unencumbered and
possesses a free spirit.
Hardly had I arrived back in South Carolina before I received a
telephone call from a new member of the NFB of New Jersey,
Stephen Rogers of Manasquan. He was already involved in
organizing a new chapter of the affiliate in the Monmouth County
area.
Yes, I am glad I went to New Jersey and met the challenge
head-on.  Federationists need to work together, and I predict
good things ahead for the New Jersey affiliate. Today the NFB of
New Jersey is much stronger than it was a few months ago, and
because of this our entire national organization has also been
strengthened. Truly, New Jersey is a land of great Federation
potential.
                                 
RECIPES 
From the Associate Editor: While the rest of the world thinks of
August as the last chance to enjoy the slow pace and warm weather
of summer, mothers (of younger school-age children, at least) are
pulling up their socks in preparation for another year of lunch-
packing or of supervising lunch-packing. My children's elementary
schools
did not have cafeterias; and, even by the time my three reached
middle school and the interminable lunch lines, they still didn't
like the food that was available. So, if I wanted them to eat
nutritiously in the middle of the day, it was the Snoopy lunch
box and later the brown bag for me.
I thought it would be good for their characters if after the
third grade they began packing their own lunches with advice and
assistance from me, while I was getting ready for work myself. We
eventually decided that making several loaves of bread into
sandwiches at one time and then freezing our handiwork in
individually wrapped packets worked better than getting up early
enough to make a sandwich each morning. Any filling that will
freeze can be used, but good old peanut butter and jelly is the
very best. Lettuce does not respond well to the cold, however,
and egg salad is a little dreary after it and its soggy bread
have thawed.
My rule was always that there must be both a sandwich and fresh
vegetables or a piece of fruit in the lunch. Adding dessert was
the children's prerequisite. The fruit could present problems. I
remember that we went through a period of orange smiles. I would
cut an unpeeled orange into wedges and pack it in a small plastic
container. The child could eat the pulp easily, and with the
outside of the peel clamped against the lips, an enterprising
youngster could startle friends and strangers with an orange
grin.
We also resorted to what, as a Girl Scout, I knew as walking
salads.  Mother cores an apple, and the child packs the hole with
peanut butter or peanut butter and raisins. This is a messy job
and is not recommended as a school morning activity for any but
the neatest, most coordinated child or the most patient mother.
Lori Duffy, President of the Ohio Parents Division, makes
vegetable cars out of sections of celery. Tooth picks can be
driven through
the celery to form the axles, and four carrot coins can then be
fitted on the ends of the picks for wheels. The celery is then
ready for a load of cream cheese or peanut butter. These works of
art survive the dangers of a lunch box best if they are protected
by a plastic container.
This brings us to dessert, the easiest part of a school lunch to
prepare ahead of time. Cookies and such things freeze well and
thaw quickly.  Even today I go into high gear with cookie-baking
in August. Teenagers are just as fond of cookies as smaller
children and are able to tuck away even more of them. College
students are the champion cookie-eaters of all time, however. It
comes of being starved for home cooking.
So today, because I find myself traveling a good bit, because I
still have one teenager at home and two other offspring requiring
CARE packages, and because my husband's Shakespeare students meet
once a week in
our living room, I still have a great need for a freezer full of
cookies.

One of the very best is the Monster Cookie recipe that I found in
the  Braille Monitor  a number of years ago. Using, as it does,
three pounds of peanut butter and a dozen eggs, it makes many,
many cookies; and they freeze very well. I also try to keep
pumpkin muffins on hand, though it is hard to do. They, too,
freeze well, and I believe that one could substitute whole wheat
flour for part or all of the white if one's youngsters would
stand for such tampering. Mine will
not. But the best thing about this recipe is that, if you
septuple yes,
I mean multiply by seven this recipe, you can use a whole
twenty-nine-ounce can of pumpkin. It produces dozens and dozens
of moist, spicy muffins, and if you get them into the freezer
promptly, you can dole them out for weeks in school lunches or as
after-school snacks. Here are some recipes to help you with your
school lunch preparations this fall.  Even if you aren't packing
those endless brown bags, these are worth trying.

                         PUMPKIN MUFFINS
 Ingredients 
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
l/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg,
freshly grated if possible
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup seeded raisins
sugar


 Method:  Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and cut in
the butter or margarine using a pastry blender or two knives used
scissor fashion. Stir in the raisins. In a small bowl combine
egg, milk, and pumpkin. Stir liquid into the dry ingredients just
until flour has been moistened. Line muffin tins with paper
muffin liners, and fill each one- half to two-thirds full of
batter. Sprinkle each muffin with a quarter teaspoon sugar. Bake
muffins at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes, until toothpick
inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins to a cooling
rack and freeze before family members discover how good they are
straight from the oven.

                       EVERYTHING GRANOLA
                         by Pat Eschbach

 Granola makes a great lunch time treat or after-school snack,
not to mention its widely recognized virtue as a breakfast food.
This recipe was provided by Pat Eschbach, who for years organized
hospitality at national conventions. 

 Ingredients: 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups instant dry milk
1-1/2 cups wheat germ
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup sesame seeds
6-10 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups raisins
1 cup oil
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons molasses

 Method:  Mix all dry ingredients in large roasting pan or any
large pan. Put honey, oil, and molasses in pan and bring to a
boil and pour over dry ingredients stirring constantly to mix
thoroughly.  Put on large cake roll pan (or cookie sheets that
have sides). Place in oven at 325 degrees and bake for 30
minutes. It is best to remove every 10 minutes and stir. Add the
raisins after the mixture has baked.  Cool and place in tightly
sealed containers and store in a cool dry place.

                                 
KRUNCHY KWICKIES
                       by Barbara Cheadle

 Barbara Cheadle is the President of the Parents Division of the
National Federation of the Blind. She has three children and has
packed thousands of lunches. 

 Ingredients: 
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
 Method:  Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Place water and oil
in small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well until oil is
emulsified.  Add to dry ingredients, mixing with a fork to
distribute moisture evenly. Work well with fork and press into
greased pan. Dough should be about 1/3 inch thick and well
pressed together to prevent crumbling.  Mark in squares with
knife before baking. Bake at 400 degrees until thoroughly dried
and slightly browned. Yield: 24 squares.

                       PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE
                        by Joyce Scanlan

Joyce Scanlan is the President of the National Federation of the
Blind of Minnesota and the Executive Director of BLIND, Inc., the
NFB Rehabilitation Center in Minneapolis. 

 Ingredients: 
7 oz. marshmallow cream
18 oz. jar of peanut butter
2 lbs. powdered sugar
large can evaporated milk
1 stick butter

 Method:  In saucepan combine milk and sugar. Cook over medium
heat until dissolved, add butter. Bring to boil and cook till a
small amount dropped from a teaspoon into a cup of cold water
forms a soft ball (about seven minutes). Remove from heat. Mix
peanut butter and marshmallows together in separate bowl. Pour
hot mixture over peanut butter and marshmallows. Mix well and
pour into buttered 13x9 inch pan. Chill.
                                 
 * * * MONITOR MINIATURES * * * 
**Chess:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:   Castle
, a quarterly cassette chess publication, is available. It
pertains to the interests of the blinded chess enthusiast. The
subscription is $9.00.  Chess Life , excerpted on cassettes, can
also be had free, but a one-time contribution of $7.50 is
solicited in order to defray the cost of production of the master
tapes. The contribution is optional. Upon request a cassette
catalog can be had at no cost listing the books in the Galloping
Knights, Inc. Library of Cassette Chess Books for the Blind.
Inquiries may be sent in Braille, on cassette, or in print to:
Gintautas Burba, 30 Snell Street, Brockton, Massachusetts 02401. 

**Cards and Songs:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:  I sell
Braille playing cards for $1.00 a rack pinochle style. I will
also sell Braille copies of my book,  Poems: Songs of Emotion 
for $5.00 a copy. Please contact me in Braille only: Ms. Gayle
Sabonaitis, 11 Maxwell Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01607. 

**Get Me Started:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement: Sighted
transcriber wants to buy Perkins Brailler in very good to
excellent condition.  Will prepay or reimburse shipping. Contact:
Dennis B. Adamson, 400 Lisbon Avenue S. E., Rio Rancho, New
Mexico 87124, or phone (505) 473-4482 days, or (505) 892-3850
evenings.

**Sell:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
For Sale - (1) VISTA display enlarger for the IBM and compatible
desktops.  Includes board, monitor cable, software, mouse, and
manual. Asking $800. (2) Hyundai XT compatible. 30 megabyte hard
drive and 1 internal 5.25 360 kilobyte floppy drive. Monochrome
monitor and VGA card. Includes Synphonix speech board and
Business Vision, also some useful DOS utilities and WordPerfect
5.0. Asking: $1,400. If interested, contact: Enrique Allenye, 25
Elmwood Avenue #2, Burlington, Vermont 05401, phone: (802)
865-3741.

**Proud to Be Part of It:
Mary Donahue, Federationist from San Antonio, Texas, writes under
date of May 14, 1990:
There is a victory for the National Federation of the Blind, and
in particular, the NFB of Texas! I will finally get my
orientation and mobility training without having to sign any
liability waivers from the Texas Commission for the Blind. The
person who will be working with me is a certain Betsy Harris, who
teaches some cane travel and is also a low vision specialist at
the Santa Rosa Low Vision Clinic here in San Antonio. From what I
heard from another teacher of blind children, she is a strong
advocate for cane travel. All I can say is: I am glad there is a
National Federation of the Blind, and I am proud to be a part of
it!

**Interested:
We recently received the following letter:
 Dear Sir: 
 I am a white widow, fifty-six years of age, with no dependents. 
I am a sighted person and have my driver's license. I am five
feet, two inches tall and weigh 140 pounds. I would like very
much to meet a blind gentleman who is ready for a committed
relationship. Maybe marriage. He must be between the ages of
fifty-five and seventy. Would
you happen to know of a blind man who would be interested? In
Massachusetts there are many singles dating clubs but none for
the blind and sighted singles to get together. Contact: Louise S.
Staples, Post Office Box 2012, Taunton, Massachusetts 02780-0969.


**Help When Needed:
We recently received the following letter:
 About two years ago an incident occurred in which MONITOR
readers might find interest. My husband and I were fortunate
enough to receive a kidney transplant for my husband at
Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh. We are both
blind. The question arose as to how to measure the cyclosporine
drug. Recalling the Diabetics Division, I
got in touch with the NFB main office and after several calls
contacted Ed Bryant of the Diabetics Division. He gave us
encouragement via the telephone during my husband's hospital
stay. He also sent us his article about the device he invented
which allows for self-measurement of the cyclosporine drug
without sighted assistance. We had researched the matter. We knew
of blind people who had pharmacists premeasure their dosage, but
we preferred this foolproof independent method.
We shared the magazine in which this article appeared with other
diabetic blind patients and medical staff at the hospital and
dialysis unit and elsewhere. All were glad to have his
information. It is two years now, and my husband's kidney is
great. From both of us a special thanks to Ed Bryant and to the
NFB for providing timely and useful help when we really needed
it. 

                                                      Sincerely, 
                                                 Tziporah Wishky 

**New Baby:
We recently learned of the birth of Paul James Posont. He was
born on May 15 at 6:55 a.m. Paul James weighed eight pounds and
six ounces and was twenty-one inches long. He has brown hair and
brown eyes.  We understand that baby Paul was in Dallas along
with Katie, Peter, Mom and Dad. Congratulations to Larry and
Donna Posont on the birth of Paul James.

**Creates Braille:
The following item appeared in the May 9, 1990,  New York Times :

                A Printer Translates Into Braille

A new computer printer can translate letters and numbers into
Braille characters and reproduce graphic images in relief, using
standard office paper. The first graphics printer for the blind
was introduced recently by Howtek, Inc., a Hudson, New Hampshire,
company that developed the machine in cooperation with the
National Federation of the Blind.  Software included with the
printer translates the alphanumeric fonts on the keyboard to
standard Braille fonts, and an optional program translates to
Grade 2 Braille, which contracts common prefixes and suffixes for
faster reading by the blind person. Standard personal computer
graphics software can be used to create maps, graphs, and
drawings.
What sets Howtek's Pixelmaster printer apart is its ink-jet
technology.  Developed to overcome the problems of evaporation
and clogging in liquid ink printers, Pixelmaster uses
plastic-based ink, which melts within the printer to a liquid but
solidifies instantly when it hits the page, leaving a slightly
raised dot, line, or other form. By jetting four images on top of
each other, the form is raised sufficiently to be read by a blind
person.
Tim Cranmer, director of technology at the National Federation of
the Blind, said  No other product in the market today has the
ability to print maps, charts, graphs, or images and Braille
fonts directly from a computer. 
Because the Pixelmaster prints alphanumeric characters along with
Braille, it is expected to facilitate communication for sighted
persons working with the blind. The printer has a retail price of
$5,675,
which includes the Braille translation software. It is being
distributed through dealers specializing in the market for the
blind.

**Cookbook Available:
We have been asked to carry the following: The NutraSweet Company
has created a 60-page collection of Equal sweetener recipes
printed in large type and Braille, now available to visually
impaired and
blind consumers at no cost. It features low-calorie recipes for
appetizers, beverages, entrees, salads and desserts. These
recipes have been calculated into approximate food exchanges, for
the convenience of people with diabetes and others utilizing the
Exchange System for meal planning.  For a copy of the large-type
or Braille version, write: Equal Consumer Affairs, The NutraSweet
Company, Box 830, Deerfield, IL 60015.

**Birthday Tribute:
On January 16, 1990, the Maryland State Senate passed the
following resolution:  Be it hereby known to all that the Senate
of Maryland offers its sincerest congratulations to the National
Federation of the Blind in recognition of its 50th Anniversary of
promoting equal rights for blind persons, in the State of
Maryland and throughout
the nation. The entire membership extends best wishes on this
memorable occasion and directs this resolution be presented on
this 16th day
of January, 1990.  The resolution was signed by both the
President and the Secretary of the Maryland Senate.

**Congratulations:
The Spring, 1990, edition of the  Braille Spectator,  the
newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland,
reports as follows:  Sharon Maneki, President of the NFB of
Maryland, received the 1989 Woman of Achievement Award, presented
by the Business and Professional Women's Network, Annapolis
Chapter, for outstanding community service.  Congratulations,
Sharon!

**Greeting Cards Available:
Kristina Nuttings of Round Pond, Maine, designs greeting cards.
She has created a birthday card and an all-occasion card with
Braille messages inside. Her announcement about these cards reads
as follows:  Greeting cards with sayings printed in Braille are
available from Prophecy Designs. For further information contact
Kristina Nutting,
P. O. Box 84, Round Pond, Maine 04564. Cards sell for three
dollars apiece.

**Organized:
In December, 1989, Theresa Schaffer, treasurer of the Polk County
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Florida, wrote
to announce the founding of the organization, which took place
November, 1989. Somehow her announcement never reached the 
Braille Monitor .  Was it the mails? Was it the gremlins? Who can
tell? Nonetheless, the Florida affiliate has a new and vigorous
chapter of which we can all be proud. The officers elected in
November of 1989 are President, Joyce Mathis; Vice- president,
Judy Black; Secretary, Helen Samuel; Treasurer, Theresa Schaffer.

**It Was Bound To Happen:
In the late 70s, when Washington State and California were riven
with dissension, Sue Ammeter and Bob Acosta, the leaders in their
respective states of the trouble-making factions, protested
vehemently that they had no intention of ever joining the
American Council of the Blind.  For several years now Bob Acosta,
having led his band of followers into the ACB fold, has been
active in that organization's leadership circles. But the United
Blind of Washington State, the organization
that Ammeter and company formed, has continued to maintain its
independence until now.
In her column in the First Quarter, 1990, issue of  Newsline, 
the newsletter of the United Blind of Washington State, Sue
Ammeter devoted almost four pages to the announcement of the
upcoming merger of the UBWS and the Washington Council of the
Blind. Here is a bit
of what she had to say:  At the annual convention of UBWS,
Resolution 89-91 was adopted, which directed the Board of UBWS to
work with the Board of the Washington Council of the Blind to
establish the time
and place of a special meeting to consider the merger of our two
organizations.  The special meeting will be held on Saturday,
March 3, 1990 at the Executive Inn in Seattle....We are pleased
to announce that Mr. Oral Miller, ACB National Representative,
has agreed to preside over our special meeting. At this meeting,
we will be adopting a constitution and electing a slate of
officers and board members. At this time newly elected ACB
president LeRoy Saunders is planning to attend. 
Like Bob Acosta, many in the United Blind swore fiercely that
whatever they did, they would never join forces with the Council.
But as in California it was only a matter of time until the
transformation was complete.

**Elected:
At its meeting on Saturday, April 14, 1990, the Chicago Chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois elected the
following board of directors for the next twelve months: Steven
Hastalis, President; Rita Szantay, First Vice President; Peter
Grunwald, Second Vice President; William Hafer, Secretary; Pamela
Provost, Treasurer; and Board Members:  Tony Burda, Brian
Johnson, Ken Staley, and Deborah Kent Stein.

**Sell:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:  I have
several pieces of equipment that I would like to offer for sale.
They are as follows: 1. Model `C' Optacon, $1,200; 2. Model `B'
Optacon, $1,000; 3. Portable line scanner for Optacon, $75; 4.
Small print lens for Optacon, $50; 5. CRT lens for Optacon, $75;
6. Small Talk lap-top computer with cassette drive, $500; and 7.
TSI Calculator, $50. Contact: Cathlene Schroeder, 1434 Wellesley,
N. E., Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106; or phone (505) 268-9282
evenings; (505) 841-8425 days. 

**Medical Transcription Education:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
Health Professions Institute of Modesto, California, has
developed a program for training students to be medical
transcriptionists. Our Beginning Medical Transcription unit uses
authentic physician dictation grouped by medical specialty. This
twelve-hour unit prepares students to work in a physician's
office or clinic transcribing chart notes, letters, history and
physical examination reports, and consultations.  Because this
unit comprehensively covers every medical specialty, students can
enter the job market with competitive skills. Advanced units are
also available to train students to transcribe in a hospital
setting.
For more information about a career in medical transcription or
how to use the Beginning Medical Transcription unit for
self-study at home, contact Susan Turley, CMT, RN, Curriculum
Coordinator for Health Professions Institute, at (301) 744-4070.
Mrs. Turley is currently advising blind students using this
training program and is familiar with the use of a speech board
and computer equipment. To receive
a free catalog of products for medical transcriptionists or to
order the Beginning Medical Transcription unit, contact: Health
Professions Institute, 801 15th Street, Modesto, California
95354. Phone: (209) 524-4351.

**From the Flint Chapter:
We recently received a letter from the Flint Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, which said in part: 
 Enclosed is a newspaper article that appeared in the  Flint
Journal  earlier this year about one of our members, Norman
Asselstine, who was chosen by President Bush as a Daily Point of
Light. Norman has been blind for several years and is one of our
most active and capable members. His schedule is remarkable not
because he is blind but because of his activity at his age of
eighty-two. He walks several miles a day to keep in good
condition, uses the regular transportation system to get to where
he wants to go, and is very active in his church, in Boy Scouts
as a volunteer, in Big Brothers, and in the Greater Flint Chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind. We hope that
news of his well-deserved honor can be publicized through the 
Braille Monitor .
 The Greater Flint Chapter of the National Federation of the
Blind of Michigan is a dynamic organization. Recent activities
include:  manning an exhibit at a children's fair at a shopping
center, where we demonstrated Braille and aids and appliances for
the blind and distributed literature about blindness. We also
make referrals to agencies serving the blind. We carried on
similar activities at Mott Community College and at a health
fair. We also maintain an exhibit
at the Flint Children's Museum, where the youngsters learn about
blindness and what it means. In addition, we have communicated
with the police department, the Mayor's Office on the
Handicapped, and the Mass Transit Authority in an attempt to
increase understanding and promote intelligent relationships
between city employees and blind citizens. We are currently
working towards increased awareness on the part of drivers of the
meaning of the white cane and guide dog and of the White Cane
Law.  Our officers are: Philip A. White, President; Georgia
Clark-Kitchen,
Vice President; Gene Heidenberger, Secretary; and Robert Vance,
Treasurer. 

**Some of the First:
Laurie Eckery (who, along with her daughter Lynden and her
husband Jerry, is well known to  Monitor  readers) writes as
follows:  Enclosed you will find fifty dollars to pay for my
subscription to
the  Braille Monitor  with enough to pay for someone else's
(anyone who can't afford it or might have forgotten). This money
is some of the first which I earned in my new job as hotel
reservation agent
for the Marriott World-Wide Reservation Center here in Omaha,
Nebraska.  So far I have enjoyed my work just fine. I am not as
speedy as some, but I am thorough, patient, and
customer-oriented. Computer skills
are also new to me, but I am catching on quickly. I wanted the
Federation to have some token of my appreciation for your part in
helping me get to where I could retrain and get a job after all
the unsuccessful experiences I have had in this venture.
