                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR

                         February, 1996

                     Barbara Pierce, 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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                National Federation of the Blind
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

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THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES



ISSN 0006-8829THE BRAILLE MONITOR
PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                            CONTENTS
                                                   FEBRUARY, 1996

STILL MORE ABOUT MOBILITY
by Kenneth Jernigan

INTERIM VICTORY IN THE DUCOTE CASE
     by Scott LaBarre

SAVORING HIS ACHIEVEMENTS
OUTGOING COMMISSIONER PAGE ASSESSES TENURE
     by Emily Narvaes

CONTROVERSY AT THE REHABILITATION CENTER
IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI
     by Kenneth Jernigan

STATUS OF THE NATIONAL LITERARY BRAILLE
COMPETENCY TEST

EIGHTY ISN'T OLD
     by Polly Weedman

THE NEWSLINE NETWORK: A NATIONWIDE
NEWSPAPER SERVICE FOR THE BLIND
     by Kenneth Jernigan

REPORT FROM THE CLASSROOM:
FEDERATIONIST MAKES A DIFFERENCE
     by Betty Walker

SUPPORT, SPUNK HELP BOY BEST HIS BLINDNESS
by Nancy Vessell

IT CAN BE DONE
     by Wayne Davis

TAKING A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
     by Kimberly Aguillard

THE GREATEST GIFT
     by Pamela Dubel

CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!
     by Pat and Jack Munson

DIALYSIS INFORMATION FOR CONVENTION
     by Ed Bryant

RECIPES

MONITOR MINIATURES

        Copyright  1996 National Federation of the Blind[LEAD PHOTO: This month's lead photograph is actually two. The upper one shows
Richard Ring and Tony Cobb, who is wearing sleepshades, both standing in front
of the National Center for the Blind in blizzard conditions. The sign on the
building can be clearly read. The bottom photograph is a closer view of the
two men, both using their canes. The photograph shows clearly the great depth
of the snow. CAPTION: By the time the staff at the National Center for the
Blind began making their way to work on Monday morning, January 8, 1996, two
feet of snow had fallen, and more was on the way. Baltimore is not accustomed
to such enthusiastic demonstrations of winter weather, so not everyone on the
staff was able to make it to work that day. But many did. Two of those who did
were Richard Ring (left), the new Director of the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind, and Tony Cobb (right), a longtime, many-
talented member of the NFB's national staff. They took the opportunity
presented by the weather to have Mr. Cobb give Mr. Ring a travel lesson in
real blizzard conditions.]
     #1 PHOTO: A group of people with their guide dogs stand talking.
CAPTION: Federationists stand talking at the meeting of the National
Association of Guide Dog Users.
     #2 PHOTO: People are seated with their dogs lying at their feet.
CAPTION: Federationists take part in the meeting of the guide dog division.
     #3 PHOTO: People are seated at a table with a modesty drape hanging to
the floor. A guide dog lying under the table has poked its head under the edge
of the drape and is looking out at the camera. CAPTION: It can get boring
lying under a table with nothing to look at, even at a meeting of the National
Association of Guide Dog Users.
     #4 PHOTO: A toddler drapes her arm around the neck of a guide dog. The
two are about the same size. CAPTION: A gentle guide dog and a friendly child
get acquainted at the convention of the National Federation of the Blind.]

                    STILL MORE ABOUT MOBILITY
                       by Kenneth Jernigan

     When we decided last summer to devote an upcoming issue of
the Monitor to the topic of mobility methods for the blind, the
purpose was to bring the subject out of the closet into the realm
of rational discussion. That purpose has been accomplished. As is
always the case with controversial questions, a few people have
refused to deal with the issues, resorting instead to
emotionalism and name calling. Let me hasten to add that the
number of those doing this has been gratifyingly small.
     Let me also say that (as will be indicated by the letter
making up the bulk of this article) there is more disagreement
among guide-dog users themselves on certain issues than might
have been expected. For instance, should we have a dog-relief
area somewhere in or immediately adjacent to the hotel at
National Conventions? Should guide-dog users expect to clean up
after their dogs, or should this be the responsibility of the
hotel or someone hired by the convention? Should dog users pay
for the cost of clean-up, or should this be a regular convention
expense? On all of these questions (and a great many more) some
feel one way, and some another. The important thing is that we
keep the discussion in the area of what is being talked about,
not whether the person doing the talking is good or bad or has a
good or bad character or motive.
     Then there are questions which involve fact and which one
would think were not just matters of opinion. But here, too,
there are widely differing views. For instance, is one of the
advantages of a dog that it can detect overhanging objects and
help its owner avoid bumps and bruises? Some say yes; some say
no. And what about speed of travel? Does the average person using
a cane travel more slowly than the average person using a dog?
Again, there are differing opinions. Something turns, of course,
on what one means by being a "good cane traveler" or a "good dog
user." If you feel that you need to ask someone to help you in
crossing a busy street and if, at the same time, you contend that
you are a competent traveler with either dog or cane, some say
that your contention is not accurate. These are just a few of the
many disputed issues.
     We carried a follow-up to the October issue in the January,
1996, Braille Monitor. It presented an exchange of letters
showing some of the reaction I had received. Now we are
publishing another set of correspondence. We are doing this in
the interest of giving full coverage to a topic that can be
touchy and divisive if not handled carefully but that is too
important to be hidden from discussion. We in the Federation have
never hesitated to face reality, and I think most of us like it
that way.
     As to the letter which makes up the bulk of this article, it
speaks for itself. It contains a good many allegations with which
I disagree, and it also has a number of errors of fact. I did
not, for instance, decide to edit the October issue of the
Monitor on impulse as the letter states, and I did not say or
imply that I did. I did it carefully and deliberately.
Furthermore, I did it with the full knowledge that the subject
would be controversial and that a few people would accuse me of
doing, saying, and believing what I had not done or said or
believed. I thought the issues were important enough to need
discussing and that I was the one to do it, so I did. But there
was certainly nothing of impulse about it.
     A number of statements in the letter are simply not true. I
have not "bashed" guide-dog schools. Those who make this charge
are invited to show me chapter and verse. The introductory
statement to the second article in the October Monitor, which is
all I believe I have ever said either pro or con about guide-dog
schools, was not an attack on guide-dog schools but on certain
types of fundraising. Read it again, and judge for yourself.
     Likewise, I am not "anti-dog." As I said in the October
Monitor, I grew up with a dog and loved it dearly. If someone
chooses to ignore that fact and simply insist that it isn't so,
then we are not dealing with rational discourse but only with
name calling. As to the more emotional portions of the letter
(those that talk about "dog-bashing," "loathing," and
"detesting") I have no response to make. My record of dealing
with my fellow Federationists (whether with kindness or meanness)
speaks for itself. So does what I said in the October Monitor,
and so does what I have said since. So, too, does what others
have said.
     The topic we are discussing is important, but it is not as
important as our overall relationship with each other in the
movement. We must remember that we are brothers and sisters in a
common cause and that how we treat each other will not only have
a great deal to do with determining our success as an
organization but will also be a strong indicator of whether we
deserve to succeed.
     With this article, along with those that appeared in the
October and January issues, I think we have pretty well explored
the subject of mobility. Anything more would probably bring only
repetition and anger. Therefore, regardless of what kind of
letters I get, I would not anticipate any more articles in the
Monitor on this aspect of mobility for at least the next year or
two. This does not mean that I am unwilling to receive or respond
to letters about it, just that I don't intend to print them. I
think the discussion has been extremely worthwhile and helpful
but that we should now take time to think about and digest it.
Anybody who feels the need for additional data can probably find
it by rereading what we have already printed.
     Meanwhile, here is the latest round of correspondence. You
will observe that I have omitted the names and as much of the
identifying data as possible. As I have said, the purpose is not
name calling and personalities but the exchange of information
and viewpoint:

                                   [postmarked December 23, 1995]
Dear Doctor Jernigan:
     This letter is in response to the October issue of the
Braille Monitor regarding methods of travel for blind persons.
You stated that Barbara Pierce was doing a good job as editor of
the Monitor but on an impulse you decided to edit this issue. You
said that this was the last time you would indulge such an
impulse but then, again, you might. The next time you have such
an impulse, if it pertains to guide dog issues, squelch it. This
October issue of the Monitor could have disastrous consequences
for the Federation, guide dog users, and guide dog schools. The
feelings expressed in my letter are strong, but I believe they
are justified in responding to the caustic views of many of the
contributors to this issue. If I did not value and respect you
personally and if I did not love and care for the Federation, I
would not write this letter.
     This issue was harmful to guide dog users, particularly
those users who are members of the Federation. I do not know if
people who do not use guide dogs such as yourself, Doctor Matson,
and Ramona Walhof can be fully aware of the hurt and anger
aroused by your comments. Since these comments reflect the
thinking of the leadership, they must be taken seriously and
addressed forthrightly.

                      Personal Perspective

     I began traveling with a cane at age sixteen and continued
using a cane as my primary method of mobility until I obtained my
first guide dog at age thirty-two. First I was taught by an
instructor at the Industrial Home for the Blind and later by an
instructor from the Queens Lighthouse in New York City. We were
instructed to ask for assistance and to take someone's arm when
crossing streets. My cane travel skills were adequate, and I was
not afraid to use a cane to travel independently wherever I
wanted to go throughout New York City.
     There was a crazy lady in my neighborhood. We called her
Herman German. She would frequently accost me at the subway exit
and tell me that I could not travel safely unless I had a dog. I
told her to leave me alone and that I would never get a dog. I
also told Toni Eames that I would never get a dog, and when I
said it I meant it.
     I changed my mind when I worked as a tape checker at
Recordings for the Blind, which at that time was located in New
York City. My co-worker shot past me one day with his dog, and I
decided that I just had to try it. I went to Guiding Eyes for the
Blind in 1976 and obtained ____, my first guide dog. First
experiences can not be duplicated, and I can only say that my
first walk with ____ (it was almost a jog) was unbelievably
exhilarating. I have used two dogs since for the next twenty
years, as my primary means of mobility. I have obtained two
additional dogs, ____ and ____. I do not have a "mystical bond"
with my dogs. The truth is, the dog beats a cane all hollow. Of
course this is my opinion, and I am speaking only for myself.

                    Advantages of Guide Dogs

     In your article you said that you believed that one
advantage of a guide dog was its ability to avoid overhanging
obstacles. As a confirmed guide dog user I am sorry to say that I
disagree with you. Most of the time the dog looks straight ahead,
avoiding obstacles in the path of its owner. Sooner or later the
dog runs its owner into an overhanging object such as a tree
limb. A strong verbal and/or leash correction brings the dog back
to reality. For a period of time the dog is on the look out for
overhanging objects and does a good job of avoiding them. Sooner
or later the dog lapses into forgetfulness, and the cycle of
praise and correction is again repeated.
     In your article you said that a cane can not read signs, and
it can not talk either. A guide dog can not talk, but it can
sometimes give you away. When I was having a problem, a trainer
from Seeing Eye came to work with me when I was living in
Washington, D. C. When we reached Mike's Liquor Store, my dog
came to a dead stop. "Do you come here often?" the trainer asked.
I told the trainer that Mike's had a great selection of beers,
and the owner was very accommodating. What could I say: the dog
was just doing his job.
     Are there advantages to using a guide dog? You bet there
are. Let me count the ways.
     1. Dog guide users travel faster than cane users. Let me be
clearer: guide dog users travel much faster than cane users.
Sure, there are some cane users who walk very fast with a cane.
Yes, there are some dog users who travel slowly with their dogs.
But to deny the superior speed of guide dog users is to deny
reality. Doug Elliott taught me a new word; the word is
avoidance. I love it. To deny the fact that guide dog users
travel much faster than cane users is to practice avoidance.
     2. A guide dog user travels with grace, ease, and fluidity
which is unmatched by cane travelers. I can carry on a
conversation with a co-worker or friend when walking with my dog.
Travel with a cane requires such a high degree of work and
concentration that conversation is neither practicable nor safe.
     3. A guide dog user has a tremendous advantage when
traveling in ice or snow. A well-trained guide dog will walk its
owner around ice and will find paths through the snow when
familiar landmarks have been obliterated. Paul Kay, who formerly
also traveled primarily with a cane, once said to me that when it
snows the dogs are literally worth their weight in gold.
     4. Pure Enjoyment. From childhood I have always loved
animals. I could be sitting in a room full of people, and a dog
will come up to me to be petted. Since my family lived in a small
row house in Queens, New York, I could not have a dog. Imagine
the luxury of being able to go virtually everywhere with a dog;
and, if you are blind, it is perfectly legal.

                   Disadvantages of Guide Dogs

     The idea was expressed in the October issue that guide dog
users are unaware of the disadvantages of guide dogs. Contrary to
popular belief, being a guide dog user is not synonymous with
being an idiot. We know that we have to take our dogs out in the
rain and the snow and that we incur expenses for food and medical
bills. One should candidly admit that there are disadvantages to
using a guide dog. This should not make guide dog users humble or
apologetic or accept the silly notion that we are preventing
ourselves or other blind persons from achieving equality. More
about that later.

                       Advantages of Canes

     Of course, the cane has tremendous advantages. A cane is
inexpensive and does not have to be fed. When I went to Seeing
Eye to train with ____ in January, 1994, it cost about $28,000 to
train a unit, the term used to describe a user and his dog. I am
sure that the costs have increased since then, but I don't know
the current figure. I have nothing against canes since I often
use one myself. When I arrive at work, I chain my dog to my desk.
I use a cane to walk to the rest room, get coffee, and attend
meetings and other office functions.

                     Disadvantages of Canes

     1. Canes can cause embarrassment or harm to others. When I
was a graduate student, an elderly lady was reading for me at the
public library. The reading room may hold up to 200 people who
are quietly and intently reading pertinent materials. As we
entered the reading room, she tripped over my long white cane and
fell on the floor moaning. I do not know whether this incident
was my fault or whether she inadvertently tripped over the cane
by not looking where she was going. I asked her several times if
she was all right, but she continued to lie on the floor,
moaning. I finally had enough of her Academy Award performance,
reached out my hand, and helped her to her feet.
     Regardless of who was to blame, the incident was
embarrassing.
     A blind friend of mine in New York City told me that he once
injured a lady while traveling with his cane. He said that the
cane went between her legs and caused injuries which sent her to
the hospital. I understand that this type of thing does not
happen all the time, but such things sometimes happen.
     A female member of the Kansas City chapter told me about an
incident which occurred at one of our national conventions. She
said that she told a man using a cane that if he got any closer
to her with that cane, they would have to get married.
     2. Cane users evoke pity in the general public. On one
occasion, when I was traveling with my cane in New York City, I
got off a subway train and started across the platform to catch
another train. Without speaking, someone grabbed me by my left
arm and pulled me to the left, which prevented me from moving. I
said, "Sir, what are you doing?" He told me that he was trying to
take me up the stairs. I told him that I was trying to go across
the platform to catch a train and did not want to go up the
stairs. The gentleman told me that he saw all of them blind
people every day going to the home, so he knew where I wanted to
go. I asked this man if he was referring to the Jewish Guild for
the Blind. I told him that this was an agency for the blind and
not a home. The man mumbled something which was incoherent, and I
proceeded to catch my train.
     On another occasion when using a cane, I reached the top of
the subway stairs when I was grabbed by the arm, causing me to
fall backward. I shook off the arm, regained my balance, and went
down the steps to the platform. Such assistance can be dangerous
to blind persons. When you use a guide dog, people generally
leave you alone, assuming that either the master, or perhaps his
dog, knows what he is doing.
     Doctor Brown said it best when she said that there is no
debate regarding guide dog use, sighted guides, or cane travel.
Lizzie really nailed it when she said that it is our blindness
which makes people uncomfortable, not our mode of travel.
     To be honest, I think that most of us are aware of the
advantages and disadvantages of using guide dogs, canes, and
sighted guides. The problem is how we deal with each other. I
wish to take strong exception to the context in which you placed
two incidents which you referenced involving guide dogs. Since
you are a man of integrity, I believe that these incidents
happened as you described.
     You referred to an incident at a national convention when a
guide dog became sick near the platform. You said that the smell
was unappetizing and that the master was a competent guide dog
user. I am sure that the incident was distressing. From your
description I would bet that the most embarrassed person in the
audience was the master of the dog which became sick. The point
is that these incidents do not happen all the time. They are the
exception to the rule. If these incidents happened all the time,
we could not take out our dogs in public. Using a dog would not
be practicable, and all of us would need to travel either with a
cane or sighted guide. There is no guarantee that such an
incident either could not or would not happen again. However,
this incident is over. It happened and it is history. It was not
a tragedy of major proportions like Somalia or Bosnia. Somehow
you survived; the Federation survived; and life goes on. However,
you continue to be obsessed by this incident.
     You also relate an incident in which a guide dog owner
visited the home of a friend. You said that the dog's toenails
did extensive damage to the wooden floors of the friend's home.
The friend incurred considerable expense in polishing the wooden
floors. You said that the friend was so embarrassed that he would
not tell the guide dog owner about the damage done by his dog and
that he would deny knowledge of this incident if cornered.
     Apparently the friend told you, and now we all know about
this incident. Now we are all aware of the problems caused by
this person's dog. This is an interesting and strange friendship.
A true friend is someone who tells it to you like it is, even if
the truth is unpleasant or even shocking. In this case the
offended individual tells you about the damage done to his home,
but he does not tell his friend. Did the offending dog user learn
about the damage caused by his dog? The home owner could have
been tactful and diplomatic, but the friend should have been told
and should have compensated his friend for the damage caused by
his dog.
     I guess my personal reaction is that I must have a different
set of friends. As you know, I have belonged to the Barbershop
Society, which encourages and preserves the style of four-part
harmony barbershop singing which was prevalent in the early
1900's. When I was a member of the chorus in Washington, D. C., a
member told me that he would give me a ride to and from meetings
each week. He also told me that he would place a blanket on the
back seat so that my dog would not get hair on the seat of his
car. He was kindly but firm. His tone was not angry, belligerent,
or insulting. When I thought it over, I realized that my friend
was right and that my dog would get hair on the seat of his car.
I knew that my friend's conditions for giving the ride were
reasonable. We placed the blanket on the back seat, and my dog
lay on the blanket, and life went on.
     My reader at work recently said to me "Your dog is shedding
big time. When we returned from our last investigation, someone
complained about dog hair in the GSA car. The next time you need
to bring a sheet to cover the seat of the car." To escape that
verbal tongue lashing, I would gladly have sold my kids into
slavery, mortgaged the house, or walked in bare feet over a bed
of burning coals. I brought the sheet the next time we conducted
an on-site investigation. Honesty and common sense can go a long
way in resolving guide dog issues.

                      Dogs as Ice Breakers

     Guide dog users should never use their dog as an ice breaker
or because we think that the dog will protect us from danger.
They are working dogs, and idle chit chat distracts them from
their duties.
     Of course, it is not always easy to deflect unwanted
attention from the public. My dog is a beautiful golden retriever
who attracts attention like a magnet. I am willing to answer
general questions about the dog and its training. When people
make inane comments such as "I'm sure he is a wonderful friend or
a wonderful companion," I tell them that he is a working dog and
not a friend or companion.
     I have two children; a twelve-year-old boy and a ten-year-
old girl. When I walked into a store with my son, someone
congratulated him for taking such good care of his daddy. I told
this fool that my wife and I are the ones who go to work and pay
the bills.
     I guess one solution would be to run away and hide and never
appear in public with our dogs or our children. Since this is not
possible, we must carry on. We must face the fact that most
people are kind, friendly, and helpful; but some people will
never understand anything about blindness. That should be their
problem, not ours.

                  Funding for Guide Dog Schools

     In your article you chastised a guide dog school for a fund-
raising letter which you believe implied that the only road for
blind persons to lead independent lives was through obtaining a
guide dog. Your response was unduly harsh and inflammatory.
     Heidi Vandewinkel tells us that while using a cane she fell
down a flight of stairs. This incident made her anxious or should
we say desperate to obtain her next dog. The blunt truth is that
there are a lot of Heidis out there who are a menace to
themselves and others when they use a cane. For many blind
persons the only choice is either to travel with a guide dog or
not travel at all. Also there are other blind people who have
been so poorly trained and are so uncomfortable using a cane that
a dog is the only practicable alternative.
     How do you account for countless blind people such as Paul
Kay, Rick Fox, my wife, and myself who used a cane for years and
who now use a guide dog as their primary method of mobility?
Obviously we find the dog to be a more efficient and effective
means of getting around. We are fully aware of the disadvantages
inherent in using a dog, but we are willing to pay the price.
     Yes, guide dogs are used by blind persons to go to work, to
the store, the doctor, the bank, and to social events. Surely it
can be said without exaggeration that the dog is a means of
enabling blind people to lead independent, productive lives.
     Regarding this fund-raising letter, the school is not
totally without blame. The letter laid it on a bit thick,
especially in the postscript. It should be kept in mind that
people receive many solicitation letters, and it is hard to pry
people loose from their cold, hard cash. They must be given an
incentive to help the specified cause. Helping blind persons
achieve independence is a valid reason for contributing money,
and it takes a lot of money to run a good guide dog program.

                  Training at Guide Dog Schools

     The point was made with justification that the training at
guide dog schools is minimal and could be greatly improved.
Looking at reality explains why the training is minimal.
     A guide dog class is a polyglot of persons from all walks of
life. A class might be comprised of college professors like Bill
Isaacs, Ed Lewinsohn, and Paul Gabias, or a clinical social
worker such as Doug Elliott. The class also has people who can
not walk and chew gum at the same time. Their intelligence
quotients may be two points above plant life. However, quite
often the less intellectually endowed turn out to be better users
than the intellectuals. Dogs are simple animals and respond well
to routine. The less endowed usually follow directions to the
letter and do not constantly question or overanalyze the
directions provided by their instructors.
     Somehow, in less than three weeks, the school must teach
this amalgam of persons the basics regarding traveling with and
caring for their dogs. Among other things the class is taught how
to groom their dogs and do obedience, assemble harnesses, put on
and remove leashes and muzzles, administer oral and liquid
medications, and clean the eyes, ears, and teeth of their dogs.
Viewed from this perspective, the schools do an amazing job. Of
course, the schools could and should do better if we would just
work with them instead of constantly bashing them. Give the
schools a break. Keep in mind that many blind persons attend a
school for the blind for twelve years and graduate not being able
to read or write Braille or travel with a long white cane.
Incredibly, these people must then be sent to a rehabilitation
program for further training.
     My fear is that the minimal training offered at guide dog
schools is being diluted, at Seeing Eye and perhaps at other
guide dog schools. When I went to the January, 1994, class to
obtain my dog, the students were given the option of calling
their instructors by their first names. In the past we would call
the instructor Mr. Johnson or Miss Carlson, and in turn they
would call us Mr. Jones or Miss Smith. This may seem trivial, but
I believe it may be symptomatic of a gradual loosening of the
rules and a watering down of training.
     When I obtained my previous dog ____ in 1984, students were
expected to travel solo routes. At the end of training students
were expected to master the dreaded high school route. This is no
longer the case. An instructor told me that students were having
stress diarrhea, and it was not worth it to have this
requirement. Another official at Seeing Eye said that students
would not need to know the streets of Morristown, New Jersey,
when they returned home. Therefore, it was not imperative for
students to learn and memorize travel routes. It is true that
students do not have to retain knowledge of the streets of
Morristown to travel successfully at home, but learning a route
and mastering it is a good confidence builder.
     Human behavior, both good and bad, is formed by habit. Over
several days students practiced grooming their dogs and doing
obedience. When I obtained ____, I knew that eventually the
students would be taught how to clean up after their dogs. I
waited and waited and waited, but this activity was not
demonstrated. An instructor said that students thought that the
school was torturing them when they were asked to practice this
technique. Whether guide dog users should be encouraged or
required to clean up after their dogs is debatable. Seeing Eye
encourages students to clean up, which means that this is a good
thing to do. This technique should be learned and strongly
reinforced through demonstration and practice during class.

                   Guide Dogs and Conventions

     In his article Steve Benson asked why guide dog users bring
their dogs to NFB national conventions. This is a very good
question, which I find hard to answer. I think that a person who
does not use a dog can not fully understand the quandary faced by
a dog user.
     I have done it both ways. I have brought my dogs to most
national conventions, but there were other occasions when I left
my dog at home. When I brought my dog, I ask myself why I
subjected the dog to crowded elevators, crowded hotels, and a
highly stressful environment. On the other hand when I left my
dog at home, I felt that something was missing, and I felt
uncomfortable using a cane, which I do not use as my primary
method of mobility most of the year. When I walk several blocks
to a restaurant with a group of Federationists using a cane, I
realize how much hard work it is, and I vow that I will never
leave my dog at home again.
     We need to do away with one myth right away. Dogs do not
have accidents, mishaps, or indiscretions. An accident happens
when you knock a glass of milk off the table or drop jelly or
coffee on your new suit. When dogs consume dog food or drink
water, they process or eliminate the food or water by urinating
or defecating. Under normal circumstances taking the dog out for
relief four times per day will ensure that the process will take
place in appropriate locations. During busy conventions people
may not take their dog out as often as necessary. Stress do to
unusual conditions may cause the dog to process food and water at
an inappropriate or inopportune time, such as in a hotel lobby.
     If this happens, it would help if people use common sense.
It is inconceivable to me that four dogs could have relieved
themselves in a dining area without guide dog users being aware
of these occurrences and taking appropriate action. But folks,
get a grip and see where the rubber meets the road. A process is
not a major tragedy. It would help tremendously if the dog user
would remain where he is and tell people passing by that his dog
has had a process instead of fleeing the scene of the crime as I
did at my first national convention in New Orleans in 1977.
Overwhelmed with embarrassment, I behaved irresponsibly by
leaving the process for some one else to handle. Of course, the
National Association of Guide Dog Users (NADGU) reminds dog users
of their agreement to take their dogs out to relief four times
per day, and it would also help if dog users and cane travelers
behaved in an adult manner when a process occurs.
     Instead of screaming in the face of the dog user and calling
him obscenities, the cane user could help the dog user by
summoning assistance from hotel staff. In this way the process
could be handled quickly and efficiently if action is taken
immediately.
     In 1983 our national convention was held in Kansas City,
Missouri. A few months prior to convention I telephoned Bob
Eschbach, who was head of the Guide Dog Committee, to ask what
arrangements were being made for the convention. Bob said that he
thought he would just leave that matter in my capable hands.
Silently I cursed myself for opening my big mouth, but I told
Bob, "Sure, I'll take care of it."
     During the 1983 convention we were staying at three hotels.
I provided instructions in print and in Braille for the route
between the hotels and Barney Alice Plaza, which was the relief
area. I also employed a temporary manpower service to clean up
the park. Bob told me that this arrangement probably was not
necessary since dog users should clean up after their dogs. Yes,
and the moon is made out of green cheese. All I know is that an
elderly employee spent several hours per day in the hot sun
cleaning up the park. I considered it money well spent. Guide dog
users reimbursed the Committee for clean-up expenses.
     I am opposed to sand boxes outside the hotel as expensive
and unworkable. A sand box quickly becomes a stinking pest hole,
and my dogs will not use it. Furthermore, I don't blame them. Any
dog user worth his salt should be able to walk a block or two
from the hotel to find a park such as Grant Park in Chicago. This
means that members of a host affiliate should be willing to show
dog users the way to the park area. I want to applaud the fine
work done by Steve Benson and the Illinois affiliate for the
planning of the 1995 convention, and I wish he had spared the
affiliate the time, trouble, and expense of providing and
maintaining the sand box. I would recommend that the NFB dispense
with sand boxes at future national conventions.

                      Role of the Division

     I must congratulate Doug Elliott. He is from Iowa and has
planted his corn early and reaped a rich harvest of psychobabble
which he is seeking to foist on the guide dog division. It seems
that Paul Gabias and Doug Elliott have been friends for a long
time, and Paul is puzzled to find a great deal of anger in Doug's
letters. I have figured it out, and I don't have a degree either
in clinical social work or psychology.
     In 1993 Doug married Peggy Pinder, who then became Peggy
Elliott. Peggy is not only brilliant academically, but she is
also a skilled and adroit cane traveler. Doug finds that he is
not a model blind person since he is holding onto a harness,
which is attached to this albatross of a dog. Paul Gabias said
that he and Doug used to exult in the speed and freedom which
their dogs gave them when they took walks together. Now all this
has changed. Now Doug's mind is filled with reservations and
confusion about the role of the dog in his life and the lives of
other blind people.
     In other words Doug is conflicted. Doug should do himself
and the other members of NADGU a favor either by giving the dog
away to Aunt Tilly or crating it up and shipping it back to the
school from whence it came. His conflict would be ended. Doug
could learn to use a cane effectively and become a model blind
person.
     In his letters Doug tells us that members of NADGU are
unaware of the disadvantages of dogs. We are not aware that we
must take our dogs out in bad weather, that some people are
allergic to dogs, and that dogs shed.
     I believe that all of the students who attended the
February, 1994, class at Seeing Eye became aware that you must
take your dogs out in bad weather when we were struck by an ice
storm and a severe eighteen-inch snow storm. This storm closed
the school, which was the only time the school closed in thirty
years. As far as people being allergic to dogs, you would not
believe how many allergic cab drivers there are in New York City
and Washington, D. C. I have discussed shedding earlier: we all
know about it.
     NADGU does not have lengthy discussions concerning these
aspects of guide dog use because we are fully aware of them.
Discussing such topics would simply be a waste of time. Let us
delve a little further. These are the words of a highly
intelligent man who is disillusioned about his dog and seeks to
infect other dog users with his disillusionment. I think that
Doug is engaged in a not-to-subtle attempt to sabotage the work
of the division. If so, I want no part of these so-called
discussions.
     Doug accuses the division of advocating for the use of guide
dogs. This is true, to a point. I enjoy using a dog and feel that
the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I would never advise
you or Steve Benson or Ramona Walhof to use a dog because you
have no intention of doing so. I also am an advocate for
marriage, being a parent, and owning a house. I recognize that
marriage is not for everybody, that some people should not become
parents, and that there are advantages to owning an apartment
over a house.
     I still recall Paul Kay advising Howard Neal that he should
learn to use a cane before he even thought of getting a dog.
Howard did not follow Paul's advice and raved enthusiastically
about the dog. A year later Howard returned the dog to Guiding
Eyes. Howard questioned me repeatedly about getting a dog, and I
hope that my enthusiasm did not play a part in causing Howard to
make a bad decision both for himself and for the dog.
     Doug chastises both the division and Harness Up for
uncritically accepting "propaganda" put out by the schools. The
word "propaganda" is a pejorative term, and the criticism is
unjustified. The school at San Rafael showed a fund-raising video
at the 1995 NADGU meeting in Chicago. I thought that the film was
acceptable, but Paul Kay and other members of NADGU were critical
of the film.
     The relevant question is not whether Paul Kay was right or I
was right concerning this fund-raising film. The important point
is that the school was not given a free pass at the meeting. The
school and its representatives took their lumps at this meeting
just as schools have been criticized at previous division
meetings.
     Doug criticizes the division for talking about dog issues
rather than blindness issues. The bifurcation of dog issues and
blindness issues is false. Doug fails to understand that, when
you are a blind person and use a guide dog, dog issues are
important. When I return home from work, I want to relax by
watching the "McNeil Lehrer report" or listening to the football
game. However, the dog has been chained to my desk all day and is
bounding with energy. The dog needs fifteen minutes of structured
play and at least a mile walk to keep his work habits sharp. A
good dog user ignores the dog's needs at his peril.
     Let us get to the heart of the matter regarding Doug's
problem with the division. The main problem is that under the
leadership of Paul Gabias dog users are proud of their dogs and
confident in themselves. We do not wish to be treated as
inferiors or superiors but as equals. We no longer adopt a
posture of submissive apology in the presence of cane users. We
treat cane users with respect and wish to be respected in turn.
This is a new posture, which people such as Doug Elliott seem to
find unsettling. I for one, welcome the change.

              Pros and Cons--Who Said What to Whom?
                          Ramona Walhof

     Ramona tells us that guide dogs would be okay if they kept
their feet on the ground, their tongues in their mouths, and came
equipped with a doggie deodorant. This hoity toity response from
a blind person who has never used a guide dog is replete with
elitism and arrogance.
     What about this doggie odor issue? Do guide dogs exude an
overpowering, cloying odor? A dog may emit an odor, especially if
it is not well groomed. A human being may emit an odor if he does
not use proper hygiene. A dog which is properly groomed will not
exude an odor which is repellent to others.
     Ms. Walhof tells us that she would invite a guide dog user
to her home. I would certainly hope so. I guess I am guilty of
naive thinking. I assumed that a board member of the NFB would
not have a problem inviting an NFB member who uses a guide dog to
her home. This goes to show you what happens when you assume.

                         Diane McGeorge

     As expected, Diane's article was filled with humanity,
wisdom, and common sense. However, even Diane goes astray when
discussing the comparison between dogs and canes. She highly
commends your wife for teaching her to become an effective cane
user. Then she becomes apologetic and feels guilty when she
obtains Dusty after learning to use a cane. She wonders how she
will explain her decision to your wife about getting a dog. It
seems perfectly reasonable to me to get a guide dog to enjoy
walking at a rapid pace. As Doug Elliott rightly points out, with
a cane you just get there, which is all he wants or needs. For
some people such as Diane McGeorge and myself, this is not
enough.
     The axiom is that one should use a cane and not a dog and
certainly not both. This is nonsense. Why should one have to make
an either-or decision: I will either use a dog or a cane but not
both. For a good guide dog user there are times when the dog
should be used and other times when the dog should be left at
home.

                       Doctor Floyd Matson

     The article written by Doctor Matson is cold, logical, and
analytical. It is also bizarre, annoying, tantalizing, and filled
with hubris.
     Doctor Matson gives a good summary of the perceived
advantages of using dogs and canes. He then says that, if it were
strictly a matter of personal choice, the issue would end there.
At this point Doctor Matson should have put his pen down and
called it a day.
     Yes, the matter ends there. Simply put, canes are not better
than dogs, and dogs are not better than canes. It is simply a
matter of personal choice, and there are advantages and
disadvantages to either choice.
     However, Doctor Matson pulled no punches in his article, and
we know exactly what he said. If true, this would be a
devastating commentary on guide dogs and the selfish and ignorant
persons who use them and foist them on a gullible and over
tolerant public. Doctor Matson states that dog users will never
achieve equality because they are using an accommodation which is
enforced by law and politeness but is not accepted by society.
Doctor Matson says that bringing a dog to a professional meeting
would be tantamount to bringing a child to this meeting. Under
these circumstances blind persons using guide dogs can not
achieve equality.
     He tells us that dogs shed, drool, smell, urinate, defecate,
and lie at people's feet in restaurants and meetings. The good
doctor says that we hope that the dog user will not come to our
home or ask for a ride in our car. When observing the guide dog,
we grit our teeth, smile less, and pity more. These are not my
words but his: these are the words of the illustrious Doctor
Matson.
     As we read on, the story gets stranger and murkier. As I
read I am smiling less, gritting my teeth more, and finding my
distaste for this curmudgeon increasing word by word.
     Picture this: Doctor Matson says that he has worked with
blind people for years and spends most of his time associating
with blind people. Did he spend his time associating with cane
users while excluding guide dog users from his company? If he
associated with guide dog users, did he invite them to his home
or offer them rides in his car while gritting his teeth more and
enjoying it less? Was he polite to them in their company while
secretly loathing and detesting them and their dogs? It sounds as
though Doctor Matson did a good job of masking his antipathy for
guide dogs and their owners. However, he could conceal his
frustration no longer and decided that since guide dog bashing
was now in vogue, it was finally time to come out of the closet.
     It would have been far more honest if Doctor Matson let
guide dog owners know that he detested dogs and did not want them
in his home or in his car. Guide dog users can deal with that.
After all, a man's home or his apartment, whatever it may be, is
his castle. I would prefer that a person be up front and tell me
that they did not want my dog in their car or their home. In this
case I would use a cane or make some other arrangements. I would
also wonder why a man spends so much time in an organization
which at least nominally accepts guide dog users as members.
     You have told us and Doctor Matson also tells us that he has
always supported the rights of guide dog users. The question is
why. It should logically follow that a restaurant owner who
throws a guide dog user out of his restaurant or a cab driver who
refuses to transport a dog user is right. As you both state that
the dogs may shed, drool, smell, etc., isn't there a conflict
here? Under the circumstances how can you enthusiastically
support a legal claim for an accommodation which you find
loathsome and detestable? Do you and Doctor Matson support the
rights of guide dog users for political reasons or out of the
goodness of your hearts?

                           Gary Wunder

     The article by Gary Wunder is the most difficult to deal
with because I know him, like him, and respect him. He is a
personal friend and the President of the Missouri affiliate of
the National Federation of the Blind. He is a former guide dog
user, so he knows what he is talking about. However, our
perspectives differ sharply, and I guess this is why I am still
using a guide dog and he is not.
     Gary says that he had a romanticized and idealized picture
about using a guide dog. It is wonderful to romanticize and
fantasize about all kinds of things until reality takes hold. I
love history, but as a school teacher I quickly learned that a
class of secretarial girls is not interested in the XYZ Affair or
the Tariff of Abominations. I work for the Department of
Education, Office for Civil Rights, as a civil rights
investigator. People often join the Office for Civil Rights
hoping to save the world. Their romantic and idealistic illusions
are sometimes shattered when they find that all cases are not
violations of civil rights statutes. The reality is that a
complaint involving a student with a disability may show that a
failing grade was the result of poor classroom performance rather
than discrimination. The firing of a black teacher may stem from
incompetence rather than from discrimination based on race. A
school district may hire a male superintendent over a female
applicant because the male was better qualified.
     In the same vein, when a jeweler looks at a diamond, it may
appear to be absolutely perfect. Further examination reveals
minute flaws and imperfections. People may enter marriage vowing
to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives. One
discovers a minute flaw here, a tiny imperfection there. Within
less than ten years the marriage may end in divorce. Yes, life is
like that.
     Gary says that he worked his dog for six years, and in that
time his dog had six processes. He says that he found these
processes to be very embarrassing. I know the feeling because my
dogs have occasionally had processes at inopportune times. Gary
said that he could not determine that any of these processes
resulted from his negligence, and I am sure this is true.
However, this grades out to be only one process per year. These
processes did not happen all of the time or even often. I would
suspect that it is the randomness or unpredictability of these
processes which bothers Gary.
     It is true that a cane will never urinate, drool, or
defecate. On the other hand, Gary will never achieve the speed
and grace with a cane that he did with Ely. Say it ain't so,
Gary.
     Gary tells us that people acted with consternation when he
attended parties with his dog where people were eating with
plates of food on their laps. Gary solved the problem by not
bringing his dog to these gatherings. My office often has lunches
similar to the situation described by Gary. I find it difficult
to hold my cane while carrying a plate of food and a drink and
attempting to find a vacant chair. Balancing a plate of food on
my lap and eating it with the plastic forks and knives provided
can be tricky. I have learned to chain my dog to my desk while
attending these lunches. Common sense works every time.
     Gary tells us that it really does not matter whether he had
perfect control of his dog on an elevator if a woman backs in to
the dog's nose and screams. Of course it matters. If Gary was not
controlling or paying attention to his dog, the situation might
be his fault. If Gary was controlling his dog, it would be the
lady's fault for not paying attention to the situation.
     I think that as blind people we are conditioned to always
apologize or blame ourselves if someone trips over our cane or
backs in to the dog's nose or is startled by the dog when they
meet us coming around a corner. We always assume that we are to
blame for everything that happens. We need to learn to evaluate
what happened before automatically assuming that we are to blame.

                     Philosophical Conundrum

     The question is, where do we go from here after kicking up
all this fuss about dogs and canes? The NFB prides itself on
being an organization that says what it means and means what it
says. Let us assume that all of the arguments of the anti-dog
faction are correct. People who use guide dogs can not hope to
achieve true equality because we use an accommodation which is
not acceptable to the rest of society. Dogs hurt the image not
only of dog guide users but of all blind people. If the
leadership is serious about this philosophy, the following steps
should be taken so that blind people can achieve true equality.
     All dog guide users should be expelled from the NFB. This
might seem harsh, but if we are serious about achieving equality,
we should not balk about taking the necessary steps toward
equality.
     If this first step seems too harsh, we could simply state
that blind persons may not take their dogs to national
conventions. Since many dog guide users are uncomfortable about
traveling without their dogs, this step would lead many dog users
to stay at home. Since these guide dog users have a bad
philosophy anyway, keeping them away would enable model blind
persons to achieve equality with their sighted peers.
     If we are serious in our drive to achieve equality, we
should launch a campaign to destroy guide dog schools, which
prevent blind people from achieving equality and are therefore
the enemies of the blind.
     Current guide dog users should be instructed either to
retire their dogs or not to get any more dogs. Persons who are
newly blind and parents of blind children should be informed that
it is harmful and inappropriate to get a guide dog since guide
dog users will never achieve equality.
     Following these guidelines, we would be well on our way
toward implementing our philosophy and achieve equality for the
blind. Perhaps there are other steps which I have not thought of.
If so, these actions should be carried out, the sooner the
better.
     Perhaps I am totally off base, and this was simply a
rhetorical exercise allowing cane users to let the fur fly and
vent their frustrations against those reprehensible guide dog
users. Let us get back to basics. As the wonderful and inimitable
Doctor Elizabeth Brown said, "There is no debate regarding using
dogs or canes since this is a personal choice. It is our
blindness which makes people uncomfortable, not whether we use a
dog or a cane or sighted guide." Skilled and competent guide dog
users like Professor Paul Gabias and Diane McGeorge give as much
credit and respectability to blind people as skilled cane
travelers such as yourself, Ramona Walhof, Peggy Elliott, or
Steve Benson.
     We have a great deal in common. Guide dog users listen to
presidential releases and read their Braille Monitors just as
cane users do. We strongly believe in the National Federation of
the Blind, but you and your anti-dog cohorts are making it very
difficult to keep the faith. If you want war, you can win, based
on sheer numbers, but at what a price. I believe that guide dog
users are seeking an accommodation, based on mutual respect and
trust. I believe that this is possible, but it is up to you to
provide the dynamic leadership to bring us together.
     Thank you for your consideration of my remarks. Even though
our disagreements are sharp and clear cut, I appreciate the
opportunity to express my views to you and to other persons who
are interested in this issue.

Sincerely,

                            _________

                                                  January 8, 1996
Dear         :
     I have your thoughtful letter postmarked December 23, 1995,
and I thank you for it. As you would imagine, I disagree with
some of the things you say, but many of your observations provide
insight and new perspective.
     When you get the January Monitor, you will see a follow-up
article to the October issue. I hope you will find it
constructive and worthwhile. As far as I am concerned, the
purpose of the October issue was to bring the subject of mobility
for the blind out of the closet and make it possible for reasoned
discussion. I believe that has been accomplished.
     As I state in the January Monitor, the overwhelming response
to the October issue has been positive. This has been the
reaction of guide-dog users as well as cane users. Having first
removed the name and other identifying details, I herewith
enclose a letter from a guide-dog user to Doug Elliott. You will
see that this Federationist is glad that the October issue was
published.
     As to conventions, the problem is not simple, and I think we
must continue to discuss it until we arrive at some meeting of
the minds. Your attitude about the sandbox in Illinois last
summer is not shared by a great many guide-dog users. Steve
Benson resisted the idea of a sandbox for the dogs, feeling that
the dog users could easily cross the street to Grant Park and,
indeed, should do so. But so many Illinois guide-dog users
protested that Steve and the National Office thought it wise to
build the sandbox.
     I agree that cane users and guide-dog users should treat
each other with civility, not only at conventions but everywhere
else--but the magnitude of the problem of dog mess in the halls,
in the restaurants, in the public restrooms, and in the meeting
rooms at conventions is such that it cannot be ignored. It should
be dealt with rationally and respectfully--but it should be dealt
with. Whether, as you do, we call what happens when a dog
urinates or defecates inside the hotel a "process," or whether we
call it something else, it occurs with a good deal of frequency,
and we should do what we can to minimize the problem. I do not
suggest that those who travel with dogs refrain from bringing
their dogs to convention but only that we deal with the problem
in the same way that we deal with all other problems--not with
anger or an attempt to hide it but with good temper,
determination, and mutual respect.
     When you talk about the advantages and disadvantages of
using a cane or a dog, it seems to me that you fail to make a
distinction that I think is important. Disadvantages of either
method of travel that primarily affect the user are essentially
personal, being in the long run the individual's own business and
nobody else's. Disadvantages that cause inconvenience or problems
to others are something else. They are properly the concern of
the people with whom we associate and of the blind community at
large. From your letter it would appear that you may not be aware
of the magnitude of the problem created by dogs at the
convention.
     I happen to feel that, on the average, dog users probably
don't walk faster than cane users, but ultimately the argument is
irrelevant. Whichever method of travel you use, you travel as
fast or as slowly as you travel, and it is your decision to make.
However, if somebody trips me with a cane or if I walk down the
hall and step into the droppings of your dog, it immediately
becomes my business.
     I believe that tripping people with a cane is a fairly
uncommon occurrence, while walking through dog droppings is not.
You say in your letter (and I agree with you) that frequency is
key to the discussion. If tripping with a cane were such a common
occurrence that somebody (or several somebodies) got hurt because
of it at every National Convention, I think it would require
serious and immediate consideration and an attempt to find
remedies. I think that it is not that frequent and, in fact, is
quite rare. If there is evidence to the contrary, I will not be
angry or hurt by having it presented or by having it publicly
discussed. I would hope such discussion could occur with civility
and respect, and not simply be regarded as a means of response to
a supposed attack. This is all I have ever advocated in dealing
with a discussion about dogs.
     It seems to me that you are too defensive about the behavior
of guide-dog schools. We in the Federation have publicly and
repeatedly criticized cane-travel programs and cane-travel
instruction. Yet I have never heard anyone say that this was the
fault of guide-dog users and an attempt to denigrate the use of a
cane. If a cane-travel training program had distributed to the
general public a fundraising appeal of the type used by the
guide-dog school featured in the October Monitor, all of us (cane
users and dog users alike) would properly have objected with
vehemence. I repeat that we simply have to be able to discuss any
program affecting the blind (cane, dog, or anything else) and
that we have to be able to do it without getting our feelings
hurt or becoming angry with each other. We must defend each other
to the public; we must treat each other with love and respect;
but we must be able to talk about common problems with frankness
and honesty.
     You give considerable emphasis to the notion that one should
not be restricted to using either cane or dog but may very well
use both. How can anybody disagree with that? In this part of
your letter you persist in taking it for granted that you are
correct in your contention that, on the average, guide-dog users
travel faster than cane users. My observation on this point is
different from yours. However, I don't think either of these
issues has much importance or much relevance to anything worth
discussing since the decision is largely personal. It goes back
to what I said about the two categories of advantages and
disadvantages. How fast or how slowly you travel is ultimately
none of my business unless it affects me--and the same is true of
using a cane, a dog, both, or neither. Anything that reflects
poorly or favorably on blind people or that causes problems or
pleasure to me or to other blind people is properly my business.
Anything that is strictly personal to somebody else is not.
     As to your comments about Floyd Matson, I think you
overstate and engage in the very harshness that you deplore in
his article. When you say he "loathes" dogs, you are simply not
telling it the way it is. I visited his home in 1968. At that
time he had a dog that lived in the house, a dog that was very
much loved and petted. I was there day after day. I saw it
happen. Rather than deal with the substance of his arguments, you
simply resort to name calling. Regardless of how good or evil he
may be, and irrespective of how pure or base his motives, the
substance of his arguments must be dealt with, not his character
as a person.
     When you say that Dr. Matson should have put down his pen
when he got through listing the perceived advantages and
disadvantages of a guide dog since neither cane nor dog is
better, and the whole thing is simply a matter of personal
choice, I respond that this is the whole point of all of this
discussion. If the use of cane or dog (or, for that matter some
other method of mobility) primarily affects the individual
involved, you are right. It is simply a matter of personal
choice, and nobody else's business. If, on the other hand, the
method of mobility chosen by the blind person has a major impact
on friends, associates, and other blind people, you are wrong. It
is very much the business of all of us. In fact, it may be not
only our right but our responsibility to consider and discuss it.
     As you get into the full swing of your attack on Dr. Matson,
you pick up the tempo of your emotion and tar me with the same
brush. You say:

     You have told us, and Doctor Matson has told us, that he has
     always supported the rights of guide dog users. The question is
     why? It should logically follow that a restaurant owner who throws
     a guide dog user out of his restaurant, or a cab driver who
     refuses to transport a dog user, is right. As you both state that
     the dogs may shed, drool, smell, etc., isn't there a conflict
     here? Under the circumstances how can you enthusiastically support
     a legal claim for an accommodation which you find loathsome and
     detestable? Do you and Doctor Matson support the rights of guide
     dog users for political reasons or out of the goodness of your
     hearts?

     This is what you say, and I hope on reflection you will
agree that your words are a bit intemperate. I do not find the
accommodation "loathsome and detestable," nor is there any great
mystery about why I support the rights of guide-dog users. The
restaurant owner to whom you refer is probably acting with
complex motives, some of which he doubtless does not recognize or
understand. He probably has some of the common misconceptions
about blindness. Nevertheless, the dog adds complications, often
real and not just imagined.
     You ask whether I support the Guide Dog Division because of
political reasons or out of the goodness of my heart. I hope I do
it for both of these reasons, and for some others as well. I feel
a special bond and kinship with other blind people, a wish and a
need to make common cause with them. This sometimes means
wholeheartedly supporting some things that I might not support if
I were the only blind person involved in the equation. If I want
rapport and comradeship with my fellow blind, and if I want them
wholeheartedly to support things that I may like but that they
may not thoroughly agree with, I must give as well as take--and I
must do it with enthusiasm and good humor. This does not mean
that I should pretend to believe what I don't believe--especially
when I am talking in the family (that is, in the Federation) and
when I am doing it at appropriate times and places.
     Early in your letter you say that we shouldn't refer to the
untimely urination or defecation of a dog as an accident but as a
"process." It seems to me that this kind of politically correct
prissiness of terminology doesn't help matters. You can call it
anything you like, but I am sure that Ruth Isaacs was not lying
when she said that she saw what she saw on the carpet in the
breakfast line. Whether, as you prefer, it be referred to as
three or four piles of "process," or three or four piles of dog
manure, it will still be objectionable to most people going
through the breakfast line. The question, then, comes back to
frequency. How often does it happen? On this point I suspect you
and I would agree. Frequency is the operative concept. If the
problem happens once in a great while, it can be brushed aside.
If it happens regularly, it cannot. And it doesn't matter what
excuses are given.
     In your discussion of Gary Wunder's October article, where
the woman in an elevator backs into Gary's dog's nose and becomes
startled and upset, you say that it matters a great deal whether
Gary or the woman is at fault. In one sense it does, but in
another it doesn't. No, we as blind people should not be
constantly apologizing or feeling inferior, but neither should we
deceive ourselves with the false belief that being right is
enough regardless of how others feel. We live in a tightly packed
world of many people, a complex world of competing rights and
give-and-take. In the long run if we as blind people intend to
earn and keep real equality, we will have to do it by the general
consent of the larger public--a feeling by them that we do what
we say we do, that we are what we say we are, and that we deserve
what we say we deserve.
     In your concluding section you raise the question of where
we go from here. I think you do it in the wrong context because
you refer to those who may have disagreements with you as the
"anti-dog faction." Unless we can get past this emotionalism and
personal resentment, we cannot possibly consider this or any
other problem objectively.
     Let me be specific. You say that if we are serious about
what you perceive to be our philosophy, we should expel all
guide-dog users. I completely disagree with this, and I don't
think you are serious in putting it forward. If we follow the
practice of expelling every person who disagrees with us at one
time or another, we will have no organization at all. On the
other hand, pretending that a problem doesn't exist and hiding
from it will have just about as bad a result.
     If you are serious and not simply being snide or sarcastic,
your perception of political reality differs radically from mine.
Cane users are not, as you put it, necessarily "model blind
persons"; and if you understand my October article, you know that
I do not believe that the use of a cane guarantees that a person
will be a "model" blind person, whatever that may be. None of us
is perfect. We are a combination of our strengths and weaknesses.
All we can hope for is to make ourselves better than we are and
to move closer to the goals we seek. At the same time, the
recognition that we are not perfect cannot be used as an excuse
for refusing to discuss issues and face problems.
     The final portion of your letter reaches a crescendo of
name-calling. Nobody has said that guide-dog users are
"reprehensible," and I think it is unrealistic to believe that
the Federation is divided into what you apparently believe to be
the anti- and the pro-dog factions. We are talking about
something far more complex and involved than that. As to closing
down the guide-dog schools, we could not do it even if we wanted
to. Whatever we are, I think we are realists. Since you know
this, I ask you to consider what you were trying to accomplish by
the suggestion.
     You say that "guide-dog users are seeking an accommodation
based on mutual respect and trust." You also complain about
harshness. I ask you to read again my October article and your
own letter and to decide which is the more intemperate. I respect
all of our members--those that use canes; those that use dogs;
those that use human arms; those that use a combination of these
techniques; and those that, regardless of how much they try,
cannot currently travel independently at all. Specifically, I
respect you--because you think, because you have integrity, and
because you are a friend. Many guide-dog users have told me that
they found the October issue of the Monitor constructive and
helpful. I hope that you will come to see it that way too, but
whether you do or not, I appreciate your letter, and I thank you
for sending it to me.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                 Kenneth Jernigan
                                               President Emeritus
                                 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

Enclosure

(Letter from a guide-dog user to Doug Elliott)
                                                 December 3, 1995

Doug:
     I have read and reread your letters and the related
correspondence in the October Monitor. I want to share some
impressions and observations.
     I will not say much about the role of the guide dog
division. Thus far I have been among those who have not helped
with its work.
     I agree with you that the use of a guide dog has effects and
that these effects are separable from those of blindness. It may
be as Bill Isaacs suggests that the division has no obligation to
discuss the negative effects of guide dog use. However, if the
division does not generate such a discussion, then it is unlikely
to happen in a systematic way.
     I guess I should not be surprised that, even when there is
agreement that a consequence results from using a guide dog,
there is difference of opinion about whether the consequence is
positive or negative. I have in mind the role of the guide dog as
an ice breaker. I know this happens; I have experienced it, and I
view it as definitely negative.
     I share your concern with use of the term "hierarchy" as it
pertains to alleged restrictions on discussion within the
movement. To the extent that the term "hierarchy" means anything
descriptive rather than simply pejorative, it refers to those we
have elected to lead. I have not sensed any attempt by our
leadership to stifle discussion on either this or other topics. I
think many have been reluctant to begin this discussion because
of the expectation that it will result in less unity within the
Federation than is currently the case. I also think that the
value of an honest, thorough discussion of these issues is worth
the risk.
     Thanks for your attention to this matter.

                                                       Cordially,


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Carol Ducote]
               INTERIM VICTORY IN THE DUCOTE CASE
                        by Scott LaBarre

     From the Editor: In the February, 1994, issue of the Braille
Monitor we first described the employment problems Carol Ducote
was facing in Brunswick, Georgia. Director of Governmental
Affairs James Gashel and then Associate Director of Governmental
Affairs Scott LaBarre took an active role in resolving an un-
pleasant situation in late 1993. Everyone hoped that the mess had
been satisfactorily resolved and that Carol would be able to
demonstrate sufficient competence at her job to put to rest any
lingering doubts in the minds of her school colleagues.
     But prejudice is notoriously difficult to dislodge from
people's minds simply because it is not a matter of fact and
proof; it resides in the emotions and feelings. School officials
were apparently capable of evaluating Carol Ducote's work as
satisfactory and still believing that no blind person could do
the work of a school administrator effectively. Scott Labarre has
continued to work on this case as it has developed through the
months since our last story. Here is his latest report:

     A little over two years ago the National Federation of the
Blind helped to saved Carol Ducote's job as assistant principal
and registrar of Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Georgia.
(See the February, 1994, Braille Monitor.) In short, Carol Ducote
lost her vision immediately before the beginning of the 1992-93
school year, but she continued to do her job with the help of
volunteer readers. At the end of that school year she received a
satisfactory performance evaluation.
     Nevertheless, the Glynn County School District rejected Ms.
Ducote's request for reasonable accommodations, and the
Superintendent recommended that she be terminated from her
position as assistant principal. It seemed obvious that neither
the superintendent, Jeffrey Weaver, nor the principal of the high
school, Derrick Hulsy, believed that a blind person could
effectively carry out the duties of an assistant principal.
     That is when the National Federation of the Blind became
involved in the case. We attempted, to no avail, to negotiate
with the school district's lawyers throughout the fall of 1993.
Finally, on November 8, 1993, Mr. Gashel and I appeared before
the Glynn County School Board to tell them that they had two
choices. Either they could return Ms. Ducote to her position, or
we would see them in federal court. The school board apparently
got the message because they ordered the superintendent to return
her to her job and further ordered that reasonable accommodations
be provided.
     Ms. Ducote reassumed her duties on November 15, 1993, and
received yet another satisfactory performance evaluation at the
end of that school year. By the way, the school district's
evaluations are constructed in such a way that "satisfactory" is
the highest rating an individual can receive. Derrick Hulsy left
Brunswick at the end of the 93-94 school year, and a new
principal came onto the scene.
     Marcia Boney took over at the high school, and Ms. Ducote
immediately noticed disparate treatment. Boney began criticizing
Ducote's performance as registrar even though the new principal
had not been at the school long enough to understand the
registration process. Moreover, every time Ms. Ducote requested
permission to attend professional conferences, her requests were
denied, even though other teachers and administrators were
permitted to attend. Carol Ducote had chaired the committee in
charge of conducting a ten-year review of the school's services.
Without explanation, Boney relieved Carol of that important
responsibility.
     Despite this campaign of isolation, Ms. Ducote still
received a satisfactory review at the end of the year, but a
major surprise was waiting around the corner. Immediately before
she left school for her summer leave, Ms. Ducote received a
letter from the new superintendent, David Mosely. Here is the
text of that letter:

                                                    June 27, 1995

Ms. Carol Ducote
St. Simons Island, Georgia

Dear Ms. Ducote:
     Your 1995-96 job placement is the Risley Learning Center,
effective July 27. This placement will serve to strengthen
programmatic objectives at the Center. Mrs. Johnnie Heck may be
contacted regarding specifics of your assignment, and she is
happy to have you on her staff.
     Mr. Edward Counsel will be notified of the site change by
the Personnel Department.
     Your cooperativeness is very much appreciated. My best
wishes for a happy 1995-96 school year.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                  David C. Mosely
                                                   Superintendent

     That was the letter, and, coming as it did out of the blue,
it was quite a shock. The Risley Learning Center is where all the
worst discipline problem students are sent when their home
schools can do no more with them. In other words, it is the
school of last resort. Until she received that letter, no one had
even mentioned the transfer to Carol, much less discussed it with
her.
     Mr. Gashel responded appropriately to Mr. Mosely's letter.
This is what he said:

                                                    June 29, 1995

Mr. David C. Mosely
Superintendent of Schools
Glynn County Schools
Brunswick, Georgia

Dear Mr. Mosely:
     Carol Ducote has asked me to review the matter of her
reassignment, which was announced to her in your letter of June
27. When I appeared before the Glynn County school board on
November 8, 1993, I indicated that the National Federation of the
Blind could not remain silent at a time when Ms. Ducote's
employment status was in jeopardy on grounds of blindness.
     At the time that I made this statement, Ms. Ducote was not
permitted to report for duty. School personnel had made no secret
of their concern that Carol could not continue to function as an
assistant principal at Brunswick High in view of her substantial
vision loss. As an alternative they had proposed a reassignment
for Carol to a position which they said they would be willing to
create.
     Our response on behalf of Ms. Ducote was that a reassignment
to a position which was not an assistant-principal position would
unlawfully discriminate against her on the grounds of disability.
This would be especially true since the duties of the new
position had not been specified, as compared to the precise job
description for an assistant principal. We pointed out that Ms.
Ducote was able to perform the duties of an assistant-principal
position. Therefore, removing her to a position with unspecified
duties would subject her to an unwarranted degree of uncertainty.
     In considering your letter of June 27, I know of nothing
that would change the position which we have previously taken
with respect to Ms. Ducote. As I understand it, she has in fact
performed her duties at Brunswick High in a satisfactory manner.
Furthermore, she has indicated her desire to continue in the
assistant-principal position for the coming year. In spite of
this, interviews have been held to fill her position and to
reassign Ms. Ducote as stated in your letter.
     For the reasons which I gave to the Glynn County school
board in 1993, the present reassignment of Ms. Ducote is
unacceptable to her and the National Federation of the Blind. The
reassignment is essentially the same kind of action as had been
proposed to us in 1993. To its credit the Board and others
responsible chose not to pursue that approach after considering
our position.
     Ms. Ducote has authorized me to advise you that she would
like to be considered for continuation in her present position.
In fact, I would wonder why, in view of her performance, you
would be interviewing anyone to fill this position as long as Ms.
Ducote is clearly qualified and available. Therefore, please
consider this letter to be her request to remain in the
assistant-principal position at Brunswick High.
     Ms. Ducote requests that further action to fill the
Brunswick High position by any individual other than herself not
be taken and that she be informed of the procedures to be
followed in considering her requests. Communications concerning
these requests may be directed to me.

                                                Very truly yours,
                                                     James Gashel
                                 Director of Governmental Affairs
                                 National Federation of the Blind

                           __________

     Mr. Gashel's letter clearly requested a formal response, but
the School District never responded to it. That is when I became
involved in the case. We contacted the District's lawyers, but
the School District refused to change its position on the
transfer. We were left with no choice but to file a lawsuit in
Federal District Court. We then contacted Jon Bumgartner, a
lawyer in Brunswick, to serve as local counsel in this matter.
Here is the complaint which we filed:

               IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
              FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
                       BRUNSWICK DIVISION

                     Carol Ducote, Plaintiff
                               vs.
                Glynn County School System and/or
              Glynn County School District, and/or
           Glynn County Board of Education, Defendant.
                   Civil Action No: CV295-113

             COMPLAINT FOR EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
                   Rehabilitation Act of 1973

COUNT I

     (1) Plaintiff, Carol Ducote, is an individual with a
disability and resides in St. Simon's Island, Georgia.
     (2) Defendants Glynn County School System, and/or Glynn
County School District, and/or Glynn County Board of Education
(hereinafter collectively referred to as the "School System")
operate a public school district serving Glynn County, Georgia.
The School System receives direct federal funding to carry out a
number of its educational programs. The operations of the School
System constitute a "program or activity" within the meaning of
29 U.S.C. 794.
     (3) Plaintiff seeks redress for discrimination based on her
disability, legal blindness, suffered by her in violation of the
law of the United States in her capacity as an employee of the
School System.
     (4) Specifically plaintiff alleges that she has been demoted
to an inferior position on June 27, 1995, in the School System
because of her disability and that during the term of her
employment plaintiff has not enjoyed the same benefits, terms,
and conditions of employment as other similarly situated
employees due to her disability.
     (5) Plaintiff seeks an award including reassignment to her
original position as Assistant Principal at Brunswick High
School, injunctive relief, damages for pain and suffering, all
compensatory damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees.

COUNT II
     (6) Plaintiff includes herein by reference all of the
foregoing allegations.
     (7) This suit is brought and jurisdiction lies pursuant to
Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 701 et
seq. and 42 U.S.C. 1983. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to
28 U.S.C. 1331, and the Court has supplementary jurisdiction for
all claims arising under Georgia law pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec.
1367.
     (8) All conditions precedent to this suit have been met, to
wit this action is taken within 180 days of the relevant acts of
discrimination suffered by plaintiff.
     (9) All actions of discrimination alleged herein have taken
place within the state of Georgia. Defendants are subject to the
jurisdiction of this Court, and venue is proper in this forum.

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
     (10) Plaintiff incorporates herein by reference all
foregoing allegations.
     (11) In August of 1985 plaintiff was employed by the School
System as a classroom teacher. Two years later the School System
promoted her to Assistant Principal at Brunswick High School.
Until June 27, 1995, she served as the main registrar, developed
the curriculum, administered discipline, conducted teacher
evaluations, and carried out all other associated duties of an
assistant principal. Throughout this period her performance
reviews have been at worst satisfactory, and plaintiff has often
received praise and commendations for her work.
     (12) In 1987 plaintiff suffered a severe reaction known as
Stephen Johnson's Syndrome to a legal drug which caused her legal
blindness. Said reaction caused lingering effects throughout the
years which eventually led to her total blindness in 1992.
Despite this medical setback, plaintiff returned to her position
and continued to perform her duties. Even though it had knowledge
of plaintiff's disability, the School System did not accommodate
her blindness. At the end of the 1992-93 school year, her
performance was again evaluated, and she received a satisfactory
review even though virtually no accommodations had been provided
to assist her in adjusting to her disability.
     (13) In August of 1993 School System officials summoned
plaintiff for a meeting. At said meeting officials informed
plaintiff that she could not perform her job duties adequately
because of her blindness. Said officials issued an ultimatum that
either plaintiff retire on disability or she would be terminated.
Plaintiff refused to accept the disability offer, and on or about
August 25, 1993, she received a letter from the superintendent
informing her that she had been placed on administrative leave
until the time that the school board could officially terminate
her employment.
     (14) Plaintiff then contacted officials of the National
Federation of the Blind, hereafter NFB, and said officials
intervened on plaintiff's behalf. The School System did not
terminate plaintiff's employment but did not allow her to return
to her position. School System officials proposed that a new
counseling position be created for plaintiff in another school, a
position with no job security and no discernible job description.
Both the NFB and plaintiff rejected said proposal and persisted
in requesting a return to the original position. On November 8,
1993, officials of the NFB attended a school board meeting, where
the employment status of plaintiff was thoroughly discussed.
After said discussion the board voted to return plaintiff to her
job and further authorized the School System to provide
appropriate accommodations. The School System provided said
accommodations, and plaintiff continued to achieve success at the
school. Plaintiff received a satisfactory evaluation at the end
of the 1993-94 school year. Conditions seemed favorable for
plaintiff until the 1994-1995 school year.
     (15) A new principal, Ms. Marcia Boney, was assigned to
Brunswick High School for the 1994-95 school year. On several
different occasions, plaintiff has not been treated in the same
manner as other employees who are similarly situated. Most
apparent is the fact that Ms. Boney refused even to talk to
plaintiff except when absolutely necessary. One of plaintiff's
job duties was to maintain discipline at Brunswick High School.
Plaintiff requested administrative leave so that she could attend
a one-day conference on disciplinary techniques for school
officials in Savannah. Plaintiff's request was denied for no
apparent reason. When pressed, the principal of Brunswick High,
Marcia Boney, stated that normally administrators had to conduct
a workshop on the subjects covered at conferences, and said
principal further stated that she did not desire a workshop to be
conducted on the topic covered at the conference. The principal
did, however, receive requests from other staff and faculty to
attend said conference. All of those requests were granted,
mostly because Ms. Boney could not find a sufficient number of
school personnel to attend the meeting. Despite these facts, she
flatly rejected plaintiff's request, even though attendance at
said conference was directly relevant to and appropriate for
plaintiff's job.
     (16) At the beginning of plaintiff's tenure as Assistant
Principal she had been placed in charge of a committee that
drafted and then implemented a thorough evaluation of services
and a ten-year plan for the school. Said plan called for an
intermediate review after five years. During the 1993-1994 school
year, plaintiff began preparations for said review and began to
appoint committees and to organize efforts for the oncoming
school year. In the fall of 1994 Ms. Boney stripped plaintiff of
all responsibilities and turned them over to individuals who were
not administrators and who did not possess plaintiff's experience
with the plan.
     (17) Plaintiff requested to attend the Georgia Technology
Conference because sessions were offered regarding technological
advances in planning curricula and taking registration. Thirteen
other school employees were granted permission to attend said
conference, but plaintiff's request was denied despite the fact
that plaintiff's attendance at the conference would have been
greatly beneficial to the performance of her job.
     (18) Plaintiff scheduled an appreciation night for the
faculty of the high school. In the past it had been plaintiff's
responsibility to arrange such an activity for the teachers. Ms.
Boney unilaterally canceled said event even though similar events
planned by other individuals had been permitted to occur.
     (19) The allegations contained in paragraphs thirteen
through eighteen are emblematic of disparate treatment based on
blindness suffered by plaintiff at the hands of the School
System. These incidents and others have led to the isolation of
plaintiff from her colleagues and have impeded her professional
growth. The only pertinent factor distinguishing plaintiff from
other similarly situated school employees is her blindness. The
School System has not articulated any legitimate reasons for
denying Plaintiff's requests.

SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
     (20) Plaintiff incorporates by reference all foregoing
allegations.
     (21) On June 27, 1995, plaintiff received notice that she
was being transferred to the Risley Learning Center. The notice
did not even state to which position she was being transferred.
The notice simply stated that she had been transferred to
strengthen programmatic objectives at the Center. The School
System never consulted with Plaintiff on this transfer and never
afforded her the opportunity to apply for other positions. The
School System never discussed the transfer with plaintiff even
though she had indicated her interest in maintaining her position
as the Assistant Principal and Registrar at Brunswick High.
     (22) The School System apparently slightly restructured
certain administrative positions at the System's two full-service
high schools, Brunswick High and the Glynn Academy. At both
schools the Associate-Principal position was eliminated. Before
said elimination the principal, two assistant principals, an
associate principal, and a vocational supervisor comprised the
chief administrative team at both schools. The former Associate
Principal at the Glynn Academy did not receive a reassignment
because said individual retired from the School System. The
Associate Principal at Brunswick received an offer to fill an
assistant-principal position at the school. The School System
never offered plaintiff any of these administrative positions.
Instead the School System advertised for the assistant-principal
positions at Brunswick High. Said positions are still unfilled at
Brunswick High. The two assistant principals at Glynn Academy
have not been transferred, and their positions have not been
threatened.
     (23) The position to which plaintiff has been transferred
has not existed heretofore. From Plaintiff's understanding, it is
a counseling position with undefined and vague objectives. During
the period of plaintiff's employment, no one has ever been
involuntarily transferred to a position at the learning center
after they have held an administrative position at one of the
School System's two main high schools. The position for which
plaintiff is slated is not regarded as an administrative position
because normally a counseling position is considered to be part
of the regular staff at a school. Additionally involuntary
transfers to the Risley Learning Center have commonly been viewed
as demotions. Again the only pertinent characteristic which
distinguishes plaintiff from others who are similarly situated is
blindness. None of the other administrators has been singled out
for such a demotion.
     WHEREFORE plaintiff prays that this court find and hold
that:
     (1) Plaintiff has suffered from acts of discrimination based
on her disability;
     (2) Plaintiff be awarded immediate restoration to her former
position with all the benefits, monetary compensation, and
accommodations due her;
     (3) The School System be preliminarily and permanently
enjoined from filling the assistant-principal positions until
plaintiff has been properly restored to her former position;
     (4) Plaintiff be awarded all compensatory damages accrued as
a result of defendant's systematic discrimination against her;
     (5) Plaintiff be awarded appropriate damages for the severe
humiliation, pain, and suffering which plaintiff has endured as a
result of defendant's discrimination;
     (6) Plaintiff be awarded all reasonable attorneys' fees,
cost, and disbursements associated with this action; and
     (7) This court grant whatever other relief and awards as
justice so requires.

     RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 28th_____ day of    , 1995.

                        WHELCHEL, BROWN, READDICK, AND BUMGARTNER
                                            by John E. Bumgartner
                                           Georgia Bar No: 094600
                                         by Richard K. Strickland
                                           Georgia Bar No: 687830

                                 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
                                     by Scott C. LaBarre, Esquire
                                          Colorado Bar No: 025495
                                          Attorneys for Plaintiff

     A great deal has happened since we filed that complaint. We
have conducted approximately fifteen depositions, endured various
rounds of negotiation, and demanded the production of hundreds of
documents. We were originally set to go to trial on November 6,
but, as you will see, Judge Alaimo, the federal judge assigned to
this case, postponed the trial.
     As our Complaint alleges, we contend that Carol Ducote's
transfer was in fact a demotion. Everything that we have learned
has confirmed this original contention. At Brunswick High Ms.
Ducote ran registration for a high school of 1500 students;
developed the curriculum; administered discipline; evaluated
teachers; supervised school events like football games, dances,
and the like; and chaired various committees. In other words, she
had a complex and challenging job--one which truly tested her
professional abilities.
     The same cannot be said for Ms. Ducote's new position at the
Risley Learning Center. When she first reported to the position
in late July, she had virtually no duties to fulfill. She spent
the vast majority of her days practicing her Braille and becoming
more familiar with her speech software. These are certainly
laudable activities, but they are not what Carol Ducote had been
hired to do. When the school year began in late August, she
acquired some additional duties. Namely, she has been assigned to
disciplining the challenging students sent to the Center.
Discipline has been her only real job duty. She does a good job
at it, but she says that she feels like nothing more than a
highly paid baby-sitter. When one compares her duties at
Brunswick to those at Risley, one can understand why she feels
that way. Nevertheless, the School District continues to maintain
that her job transfer was lateral.
     The depositions of various school personnel have revealed
many major inconsistencies. For example, the superintendent,
David Mosely, claims that he transferred Ms. Ducote because the
Principal at Brunswick requested it. The Principal claims under
oath that she had nothing to do with the transfer and that it was
entirely the decision of the superintendent.
     In her deposition, Marcia Boney, the principal, alleged that
registration at the high school had become a monumental problem
and that it was primarily Carol Ducote's fault. Almost all other
school employees interviewed have said that registration was no
different from other years. They claim that registration is
always a pain in the neck because there are always teachers and
students who are unhappy with their assignments. These employees
further stated that Carol Ducote ran registration as well as it
could be run and that she had always tried to find new ways to
improve the process.
     In the deposition of Derrick Hulsy, Ms. Ducote's former
principal, Mr. Hulsy admitted that he had never believed that
Carol Ducote could do the job as a blind person. He stated that
he still was not convinced even after the School Board ordered
that she be returned to her position. Mr. Hulsy's main problem
with Ms. Ducote's return was that he did not believe that a blind
person could safely supervise and monitor large gatherings of
students. Allen Harris, Treasurer of the National Federation of
the Blind and a prominent school teacher in Michigan, visited
Brunswick High several times in an attempt to explain to Mr.
Hulsy how blind educators could get the job done. Unfortunately
Mr. Hulsy remained unconvinced that a blind person could fulfill
the duties of an assistant principal.
     The depositions of David Mosely and Marcia Boney revealed
that Derrick Hulsy had discussed the 1993 events surrounding
Carol Ducote's employment situation with them. It is hard to
believe that the 1993 events did not affect Boney's and Mosely's
decision to transfer her.
     The main problem for us in this case has been that the
School District has become considerably more sophisticated in the
way in which it has carried out its discriminatory actions. In
1993 there was no doubt that the District wanted to terminate Ms.
Ducote because of her blindness. We had the classic smoking gun.
In fact, there were all kinds of smoking guns lying on the
battlefield. That has not been the case during the events of
1995.
     The way in which Carol Ducote was transferred smacks most
obviously of discrimination. Before Carol received the letter
from David Mosely on June 27, no one had ever discussed the
transfer with her; yet school officials continue to claim that
the job to which she was transferred was almost perfectly
tailored for her abilities. One school official, under oath at
his deposition, even went as far as to say that the transfer was
a promotion. If this is all true and if Carol Ducote is a valued
employee as the school officials claim, why did no one discuss
this alleged promotion with her?
     As our Complaint argues, Brunswick High advertised for new
assistant principals. Applications were accepted between June 12
and June 25. Remember that Ms. Ducote received her letter of
transfer on June 27. She had been told that the School District
was advertising for only one position. Therefore, she believed
that her job was still safe. When she received her letter of
transfer, she no longer had any opportunity to be considered for
one of the assistant-principal positions.
     Even though we have no smoking gun in this case, the weight
of the evidence points to an illegal motive on the part of the
School District. Throughout October we discussed settlement with
the School District. We attempted to be as flexible as we could.
For example, Ms. Ducote would have been willing to wait until the
end of the school year to be transferred out of Risley as long as
she received a guarantee that her next assignment would be a true
lateral transfer. She enumerated six broad job categories that
she believed to be real transfers or promotions.
     Unfortunately the School District refused all of these
offers. David Mosely apparently did not want to be locked into a
set course of action. In dealing with opposing counsel, we
received the distinct impression that the School District's
lawyers wanted to settle the case; it was Mosely who provided the
primary opposition to doing so.
     Because of the School District's failure to settle, we had
no choice but to prepare for trial on November 6. Before a trial
it is common practice for the Judge to hold a pre-trial
conference. We had such a conference with Judge Alaimo on
November 2. He made it very clear to both sides that he did not
want to try the case at that time. He told us that he was going
to hold the matter in abeyance until the end of the school year,
mostly to give the parties an opportunity to settle. The
following letter to opposing counsel from Jon Bumgartner and me
accurately describes what happened during the pre-trial
conference. Here it is:

                                               Brunswick, Georgia
                                                 November 2, 1995

Phillip L. Hartley, Esq.
HARBIN & HARTLY
Gainesville, Georgia

James A. Bishop, Esquire
Brunswick, Georgia

     RE: Carol Ducote v. Glynn County School System, et al, U.S.
     District Court, Southern District of Georgia, Civil Action
     No: CV295-113

Dear Phil and Jim:
     As you know, we conducted a pre-trial and settlement
conference with Judge Alaimo today. This letter represents our
understanding of the events which transpired at today's meeting.
     As you are aware, Judge Alaimo has agreed to hold this
matter in abeyance until June, 1996, under the following
conditions:
     The Glynn County School District will consider and interview
Carol Ducote for all vacant job positions that fall under the six
categories of jobs which we have already enumerated. Please
consider this letter as Ms. Ducote's request to be transferred
from the Risley Learning Center. The following six job categories
are presented in order of preference.
     1. Ms. Ducote would be willing to be considered for and
accept a position as assistant principal at any of the school
district's high schools. Such a position would be similar to the
one which Ms. Ducote held at Brunswick High School from 1987
through the spring of 1995.
     2. Ms. Ducote would be willing to be considered for and
accept an administrative position in the school district's
personnel office. This would be an administrative position housed
within the school system's central office.
     3. Ms. Ducote would be willing to be considered for and
accept a position involving student advocacy at the central
office level. It is our understanding that various personnel
within the school district help to coordinate and administer
student advocacy programs. For example, certain individuals serve
as hearing officers for students when they appeal their
suspensions, expulsions, or other adverse decisions. Ms. Ducote
would be willing to administer and coordinate these programs.
     4. Ms. Ducote would be willing to be considered for and
accept a position as either principal or assistant principal of
an elementary school. This job position should not require any
additional description.
     5. Ms. Ducote would be willing to be considered for and
accept a position as either principal or assistant principal of a
middle school. This job position should not require any
additional description.
     6. Ms. Ducote would be willing to be considered for and
accept a position as curriculum coordinator. Currently there are
curriculum coordinators who oversee curriculum for the school
district's high schools and elementary schools. Currently Linda
Wright and Kathy O'Keefe fill this type of position.
     It is our understanding that, if vacancies come up in any of
these positions which we have enumerated, the school district
will consider and interview Ms. Ducote for such positions.
Announcements of all such openings and vacancies should be sent
directly to Ms. Ducote so that she can review such openings with
her reader. A copy of the same should also be sent to Ms.
Ducote's attorneys.
     If the school district does fill one of these vacancies with
Ms. Ducote, we will consider such an action as a settlement of
this litigation, pending the resolution of our claim for
reasonable attorneys' fees. Our notion of a reasonable settlement
for attorneys' fees is the same one which we discussed in detail
last week. If the school district does not settle this matter
under the terms which are discussed in this letter, we will plan
to litigate this matter during the month of June, 1996.
     Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.
Please let us know immediately if you disagree in any way with
our summary of the events of November 2, 1995.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                               John E. Bumgartner
                                                 Scott C. LaBarre
cc: Honorable Anthony A. Alaimo

                           __________

     There you have the text of the letter. We determined that
within the six broad categories discussed, there are
approximately twenty-five positions in the School District. Given
normal events, there is very little doubt that some of those
positions will become vacant before the 1995-1996 school year.
Therefore, the School District will have to consider Carol Ducote
for those positions. If she is considered and later denied, we
will only have further evidence that the School District is
unlawfully discriminating.
     Clearly we still have a gun pointed at the School District's
head, and the longer School officials take to settle the matter,
the more ammunition we will have stockpiled. Therefore, if the
matter does go to trial in June, we will be in an even stronger
strategic position.
     When we first became involved in this case, we hoped that we
would find a quick solution to the matter. Unfortunately that has
not happened. But we in the Federation are patient. When people
are discriminated against based on blindness, we will stand
behind them until the matter is favorably resolved. Carol Ducote
is a bright, competent school administrator, and after thirty-
three years in education she does not deserve the treatment given
to her by the School District. She never received this kind of
treatment until she became blind.
     Carol Ducote is now a committed member of the National
Federation of the Blind. She has realized the value of collective
action. Without our help she would have been virtually
defenseless against the School District. With our help there is
very little doubt that we will prevail. Although the Federation
is a complex and dynamic organization, one of its fundamental
principles is easy to understand: we are far stronger together
than any one of us is acting alone. Only through collective
action will we become first-class citizens in our society. Carol
Ducote's case is yet another example of the truth that
collectively we are changing what it means to be blind.


[PHOTO: Homer Page is seated outdoors on a set of stairs with his grandson
Elliot and his granddaughter Kelsie in his lap. CAPTION: Homer Page with
grandson Elliot and granddaughter Kelsie.]
                    SAVORING HIS ACHIEVEMENTS
           OUTGOING COMMISSIONER PAGE ASSESSES TENURE
                        by Emily Narvaes

     From the Editor: The following article is reprinted from the
August 27, 1995, edition of the Boulder, Colorado, Daily Camera.
It is a tribute to Dr. Homer Page, Past President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Colorado and new Executive Director of
the Colorado Center for the Blind. Here it is:

     Pictures of old, weathered farmers on tractors and bright,
smiling faces of children greet visitors to this otherwise dark
office in the County Courthouse.
     Other revealing items surrounding the room's occupant: a
baseball still in its plastic cover, a huge gavel in the window,
white paper covered with nothing but tiny bumps strewn across the
desk, a colorful map made out of felt, tinfoil, and beads.
     County Commissioner Homer Page can't see the black-and-white
pictures on the stark wall, but they tell his story to anyone who
takes the time to ask about them: the farming photos are
reminiscent of childhood days spent on a farm in Missouri, the
pictures of kids are of his two grandchildren--four-year-old
Elliot and seventeen-month-old Kelsie, for whom he has great
hopes.
     "It's the past and the future," says Page, fifty-three, who
is blind. "It's where I came from and where I'm going."
     After twenty-one years working as a public servant and an
advocate for people with disabilities, Page is stepping down from
his seven-year post in the courthouse and moving to Denver. His
last day is Tuesday, when he will leave for a new job as director
of the Colorado Center for the Blind, a training center he co-
founded. Page would have been up for re-election next year.
     As a political mover and shaker, Page has been viewed as
compassionate and sometimes unwavering in his efforts to manage
growth, improve air quality and traffic congestion, support human
services, and preserve open space. At times firm positions to
protect his vision of the quality of life in Boulder County have
brought opponents out of the woodwork.
     But aside from his local politics, Page is also famous
around the state and the country for his work to convince people
who are blind and disabled that they can have meaningful,
productive lives. As the county's first blind politician, Page
has fought some personal battles, including leading a protest
against a TV station for broadcasting a program that poked fun at
people who are disabled.
     He is the former director of the Office of Services to
Disabled Students at the University of Colorado and helped create
the Center for People with Disabilities in Boulder.
     "I really feel that I was able to help change the lives of
some people," Page said of his work at CU. "My students are
around here doing great things, and I think I had something to do
with that."
     His roles in the private and public sector fit well
together, Page believes.
     "I would like to think of myself as a person who understands
the relationship between humankind and the environment and that,
if we don't love the land, the water, the air, and the animals
that inhabit them, we won't do a very good job loving people
either."
     People he's worked with at the county over the years say
Page has a deep understanding of human needs, and they'll miss
his contributions.
     "The Board will lose its biggest baseball enthusiast," said
a smiling Ron Stewart, a county commissioner who was elected
before Page. Sobering, he added, "Homer has really been a delight
to work with. He has lots of experience as well as points of
reference in his life that enable him to bring a lot to the job."
     On a personal level, Stewart said he appreciated knowing
exactly where Page stood on issues, even when they disagreed.
     "When Homer's happy, it's a pretty transparent thing,"
Stewart said. "There's a look on his face that (says) he has
found the key and is about to put it on the table."
     Page admits he's got nothing to hide, even now as he's
stepping out of public life. After serving on the Boulder City
Council for seven years, three as mayor, and being elected in
1988 and again in 1992 as a commissioner, Page said he's always
been forthright.
     "I've never been the kind of person that (says), `Well, if I
weren't a county commissioner, I would really tell you what I
think,'" he said. "I've pretty much told people what I thought
anyway."
     That has been a painful lesson for some residents who, over
the years, have disagreed with the direction the county has
taken.
     "I think Homer masqueraded as a Democrat, but he's really a
Socialist," said Rocky Haight, whose group, Boulder County
Concerned Citizens, has fought the commissioners on land-use
issues. "I'm a very conservative person, so I guess it's not a
surprise that we've had some conflicts. I just hope we don't get
anybody further to the left.
     "The surprise to Homer is that not everybody in Boulder
County is a flaming liberal," he added. "I don't think he
understands that. Homer was about as far left as anybody."
     Haight, who fears he'll lose his private property rights
because of county land-use policies, charged that he couldn't get
Page to compromise: "It was his way or no way."
     But colleagues who worked with Page respected him, even when
they differed.
     "People probably don't realize what it's like to be on a
three-member board," said County Treasurer Sandy Hume, a
Republican who, as a former county commissioner, was sometimes
the one dissenting vote on what was an otherwise Democratic
board.
     "It's very claustrophobic--you're with the same people day
in and day out on all sorts of issues," he said. "But Homer has
been wonderful to work with. Time and time again, Homer would be
able to make extremely clear judgments on what he thought Boulder
County could do for people that were disadvantaged and really had
a pretty sharp eye to keep budgets conservative.
     "All in all, I think he was a remarkable public servant, and
I was privileged to work with him."
     Page said his exit from politics will give him time to be in
the advocacy role that he enjoys so much. But he'll also take
more time to do the things his public roles have kept him from:
writing, going to plays and concerts, and spending more time with
his daughter Angie and son-in-law Scott Jeffords and their
children in Boulder.
     As he leaves Boulder County, Page is still concerned about
the mudslinging that seems to be on the rise in the community
these days.
     "I think people ought to listen to one another and treat one
another with respect," he said. "While I wouldn't claim that I
haven't fallen in the ditch on occasion, that's something I've
tried to keep uppermost in my mind and tried to do the best I
could to live that way.
     "I feel a lot of good solid achievement," said a thoughtful
Page, sitting back in his chair in the courthouse. "A lot of
closure. I have gotten a lot of kindness and generosity from the
people in Boulder County."



[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Nell Carney.]
            CONTROVERSY AT THE REHABILITATION CENTER
                     IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI
                       by Kenneth Jernigan

     In 1993 there were three NAC (National Accreditation Council
for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped)-
accredited agencies giving services to blind persons in the State
of Mississippi. These were the Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation for the Blind of the Mississippi Department of
Rehabilitation Services, Royal Maid Association for the Blind,
and the Regional Rehabilitation Center of Tupelo. Royal Maid and
the State Rehabilitation Agency have since dropped NAC
accreditation. This leaves the Regional Rehabilitation Center of
Tupelo, and to no one's surprise it is now in the midst of a
public controversy--with charges being made of poor service,
mismanagement, and neglect of clients. With NAC's reputation and
history it would be noteworthy if it were otherwise.
     Even though a state legislator--Steve Holland, who is on the
House Appropriations Committee--is on this agency's board, it
receives state funding, and has done so for many years. When
former federal Rehabilitation Commissioner Nell Carney came to
Mississippi in 1993 to take charge of the State's Department of
Rehabilitation, she began to ask questions and demand
accountability. One of the programs that came under scrutiny was
the Tupelo facility. Of course, Legislator Holland resisted and
resented. Under date of November 10, 1995, the following article
appeared in the Jackson, Mississippi, Clarion-Ledger:

             Tupelo rehabilitation center criticized
                     for `no accountability'
              --Local officials say state director
               is the problem and want her fired.
                        by Jerry Mitchell

     The Regional Rehabilitation Center of Tupelo has drawn fire
from state officials for excessive costs and inferior services,
according to documents obtained by the Clarion-Ledger.
     The center's board includes state Rep. Steve Holland, D-
Plantersville, who has served in the Legislature since 1984.
     "Basically, there was no accountability," said Nell C.
Carney, executive director of the state Department of
Rehabilitation Services since 1993.
     Investigative reports, which have resulted in a change in
federal funding, claim the not-for-profit Tupelo organization:
      Paid $38,869 a year to a job placement counselor, who
     placed only five clients in jobs in two years.
      Paid excessive annual costs for housekeeping
     ($7,230), bookkeeping ($14,307), and floor space ($8.23
     per square foot).
      Provided services that were deemed "unacceptable" in
     quality by rehabilitation officials.
      Treated no more than six visually impaired clients at
     one time and sometimes zero.
      Had clients shell peas at the home of the then-
     director, John A. Rasberry Sr.
     Center officials said the allegations are either unfounded
or misleading. For example, they say the counselor was a twenty-
seven-year state worker. They say they have treated up to
seventeen clients at one time through the Rehabilitation Services
for the Blind, which is part of the rehabilitation department.
     The Tupelo center, which is negotiating a new state
contract, has an annual budget of about $560,000. Half comes from
city and county governments. United Way chapters pay about
$38,000. Through fiscal 1995, an average of more than $300,000
came from federal funds. Mississippi helped provide the matching
funds.
     Holland said the Tupelo facility deserves applause, not
criticism, for providing free therapy to disabled residents since
1955. In 1994 the center, along with the Rehabilitation Services
for the Blind, provided services to more than 1,908 individuals
in forty-two counties, officials say.
     "Services for the blind are needed in north Mississippi,"
Holland said. "They cannot go to Jackson and get services 180
miles away."
     While the center had "probably gotten a little lax in
managing . . . and accountability," he said, "who can do better?"
     More important, since serving on the board beginning in
1973, he said, "we haven't had any money missing."
     With regard to the allegation about clients shelling peas,
Holland said he never saw such a thing occur. "I heard those
allegations," he said. "I can't verify it."
     Rasberry denied the claim. "Oh, Lord, no," he said.
     The shortage of clients stems from the fact the state has
not referred them, said Rasberry, who directed the center for
four decades before retiring in September.
     Those accusations are not the only controversy surrounding
the center. Holland serves on both the board and the House
Appropriations Committee, which approved $40,000 for the center
last year.
     Mississippi law bars lawmakers from serving on a business
board that contracts with the state. Violation carries possible
fines and expulsion from the Legislature.
     Asked about the possible conflict, Holland replied, "I've
never even thought about it. . . . We're not a state agency;
we're a vendor."
     He added he has no plans to resign from the board. "I'm not
going to lay down and play dead just because we get a grant," he
said.
     Holland started serving on the board at age nineteen, a few
years removed from when he began raising money for the center as
a Boy Scout.
     It's a job he has performed free of charge. In fact, he has
continually donated to the center each year, he said. "The Lord
has blessed me with involvement in the program."
     In 1955 Tupelo officials used a church's nursery to begin
its free aid for the disabled.
     Seven years later workers constructed the Regional
Rehabilitation Center in Tupelo. Half the money came from federal
funds, the rest from the community.
     In the years that followed the center began to receive four-
to-one federal matching funds for its services.
     In January, 1993, Carney came to Jackson from Washington,
where she had served under President Bush as U.S. Commissioner of
Rehabilitation Services.
     She inherited a state agency criticized by the Office of the
Inspector General for "misused funds and lack of emphasis on
client services."
     She explained: "When I came, there was no focus on client
services. We have since reduced the administrative costs by 35
percent. Most of that went for salaries and travel. The focus on
client services was just not here."
     One item brought to her attention was a question regarding
the legality of the center's contract because public monies
cannot aid a private business.
     The rehabilitation center funneled its money through the
city of Tupelo to get around federal prohibitions, Carney said.
"It was clearly an attempt to circumvent the regulations."
     Rasberry said no deception was involved. In fact, federal
and state officials suggested the arrangement years ago, he said.
     In 1994 Carney required the center to change to a fee-for-
service contract. "Serious issues about the quality of services,
accountability, and general ability of the center to provide
acceptable services to clients of the department have prevailed,"
wrote Carney, inducted in October into the National Hall of Fame
for Persons with Disabilities.
     Not everyone, however, has been pleased with her approach.
     "I think Dr. Carney's got some redeemable qualities as far
as knowing Rehabilitation Services, but she's a piranha as far as
her style," said Holland, who has complained to Gov. Kirk
Fordice.
     The upcoming legislative session could prove to be a
political showdown between Carney and Holland, who wants Carney
fired.
     "I don't think she's bringing any credibility to the
Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, and I want her
gone," he said. "She doesn't deserve to be in our good state."
     He claimed that Carney has fired or transferred many
qualified workers at the department. "If you say, `Good morning,'
improperly, you're gone," Holland said.
     The three criticisms Rasberry said he has heard from
rehabilitation officials concern the quality of the Tupelo
center's services, lack of population, and lack of
accountability.
     If the center was so horrible, Rasberry asked, why does
Carney want to continue the program?
     "I hate she feels that way," he said. "It's going to hurt
the Regional Rehabilitation Center because the public may not
understand.
     "We want to cooperate with everybody. We've been doing this
for thirty-eight years and never had a minute's trouble under the
different directors until she came in."

     That is what the article in the Clarion-Ledger says, and the
scenario is not unfamiliar to those who have followed the story
of NAC-accredited agencies through the years. In 1992 there was
apparently a major fire at the Rehabilitation Center. The report
in the Tupelo Daily Journal of July 8, 1993, makes it clear that
supervision at the Rehabilitation Center was, to say the least,
relaxed. The Journal says that a security officer, Anthony
Rogers, at a nearby medical facility saw smoke billowing from the
area of the Rehabilitation Center at about 1:00 on the morning of
June 10, 1992, and that he went to investigate. "Once there," the
Journal reports:

     . . . he pounded on the door of the building's east side
dormitory, waking up one of the residents.
     "I pounded on the door, and a blind lady came to the door,"
Rogers said.
     He escorted the woman outside, then went back in and combed
the building for other residents. He assisted seven other
residents in leaving the smoke-filled building.
     The fire department arrived on the scene and began to battle
the blaze.
     Still feeling uneasy, Rogers said he decided to go back into
the building, which was on fire by now, for a final look.
     "Something just kept telling me to go back in and make
another check," he remembers.
     After going back in, he found a man still in the bed asleep.
Rogers went over and started shaking him awake.
     "I kept saying,`The building's on fire, we need to leave,'"
Rogers said. "But he just kept looking at me."
     Finally, Rogers was able to lead the man, who was hearing-
impaired, to safety outside.

     This is what the Journal reports, and one is left with
questions. How can this failure of Rehabilitation Center
officials to respond be explained? Sources tell us that the
dormitory supervisor was the brother of Center Director John
(nicknamed "Red") Rasberry. Of course, this may have no
significance at all, but it suggests a possible informality of
operation which could be relevant. We are told that dorm
supervisor Rasberry was asleep in his room and had to be waked up
to escape from the fire.
     The following letter from a parent in Blue Springs to
Director Nell Carney seems worth quoting:

                                                November 24, 1995

Dr. Carney,
     Our son was a client of the Rehabilitation Center in Tupelo,
Mississippi, from January until December, 1992. In June of that
year the Center experienced a fire. Our son came close to losing
his life. He was rescued by Mr. Anthony Rogers, a security
officer at the near-by North Mississippi Medical Center. Don is
deaf-blind.
     No one from the Rehabilitation Center notified our family of
the fire. The way we found out: we were watching the evening news
on the local TV station. Of course, we panicked. It was a day
later. We found our son in a motel in Tupelo. My husband asked
Gary Norman why he didn't call us and let us know. His reply was,
"I did not think it was necessary. I had more important things to
do." We were treated as though it was none of our business.
Everything was kept very quiet. Not much news in the local paper.
I kept searching for information. Finally, about three months
later, I found this article in the Daily Journal. Now I know what
happened, but where was the paid employee that was on duty that
night?
     The blind people of North Mississippi need a beautiful place
to learn--a safe place, and a caring place. Thank you for your
work.

     In an interview Dr. Carney told the Monitor that she has
established a facility in Tupelo which is giving services to the
blind of Northern Mississippi. It is doubtful that Legislator
Holland will be content to leave matters as they now stand. He
has the power of his position as a Legislator, and he has the
further power of being on the Appropriations Committee.


             STATUS OF THE NATIONAL LITERARY BRAILLE
                         COMPETENCY TEST

     From the Editor: We recently received the following report
from the National Library Service. What happens in the validation
process of the Literary Braille Competency Test is of vital
importance to all blind people. Here is the NLS update:

     The National Literary Braille Competency Test (NLBCT) was
developed by the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped in collaboration with leading
organizations promoting the use of Braille. It is intended
primarily to allow teachers of blind children and adults to
demonstrate a basic knowledge of Braille. The test has been in
use since May, 1994.
     Plans are underway to conduct a validation study of the test
beginning in the spring of 1996. A statement of work is in
process, and a solicitation for bids to do the study was made in
December, with the contract to be awarded in March. The study is
expected to take two years. First a validation study of the
overall test will be done, including a job analysis and an
assessment of the conditions under which the test is
administered. In the job analysis teachers, supervisors, and
subject-matter experts in the teaching of Braille to children and
adults will examine the task of teaching Braille. The information
that comes from this analysis will be compared with the current
test and recommendations made, if indicated, to make changes in
the content of the test. Conditions of administration that may be
looked at include organization of the test, number and order of
parts, time frame, use of reference materials, special
accommodations for low-vision candidates, and test/re-test
interval. The validation study will be followed by a reliability
study, including an item analysis of the four versions of the
test as modified by the validation study.
     Through September, 1995, 224 tests were taken with forty-six
candidates (20.5 percent) passing. Of these tests, 171 were taken
using the print edition, with twenty-four candidates (14 percent)
passing, and fifty-three were taken using the Braille edition,
with twenty-two candidates (41.5 percent) passing. Twenty-six
states have been represented among the candidates.
     For additional information about the NLBCT, contact the
Braille Development Section, National Library Service for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped, The Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C. 20542, or call (800) 424-8567 and ask for Mary
Lou Stark.
     Here is the list of twenty-six states, together with their
participation data as represented in this update:

     Alaska, 3 print taken, 1 passed; Arkansas, 1 print taken, 1
passed; California, 1 print taken, 1 Braille taken, 0 passed;
Connecticut, 1 Braille taken, 0 passed; District of Columbia, 3
Braille taken, 1 passed; Florida, 3 Braille taken, 0 passed;
Georgia, 1 Braille taken, 1 passed; Idaho, 2 Braille taken, 0
passed; Illinois, 12 print taken, 2 passed; Louisiana, 2 print
taken, 0 passed, 1 Braille taken, 1 passed; Maine, 6 print taken,
4 passed, 1 Braille taken, 0 passed; Maryland, 4 Braille taken, 2
passed; Massachusetts, 5 print taken, 3 passed, 2 Braille taken,
1 passed; Michigan, 24 print taken, 6 passed, 1 Braille taken, 1
passed; Missouri, 1 print taken, 1 passed, 7 Braille taken, 2
passed; Nebraska, 1 Braille taken, 0 passed; New York, 1 Braille
taken, 1 passed; Ohio, 1 Braille taken, 1 passed; Oklahoma, 1
Braille taken, 0 passed; Oregon, 5 print taken, 4 passed;
Pennsylvania, 2 Braille taken, 0 passed; Tennessee, 2 Braille
taken, 0 passed; Texas, 104 print taken, 1 passed, 4 Braille
taken, 3 passed; Virginia, 1 print taken, 0 passed, 7 Braille
taken, 6 passed; West Virginia, 1 print taken, 0 passed, 1
Braille taken, 1 passed; and Wisconsin, 5 print taken, 2 passed,
5 Braille taken, 1 passed.


                        EIGHTY ISN'T OLD
                        by Polly Weedman

     From the Editor: Every time you turn around there is another
article in a newspaper or magazine warning that the number of
older Americans with serious eye disorders is steeply rising. The
following story first appeared in the Summer, 1995, issue of
Insight, the publication of the National Federation of the Blind
of South Dakota. Polly Weedman has been an active member of the
South Dakota affiliate for five years. She and her husband George
moved to Naples, Florida, last summer. Polly's story should
inspire many older people. Here is what she has to say:

     It wasn't long after my birth of English parentage on the
eastern prairies of South Dakota that my grandfather ignored my
birth name of "Olive Annie" and called me "Polly Anna," a
nickname I have retained all my life. He perceived that even as a
toddler I saw the world through rose-colored glasses.
     My childhood was spent in Madison, South Dakota, with my
parents, two sisters, and brother. We were all competitive
individuals with highly developed talents. Our father was a busy
physician/surgeon and our mother, a graduate of Northwestern
University, Chicago, Illinois, had her own successful career as a
dramatic reader. She presented programs at colleges, churches,
and various schools, booked by the Eastern Lyceum Bureau.
     She demanded excellence from her children and established
our life's philosophy consciously and subconsciously. "Nothing is
impossible; do better than your very best; be prepared to make
sacrifices to meet your goal, and you will succeed." My brother
followed in his father's footsteps and became a doctor; one of my
sisters specialized in education for the mentally gifted and
handicapped, working in cooperation with Stanford University in
Palo Alto, California; and my younger sister is nationally known
for her work as a painter and printmaker and has received many
awards for her work. At the age of seventy-six, she opened her
own art studio in the town in which she is emerita professor of
art at the local university.
     Each decade of my life has held its unique challenges,
heartbreaks, and victories. I was graduated from the University
of Iowa with a triple major: theater, speech therapy, and
psychology. After a brief but exciting career working for Harry
Reasoner, Sr., as a talent agent for Northwest Assemblies in
Minneapolis, I married my college sweetheart George from South
Dakota.
     Since there was no speech therapist in the school system at
our new place of residence in Mitchell, South Dakota, I began a
private practice in our home, teaching students from kindergarten
through college age. This allowed me to continue as a wife and
mother to my three toddlers, a daughter and twin boys. However,
this was during the early days of World War II, and teachers were
very scarce. Soon the superintendent of schools offered me a
full-time position as a junior high school teacher. The class he
had in mind had forty-two students who had forced two teachers to
quit in tears. For some reason he felt I possessed the rare
combination of snake charmer and lion tamer it would take to
handle this class. When I told him I could not leave my three
babies to teach school away from home, he arranged for the school
system to pay a full salary, even though I did not possess a
teaching credential; hired a full-time housekeeper and full-time
babysitter; and paid their salaries in addition to mine.
     I finished the year successfully and was offered an
identical contract for the next year, but my husband had accepted
a position in Rapid City, located in the beautiful Black Hills of
South Dakota.
     In Rapid City I again accepted private students for speech
therapy and for declamatory contests. Then the local American
Association of University Women asked me to volunteer as head of
the AAUW drama group. This gave me the opportunity to use my
theater skills from college, and soon we developed into a
successful community theater, which continues production to this
day--fifty years later.
     A few years after this the local radio station approached me
about taking over a women's radio show. Again I was reluctant
because I did not want to leave my now school-age children home
without their mother. The radio station accommodated me by
installing equipment allowing me to broadcast the show from home.
My children were threatened, upon pain of death, never to
interrupt me during the fifteen-minute time period I was on the
air. Years later, I learned my enterprising eight-year-old son
had been selling tickets to the neighborhood children to peek
through the window to watch me broadcast on the radio.
     Our lives were almost shattered when one of the twins was
killed in a pedestrian accident. However, my deep faith, the
support of my husband and family, and my demanding work as a
radio and later television program personality with daily
programs were the therapy that sustained me emotionally and
intellectually. I continued to broadcast five days a week for the
next twenty-five years. My radio show broadcast from home grew
into a more than full-time enterprise, especially when television
finally came to Rapid City and I began writing, producing, and
appearing in everything from local talent shows to children's
programs. Glen Yarbough, Paul Williams, and Tom Brokaw are just a
few of the now nationally known personalities who were all with
me and with KOTA Radio and TV during those years and began their
careers at that station.
     Eventually I was awarded the McCalls Magazine Golden MIKE
Award for the best women's show in the country and was runner-up
the next year. I had the longest fully-sponsored women's radio
show in the nation and was given the Western Heritage Award for
the best western documentary. Other awards and honors followed
during my time as a radio and television personality, but that
all ended when I contracted Parkinson's disease in 1968. It
attacked my throat, and I lost my voice.
     After years of readjustment, new medication, and prayer
finally restored my health, I learned to adapt to my life as wife
and grandmother, perfecting my bridge game and catching up with
the social commitments I had been forced to ignore during my
working years.
     My husband and I enjoyed our retirement years together with
cruises, winters in South Carolina or California, ballroom
dancing, and competitive duplicate bridge.
     Then at seventy-five, the lights went out. The diagnosis was
macular degeneration. Within days, in spite of laser surgery, I
was completely blind in one eye and had defective sight in the
other. I could no longer read or drive a car. Eight months later
a deep black velvet curtain closed out all the sunlight in my
right eye. There was no pain, just darkness. At first I was angry
at God for allowing this to happen, at my grandparents and
parents for passing on defective genes, and at the world in
general. I really had a major pity party.
     However, I could not endure this dark night of the soul for
the rest of my life. Within a few weeks a charming rehabilitation
teacher from South Dakota Human Services, Division of Services to
the Blind and Visually Impaired, came to our home to help me
learn how to take care of myself and our home. She taught me how
to organize my cupboards, closets, and groceries; how to use the
stove and to cook; how to identify my clothes; and (especially
important) how to determine the front from the back of slacks. I
also learned how to put on makeup without looking like a clown.
     I learned how to organize my billfold so I could distinguish
between $1, $5, $10, and $20; how to distinguish between coins;
how to write a check; and how to use a dial or push-button phone.
The South Dakota affiliate of the National Federation of the
Blind taught me white cane travel. They also taught me Braille,
which I found easy and fascinating. At first I wanted to know
only enough to play bridge with Braille cards. That didn't take
long, and soon I was joining my friends at their weekly bridge
parties. However, I became so interested in the Braille code that
I enrolled in the Hadley Correspondence School for the Blind in
Winnetka, Illinois, and am now in the third year of Braille
study.
     I also get talking books of every kind and description from
the National Library Service (South Dakota Braille & Talking Book
Library) through the Library of Congress and often give book
reviews for various organizations.
     Creative writing had always been my profession as well as
hobby. But my typewriter was of little value since I was unable
to see my errors. So I learned to use a computer with voice
output (computer and lessons provided by the state rehabilitation
agency).
     Also, about this time I was given a Lowry organ and, with
the help of the most talented organ teacher in the city, am
learning to play the organ and again express my lifetime love of
music. This was a challenge for my teacher for he had never
taught a blind person before. He placed a corn pad at middle C on
the keyboard, and we have both learned together. He is now
writing a book on giving music lessons to the blind.
     Best of all, all these services were provided by experts or
professionals (with the exception of the organ teacher) at no
cost to me. They are all part of the many free services of the
National Federation of the Blind, South Dakota Services for the
Blind and Visually Impaired, and the South Dakota Braille &
Talking Book Library. Thanks to them and their continuing
encouragement, I am able to do everything I did before I lost my
sight, except drive a car, and I have discovered that blindness
does not put an end to joyful living.
     At this point I know I can't possibly be eighty years old
when I feel like twenty-eight inside. Old age isn't for sissies,
but what do I know? Eighty isn't old.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Kenneth Jernigan]
                     THE NEWSLINE NETWORK:
          A NATIONWIDE NEWSPAPER SERVICE FOR THE BLIND
                       by Kenneth Jernigan

     Every morning many people throughout the world start the day
with a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper. They do, that is,
unless they are among the tens of millions of people who are
blind or severely visually impaired. The National Federation of
the Blind has initiated a project which gives promise of making
newspapers available on a regular basis to the blind of the
United States, and ultimately possibly the world.
     The latest figures from the National Center for Health
Statistics indicate that there are approximately nine million
Americans with severe visual impairments. This includes blind and
visually impaired children and adults of various ages. The
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped, the primary source of recorded and Braille materials
for those in the United States who cannot read regular print
because of a visual or physical disability, has almost 800,000
subscribers. Most of these individuals do not have the
opportunity to read the full text of a newspaper on a regular
basis, and even when they do, their ability to skip and scan
throughout its pages is severely limited.
     If blind persons can have timely access to newspapers, they
will greatly benefit. This will be one more area in which they
will be on a more equal footing with friends, family members,
associates, and competitors. Blind professionals, for instance,
will be able to converse with sighted colleagues about relevant
data in the newspaper. They will no longer be underinformed about
facts critical to their professions, or embarrassed at social
functions when the latest editorial is discussed. Blind mothers
will have ready access to useful information such as community
events, recipes, and household issues, as well as current events
they can discuss with their children. Blind high school students
will be able to work with their sighted peers on daily news
projects for social studies. Blind members of the debate team
will learn of the latest developments in the nation and the
world, having information comparable to that available to their
sighted classmates. In short, blind people will, for the first
time in history, be able to get quick access to everything from
business trends and syndicated columns to human interest stories,
sports information, and hard news.
     Less tangible, but possibly even more important, is the
participation in community affairs by blind persons that access
to the newspaper will afford. They will have the same chance that
sighted people have to know what public officials are doing and
not doing. Access to the newspaper means empowerment.
     The problem of making newspapers available to the blind is
not new. There have been repeated attempts to solve it, and those
attempts have had only partial success because of inadequate
technology. For example, the time and expense involved in Braille
production, along with the cost and bulk of paper, have combined
to rule out any practical possibility of a daily Braille
newspaper. The relatively limited number of Braille readers has
been another consideration weighing against a commercial venture
in this area. A nonprofit public service organization would have
to face serious questions about the wisdom of investing its
limited resources in such an effort. Where attempts have been
made to publish a daily newspaper in Braille, the results have
been both costly and unsuccessful, and very few blind people have
benefited. Usually only highlights of the paper have been
produced, and the project has been short-lived.
     In recent years, two distinct methods of attempting to
provide the blind of the United States with access to newspapers
have emerged. The first of these involves radio reading services.
This requires a staff (either volunteer or professional) to read
a newspaper for daily live broadcast. It is the principal way
(approximately a hundred such radio reading services are now in
operation) that the blind of the United States currently have of
reading newspapers. But the system has serious limitations. For
one thing, it requires a major financial outlay.
     As a beginning, there is the start-up cost; for although a
few of the radio reading services use regular open channels for
broadcast, the overwhelming majority do not. They use the
subcarrier waves of FM channels. This means that each blind user
must be provided with a special receiver at a considerable cost.
Additionally, broadcast facilities, with all that that implies,
must be obtained; and staff must be recruited and coordinated.
     But the cost is not all. The blind cannot read the newspaper
in a timely manner, for the sighted reader must first get the
printed copy and then read it on the air. Moreover, if an article
is not broadcast at a time that is convenient for the blind
listener, it is not heard and is lost forever. This first
generation of newspapers for the blind is better than nothing,
but not much. It has certainly distributed many of its expensive
receivers. Moreover, it claims to have many listeners--but the
blind say otherwise.
     Recently a second generation (a newer technology) has come
into being. Using this system, sighted staff (either paid or
volunteer) get the print newspaper and read it onto a computer.
The computer is attached to telephone lines, and blind persons
may call and read what articles they want whenever they like.
     This second generation of technology represents real
progress. The blind reader is not limited to a given time for a
particular article, and skipping and scanning can be done. An
article can be read more than once. Still, there are problems.
Mostly they revolve around quality and expense. It is not
economically practical to employ a large staff of professional
readers for the daily newspaper, so volunteers are necessarily
used. Usually some of them are excellent readers; some are
extremely poor; and most are somewhere between. The quality is
uneven and not uniform. Also, if a volunteer becomes sick or
fails to appear for some other reason, a crisis occurs.
     As to expense, studios must be obtained and paid for;
equipment must be secured; and there is necessarily a
considerable amount of personnel cost. For even if most of the
staff are volunteer, supervisors and recruiters must be hired.
There is no way to have this type of operation without a
considerable expenditure of money and human resources on an
ongoing basis. It is not simply a matter of initial start-up cost
with a subsequent decrease of expense. The heavy expense is
ongoing.
     Even so, this second generation of newspapers for the blind
is a tremendous advance over the first generation. Why, then, are
there more than a hundred of the first-generation types and fewer
than ten of the second? Some of the answer can be found in
momentum. Once a thing is started, it tends to have a life of its
own. Additionally, there is the matter of vested interest. People
have jobs, which they naturally want to keep. Volunteers get
satisfaction from reading and from raising money, as well as a
feeling of prestige and self-worth. Funding sources have been
developed, and they tend to continue. Nevertheless, the second
generation is now taking hold.
     In 1994 a third generation emerged. It gives promise of
revolutionary advancement. Established by the National Federation
of the Blind, it is called NEWSLINE for the Blind, and it has
features about it that have never before been possible.
     It envisions not just the availability of a local newspaper
for the blind of a given community but a nationwide network that
will permit the blind of the entire nation to have access to both
local and national newspapers wherever they go and at any time of
the day or night. Early each morning computers at the National
Center for the Blind in Baltimore make contact with computers at
USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and the New York Times. The texts
of these newspapers are brought into the central computers at the
National Center for the Blind, put into proper format, and sent
by modem to every local service center in the country. This can
be done in a few minutes.
     If the sponsors of a local service center wish and if they
can make the necessary arrangements, the local newspaper or
newspapers in their community can be added to the system. In that
case the computers at the National Center for the Blind will make
contact with the computers at the office of the local newspaper
and follow the same procedures that are used with the three
national newspapers. The text is brought to the National Center
by modem, put into proper format, and then flashed back to the
local service center.
     There is more. Each local service center has what is called
a special channel. Any information that the sponsors of the local
service center want on this channel can be put there--local bus
or train schedules, announcements of meetings, information about
new material in the library, data about job openings, or anything
else. Material for the local channel is handled in the same way
as newspaper text. It comes to the National Center for the Blind,
is put into proper format, and is modemed back to the local
service center. The process is quick and efficient.
     Human voices are not used anywhere in the process. The
reading is done by synthesized speech, DecTalk. It does not have
the uneven quality of the voices and reading skills of a group of
volunteers but is absolutely uniform and dependable. After a
short period of strangeness and getting used to it, it becomes
completely unnoticeable. One is aware of reading the newspaper
and not of the voice, which is essentially what happens to the
sighted reader: the sighted reader is not constantly aware of the
print and the sheet of paper but only of the text.
     The newspaper publishers are understandably concerned to
protect the security of their intellectual property. Therefore,
each blind person who signs up as a reader (regardless of where
in the nation) is given both a security code number and an
identity code number, both of which must be keyed into the
telephone before the user can get access to the system. The
security code and identity numbers for each individual are sent
to every local service center in the network. Every reader is
given a list of the telephone numbers for every local service
center. This means that once the network is fully operational the
blind person can travel anywhere in the nation and read the local
and national newspapers from hotel room or the home of a friend
or relative. In fact, with at least three national newspapers and
the local newspaper universally available, the blind person will,
for the first time in history, arguably have an advantage over
the average sighted person in at least this area of information.
     So how does it work, and what does it cost? There is an
initial start-up cost for every local service center--currently
$18,000 for a four-telephone-line system, $24,000 for a twelve-
line system, and $30,000 for a twenty-four-line system. In
addition, there is a start-up cost of $5,000 to add a local
newspaper. There is no start-up cost for the special channel.
This start-up cost is not for the purchase of equipment. It is
exactly what the term implies. It is a start-up cost. It is paid
once, and never again. The ongoing costs to each local service
center are only $12,000 a year plus $2,000 a year for the
addition of a local newspaper. There is no extra cost for the
special channel. This is the entire expense except for the
monthly charges on local telephone lines.
     If the local service center wishes to employ a staff member
to recruit readers or for other purposes, this can be done, of
course; but it is not necessary. Nor is any extensive office
space required. All that is needed is a desk top to hold the
black box which is sent from the National Center.
     Some have suggested that further savings might be
accomplished by having the local service center establish WATS
lines. This is not practical for a number of reasons. In the
first place the cost of WATS-line service will greatly exceed the
ongoing thousand dollars per month for another local service
center plus the fact that, regardless of cost, no reliable budget
can be made. At least as important, even a twenty-four-line local
service center will be unable to accommodate more readers than it
has in its own area. Thus, the installation of WATS lines will
involve extra expense, an overload of the system, chaotic
budgeting, dissatisfied blind persons, and a totally unworkable
operation.
     This deals with the cost, but what about the nuts and bolts?
The National Federation of the Blind has spent several hundred
thousand dollars in engineering and development costs. The effort
to improve and upgrade will be ongoing.

     The local service center will be sent a black box--
incidentally, it is just that, a black box. The box is sealed,
and the local service center is not authorized to tamper with it.
The black box can simply be set on a desk and plugged into a
regular electric outlet. Nothing else is required except to plug
in local telephone lines. Someone connected with the local
service center is asked to be responsible for informing the
National Center if on a given day local blind persons are not
receiving the newspaper. In such an event either personnel at the
National Center will be able to make immediate repairs by
telephone or another black box (several are always kept on hand
in readiness) will be sent overnight to the local service center
without any charge. The local service center assumes
responsibility for shipping the defective black box back to the
National Center. That is all there is to it--no additional
expense to the local service center, no extensive facilities, no
costly personnel, just a regular flow of the local and national
newspapers to the blind of the community plus the information on
the special channel.
     Of equal importance with the technology is the concept of
the network. This is truly the third generation of newspapers for
the blind. Even so, the first generation (the radio reading
services) will not simply cease to exist and go away. We have
seen that from the experience of what happened when the second
generation was introduced. For that matter, the second generation
will likely not behave any differently. The jobs, the vested
interests involving emotion and prestige, and the force of habit
will react against the change. The arguments (emotional and
strident) will not be made on these grounds, of course; but the
effect will be the same. Nevertheless, change is inevitable.
     The third generation is certainly not perfect, but it is
better than anything we have ever had before. And there is every
evidence that the blind will increasingly want and demand it.
Moreover, this is not a dream for the future. It is now. The
technology is functioning; the system is in place; and local
service centers are now in operation.
     In many instances the third generation may well coexist with
first- and second-generation facilities. In others it will
undoubtedly supersede them. It is too early to know what the
fourth generation will be, but it will certainly come. And when
it does, one wonders whether the operators of the third
generation will resist it with as much vigor as their
predecessors resisted them. Nobody knows, but the answer is
likely yes.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Betty Walker]
                   REPORT FROM THE CLASSROOM:
                FEDERATIONIST MAKES A DIFFERENCE
                         by Betty Walker

     From the Editor: Betty and Dave Walker are active members of
the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri who live in
Jefferson City. At the beginning of the 1994-95 academic year
Betty was hired to work with an elementary school student who was
entering the public school system for the first time. Educators
often refuse to consider hiring blind people to assist with such
transitions, and of course to do the necessary work effectively
the blind teachers must have appropriate skills and good sense,
but done right the experience can be positive for everyone. Here
is Betty's brief report of what happened in Jefferson City:

     In 1988, when David was ready to enter school, the Jefferson
City Public School System was not prepared to work with blind
children, so David was sent to the school for the blind in St.
Louis. In 1991 the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
led a successful campaign to pass our Braille bill, which
mandates that blind children be given the opportunity to learn
Braille in public schools. With this new law in place, David was
enrolled in the city school system, and I was hired to facilitate
meeting his Braille needs and to advise staff in other areas
about blindness.
     When I heard that David was returning to Jefferson City to
enter school and that there was a need for a Braille teacher to
work with him, I applied for the job and was hired. I was the
first blind teacher hired by the Jefferson City Public Schools,
and David is the first totally blind child to be enrolled in this
school system. Prior to applying for this job, I passed the
National Library Service Literary Braille Competency Test; I was
the first person in Missouri to do so. I felt that, with my
background in education, Braille skills, and Federation
philosophy, I would be a positive role model for David and would
have the skills and knowledge to help him develop his Braille
skills and alternative techniques in order to reach his highest
educational potential.
     David is very bright, but he needs to improve his Braille
skills. This is one of my primary tasks. In addition to teaching
him new uses of contractions, I teach him to use Braille in
subjects other than reading and writing. I advise his teachers in
how to use Braille and tactile markings in classes like physical
education, art, and music. I also transcribe examinations, work
sheets, and other classroom handouts and assist his sighted aide
in preparing other materials such as graphs, charts, games, etc.
     I continually remind teachers and his sighted aide that
David is a normal child and that special efforts to protect him
are not in his best interests. I remind them that he needs to
face many of the same things sighted children do if he is to
develop and survive in a sighted society.
     I have been introducing David to Braille maps borrowed from
my husband so that he can learn how to use them. I recently
bought him a book that led him on an adventure through the Great
Lakes to the ocean. When I brought in maps of the area, David was
ecstatic. It gives me a great feeling to know that I am
developing David's skills in Braille and having a positive
influence in his education and life.


           SUPPORT, SPUNK HELP BOY BEST HIS BLINDNESS
                        by Nancy Vessell

     From the Editor: The following article first appeared in the
Jefferson City, Missouri, News Tribune on Sunday, January 15,
1995. It is an interesting accompaniment to the preceding story
by Betty Walker. Here it is:

     David Rice and his teacher, Betty Walker, were recalling the
coloring book she'd made earlier in the year for David's
classmates.
     David had almost forgotten it, then was struck with an idea:
"You can come over to my house and we can color it."
     Mrs. Walker responded: "But David, neither of us can see the
lines."
     The boy and his teacher are blind--a trait not conducive to
coloring. But at East Elementary School, where the two work
together, it was just a temporary setback. A teacher's aide
assigned to David, Carol Bange, offered to outline the lines in
the coloring book with a sticky material they could feel.
     David is in the fourth grade, where most of his time is
spent alongside sixteen other students learning things like
multiplication, electromagnetics, and basic economics from their
teacher, Deann Branson.
     However, for an hour each day, David leaves his classmates
to work with Mrs. Walker on his Braille lessons.
     David, the son of Jill Speckhals of Jefferson City and Boyd
Rice of Ashland, was born blind. The condition is total; he can't
even distinguish sunlight and shadows.
     Until this year David was educated at the Missouri School
for the Blind in St. Louis. He lived at the school during the
school year, returning home on weekends and during summers.
     But last year his mother decided to enroll him in public
school here.
     "He was ready to come home. In the past he had never
complained about going to school down there. But he came of the
age that he realized there were other kids. And he wanted to come
home and be with Mom," Mrs. Speckhals said.
     So for the first time twelve-year-old David entered a school
in his hometown. To accommodate his special needs, the Jefferson
City School District hired Mrs. Walker as a Braille aide to spend
a couple of hours each day helping David read and write Braille
and transcribing some of his lessons into Braille.
     At the beginning of the school year, Mrs. Walker visited all
the classes in the school to explain what it's like to be blind,
using the coloring book she'd made for illustration.
     Mrs. Walker, who was blinded at age twenty-one by diabetes,
is the first Missourian to pass the National Literary Braille
Competency Test from the Library of Congress. She's a volunteer
with the National Federation of the Blind.
     She's the first blind aide to be hired by the school
district. Linda Tetley, the principal at East, noted that if Mrs.
Walker hadn't been available, the school probably would have had
to send a teacher to the School for the Blind to learn Braille.
     "I was glad to have the opportunity to help David and give
him a role model. He may feel like he's the only one here," Mrs.
Walker said.
     One day last week in a corner of the art room, Mrs. Walker
and David took turns reading paragraphs in a Braille book, Paddle
to the Sea. Mrs. Bange read along in a picture book, helping with
difficult words David encountered.
     "...he had escaped Lake Superior's icy waters and violent
storms," David read.
     When they completed a chapter, Mrs. Bange described for
David and Mrs. Walker the book's picture of a stormy sea and a
small boat tethered to the land by a cable.
     An especially inquisitive child, David wanted to know
whether the cable was attached to a pulley and what a buoy looks
like.
     He also demanded information from the reporter observing
him--what was she reporting, why, who would be reading the story,
and whether being in the newspaper was like being on "Rod's Big
Ole Fish" on TV.
     After David and Mrs. Walker worked on Braille, they picked
up their canes and headed to different parts of the school--David
joined the rest of his class, and Mrs. Walker spent about an hour
transcribing some of his classroom lessons into Braille.
     To do that, she listened to a tape on which David's lessons
were dictated by Mrs. Bange. For other assignments requiring a
pair of eyes, Mrs. Bange works directly with David.
     On that day Mrs. Branson was working with the class on
multiplication, while Mrs. Bange and David discussed the problems
quietly at a table along the side of the room.
     To figure twenty-three times three, David insisted on adding
three twenty-three's in his head, arguing that he could do it
faster that way. "When I add, it relieves my fear that we won't
get it done," he told her.
     Mrs. Bange tried to explain that he needed to learn the
process of multiplying. Meanwhile Mrs. Branson's class went on to
seventeen times four.
     Mrs. Branson said having a special aide for David is
necessary so he doesn't take much of her time from the other
students.
     For things that can't be put into Braille, like maps and
graphs, Mrs. Bange uses raised paint or a sticky material so
David can feel the outlines.
     David's fingers nimbly moved along the painted outlines of a
map as he named all of the central states, only momentarily
mixing up Kentucky and Tennessee. "Here's the Bootheel. What's in
the Bootheel?" he wanted to know.
     Although he has his own aide and some special materials,
David "fits in like any other students," Mrs. Branson said.
     She noted that at the beginning of the year some of David's
classmates went overboard in trying to help him find his desk or
his tote bag or walk down the hall.
     "At first, they tried to baby him. We had to explain that
he's just as capable--he just can't see," Mrs. Branson said.
     His classmates elected David to the Student Council after he
delivered a speech that, among other things, promised a pursuit
of new playground equipment.
     One classmate, Darrell Robinson, said he likes David in his
class. "He likes playing eight-square. It's fun having him
around."
     Darrell said students sometimes forget David is blind, and
he has to ask them to "scoot up so he can get by in the
lunchroom."
     David said he'd gotten tired of living in a dormitory at
school and wanted to stay home. "I'd do just about anything to
come here," he said.
     Mrs. Speckhals, his mother, said she thinks that being
around sighted children has spurred David to assume more
responsibilities.
     "I think he'll mature quite a bit. He'll realize that other
kids don't have someone to guide them around," she said.
     A few problems had to be worked out at school, she said.
David had to learn to speak in the classroom only after raising
his hand. Previously, he'd been in a classroom with only three
other children, so raising hands wasn't necessary.
     Several partially blind students have been enrolled in the
school district, but David now is the only totally blind student,
said Arthur Allen, the district's director of special education.
     "The mother came to us in May and said she wanted him in the
public schools. That's a bit of a challenge to work through.
You're never quite sure whether it's appropriate, but it's her
right to have him in school," Allen said.
     He added: "It's worked out better than any of us ever
thought it would. He's assimilated much faster than anticipated.
That's because he's determined. He has a lot of spunk."
     Mrs. Walker said assimilating David into a classroom with
sighted children helps him face realities.
     "When kids with a certain disability are isolated, they
don't get into the real world. They won't ever have the
experience of being made fun of. He'll have to learn that because
he will be part of the real world," she said.
     She said she finds him a challenge to work with. "He's kind
of a charmer. He tries to charm his way out of things."
     Then, making note of his appearance, Mrs. Walker said: "I
hear he's a cute kid."


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Wayne Davis]
                         IT CAN BE DONE
                         by Wayne Davis

     From the Editor: Wayne Davis is the President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Florida. The following story
is an example of what can be accomplished when Federationists
work together. Here it is:

     About a year ago I was sitting at my computer when I
received a phone call from Sandy Pranzarone, the President of the
Pensacola Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Florida. Sandy was calling to inform me that she had received
notification that, after fifty free directory-assistance calls a
month, blind people in Pensacola were being charged for directory
assistance. After I finished talking with Miss Pranzarone, I
started researching the issue and came up with some disturbing
information. Here are the facts that surfaced as a result of my
investigation.
     The Public Service Commission, which is made up of members
appointed by the governor of the state, had held a hearing on the
removal of free directory assistance for the blind almost a year
before. The Public Service Commission had not notified the NFB of
Florida; the Florida Council of the Blind; or our state agency
for the blind, the Division of Blind Services, about that so-
called public hearing. After a number of attempts, I was at last
able to speak to someone in authority in the Communications
Department of Florida's Public Service Commission and learned
that the announcement of that public hearing had been published
in a single newspaper in Tallahassee. I informed the Public
Service Commission by phone, letter, and FAX that, by the very
nature of our disability, the blind citizens of Florida were
unable to read the announcement in a newspaper and that therefore
the public Service Commission had failed to provide us with
reasonable notice of its proposed action.
     As President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Florida, I urged the Public Service Commission to reverse its
decision allowing the phone companies to charge blind people for
directory assistance because the blind citizens of Florida had
not been notified about the hearing or the proposed action on the
part of the Public Service Commission. As my investigation went
forward, I also learned that some blind people had already been
charged for directory-assistance calls for several months by one
of the companies that provide phone service here in Florida. I
was told by Southern Bell and AT&T that the phone companies felt
that fifty free directory-assistance calls for the blind was a
generous concession on their part. They also said that several
other southern states were already charging blind people for
directory assistance and that I should tell our members that
there was nothing we could do about it. They also told me that
the reason they were charging for directory assistance was that
some blind people were abusing the use of free directory
assistance by gathering phone numbers for companies that were
compiling mailing lists for sales, and that family members and
co-workers of blind people were also abusing the free directory-
assistance privilege for the blind.
     We launched a massive letter-writing campaign to the
Governor and to the Public Service Commission. All of our
chapters took part in this campaign to get the Public Service
Commission to reverse the ruling that allows blind people to be
charged for local directory assistance. Many of our members also
made long-distance phone calls and sent FAX letters to both the
Governor's office and the Public Service Commission.
     In the beginning it looked as though we were beating our
heads against a stone wall. The Governor responded by saying that
the Public Service Commission was not under his authority and
that there was nothing he could do to help us in our struggle.
The Public Service Commission was slow to return phone calls and
basically tried to stonewall us on the issue.
     We did not ease up, though. We got a couple of newspapers to
come out in support of our position, and at long last, after
endless delays, the Public Service Commission informed me that
there would be a public hearing on the directory-assistance
question on September 12, 1995. They assured me that the question
would be resolved in our favor, so there was no need for us to
spend the money to fly up to Tallahassee for the hearing. It goes
without saying that by that time neither I nor the other members
of the National Federation of the Blind of Florida had much faith
in the promises of the Public Service Commission, so on the
morning of September 12 I was on a plane to Tallahassee. It was
as well that I went, because only one other blind person was
there. The phone companies were there in force, though, with
their high-paid attorneys. A lawyer for one of the phone
companies asked me if I would agree to accept 200 free directory
assistance calls each month. I said that would be fine if the
phone companies could find a way to restrict their sighted
customers to using their phone books no more than 200 times each
month.
     I went on to assure them that personally I would be pleased
to use a Braille phone directory if they wished to provide it. I
then pointed out to them how many volumes of Braille each
directory would require and spoke about the cost of producing
even one directory in Braille. I also told them that not all
blind people could read Braille and suggested that they should
also plan to produce their phone books on CD-ROM for blind
computer users. I pointed out, however, that not every blind
person who had a computer owned a CD-ROM, so they would have to
provide CD-ROM units to all blind computer users who needed them
so that they could use the CD-version of the phone book. I went
on to say that many legally blind people would undoubtedly
require their phone books to be provided in large print. Somehow,
they did not seem to appreciate my suggestions about the ways
they could make telephone directories accessible to blind
citizens.
     To cut to the bottom line: as of 11:00 on the morning of
September 12, 1995, blind people in Florida once again had
unlimited free local directory assistance, and the Public Service
Commission threw in fifty free long-distance directory-assistance
calls each month as well--a service that we had not even
requested. As President of the NFB of Florida I want to thank
Sandy Pranzarone for bringing this issue to my attention and all
of the members and leaders of the affiliate for having worked so
hard on this issue.
     In the beginning, when Sandy informed me of this problem, I
did not know whether we could win or not, but I knew that we had
to try. Blind people in Florida received much more than free
directory assistance from this victory. Once again, we all
learned a profound lesson: by working together we can truly
change what it means to be blind.


[PHOTO: The picture shows Kim Aguillard using her long white cane. She has
just crossed the street at an intersection. CAPTION: Kim Aguillard]
              TAKING A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
                      by Kimberly Aguillard

     From the Editor: In October, 1995, the Louisiana Center for
the Blind, the adult rehabilitation center operated by the
National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana, celebrated a
decade of service to blind people. A new addition was opened, and
Center alumni returned from across the country to join in the
festivities. To mark the occasion, the alumni organization also
compiled a book of testimonials to the importance of good
training, positive role models, and active participation in the
organized blind movement. The title of this publication is A
Personal Perspective, edited by Olegario D. Cantos, VII. One of
the contributors was Kimberly Aguillard, who is currently in the
eighth grade at Central Middle School in Nederland, Texas. In
this story Kimberly tells about her first experience with the
philosophy and attitudes of the National Federation of the Blind.
Here is what she has to say:

     Being in my early teens, I function just like any other
thirteen-year-old--going to dances and parties and getting
involved with extracurricular activities such as serving on the
student council, working on the school paper, and singing in the
school choir. I also act like any other thirteen-year-old,
occasionally smarting off or breaking rules. The only thing that
makes me different from everyone else is that I am totally blind.
     I have had no vision since I was nine. The little vision I
had before then was not very helpful. I used large print books,
even though I knew Braille. I knew how to use a cane but never
did because I thought I could get around well enough without it.
I was wrong. After I became blind, I learned Nemeth code for
math. My Dad also helped me learn how to use an abacus. I made it
through fourth and fifth grade, having adjusted pretty well.
     The summer before sixth grade my mother and I went to the
annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind in
Dallas. I knew as soon as we stepped into the lobby of the hotel
that it would be an experience I would never forget. Nearly
everyone had a cane or guide dog. I felt silly hanging on to my
mom's arm. I noticed how well some of the people got around, and
I was encouraged. I met a lot of nice people and also traded in
my old short cane for a new long one.
     I met a lot of kids from the Summer Training and Employment
Project (STEP) at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. They
explained to my mother and me that the program was for blind
teenagers. If I enrolled, I would take classes in Braille, cane
travel, daily living skills, and computers. The program also
helps students find summer jobs. My mother was very interested; I
was not!
     When it came time to apply the next year, my mother did. I
was not old enough for STEP, so I was placed in the Buddy
Program. I was nervous just thinking about going, but I was
terrified when my Mom explained that my counselors and teachers
would also be blind. I didn't let either of my parents know that
I was scared; I just complained about how it would ruin my
summer. But, when my parents dropped me off, I had to admit that
they had won this one, and I was stuck in Ruston for a month.
     I started to like it, though; it was just a neat setup.
There were only eight kids with four counselors. It was fun
having such a small group. I made friends with the students and
could talk to them about stuff that I couldn't talk to my sighted
friends about. I could talk to them because they knew how it felt
and could relate. The counselors were great role models. I
especially liked my counselor, Brenda Walburn. I also liked my
travel instructor, Eddie Bell. It always seemed as though he was
picking on me and asking me confusing questions. I would know the
answer, but if he asked, "Are you sure?" I was not sure. I liked
cane travel the most even though it scared me. It wasn't long
until I started to love the Buddy Program. It really helped me to
be surrounded by positive blind people.
     Before I knew it, we were in the last week, and it was time
for my solo route in travel. At first I was terrified. But then I
realized I could do it, and I got excited. I remember walking
into travel class, feeling slightly nervous, getting my
assignment, and going on my way. I don't remember having any
problems.
     When my parents came up for the parents' seminar at the end
of the four-week summer session, they were delighted to see me
floating around so easily. I took my cane into all the stores and
used it well. I was really sad to go, because I would miss all my
friends. I talked to them when I needed to strengthen my beliefs
in what I could do as a blind person. I think that, of all the
staff, Eddie had the most influence on me. I know that, if he
hadn't pushed me until I was so mad that I felt like screaming, I
would never have done those routes, and I would never have
developed much confidence.
     I feel very lucky to have my parents too. I used to get mad
at them for always expecting so much of me. I now realize that,
if they hadn't always pushed me to do better in school and in
everything I did, I wouldn't have tried. I wouldn't have tried to
make student council or honor society. I am also very glad they
made me go to Ruston. They knew that it would be good for me, and
as usual they were right. Sometimes I wonder what it would have
been like never to have met Eddie, Brenda, or the rest. I really
believe that, if I hadn't come to the Louisiana Center for the
Blind, I would still be scared of a lot of things.
     Sometimes I also wonder about my future. Who knows what kind
of challenges it will hold? As long as I have the support of my
parents, the friends I have made at the center in Ruston, and the
National Federation of the Blind, I can handle anything that is
thrown my way! If ever I meet other blind people who don't know
about the National Federation of the Blind, I'm going to tell
them how much I believe in them the same way that my Federation
friends continue to believe in me!


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Pam Dubel]
                        THE GREATEST GIFT
                         by Pamela Dubel

          From the Editor: Like the previous article, this story
first appeared in A Personal Perspective, edited by Ollie Cantos,
a publication of the Louisiana Center for the Blind alumni
chapter. Pam Dubel is now a resource-teacher consultant at the
Louisiana Center for the Blind. Pam is also a 1991 National
Federation of the Blind scholarship winner. This is what she says
about the greatest gift:

     I became blind when I was approximately three years old as a
result of retinal blastoma, a type of cancer. Although my parents
were shocked by my loss of sight, they fortunately realized that
I was still the same child except that I could not see. Through
their love and high expectations, they instilled in me a sense of
pride and confidence about my ability to succeed. Growing up as
the youngest of six children also helped me to learn to be
independent. Since I was the youngest, nobody, especially my
brother who was a year older than I, let me get away with
anything.
     I attended a private Catholic school where I was the only
blind child. My itinerant teacher provided me with a sound
foundation in Braille, which helped me excel in academics. As I
mentioned earlier, my parents expected me to do my best and to
engage in activities that would make me a well-rounded person. I
participated in horseback riding, skiing, and cheerleading during
elementary school. During high school my interests shifted to
performing in chorus, doing community service, and having fun
with my friends. While growing up, I had limited contact with
other blind people my age. In general I had no desire to
associate with people who were blind.
     I realize that every high school senior experiences some
trepidation about the transition to adulthood and independence.
However, as high school graduation approached, I began to have
questions that my sighted peers couldn't answer. I knew that I
would attend college, and I hoped that I would eventually find a
job, but I secretly wondered if I would truly be able to obtain
employment. After all, I had had difficulty finding part-time
work during high school. I had also never lived on my own, and I
wondered how successful I would be at that.
     Although I entered college with some apprehension, I was
determined to achieve my best. My small liberal arts college
provided me with an exciting environment for learning and
growing. However, those unanswered questions still nagged at me.
If people were so amazed that I could accomplish the most
insignificant tasks, would they ever treat me as an equal? I
realized that I had to meet other blind people who had more
experience and could serve as role models.
     My search exposed me to a wide variety of groups and
organizations of and for the blind. However, it was not until I
attended a student seminar hosted by the National Federation of
the Blind of Ohio that I began to find the answers for which I
had been searching. Although I didn't realize it at the time, the
seminar marked the beginning of a new chapter of my life. At the
seminar I met Barbara Pierce, President of the NFB of Ohio. She
told me about the Louisiana Center for the Blind. She spoke with
Joanne Wilson, the director, and arranged for me to complete an
internship at the center that May. As soon as I completed it, I
was invited to work as a counselor in the children's summer
program that year. After graduation from college, I decided to
become a student at the center. I recognized that I still needed
to gain some confidence in my skills and in my abilities to be a
successful blind person. Presently I am employed as a resource-
teacher consultant at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. My job
has allowed me to spread the message that it is respectable to be
blind.
     Many times people have asked me what makes the Louisiana
Center for the Blind such a special place. What sets our alumni
apart from those of other kinds of rehabilitation facilities? The
answer to this question is that, by attending our center,
students are exposed to the National Federation of the Blind. The
NFB is more than an organization; it is a loving family.
Regardless of where you are, you can find members of the NFB who
can give you support and encouragement when you need them. The
NFB also provides a constant source of role models who challenge
you to set goals for yourself.
     I used to believe that I did not need other blind people. I
thought that being independent meant succeeding without the help
of others. My involvement with the NFB has taught me that this is
not true. I have learned that I need reinforcement from my blind
colleagues. I have also started to give back what I have been
shown by working with blind children. Through our collective
efforts the National Federation of the Blind has truly changed
what it means to be blind. Training at the Louisiana Center for
the Blind gives you many things: skills, confidence, freedom, and
independence, to name a few. However, the greatest gift any blind
person can receive is the National Federation of the Blind.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: The Anaheim Hilton]
                    CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!
                     by Pat and Jack Munson

     From the Editor: Pat and Jack Munson are long-time members
and leaders of the National Federation of the Blind of
California. Pat also serves as President of the National
Association of Blind Educators. They have now spent a good bit of
time getting to know the Anaheim Hilton, where the 1996
convention of the National Federation of the Blind will be held.
Here's what they have to say about the facility:

     If you are interested in going to Disneyland or other theme
parks; getting a glimpse of the fast track, where the movie stars
live and work; or, most exciting of all, being a part of the
never-ending progress of the National Federation of the Blind,
the Anaheim Hilton Hotel and vicinity is where you will want to
be June 29 to July 6, 1996. This hotel will serve as the center
of NFB convention activities. Since the Anaheim Hilton is fairly
new, it has an airy, spacious feel, with easy access to every
part of the hotel.
     Upon entering one of the many south-facing front doors, you
find a fountain and large pool immediately in front of you in the
center of the lobby. Turning right (that is, on the east side of
the fountain), you enter an open area, which includes a
restaurant and lounge. To the left or west of the fountain are
the check-in desk and related business counters. By walking
through either the restaurant section on the right or the hotel-
registration section on the left, you come to the elevator area
on the north wall. By turning to face south at the elevator bank,
you find an ascending escalator on your right, somewhat closer to
the fountain than the descending escalator on the left. From the
second floor another escalator goes directly to the fourth floor.
There is a mezzanine level on the third floor with a number of
meeting rooms, but it can be reached only by the elevators or a
flight of stairs. These steps begin as two staircases located
between the escalators on the first floor, but at the second
floor they merge into one flight which goes to the third floor.
     Conventioneers will spend a good bit of time on the second
floor because both the convention and exhibit halls are there.
The space outside the convention hall and the exhibit area is
ample, accommodating easy movement, and many seating areas are
available for conventioneers to sit and chat. Always keep in mind
that Californians will be out and about everywhere, so feel free
to ask us for directions or other needed assistance.
     The fourth floor, which can be reached by escalator from the
second floor or by elevator, is called the concourse level. It
contains about twenty meeting rooms. The convention, mezzanine,
and concourse levels are all open in the center, so activity from
the lobby level can be heard on each of the other floors.
     The guest rooms and the suites of Dr. Jernigan, President
Maurer, and the California affiliate are on the floors above
these four. Make plans to drop by the California suite for some
solid gold hospitality. You can consult the convention agenda for
information about the location of all three suites and the times
they will be open during convention.
     Since the Anaheim Hilton is a first-class hotel, it has an
extensive exercise area. There are also many specialty shops.
Several of these can be found along a hall to the left of the
front doors of the hotel, but most are located on the lower
level, which can be reached by descending a staircase in the
east-west hallway. Drinks and quick snacks can be purchased down
there, and you can find a post office, travel services, and
endless first-class shops. If you like spending money on
perfumes, silks, and just about anything else in the world, the
opportunity is just waiting for you in the Anaheim Hilton.
     The usual convention services we have come to expect will,
of course, be provided again this year. NFB Camp for children, a
guide-dog relief area, convention information--all will be close
at hand. Everyone who has toured this hotel agrees that its
design provides perhaps the best facility arrangement we have
ever had.
     Also, if you are on a tight budget or need something not
available inside the hotel, low-cost restaurants, convenience
stores, and the like are within walking distance.
     All of us in California want to welcome you to the 1996
convention, so as soon as you can, come to the California table
near the hotel registration desk in the lobby and pick up your
pre-convention agenda and other materials. Please come introduce
yourself if you are a first-time conventioneer. If you need
assistance or information of any kind, be sure to let us know,
because Californians want you to have the time of your life in
Anaheim. Yes, Mickey Mouse will not be far away, movie stars
likewise, but none of them has worked as hard as the members of
the NFB, and none are as proud of their accomplishments as the
organized blind. So come and join all of us in California, and be
a part of what it really means to be a Federationist.
     Convention rates are singles, $45 per night; doubles, $47;
triples, $54; and quads, $57. In addition, there is a tax--just
under 15 percent at the time these rates were negotiated. There
will be no charge for children in a room with parents if no extra
bed is required. To make room reservations for the 1996
convention, you should write directly to the Anaheim Hilton, 777
Convention Way, Anaheim, California 92802-3497, Attention:
Reservations; or call (714) 750-4321. Hilton has a national toll-
free number, but do not (we emphasize NOT) use it. Reservations
made through this national number will not be valid. They must be
made directly with the Anaheim Hilton in Anaheim.


               DIALYSIS INFORMATION FOR CONVENTION
                          by Ed Bryant

     From the Editor: Because of the popularity of the tourist
attractions in the Anaheim area, it will be particularly
important this year for those needing dialysis during the
National Convention to make arrangements early for this
procedure. Here is the information necessary for scheduling
appointments:

     During this year's annual convention of the National
Federation of the Blind in Anaheim, California, Sunday, June 30,
through Friday, July 5, dialysis will be available. Individuals
requiring dialysis must have a transient patient packet and
physician's statement filled out prior to treatment.
Conventioneers should have their units contact the desired
location in the Anaheim area for instructions.
     Unit social workers may also contact the Shearer Program,
American Kidney Fund, 6110 Executive Blvd., Suite 1010,
Rockville, Maryland 20852, telephone: (800) 638-8299. Shearer
will pay or reimburse the Medicare 20% copayment (about $30) for
transient dialysis (up to three treatments in a given year), as
well as any physician's fees for treatment. The program, however,
does not cover the drug Erythropoietin (EPO), chart readings, or
lab work.
     If conventioneers do not have Medicare but do have Medicaid,
Shearer will pay $100 toward the cost of dialysis each year.
Patients wishing reimbursement must send receipts to the American
Kidney Fund Shearer Program no later than two weeks after the
last day dialyzed. If Shearer is not used, individuals will be
responsible for, and must pay out of pocket prior to each
treatment, the approximately $30 not covered by Medicare, plus
any additional physician's fees.
     Dialysis centers should set up transient dialysis locations,
at least three months in advance. This helps assure a location
for anyone wanting to dialyze. Anaheim is the home of Disneyland,
and in July travel is very heavy.

                 Dialysis Locations Near Anaheim

     California Kidney Centers of Anaheim, 2051 East Cerritos
Ave. Suite 8A. Anaheim, California 92806, telephone (714)
778-1530. About five to ten minutes from the convention hotel.

     UCI Dialysis, 101 City Drive, Building 51, Orange,
California 92668, telephone (714) 456-5555. About ten minutes
from the hotel.

     Garden Grove Artificial Kidney Center, 12555 Garden Grove
Boulevard, Suite 100, Garden Grove, California 92643, telephone
(714) 741-7255. About ten minutes from the hotel; openings after
5:30 p.m. weekdays.

     Westminster Artificial Kidney Center, 290 Hospital Circle,
Westminster, California 92683, telephone (714) 895-3698. About
fifteen minutes from the hotel. Very new unit; open Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday.

     Please remember to schedule dialysis treatments immediately
to insure space. You will be expected to pay, at time of service,
the 20% Medicare copayment (about $30 for each treatment), plus
any non-covered physician's fees and charges for EPO or Calcijex.
     For transportation to and from dialysis centers, contact the
Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA), Access Division,
telephone (800) 564-4232 or (714) 636-7433. Their rides for
persons with disabilities cost $1.70 each way. This service
requires application in writing well in advance. Approval (not
guaranteed) takes a minimum of twenty-one days. There is also
Medivan, a private van service specializing in medical
transportation, telephone (714) 974-8840. It accepts private
insurance and MediCal. Charges are $29.42 round-trip, plus $1.08
per mile. Contact them at least one week before you need them.
     If scheduling assistance is needed, contact Diabetics
Division First Vice President Ed Bryant at (573) 875-8911. See
you in Anaheim!


                             RECIPES

     This month's recipes were submitted by members of the
National Federation of the Blind of Puerto Rico. Some of them are
typical dishes of the island and are eaten during specific
holidays. For example, the Pickled Fish is mainly prepared during
Lent, before Good Friday. This is still a religious tradition for
many Puerto Rican families. The Stirred Coconut Custard is a
dessert eaten mainly during the Christmas holidays.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Alpidio Roln]
                           CARROT CAKE
                     by Alpidio Roln-Garcia

     Alpidio Roln-Garcia has a master's degree in Hispanic
studies from the University of Puerto Rico. He is a founding
member of the NFB of Puerto Rico, was its first elected
Treasurer, and now serves as President of the organization. He
characterizes himself as a hard worker and firm believer in the
Federation. He is also President of the Society of Friends of the
Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
 3/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups grated carrots

     Method: Sift dry ingredients together. Add oil. Beat eggs
and add to other ingredients. Add grated carrots. Mix well. (I
hand blend 1,000 times.) Grease a 13-by-9-by-2-inch pan. Pour
batter into it and put into a 350-degree oven for fifty minutes.

                            FROSTING

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 ounces butter ( stick)
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

     Method: Melt butter and cream cheese. Sift sugar. Add
vanilla. Hand blend (1,000 times). Frost cake. Note: raisins and
nuts are optional as toppings.


                     HOT SAUCED FISH FILLET
                     by Alpidio Roln-Garcia

Ingredients:
3 pounds fish fillets, 1/2 inch thick or more
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce, or less
1 clove garlic, crushed
Butter
Olive oil

     Method: Brown fillets in a frying pan containing butter and
olive oil. Place each fillet in aluminum foil. Fold sides and
leave top open. Having mixed soy sauce, mustard, Worcestershire
sauce, hot sauce, and crushed garlic, pour a spoonful into each
aluminum envelope. Seal envelopes and arrange in a baking pan.
Place in a 350-degree oven for twenty minutes.


                           POTATO PIE
                    by Odette Quiones-Vargas

     Odette Quiones-Vargas is an excellent homemaker and a
founding and still active member of the NFB of Puerto Rico. She
is the mother of Lydia Usero, the past President of the NFB of
Puerto Rico. She's a member of the Calling Committee. She loves
to cook and watch TV game shows.

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups ground meat stuffing
2-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
2 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs, beaten with  1/4 teaspoon salt
melted butter

     Method: Boil potatoes with salt for twenty to thirty
minutes. Beat eggs and salt. Mash and mix well the potatoes and
butter. Add the beaten eggs and blend. Line the bottom and sides
of the dish with half of the potato mixture. Spread the stuffing
across potatoes and cover with the rest of the potatoes. Bake in
a preheated 375-degree oven for twenty minutes. Brush the top
with melted butter and bake for five to ten minutes more or until
golden. Remove from the oven and let rest ten to fifteen minutes
before serving. Note: If you are using an electric oven with a
top-heating element, before brushing on melted butter, change the
setting to broil but leave thermostat at 375 degrees.


                      GROUND MEAT STUFFING

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey
2 tablespoons olive oil
 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 small seeded frying pepper, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, pressed
9 small pitted green olives, chopped
1 tablespoon minced capers
 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 cup tomato sauce

     Method: At medium temperature in a large skillet, heat the
olive oil. Saut the uncooked condiments for five minutes. Add
the olives, capers, oregano, tomato sauce, and salt. Add the meat
and cook for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Continue with
potato pie recipe, refrigerate, or freeze until ready to use.
This stuffing can also be used to stuff lasagna, turkey, or
chicken.


                          PICKLED FISH
                    by Odette Quiones-Vargas

Ingredients:
3 pounds swordfish steaks, 1-inch thick
1 tablespoon salt
vegetable oil
Sauce:
1-3/4 cups olive oil
 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
2 small bay leaves
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
3 medium onions, sliced

     Method: Pat dry and salt the fish steaks. Let stand for
thirty minutes. In a 3-quart non-reactive pan [not aluminum],
simmer the sauce ingredients (except onions) for twenty minutes.
Add the onions and simmer an additional ten minutes. Remove from
the heat and allow to cool completely. In a frying pan set over
moderate heat, saut the fish steak in -inch vegetable oil for
eight minutes on each side. Shake the pan frequently to prevent
sticking. Remove from heat and cool. As soon as the fish and
sauce cool completely, put the steaks in a tightly covered crock
or glass jar. Pour the sauce over them and cover tightly. Let
stand in a cool place for twenty-four hours to allow the fish to
absorb the flavor of the sauce. Refrigerate and serve chilled as
an appetizer.


[PHOTO/CAPTION: Lydia Usero]
                          VANILLA FLAN
                     by Lydia Usero-Quiones

     Lydia Usero-Quiones has a bachelor's degree in education
from the University of Puerto Rico. She plans to keep studying to
obtain her master's degree in education. Presently she is working
as an English teacher at Ramirez College of Business and
Technology. She is a founding member and first elected President
of the NFB of Puerto Rico. Currently she serves as First Vice
President of the affiliate. She is also the Treasurer of the
Society of Friends of the Regional Library for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped.


Ingredients:
1 cup sugar for caramel glaze
3 cups milk
 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
 1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, plus 2 additional yolks
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
flan mold, round, 8-inch by 2-1/2-inch
larger mold for the bain-marie

     Method for Glazing Caramel: Put one cup sugar in the flan
mold over low to moderate heat for eight minutes. Stir
continuously with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely
melted. Keep over very low heat while glazing the mold. Using
your hands and working rapidly, tilt the mold in a circular
pattern to spread the syrup evenly over surface. You want the
bottom and sides of the mold to be caramelized. Set aside to
cool.

     Method for Making Flan: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Add
enough water to the bain-marie mold to reach two thirds of the
way up the flan mold and set water-filled mold in the oven. Mix
well the milk, sugar, and salt without foaming and scald mixture
in a sauce pan. Don't let it come to a boil. Beat the eggs and
additional yolks lightly, just enough to blend them. Don't let
the eggs foam up because this will produce a grainy flan. Add the
scalded milk slowly to the eggs and strain. The idea is to
combine the mixtures without curdling the yolks. Add the vanilla,
pour into caramelized mold, and set in the pan already in the
oven. Bake for ninety minutes or until a cake tester inserted
slightly off center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let
cool for two hours before refrigerating. Refrigerate covered. To
serve, invert a platter with a rim, which will hold the liquified
caramel. Note: This recipe is specially dedicated to Ollie
Cantos, President of the National Association of Blind Students.
During his visit to Puerto Rico in June, he ate tons of Vanilla
Flan. Enjoy, Ollie!


                     STIRRED COCONUT CUSTARD
                    by Carmn Brigantti-Ortz

     Carmn is finishing her bachelor's degree in computer
programming. She plans to obtain her master's degree. She works
at the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
She currently serves as second Vice President of the NFB of
Puerto Rico. She is a hard worker and active in the Society of
Friends of the Regional Library.

Ingredients:
4 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup cornstarch, dissolved into part of the coconut milk
 3/8 teaspoon salt
 2/3 cup sugar
ground cinnamon

     Method: Mix well the coconut milk, cornstarch, salt, and
sugar and strain into a heavy sauce pan. Cook at medium to
medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Reduce
the heat immediately to low and cook for five more minutes,
stirring occasionally. Pour into a rinsed, drained, but still
moist mold. Let cool before refrigerating covered. Separate the
sides of the custard from the mold with a fine knife and invert
it on a platter. Sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon.


                                           

     If you or a friend would like to remember the National
Federation of the Blind in your will, you can do so by employing
the following language:

     "I give, devise, and bequeath unto the National Federation
of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a
District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, the sum of
$__________(or "______ percent of my net estate" or "The
following stocks and bonds: ________") to be used for its worthy
purposes on behalf of blind persons."

                                           


                 ** ** MONITOR MINIATURES ** **

** New Bird Song Recordings Available:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     A dedicated birder, John Neville, has released bird song
recordings: "Bird Songs of the Kootenays" and "Bird Songs of the
Creston Valley." These recordings are a welcome addition to the
very few available containing Canadian bird songs. Aimed at bird
enthusiasts, interested visitors, and naturalists, verbal
descriptions coupled with razor-sharp recordings make it possible
to identify by sound even the shyest of the feathered species.
The recordings, produced by Cornell University Library of Natural
Sound, Ithaca, New York, and CBC Studios Toronto, exhibit sixty
individual bird songs recorded on each CD from the osprey (fish
hawk) to the Sandhill crane.
     September 14, 1995, CBC National Radio, "Morningside" with
Peter Gzowski, featured an interview with John presenting "Bird
Songs of the Creston Valley."
     "To stand in a swamp in your Wellingtons for several hours
at dawn with a bunch of technical equipment, being eaten alive by
six-legged wildlife, you would have to be crazy or dedicated."
Learn to enjoy the outdoors and identify even backyard birds with
dedicated narrator, recordist, and naturalist John Neville.
     To order either CD, send $25 (Canadian)--shipping is
included in this price--to Neville Recordings, 810 Vernon Street,
Nelson, British Columbia, V1L 4G4.

** Elected:
     The National Federation of the Blind of California announces
the results of a special election to fill vacant offices: Jim
Willows, President; Donovan Cooper, First Vice President; and
Nancy Burns, Second Vice President. Ollie Cantos and Nick Nedina
remain as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. In our regular
election we had three positions on our Board of Directors to
fill. Elected to these positions were Jana Littrell, Patricia
Munson, and Maria Morais.

** A Highly Instructive Thank You:
     Barbara Cheadle, Editor of Future Reflections, the quarterly
publication of the National Organization of Parents of Blind
Children, recently received notification that a long-time reader
wished to cancel her subscription, not because she was angry, but
because her daughter had successfully graduated from high school
and was moving on into her own independent life. This is the text
of the letter that accompanied this mother's request. It is a
reminder of how important our work is. Here it is:

                                        San Francisco, California
                                                November 28, 1995

Future Reflections
Baltimore, Maryland

Dear Sir:
     There are no words to express my gratitude for the help I
have received over the years from Future Reflections. I was a
foster parent to a blind Cambodian girl, with very little
knowledge of all the pitfalls working with the special education
program, not even to mention what a parent must go through
raising a blind child. Each new publication of Future Reflections
would help solve more problems with information giving me some
basis for fighting the system.
     For your information and some humor, I would like to pass on
one teacher's comment when I told her that I was going to tape an
IEP meeting. First she asked where I had heard this nonsense,
then retracted the question when I quoted this suggestion from
your magazine. However, she did not praise your magazine; instead
she said how much trouble your articles were causing in the
special education program and their policies. There were so many
instances where I utilized your information that I would have to
write a book to cover everything.
     Again, I want to thank you a million times for the much
needed guidance I received from Future Reflections.

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                            blank

** For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I have the following two items for sale: a Grade 1 Braille
Bible and a 4-track cassette copy of the Concise Heritage
Dictionary. I am asking $50 each for the Bible and the
dictionary. I can be reached by writing Ronald Kolesar, 1910 East
Peach Street, P.O. Box 102, Girard, Pennsylvania 16417-0102. You
may also call me at (814) 774-5709 (usually between 9 o'clock
a.m. and 9 o'clock p.m.).

** Elected:
     The Southern Maryland Chapter of the NFB of Maryland
gathered at Mama Stella's Restaurant in Clinton, Maryland, for
its fifth annual banquet. The following officers were elected:
Kenneth Silberman, President; Gerelene Womack, Vice President;
Edward Harley, Secretary; Bernetha McLamore, Treasurer; and Jack
Darosa and Mary Skattie, Board members.

** Used Notebooks For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I have sturdy, durable three-ring binders suitable for
storing 8 by 11-inch Braille paper. The sizes are -, 2-, and 4-
inch rings. These binders do have print on their covers. All
sizes are $1 each. Contact Charles Groves, 1899 Washington Valley
Road, Martinsville, New Jersey 08836, telephone (908) 469-9235.

** Magnetic Letters and Numbers Now Include Braille:
     The following information was recently called to our
attention:
     Playskool Learning Steps Magnetic Numbers and Playskool
Magnetic Capital Letters, toys suitable for children ages three
and up, are now available in most toy stores. Sets include
thirty-six pieces (complete alphabet plus ten extra letters).
Each piece also displays high-quality Braille. Price per box is
approximately $3.99.

** Elected:
     The National Federation of the Blind of Mecklenburg County,
North Carolina, held elections in November. Following is a list
of the new officers and board members: Mabel Conder, President;
Bill Tucker, Vice President; Hazel Staley, Secretary; and Janis
Lynn Stallins, Treasurer. The new Board members are LaVerne
Gallant, Pat Robbins, and Susan Shevlin.

** For Sale:
     Members of the Triangle Federation of the Blind, the Raleigh
chapter of the NFB of North Carolina, have asked us to carry the
following announcement:
     As one of our fund-raising projects we are selling NFB
stickers. They are available in two sizes. One is about the size
of a dime, and the other is about the size of the bottom of a
Coke can. They are round and would make good advertising on your
address labels or great bumper stickers to give to your friends
and cab drivers. The stickers carry the NFB logo in blue on a
white background. The price for the small sticker is $1 for 25 or
$3.50 for 100. The large stickers are $.50 each. Please add $.75
for shipping. To order contact Linda Shevlin at (919) 847-3470 or
write to her at 705 Northclift Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina
27609.

** Elected:
     Sara S. Berger, Corresponding Secretary of the Greater Long
Island Chapter of the NFB of New York, reports the following
election results: David Stayer, President; George Dominguez,
First Vice President; Brad Greenspan, Second Vice President; Lyn
Jublin, Recording Secretary; Sara Berger, Corresponding
Secretary; and Lorraine Stayer, Treasurer.

** For Sale:
     We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
     I have a VersaBraille II-Plus for sale, including internal
disk drive, all Braille and print manuals, and carrying case. I
am asking $2,000. For more information please call (303) 388-
4023.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Daryel White]
** In Memoriam:
     With sorrow we report the death on December 19, 1995, of
Daryel White, Vice President of the St. Louis Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri. Monitor readers
will remember the delightful speech about his job in auto body
repair Daryel gave at the 1992 national convention, which
appeared in the February, 1993, issue of the Braille Monitor.
Here is part of the letter Ed Bryant wrote to leaders of the
Diabetics Division about Daryel's death:

                                                December 21, 1995

Dear Friends,
     On November 14 I let you know that Daryel White had received
a successful kidney transplant. He was released from the
hospital, and everything seemed in good order. Early in December
Daryel felt shaky and ill and went back to the hospital.
     Readmitted with a full body infection, he was placed in
intensive care. Removal of the new kidney failed to make a
difference, and he remained extremely critical for some time.
Daryel fought the infection for days, but finally died the
morning of December 19.
     Daryel was a fighter, who didn't let blindness keep him from
enjoying life. In his job as an auto body repairman, he was an
example to everyone of the capacities of blind workers, and the
quality of his work was the envy of sighted body men. Daryel was
a good person who never passed up a chance to help others. . . .

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                        Ed Bryant

Our sympathy goes to Daryel's family and his fiancee Kerry Smith.

** Correspondents Wanted:
     We recently received the following letter:
          Wanted: correspondence. I am twenty-five years old, a
     graduate of the English Department, College of the Arts,
     University of Baghdad. I am interested in the following:
     music, reading, literary works of American and English
     literature (classical or modern). I am also interested in
     reading books about the development of teaching English as a
     foreign language, particularly those about grammar and
     general linguistics. I am interested in listening to
     broadcasts of shortwave radio stations, particularly those
     in English and Arabic. I would like to have letters in
     Braille from people age sixteen to forty-five.

                                                    Ali Al-janaby
                                               Arab Trading Group
                                                  P.O. Box 962395
                                               Amman 11196 JORDAN
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