Hi Harvey,
Harvey Heagy wrote in a message to Richard Webb:
HH> Hi Richard.  Unfortunately, Iowa has never recovered from
HH> the serious and in my opinion inexcusable blunder of
HH> appointing John Taylor as Executive Director of the Iowa
HH> Commission for the blind.  I have always believed Jim Omvig
HH> should have had the appointment, but at any rate that's what
HH> you're still suffering from.  Had Iowa had aggressive
HH> leadership from a strong commission for the blind it is
HH> quite likely that the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving school
HH> would no longer be Nac acredited.  
I believe you're correct.  Jim's a good man, and would have been an excellent 
choice for director, as he's both the personal qualities and knowledge of the 
way the system works. Two good things to have in an aggressive agency 
director, which we need.
As for IBSSS, the Nac thing has been a thorn in the side of blind Iowans for 
quite awhile. A few years ago, the Super started telling us that this problem 
would soon go away. I believe sincerely that the folks at Vinton were hoping 
we'd go away, until it came time to support their entrance into itinerant 
teaching for public school kids, and of course, promoting the school as the 
best place for blind kids.  Other than that and funding, they've really had a 
wish that we'd go away, but I'm sure that isn't going to happen.
What really annoys me are the lies, as well as the $2500 we spend for Nac 
accreditation. THat money could be better spent for serving blind kids in 
Iowa. At this moment, I'm calling the school administration liars publicly. 
As far as I'm concerned, they've dealt with the Iowa blind community with bad 
faith, to say the least. We've been supportive of the school, and encouraged 
development of good programs, but, I'm inclined to think that our  efforts 
are in vain.  It's time to take a fresh new look at the folks in Vinton, and 
decide to take a real hard line on the Nac issue. My tax dollars are being 
squandered, and I don't appreciate it one iota. I'm for encouraging the 
legislature to reopen studies of closing the damn joint down.  If the best we 
can do for a residential school is a nac accredited one, then we can do 
better with no specialized residential school in Iowa. Just my two thousand 
five hundred dollars worth. That's what it costs, I understand.  Talk about 
urinating away money .
Regards,
Richard Webb, KB0RUU
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