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Volume III
No 1

THE TOWN CRIER

FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK

Most readers probably do not realize that we begin work on our fall issue of
The Town Crier as the summer heat arrives. Our readers may be surprised to
realize that this issue represents the beginning of our third year of
publication. We hope that the newsletter has made considerable growth during
its first two years and that the next two years will be even stronger,
especially in terms of participation from the membership.

This fall issue shall include a Massachusetts view of the national
convention, chapter plans for the fall and holiday seasons, an advance
report on the next state convention scheduled for April 20, 2001, a report
on the issue of The Ride stemming from a June 13th meeting at our state
Commission for the Blind, word on the Mildred Hilliard Award presented to a
dedicated volunteer each October, and any other items of interest to our
readers.

When we began writing the first issue of this newsletter, it was the
Editor's dream that we would one day have at least one page of Letters to
the Editor sent in by regular readers who either agreed or disagreed with
any opinions expressed within the last issue. That dream has not been
forgotten and we continue to welcome letters from readers on any item
contained within these pages.

Hoping everyone has had a relaxing summer, let's move forward with another
productive year at NFBM, Inc. Please watch for this newsletter during Sept.,
Dec., March and June.



>From the President's Clipboard ,  July 31, 2000

Do you realize that by the time you receive this issue of our Town Crier,
the year 2000 will be two-thirds over? This has been such a busy time for
many of us.

Our very successful state convention is a memory placed into history with
all of our past state conventions. Some folks are surprised when I say that
we have already begun to plan our state convention for 2001. It takes time,
a great deal of cooperation, a commitment made and kept and so much more.

When we ask for your input as members of the NFBM, we are very sincere in
our request. We want the convention to educate as well as entertain. So far,
what is on the Board's agenda sounds busy and exciting.

At the business meeting of our state convention, which takes place on Sunday
morning, I ask folks if they wish to participate on a committee. Many come
and say that they would like to be on one committee or other, but the
saddest realization, for me as President, is that so many do not follow
through and therefore the task has to be farmed out to someone else who more
than likely has a full plate already. If ,at our September State Board
Meeting, your name appears on a committee, which has been placed per your
request, please do fulfill your responsibility. Am I being negative? I do
not think that I am. It is more that I am disappointed when members do not
follow through on their commitments. This is true on both the chapter and
state levels.

I would like to close by sharing the following paragraph:

A Little Story for Everybody
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and
Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do
it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done
it, but Nobody did it. Somebody became angry about it because it was
Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody
realized that Nobody would do it. It ended that everybody blamed Somebody,
but Nobody accused Anybody.

Active members are our best resource. Are you active? Are you Somebody?

National Convention Update
By Philip Oliver

On July first, much like our counterparts from all areas of the land, a
large delegation of Massachusetts Federationists boarded our respective
means of transportation and headed for Atlanta, GA., and then on to the
Marriott Marquis hotel, the site of the 2000 annual convention of the
National Federation of the Blind.

Upon our arrival at the hotel, check-in went smoothly as usual, and the rest
of the day was spent unpacking, contacting old friends, making dinner
arrangements and familiarizing ourselves with the hotel and its immediate
surroundings. Sleep came quickly that evening as it had been a long day and
we knew all to well there was a very busy week ahead of us.

The next couple of days were spent attending meetings of special interest
groups such as The Senior Blind, Dog Guide Users, Blind Entrepreneurs and
the list goes on and on. Due to the great number of special interest groups,
the meetings begin at 9 AM. and often go until 11 in the evening. Attendees
of these special interest groups come away with lots of new information
about what is happening around the country in their respective areas of
interest. They also allow the rubbing of elbows with persons interested in
the same sort of issues as one's self.

The convention sessions were just packed with useful information, and since
the convention will be covered in your Braille Monitor, I will leave the
reporting of this information to the Monitor editor.

The exhibit hall was wall to wall people, and just hopping with activity. We
got to put hands on a talking ATM machine. In the future, this should help
solve the problem of blind ATM users not being able to use these machines
effectively. We also got to experience a talking Global Positioning System.
This is an interesting device which informs the user as to his/her location
on the earth and what points of interest are near by. If you were walking by
a restaurant, for example, it will give you the name of the establishment
and its telephone number. If you were approaching an intersection, it will
announce the names of the streets at this intersection, and let you know in
which direction you are traveling. In addition, Blazie Engineering a
division of Freedom Scientific, announced their new Braille Lite Millennium
2000. This Braille Lite will be using the Windows operating system. It also
has a built-in modem.

Shortly after the convention wrapped up, as we did last year, seventeen of
us once again visited Pittypat's Porch restaurant. The evening was spent
with good friends lots of laughs and very tasty southern cooking.

On Sunday, we packed our bags and headed back to Boston or where ever one
calls home.

It was very obvious that we are still the largest organization of blind
people in the country, and we are really changing what it means to be blind.
Next year's convention will be held in Detroit, MI, and we would like to see
as many of you there as possible.

NFBM NEWS BRIEFS

1.  On May 20th the Executive Board held its final spring meeting in
Cambridge. Many issues were discussed, including the recently-passed
Diabetes bill here in the Commonwealth, and the need to contact our
Senators and Congressmen to oppose the idea of allowing the Library of
Congress to transfer funds which would be disastrous for the blind.

One of the main topics of the day was making plans for next year's state
convention which will again return to the Holiday Inn at Worcester which
still offers the most affordable package. Several of us had explored
alternatives as some feel it might be nice to make a change from time to
time. Phil and Claire Oliver had received an interesting proposal from a
Sheraton in their area which they submitted in writing since they were en
route to an Alaskan cruise even as we met. Tom Duffy brought up the issue
of members working harder on the Ad Book which represents an important
part of the funding we must have in order to pay convention bills. If
every member of our affiliate could get one small ad we would not be so
limited in terms of the facilities available to us. The proposal
submitted by the Olivers would be a pleasant change if only the members
would help raise the money needed to pay for a four star hotel instead of
an inn with a somewhat lower rating. Next year's convention will be held
on the week end of April 6-7-8.

Those interested in issues focusing on The Ride were urged to attend a
meeting at the Commission for the Blind on June 13th. Our meeting
adjourned at 1 p.m. with the next meeting being announced for September
16th in the same location.

2. Our readers may be interested to know that the general laws of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Chapter 6 section 15 F 3 refers to employ
Handicapped persons week. Simply stated the law requires the sitting
governor to issue a proclamation declaring the first full week in October
as employ handicapped persons week. This just happens to fall right
before White Cane/Dog Guide day which we all celebrate each year.

3.  Those members of NFBM who happened to be watching the WGBH
annual auction on the afternoon of June 8th, should have been very
proud of the presentation of our two sets of the Kernel Books donated to
the Channel 2 fundraiser. Many companies and non-profit organizations
use this opportunity to familiarize the public with their products or
services.
This was our first attempt to participate in this widely viewed telecast. No
one can be sure how much is gained by a few minutes of  publicity, but this
is just one of the many creative efforts being made this year by the
Publicity Committee and there is little doubt that it was a sound
investment.

4. On June 13th many of us attended a lively and informative meeting at our
Commission for the Blind which was organized and chaired by Al Evans to put
the spot light on problems relating to The Ride. We have written of these
problems in this newsletter and were very impressed to hear directly from
Bob Rizzo of the T., who has been working on The Ride Program for 13 years.
The meeting covered a wide range of issues with Mr.Rizzo speaking for almost
an hour before opening the session to questions.

We all know that The Ride has grown many times in recent years and that
some contract changes created havoc with the service earlier this year.
Perhaps we all accept the facts that the system will never be perfect, but
Mr.
Rizzo outlined some new technology to be introduced later this year that
will
bring satellite communications into the system making it possible to know
exactly where a van is located and whether or not said van has arrived at a
specific address at the scheduled time. We got the impression that those
running the program were more thoroughly familiar with the problems than
we sometimes assumed.

The number of complaints received by the T have shown a downward trend
in recent months and this is seen as an encouraging sign that some problems
are being resolved. Mr. Rizzo encouraged patrons with legitimate complaints
to phone his office directly or to speak with the person in charge of the
contract in your own zone. Operations of The Ride is a very expensive
program and one that is most valuable for persons with numerous
disabilities. Blindness alone may not be a valid reason for relying entirely
on
The Ride for personal transportation, but as Mr. Rizzo pointed out other
factors have to be considered on a case by case basis. We will continue to
write of problems relating to The Ride, but this meeting seemed like one
small step toward improving conditions for all.

Editor's Note: The members of the Suburban West chapter wanted to assist
our local taxi vender in solving the confusion created by numerous
entrances on a campus such as Perkins. Mr. Rizzo said that such a problem
could be easily corrected with computers currently in use and he urged us
to phone Mr. McDonald at Veteran's Taxi which serves Waltham and the
surrounding communities. We were quite discouraged after three calls or
more when we received no return call. After two weeks of waiting we took
Mr. Rizzo at his word and informed him that we could not reach the person
in charge ofVeteran's Taxi. We thanked Mr Rizzo for following through on
his word as one month after our first attempt to reach Mr. McDonald we
finally did receive a return call and hopefully we have helped many folks in
our area by explaining how this type of situation could be resolved After
several phone conversations with Mr. McDonald, we are pleased with his
willingness to work with us on these matters.

All patrons of The Ride should offer assistance when possible as often we
have the skills and knowledge to resolve issues that employees seem
unable to resolve. There is nothing wrong with filing complaints, but
offering assistance can be just as valuable to both the patrons and the
vender.

5.  Many NFB friends ran into each other at the annual Perkins alumni
weekend, June 16-to-18. The Saturday was unusually hot and humid, but
even that did not detract from a busy schedule topped off by a fine turkey
dinner banquet in Dwight Hall with numerous speakers and door prizes.

A considerable investment has been made at Perkins in recent years and it
is clearly beginning to show with beautiful grounds and a completely
restored chapel that brings back its original appearance when the school
moved from Boston to Watertown in 1912.

An afternoon tour of the new library facilities was offered for those who
had not yet visited the new location.

Mr. Kevin Lessard, the Director, announced the student population has
reached 200 which is near capacity. Many alumni hope the school will
make a significant come-back from the depressing days following the
implementation of chapter 766 which upset the area of special education
so much.

6. Readers who follow the tall ships visit to Boston during July may have
heard of the Lord Nelson, a vessel from England, that is specially equipped
to enable the disabled to participate in the challenge of manning one of
these magnificent vessels. Groups of youngsters were allowed on board to
experience this challenge first hand. The captain said it is used to raise
the
confidence and self esteem of disabled persons who then go on to achieve
seemingly unrealistic goals with renewed confidence. The ship has a
talking compass that enables blind visitors a chance to pilot the vessel.

All of these ships were visited by thousands of interested residents and
visitors from all over the world visiting our first class region.


Editor's Note: You have already read an article on The Ride by your
newsletter staff. Due to computer problems we actually thought for a time
that the earlier article was lost. Nonetheless, Al Evans offered to help by
putting together his thoughts with an update not found in the earlier
article. So here is Al's fine article on a subject that has become near and
dear to all users of The Ride. We all appreciate the work Al has done on
this subject which should improve the lives of so many consumers in time.

THE RIDE
By Al Evans

On June 13, 2000, a seminar was held at the Mass. Commission for the Blind,
Boston, for the purpose of clarifying the "Do's and Don'ts" that surround
the valued paratransit program, known as "The Ride."

Commission personnel, representatives from other agencies, and blind
consumers made up a substantial audience which heard Mr. Robert P. Rizzo,
Manager of the program, Mass. Bay Transportation Authority, give a promising
and thorough explanation of this service. Mr. Rizzo assured all
in attendance that the service to riders would be improved in several
crucial areas: Timely pick-ups, reasonable arrivals, and acceptable
return-to-home trips.

The problem is, however, all is not going quite as well as might be hoped.
Among the improvements cited by Mr. Rizzo was the issue of easier contact
between the service and the served. The most frequent complaint since the
seminar involve consumers who can't get through to the transit company by
phone. They are put on hold for fifteen and twenty minutes or more; they are
made to wait for their return ride for longer than an hour in many cases. Of
course, the pick-up is often late, so the rider is late for work or an
appointment.

Nevertheless, Mr. Rizzo assures the consumers that all is well, and getting
better. It is true that, after speaking with people in his office, some
improvements have occurred, but the troubles persist. No one questions Mr.
Rizzo's word in the matter; it's just that there needs to be a more
effective means of communication between the "Ride" and the rider. Possibly
this would smooth out some of the bumps.

There is another aspect to this issue, which is the fact that, indeed,this
paratransit service does function rather well, when the entire picture is
considered. That picture incorporates many cities and towns. The miles
traveled in the course of a month, a day, are extraordinary! Thousands of
people are transported to-and-fro with relative ease, and in reasonable
comfort.

Perhaps the simplest answer to these complicated questions is for us who
need this service to keep calling, and to remain informed. While we thank
Mr. Rizzo for sharing his valuable time with us; and while we benefited from
the information he conveyed, we must continue to stay alert to the tardy
vehicle, and apprise the appropriate authority. We must persist in the quest
for quicker access with the dispatchers or the supervisors.

Above all, we as consumers and they as providers must keep the lines of
communication open at all times, in order to make a good service better.



CHAPTER REPORTS

BROCKTON CHAPTER
Mr. Jim Daley phoned our newsletter office on August 19th after attending an
annual Chapter Board meeting to plan the coming year. He informs us that the
first scheduled meeting of the new season is planned for September 11th.

Like most chapters, Brockton finds membership to be a major issue and they
will begin a special membership drive during the coming spring. Every June
this chapter holds an annual banquet at which time various scholarships and
grants are announced. This money is raised each November when the Brockton
Harmoneers puts on a special concert with the proceeds given to our Brockton
Chapter for the purpose of supporting these scholarships. The Chapter's
annual Christmas Party will be held this year on December 11th. On this
occasion their fall fund-raiser will come to an end with many prizes being
awarded to luck winners at the Party's special drawing. These fund raising
tickets will be available to interested persons through the fall months.

The folks in Brockton were saddened recently by the death of Mary Wilson who
was not only an active member of the chapter but one who was involved
in many church and other community activities. Her death at age 80 was
unexpected as she had remained active throughout her life.

SPRINGFIELD CHAPTER
By Walter Woitasek

Convention Reactions:

The 2000 National Convention of the NFB, held this past July in Atlanta, was
my first national convention experience in some years. I was greatly
impressed at the changes in the tone and quality of this national event.
There were many special interest committees and divisions available to the
busy delegates. Programs, speakers, and presentations were outstanding. The
introduction of  scholarship winners for the coming year was truly
inspiring. Above and beyond all of this, the exhibit hall was an experience
of the
technological advancements developed for the visually impaired community.
I was very pleased that aside from my wife Dorothy and myself, Ed Wiatrowki
and Peggy McCarthy attended from our chapter. I was a little
disappointed that our state affiliate did not caucus during the convention
for fellowship and sharing of information as many other states did. The
drive to build our National Research and Training Institute for the Blind
was a very important emphasis of the convention and over one million dollars
were raised during the convention week to bring the total raised to over 5.5
million. All of the sessions gave opportunities to meet new NFB supporters
from other parts of the US, and made this a very stimulating week. I would
strongly urge any member to put Detroit as a target for attendance at the
next convention.

Springfield Chapter Notes:
1. The summer has been a busy one for our chapter. August began with a
dinner for members and guests at the Spaghetti Warehouse. 36 members
and guests enjoyed a fine meal, good fellowship and entertainment, in a
pleasant function room at the restaurant. This was actually our second
summer activity since we participated in a picnic sponsored by the East
Longmeadow Lions' Club. Over 75 were in attendance - as this was an
effort to reach out to many visually impaired persons of the greater
Springfield area.

2. The first meeting of the Board of Directors was held at the end of July
and
plans were discussed for Fall activities. A voter registration program is
scheduled for the September meeting and NFB information for election
workers at voting sites (assistance to handicapped voters) will be
distributed to towns in the greater Springfield area.

On September 7th,a "Day of Caring", sponsored by the Vision Community
Services and our local chapter will train volunteers who wish to assist
handicapped persons.

Among other events scheduled this Fall is a speaker on new developments
in eye research, a program on fire safety, a program about personal safety
for people living alone, line dancing and participation in a tour for
visually
impaired people at Natural Bridge State Park.

We are pleased to welcome our new board members, Robert Baran, vice
president, Rita Shea as member-at-large (publicity) and Basil Maurice as
treasurer. We are looking forward to a busy and active year for our chapter.

3.  CALLING ALL SENIOR BLIND! At the 2000 convention of the NFB,
the division of the National Organization of Senior Blind had its annual
meeting. At this informative session, I had the privilege of being elected
as
member-at-large to the Board. One of the mandates of the division is to
promote activity in each of the affiliates. So, I would like to have any
interested NFB member over 60 contact me about the possibility of having
an organizational meeting at the state convention next spring. We hope to
present a program geared to the interests of our older blind members.
Please feel free to contact me by phone, (413-783-0140) or by E-Mail at
wwoitasek@worldnet.att.net or by Braille or cassette letters (141 Temby
St., Springfield, MA. 01119). As seniors, we have a lot to contribute to
the national interest from our state chapter!

Thanks! Walter Woitasek

SUBURBAN WEST CHAPTER PRESENTS

DOG GUIDE LECTURE
On the evening of October 16th the folks at the Suburban West Chapter will
show two videos from Seeing Eye and will answer questions from the  audience
on the topic of dog guides in conjunction with White Cane/Dog
Guide day.

With support from our friends at both the Watertown and Waltham Public
Libraries we hope to make this presentation an annual event as part of our
commitment to our communities. The Waltham Public Library has a lecture hall
that can accommodate some 100 visitors and various educational presentations
are a regular part of the library calendar.

We include mention of this event not so much to toot our own horn but rather
to encourage all other chapters to begin working more closely with local
organizations, particularly your library, in order to schedule similar types
of events at appropriate times to advertise the way in which our
organization can contribute to the community.

Most local libraries have a volunteer organization, usually known as Friends
of the Library, and we urge chapter leaders to join such groups. As members
you can request the time and opportunity to feature a lecture or film
presentation that spotlights some issue of interest to our affiliate. It is
a way for NFBM members to contribute and participate in local organizations
whose assistance can be invaluable in publicizing the great work of our
organization. We have come a long way in the past year with the creation of
our publicity committee and we hope all members will assist in promoting the
issues that so deeply concern most members.



STATE CONVENTION 2000 FOLLOW-UP

In our spring issue of this quarterly newsletter we described this year's
successful state c8onvention in April at Worcester.

When it comes to resolutions passed and other topics discussed the real test
of a great convention should be the implementation of the ideas months after
we have all gone home. With that criteria for a truly successful state
convention this year's April gathering would have to be listed as the most
productive.

A resolution was introduced and easily passed giving our full support to the
appointment of Commissioner Govostes on a permanent basis. We at The Town
Crier were delighted to learn on the morning of June 20th that the permanent
appointment would be made by the Governor. Our resolution had
directed that our President write a letter of support for Commissioner
Govostes to the Governor or whom ever else could assist. We can all be
pleased that this appointment came just two months after our 47th annual
convention. Things seldom happen that quickly but a united vote from our NFB
affiliate certainly had some impact on this topic.

The Ride was another major issue at our last annual state convention and
again, we can be proud that on June 13th Al Evans was able to schedule a
meeting between concerned consumers and Mr Rizzo from the MBTA as described
elsewhere in this newsletter. Said meeting was cordial and hopefully a first
step in addressing many of the concerns of blind patrons.

More visually impaired persons make direct use of the library services than
any other single government program for the blind. This topic is constantly
discussed at all annual state conventions, but this year we all worked a bit
harder to ensure increased state funding of the Perkins Regional Library.
While this year's budget fell far short of the funds needed, we did manage
to receive some increases. At next year's convention we will have to work
hard again to seek those additional dollars needed to adequately fund vital
services.

As many visitors to New England were enjoying the tall ships in Boston
Harbor, word reached your newsletter that the Governor had signed the Dog
Guide Muzzle Bill which our affiliate has been trying to implement for the
past several years. This is just another example of how solid follow-up from
our annual state conventions can lead to significant improvements in the
lives of blind people. No longer will the owners of dog guides need fear
that they will be required to muzzle their highly trained dogs while
visiting public facilities. It is another achievement for the year 2000.

Some time after the convention we learned that Congress was again being
asked to grant authority to the head of the Library of Congress which would
give him the authority to transfer funds as he sees fit. This is an old idea
which always means the blind will lose at the expense of a worthy or
unworthy cause. We at your friendly newsletter were among those who quickly
sent letters of protest to our Massachusetts delegation. At this writing we
are still working on this issue and will add a foot note later should we
have more information on the subject.

We are always pleased with the written response we receive from some elected
officials, particularly Barney Frank who always seems to grasp the concerns
of our membership even when he does not necessarily agree with us on every
fine point. In mid June the staff of your newsletter sent a letter of thanks
to Congressman Frank for his efforts. We always know we can call on him and
be sure of a very thoughtful reply. His letters on the subject of the
minimum wage for blind workers was so important that we immediately mailed
copies to our national office in Baltimore as they would be the appropriate
officials to appear before Barney Frank's proposed hearings on this issue.
Again we will add a foot note elsewhere in this or in future editions when
we have this important information for our readers.
NFBM'S WASHINGTON MAILBOX
Any member wishing some day to serve as our elected secretary need
understand that the task involves weekly writing of letters to state and
congressional delegations regarding the critical issues of the day. One must
have both the computer skills and the time along with a solid understanding
of the various issues as they arise in order to carry out this post with
solid results.

Our state secretary has been working hard in recent months to inform members
of our congressional delegation that we strongly oppose granting
authority to the head of the Library of Congress that would enable him to
transfer funds from one account to another as he feels such allocation is
necessary. We all know from experiences that money for the blind would be
the first to be cut while other less worthy causes would be advanced by some
special interest group. Members of NFBM should be very pleased to know that
in recent months we have received a number of thoughtful letters from our
elected officials regarding the numerous issues that have captured our
attention since state convention 2000. Transfer of funding at the Library of
Congress has been one hot issue for us and we appreciated the informative
letter from Representative John Tierney on that matter.


As always, we thank Barney Frank for his wise observations regarding
rehabilitation of the blind as it relates to the proper professional
utilization of workshops which we see as one vital step in the process but
some narrow minded officials prefer to view as a dead end.

We should all be proud of the number of communications we have received from
our state's Congressional delegation in recent months on a wide variety of
problems of concern to our affiliate.

Our President, Mrs. Ferris, received a very thoughtful response from
Representative John W. Olver of our first district. He wrote of his concerns
regarding current appropriations for a number of programs including the
Library of Congress which has been high on our list of concerns. As stated
elsewhere a letter to our President or to the staff of your Town Crier is a
letter to all of the members of our affiliate. This new column is an attempt
to make sure all members receive the reply that is directed to us all. Of
course, nothing quite replaces the value of many members writing to support
the views we all share. Never rely on your President or the staff of your
newsletter to do all of the communications. Take time today to write your
own representative on what issue you feel needs more support.

FCC UPDATE REPORT

EDITOR'S NOTE: As our regular readers know we have been following
developments at the FCC regarding the need for descriptive video. We can
report that considerable progress has been made on that front. Other
organizations have been concerned with strictly entertainment but the more
realistic members of NFB have long pushed for this service as it relates to
emergency broadcasts rather than frivolous soap operas. Recent rulings at
the FCC have in a sense pleased both groups, but here is an item that came
across our wires in mid July as it relates to our primary concerns.

The FCC ruled that any broadcast station or MVPD that provides local
emergency information as part of a regularly scheduled news cast or as
part of a news cast that interrupts regularly scheduled programming will
be required to make the critical details of this information accessible to
persons with visual disabilities in the effective area.. In addition any
broadcast station or MVPD that provides emergency information through
a scrawl or scroll will be required to accompany that information with an
oral tone to alert persons with visual disabilities that the station or MVPD
is providing this information. The rules for emergency information will be
effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

AGREEMENT REACHED WITH AOL
Baltimore, MD, (7/26/00)--On the tenth anniversary of the passage of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA), the National Federation of the
Blind, (NFB) and America Online inc., (AOL), announced today that working
together they have "real progress in achieving their mutual goal of
making the AOL service accessible to the blind." NFB also announced that it
has withdrawn its complaint against the company.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The above paragraph is a small portion of a much longer item
on the agreement reached in July between NFB and AOL. We will follow this
story during the next year or so as the agreement is, of course, dependent
on AOL carrying out its promise to correct the problem by the end of the
year.

NFBM TRIVIA CHALLENGE

Here are a few challenging questions from our research department with
answers to follow.

1. Based on the latest government figures, identify the world's busiest
airport.
2. Identify the nation's only inter-state covered bridge.
3. We all know that the Boston hotel market has more rooms than any other
location in New England, but what city ranks number two in terms of
numbers of hotel rooms available?

Here are the answer to these three exciting questions:

1. The FAA now reports that the airport at Atlanta, Georgia, ranks number
one. Those of you who attended the national convention may have
discovered the answer to that question.

2.  The covered bridge across the Connecticut River at Windsor, Vermont, is
the only inter-state covered bridge in America. You leave New Hampshire
at the East end and enter Vermont at the West end.

3.  Many readers may be surprised to learn that the City of Waltham, known
as the Watch City, now has more hotel rooms than any other city in New
England outside of the Boston hotel market area. A state convention in the
Watch City would be a wonderful event if only we could build up our
treasury to pay the bills.



Editor's Note: Every so often an article appears in one publication or
another that creates a bit of a stir. Many readers may become angry at what
the writer says but nonetheless such articles always spark a renewed
interest in whatever the topic happens to be and, to that extent, the
article is a real contribution. Last spring such an article appeared in The
Matilda Ziegler Magazine on the subject of dog guides. The writer has
obviously had a bad experience and subsequently tends to blame all dog guide
schools. Her remarks brought many well written responses but we thought as
NFBM members you might enjoy reading the two items submitted by both Al and
Gloria Evans, both long time dog guide users. Here is the original article
and the two responses written by our long time members.

Matilda Ziegler, May, 2000
>From Lucia Marett, Pelham Manor, NY:
I am in total agreement with the comments of Deborah Norling in the last
September Reader's Forum. The quality of the training at the guide dog
schools, with respect to both training and breeding of dogs, has
deteriorated
and is substandard, shoddy and inadequate. this is ironic, since schools
that
purport to train dogs to serve as guides for blind men and women have
greater endowments than ever. The training and breeding do not meet the
needs for those of us who travel in large cities, have to cross busy streets
and walk double edged subway platforms. Intelligence has been bred out of
the dogs to the point that they are no longer able to use initiative to get
us
out of dangerous situations. Training and breeding dogs is a nine to five
job
for the instructors and it is obvious that they do not care about us or our
safety. Blind people are docile, kind, innocent folks, but we all must
change
"can't" to "better" on this one. We must contact the schools and their
boards, informing boards of what is happening to the quality of breeding
and training of dogs. It is not the dogs' fault, but it is not ours either.

I think it is time for instructors and those who claim to "serve" blind
people
need to realize that we demand a voice and a choice in our training because
it affects a major portion of our lives. I trust my dog, but only up to a
point.
For instance, I do not feel that I could travel with him unassisted in a
strange busy area.

Al Evans, Winthrop, MA.:

This will reply to the intemperate, uninformed remarks made by Lucia
Marett in the May Readers Forum. Collectively, between my wife and me,
we have used dog guides for more than eighty-five years. I have traveled
not only alone through large cities with one of my seven dogs, but also,
whether alone or with my wife, I have managed to do so unassisted,
without danger, from Boston to Los Angeles, from Denver to Miami
Beach. Currently, after a failed total knee replacement and with moderately
advanced MS, I continue to travel independently through Boston's insane
rush hour with my eleven -and -a -half year old German Shepherd, who
does not skip a beat.

None of this is stated to brag. I say it because attitudes like those of Ms.
Marett are incorrect, and tell me that she probably shouldn't have a dog
guide in the first place. As may be gathered by my comments, I am not one
of her docile, kind, innocent blind folks. To her mind, we blind people are
little puppets to be pulled this way and that, merely to suit the fancy of
whoever controls the strings. The dog guide is not, to my knowledge, bred
by the trainer. The dog guide functions with, firstly and foremostly, love.
It
works as one of a team of two, with respect and a reasonable level of
competence on the part of the blind person. Above all, one must have
respect for one's self, before one may even think of using a highly-trained,
flesh and blood, caring and expensive dog which places as much trust in its
blind partner, as Ms. Marett appears to demand from the dog, from the
training schools, and, for all I know, from the whole world.

SECOND RESPONSE:
I was amazed and disturbed by Lucia Marett's May Readers Forum article
concerning the breeding and training of dog guides. I have received five
dog guides from The Seeing Eye beginning in July, 1956. I have found all
five of my dogs to be well trained. I travel anywhere I wish--many cities
throughout the US. I can only speak to the excellent breeding and training
programs at The Seeing Eye. However, I find Lucia Marett's sweeping
condemnation of dog guide schools rather shocking.  A blind person paired
with a dog guide become a team. However, the person is the team leader. It
is up to the blind owner to follow guide-lines given during the training
period with his or her dog. There must be a balance of love, praise,
discipline, and at times, necessary correction to keep the dog functioning
optimally as a guide. I have observed that all too many blind folks are
really
not willing to put forth the effort to become a smoothly functioning team.
Dog guides, although very well trained, are still dogs and they look to
their
humans for leadership.

Ms. Marett's statement that instructors view their job as just a nine to
five
deal, I believe, is unfounded. I have always found my instructors to be
caring, well disciplined professionals who are deeply concerned with
placing well matched, well trained, dog guide teams into the community.
As far as involving blind folks in the training they receive, at The Seeing
Eye there are certain routes that must be traveled; however, students are
given the opportunity to ask for specific training--such as going to
shopping malls, hospital and nursing home settings, college campus
experience, visits to New York City with its subway and excessive crowds,
and more.

In closing, I would not agree that blind folks are docile, kind and
innocent.
We are a cross section of the general public displaying a wide range of
personality types. We can work with the dog guide schools by making
relevant suggestions. However, we should not take over completely the
required curriculum. I go to The Seeing Eye because I have always been
served well there and feel that their breeding and training programs are
excellent.
Gloria M. Evans, Winthrop, MA.

TRAVEL TIPS
Those who delight in riding the rails on a beautiful autumn day might
appreciate the annual trip to Vermont leaving from South Station on
September 30th. This railroad adventure is sponsored by Mass Bay Railroad
enthusiasts which is a national organization similar in structure to our own
NFB. We sure hope this newsletter reaches you in time for this opportunity.
Those wishing more specific details can contact the group at:
P. O. Box 8136,
Ward Hill, MA 01835.
Should this newsletter reach you a bit late for this event, feel free to
contact the group regarding their annual winter or spring day trips.


COMMISSIONER'S POSITION MADE PERMANENT

On August 8, 2000, the acting Commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission
for the Blind (MCB), David Govostes, was sworn in as permanent Commissioner
of MCB for the next five years. It was as brief but very meaningful
ceremony. We, as blind consumers, have worked diligently to insure that
Commissioner Govostes would continue at the helm of MCB for the next five
year term. Our President, Priscilla A. Ferris, and Joy Reis, Member of the
Board of Directors, were in attendance. It was followed by a gathering of
all attendees with congratulations, refreshments and good fellowship.


EDITOR'S CONCLUDING REMARKS

We must confess that in early August some of the reports for this issue
magically vanished into the computer and we could not recover them. We hope
our readers can appreciate the fact that it is impossible to rewrite lost
materials, no matter how important and well written they may have been. We
are taking every step possible to ensure that this problem does not occur
again but we hope you will understand that the final assembling of this
issue has been very frustrating at this end. Several friends, including Al
and Gloria Evans, came forward to offer some assistance. A successful
newsletter requires this kind of support from as many members as possible.

The fall is always a busy season for all chapters. The Suburban West is
planning its first annual banquet for November 18th with fund-raising
tickets now on sale. The Cambridge Chapter holds its annual Walk-A-Thon the
first Sunday in October. The Fall River Chapter is planning its upcoming
40th Anniversary Celebration. Most chapters have some plans for a Christmas
Party. So we will take this time to wish all members a successful fall.




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