[Missouri-l] [leadership] FW: Oregon crisis

[peter altschul]

---- Original Message ------
From: "Mitch Pomerantz" <mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net
Subject: [leadership] FW: Oregon crisis
Date sent: Wed, 20 May 2009 10:29:00 -0700

Colleagues:

While it isn't an absolute certainty quite yet, it looks as if we 
will be
able to celebrate a victory here.


Mitch

  _____

From: James Edwards [mailto:jamese.acbo at yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 8:20 PM
To: Mitch Pomerantz
Subject: Re: Oregon crisis


Mitch,
     Thank you for your quick response.  I was notified of the 
Governor's
statement and press release concerning the closure of the O.C.B.  
late Friday
afternoon.  I called chapter presidents on Saturday with the 
request they
contact their members to e-mail and call our state 
Representatives and
senators.  As a result, I was told on Monday that the capitol 
building was
inundated with calls and e-mails, to the great surprise of many
state representatives, who had not yet heard of the Governor's 
statement.  A
rally was scheduled for Wednesday (tomorrow) of this week.  
Today, the
commission director was contacted by a member of the state budget 
committee,
and told they will not be following the Governor's 
recommendation, so the
commission is in no danger of being closed.  Budget cuts, as 
expected, yes,
closing, no.  Consequently, the organizer of the rally decided to 
call it
off.  However, Mr.  Art Stevenson, President of the Oregon N.F.B.  
decided to
go ahead with plans to hold a rally on the capitol steps.  
Although in my
opinion, we should not purposely draw to much attention to the 
O.C.B.  issue,
we do have one more shot at saving the school, so I and a few 
others will be
attending.  Mr.  Stevenson has even called in one of the N.F.B.  
leaders from
back East to participate.  To be honest, Mr.  Stevenson's 
personality gives me
cause for worry because he is aggressively outspoken, and 
sometimes fails to
state his facts accurately.  In some cases, this can be harmful, 
instead of
helpful, to a good cause.
     I was appointed by the Governor's office last week to serve 
as a
Commissioner on the O.C.B.  board, so I will be following very 
closely the
outcome of this week's events.

Thanks again, Mitch.

James Edwards
Oregon A.C.B.



  _____

From: Mitch Pomerantz <mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net
To: James Edwards <jamese.acbo at yahoo.com
Cc: Kim.Charlson at Perkins.org; kimcharlson at comcast.net
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 8:30:21 AM
Subject: RE: Oregon crisis


James:

Let me first tell you how saddened I am to hear about the 
situation in
Oregon.  Unfortunately, what you are experiencing is probably a 
precursor of
things to come in other states, largely as the result of the 
current
economy.

One thing that comes to mind is to begin a campaign of 
letter-writing by
those of your members who benefitted from the services provided 
by the
Oregon Commission.  If every ACBO member sent a letter to their 
legislator
with a copy to the Governor, and got their family and friends to 
do so as
well, it would certainly let the elected representatives and 
state chief
executive know that their proposed action will hurt hundreds of 
blind and
visually impaired Oregonians and will be noticed at the next 
election.
Perhaps you can also attract the attention of the public, 
particularly those
who are acquainted with blind people who received services from 
the
Commission.

I am copying Kim Charlson this e-mail as a former resident of 
your state and
ACB's First Vice President.  Kim may have other ideas regarding a 
strategy
which could be effective in saving the Oregon Commission for the 
Blind.
Please let me know if ACB can be of further assistance.  I wish 
you, and the
members of ACBO good luck and best wishes.


Sincerely,
Mitch Pomerantz, President
American Council of the Blind

  _____

From: James Edwards [mailto:jamese.acbo at yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 8:44 PM
To: mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net
Subject: Oregon crisis


Dear Mitch,
      The blind community in the state of Oregon is currently 
facing a real
crisis.  A few months ago, the state government decided to close 
the Oregon
State School for the Blind, an institution that has been in 
existence for
over 115 years.  Of course, it was protested heartily by the 
blind community,
students of the school, staff of the school, parents of blind 
children, and
many others, including a few senators and state representatives.  
Myself, Kae
Seth, and others of A.C.B.  of O.  attended and spoke at rallies 
and public
hearings.  We joined forces with the N.F.B.  of Oregon in our 
effort to stop
the closing of the school.  Sadly, all of this was to no avail.  
We have
received word that lawmakers in the state of Oregon will 
definitely vote to
close the school for good.
     Now, we are involved in yet another fight with our state 
government.  On
Friday, May 15, our governor issued a statement saying that he is 
now going
to close the Oregon Commission for the Blind, a state agency that 
has served
blind people for more than fifty years.  This was devastating 
news to the
blind community of Oregon, as you can well imagine.  We feel we 
are being
targeted to bear the brunt of the state's budget crunch.We are 
definitely
making a stand against his decision, but it may be an uphill 
battle.  As an
advocate for the blind yourself, do you have any suggestions for 
strategies
on how we can convince Governor Kulingoski how wrong his decision 
is?
      I am forwarding two e-mails to you with the pertinent 
information
regarding the subject of my letter.  I will be looking forward to 
hearing
from you.

Sincerely,
James Edwards
President, A..C.B.  of Oregon