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February, 2006
First, let me express the sympathy of the office to Celita White on the
death of her mother; to John Weidlich on the death of his mother and the
Agape on the death of Fred Valentine. MCB sent flowers for Celita's and
John's mother since they are officers of MCB.
Soon after the New Year began, Mary Pendleton, our Education and Welfare
chairperson, began sending the office bills that MCB would possibly want to
take a position on. We have done three mailings in all for a total of about
ten bills. We will be taking a position on five of the bills and one other
issue - that being the relocation of RSB.
We would also like to advocate for additional appropriations from the
Legislature for more Blindness Skills Specialists. When the law was passed
in 1999 (I believe), the law stated there would be nine such specialists;
however, the Legislature has never funded more than three. This means that
visually-impaired children who are being mainstreamed may not be receiving
the services they need.
Position papers have been prepared, packets made for each affiliate
legislative rep, and badges with the MCB logo and Missouri Council of the
Blind written on them. We feel we are prepared for Legislative Days. Oh
yes, hotel reservations are made. Due to the number of people planning to
attend Legislative Days, we have to use two hotels since we were unable to
reserve enough rooms at the Capitol Plaza. Some folks will be staying at
the Hotel DeVille.
The notice has gone out for the MCB Spring Board meeting which will be held
on April 8, 2006. Again, we will be at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson
City. The agenda for the Board meeting will be mailed the latter part of
March.
It is time for us to think about MCB Award nominees for this year. That
decision will be made by the Executive Committee of the Board following the
Board meeting on April 8.
If you or your affiliate knows of someone whom you believe is worthy of
receiving the Ellis M. Forshee Award, the Nathaniel Johnson Award or the
Darrell Lauer Outstanding Leadership Award, please submit their name to
either Kathey Wheeler or the office. The selection for the President's
Award is made by the President.
The building continues to be used by various groups. In addition to the
Midtown and Harmony Lions holding bingos, UWB had a Valentine party on
February 11. RITE had planned to have a pizza party that same day in the
afternoon, but there was some confusion with the advertising and their party
was cancelled. Mind's Eye has also scheduled their Board meeting for the
22nd of the month.
The seven people who went to Washington for the ACB Legislative Seminar came
home with raving reports. The comments I heard were very positive.
As many of you already know, John Weidlich's mom died on February 6. Of
course, this would have normally been a busy time for John, preparing the
March Chronicle. He did alert us that the Chronicle might be a little late,
so be patient. It may be just a few days late.
I am pleased to report that our web master is getting some things on our web
site. All of the guidelines and applications for our programs are now on
the web site. Our expense form is also there. So, if you have internet
capability and are in need of an application for one of our programs or an
expense form, they can be downloaded from the web site by going to
www.missouricounciloftheblind.org
and go to the "Forms and Applications" link.
Our web master will continue to "tweak" and make minor changes that will
make our web site look professional.
The MCB building will soon have parking lot signs, one on the building and
one suspended. They will read: "Parking for Missouri Council of the Blind
only. Violators will be towed at owner's expense."
We have felt the need to do this since too frequently we have other people
parking on our lot and driving through. The company who will do the
installing is Fast Sign.
Unfortunately, Mary was unable to avoid the flu bug. We miss her being in
the office today and hope she feels better soon. Sharon Armstrong had it
last week. Tom and I are keeping our fingers crossed that it passes us by.
As I write this, it is Valentine's Day. This day was named after a man
named Valentine. Some folks refer to it as St. Valentine's Day. He was
imprisoned for professing to be a Christian, so he wrote notes and letters
telling friends and relatives how much he loved them.
I hope you take the opportunity some time today to tell your friends and
relatives how much you love them. Too often we think that it sounds "hokie"
to tell someone we love them. Don't miss the chance.
For a while we had a fifth occupant in our building. "Minnie Mouse" (or
maybe it was "Mickey") decided she/he liked us. Unfortunately, for "Minnie"
(or Mickey), we decided she/he was not welcome and Orkin was called.
I guess it could have been worse. The business next door to us told us he
had squirrels in his building.
You may not receive this news letter before Presidents' Day which is
February 20, but the MCB office will be closed on that day. I will be
traveling to Jefferson City to testify against SB 917. That is the bill
that would transfer monies from all dedicated funds in the state to General
Revenue. Many of those dedicated funds affect people with disabilities. I
was told that the Blind Pension Fund was not one of those earmarked to be
swept; however, it is still a bad bill and needs to be defeated. It is
established by a Constitutional provision with taxes specifically to be used
for that purpose. Things can be changed quickly and it is felt that we
should not rely entirely on what I was told. The hearing on this bill will
be at two p.m. on Monday.
Many people seem to fall between the cracks when it comes to plugging into
agencies who can provide them services. I have had people call, saying that
it would probably be a month before they could be served. They are already
feeling anxious.
This is a busy time for the office. We have the Summer Camp information to
get out and the ACB list to update. Of course, there are the every day
routine things to do such as sending out Health Benefit and Special Services
applications as well as the Adaptive Technology packets.
If we can be of assistance to you or your affiliate, please let us know.
Beverly Armstrong
Executive Director
Missouri Council of the Blind
(314) 832-7172
ExecDir@MoBlind.org
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