Comment Archives: stories: Currents: Currents Feature
Re: “Community Conundrum”
On May 17 I requested that this article be corrected. I worked at Wingspan from April 15, 2008 until I resigned effective July 31, 2009, for a total of 15 months and 2 weeks.
Re: “Community Conundrum”
I'm very sorry to see this kind of conflict at Wingspan. Zami and Casey have been instrumental to keeping Wingspan afloat. Carol is excited about leading Wingspan and making it stronger. She brings leadership that Wingspan hasn't had for awhile. We must hope that fences can be mended and that Wingspan will go on to be stronger.
To jbuchman - you should have lived in Phoenix. Tucson is an oasis compared to that place. Tucson has been a wonderful community for LGBT people compared to the rest of the Southwest. You can't beat the West Coast, but you landed in a good place if you came this far away from the coast. Count your blessings. You had some here.
Re: “Community Conundrum”
Well, I don't want to negate any good that has been done in the past and can't imagine what GLBTQ community in Tucson would be without it. But, after almost 2 years in Tucson (job relocation) my partner and I are doing everything we can to get outa Dodge and back to the West Coast. I've lived in urban and rural settings, USA and internationally. Yet, we're appalled and have never experienced such backwardness as Tucson -- not only when it comes to GLBTQ issues, but also, politically (roads, development, improvements) and socially (lack of prioritization for homeless). So whatever structural changes are deemed necessary by God I hope they are for the best. But I would expect that the same principle of justice and equality sought through programs and advocacy is practiced as well regarding employment issues; otherwise, the leadership would be a sham and lack credibility.
Re: “The Border Battle”
Please , Grijalva Please.. Compromise is now a term politicans use to convince the public that they are attempting to look like they are doing something...... For those of us that have lived in Tucson for 40 years or more , Natives of Tucson, know that Grijalva should be President of Mexico instead of a U.S. congressman.. Most of his district looks like sonora mex. and functions similar to nogalas sonora mex.. His district has always had the highest crime rate in pima county. Not much has changed for the better since Raul "took" over this district a long time ago.. The number of Illegal immigants from mexico has increased in his district since his take over however... Almost evey time Raul opens his mouth and some sort of word combination comes out,,its got some thing to do with non citizens and in some way bad mouthing the legal U.S. citizen....
Re: “The Border Battle”
Only my opinion, feel free to call me what you wish. I have several family members who are naturalized citizens and they did it the legal way. That said, my concern is the great degree of naiveté demonstrated by the Gang of Eight. Why do they believe a group of people who have violated there native country's laws and then our laws to illegally emigrate, work without proper documentation, steal or falsify identification, steal goods and services intended for legal, needy citizens will suddenly decide to follow the law? I have a hard time believing even one fourth of those here illegally will voluntarily pay a fine and back taxes much less register with the government, and then learn English and become law abiding citizens. Am I being too cynical? Or just realistic?
Re: “The Border Battle”
Actually, the environmental hazards stem from allowing all these illegal aliens into the country in the first place. Do something positive for American and encourage them to self deport.
Re: “Riding Shotgun”
I think graduate students studying public policy would be more concerned about poverty and helping children get good educations instead of doling out weapons that statistically end up harming people instead of hindering crime.
Re: “Riding Shotgun”
Well put. FWIW I remember your dad marching "the troops" at El Rio Park. Thanks for keeping up the family tradition.
Anyway, this effort to arm everyone reminds me of the notion of a circular firing squad - which would be so much effective with shotguns.
Re: “Riding Shotgun”
Great work Sol. What a creative response to a really dumb plan to give away guns!
Re: “Minty Fresh”
A certain lyrically challenged T-pain song comes to mind when I think of the Mint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt2wjJlP2N4
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
The irony is that traditionally, and especially during the years Nancy Amann, Brandon Decker and Maureen Mazza (employees who filed grievances against Rob Hill) have been in charge of the lions share. Nearly all scholarship monies awarded by the ASDB High School for departing seniors were to students whose parents were graduates or merely attended Gallaudet College (It was a college in their day, not a university and anyone attending and not even completing a single semester was considered an "alumnus." Only a 5th grade reading level was required).
ASDB is all about social, far less on merit. The most important considerations were family history of deafness-student is a "deaf of Deaf adults" (DODA), family attendance of Gallaudet, social standing among Deaf and that their parents were teachers or worked at the school, practices much like those employed by rabid eugenicists. Awards almost exclusively went to those students along with SSI and complete vocational rehabilitation funding - these are factual.
This year, protest leaders Julian Apfel and Nathan Amann are the primary recipients regardless of their parent's income, they are both DODA and their families have a "storied" history. For disrupting everyone in the education system (students, parents & staff) for weeks and during AIMS testing, they get to be rewarded? They should be suspended, the monies given to students who did NOT protest. Reward students who demonstrate merit, good efforts and are IN NEED of financial support. For years, I have never seen any of the "elite" deaf students have a regular summer job during their education and they brag about it.
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
First of all, how is the article "grotesquely one-sided" when... "Neither Hill nor Jones responded to repeated calls for comment"???
Second, "grievances to rail against Superintendent Robert Hill" are still comments and should be heard.
Third, if the meeting's agenda was "ostensibly limited" then Dr. Jones should have planned accordingly.
Fourth, you don't sound like a spectator because that was ONE diatribe that you just posted.
Fifth, isn't Rob Voreck also a concerned parent of a ASDB student??? Phoenix news just had him on t.v. Parents should have a say in their child education, no? While I don't condone his actions of speaking out of line at the meeting, I do commend him for his support for his child.
Sixth, what is your beef with this Nancy? Jim Jones???? That is pretty good. I seriously chuckled a bit - only because you dated yourself.
Seventh, Gallaudet cronies??? You do realize there is only one, ONE, university for Deaf students to go to, right? (RIT is an Institute)
Eighth, did you just call a bunch of "children with disabilities"... "miscreants" in the SAME paragraph?
Ninth, I like the point you were making about being mindful of people that are "narcissistic, maintain power position with rewards, favors or adherence to a shared, zealous quasi-religious dogma". Because that sounds just like Hill & Jones.
Tenth, how do you feel about. . . "quid pro quo"??? (Voreck is not a board member or Superintendent)
And last but not least, do you like apples????
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
Rob Vorcek fingers the work of Superintendent Robert Hill and Dr. Bernhard Jones with EIPA, the Educational Interpreters Professional Assessment program. and their association with TASK12, with Jones as Director. It remains unclear whether these associations are professional, financial, advisory or fraternal. Apparently, by mentioning test fee costs and requirements that interpreters at ASDB must take these tests, Vorcek wants everyone to believe that there is a "conflict of interest."
But really, whose interests? Vorcek has his own interpreting business empire that includes his own family members, stretching from Arizona, Nevada and California at least.
ASDB Board member Sheri Collins heads the Arizona Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and maintains an extremely cozy relationship with Vorcek through contracts.
This stinks more of "quid pro quo" than the Hill-Jones arrangement.
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
What a weak, asleep at the wheel reporting job. Most of the ASDB staff and administrators are doing an excellent job, in SPITE of the efforts of the Amann insurgents who are trying to make it the Arizona School for Deaf ONLY. From an inside perspective, the factionalization, cronyism, and vendettas practiced by the deaf community at, and outside, ASDB is a travesty of justice. Amann broke many laws, was feared by anyone outside her good ole boy network, and ignored all procedures, traditions, and rules of this great institution as she attempted to make it into her own little empire.
Fooling students as young at elementary school into protesting with lies and fear tactics, the deaf are ruining the chances this school will continue for another 100 years.
The complaintocracy and protest movement here remind me a lot of Kim Jung-Un and all his saber rattling - and are just as baseless.
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
The ASDB Board meeting of April 30, 2013 was set with an ostensibly limited agenda, but mostly to entertain public comment. Comments from the at-large Deaf community, mostly from the ASDB-Tucson campus, became more of a forum for personal grievances to rail against Superintendent Robert Hill. The Board was set to listen to these "comments" but not to engage in discussion, as a defined protocol. Dr. Bern Jones did an admirable job maintaining order, keeping speakers on target, on time, and even allowed some leeway for limited venting. Kudos to Dr. Jones!
The necessity for this board meeting was to allow some measure of tension to be released, and this may seem odd to those uninitiated into the history of problems within ASDB, but the Board found it necessary to do so.
From a spectator’s standpoint, it was actually a one-way diatribe from extremely angry and vindictive Deaf people. One such individual, an interpreter for the deaf and a deaf "advocate specialist” - Rob Voreck, publishes ASDBreports.com that is a non-append able forum that spews pro Nancy Amann developments. No debate allowed. Mr. Voreck had to be cautioned by Board President Jones, to address the Board, and to not direct his invective towards Superintendent Robert Hill. Whatever the issues that divide Rob Hill and Nancy Amann, they appear to have assumed dimensions that are quite personal, and many others, such as Mr. Voreck have fed off of this. Nancy Amann is aware of this going on, and has given tacit approval.
What was odd is that Nancy went on about how she felt threatened by so many persons that are, academically speaking, the administration under Robert Hill, with whom she has perhaps misaligned and erroneously believes that they have a personal vendetta against her or have engaged in malfeasance. Nancy somehow managed to enter into subtle "negotiations” right under everyone’s nose about how she wanted an investigation conducted. Isn’t this unusual, given that the restricted agenda and only for public comment, not a two way discussion? She certainly got her own way here, and with an Executive session vote afterwards.
Has anyone ever stopped to ponder about how many members of the Amann clan/relatives are working for ASDB? Consider that Nancy appointed dozens of her own Gallaudet and PKZ cronies to strategic positions. Yet she feels threatened by the ASDB Administration that she served, but cannot comprehend the consequences of her own conduct as a top Administrator and was threatening to many others. Bizarre. Her husband, Alan Amann, has been at the forefront of everything, and he works for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. He went to considerable lengths to downplay his association with the AG's Office, and that he was there expressing his own "personal" views. How that might be defined is debatable. Does his boss at the AG know that he's been at ASDB or around ASDB inciting "peaceful" mayhem, but nonetheless, mayhem that has caused considerable disruption to a state funded educational institution? Besides having his wife, his father, his mother, his brother and his son (did I miss anyone?) employed by, associated with or otherwise attending this school, his corner might appear to be overly represented as is, wouldn't you think?
It is not understood by this reader why the reporter did not dig deeper into, what is arguably, a real crock, and examine the root causes of this eruption by ASDB/PDSD students and the at-large Deaf community. The reporter only touched upon what is visible on the surface, e.g., the ASDB School Board Meeting that conceivably was brought about because a group of miscreants want to get a piece of Superintendent Rob Hill. We like to think that a good, fair, and impartial reporter would gather more facts and present documentation from both sides, if they could get it, before publishing so sensitive an article about a state school for children with disabilities, which appears on the first page Sunday Edition.
In writing here today, I want the public to please bear in mind that there are many great -well qualified- state certified teachers (not "specialists") that are hard at work to educate and prepare deaf, blind, and deaf and blind children who were working hard and successfully long before Dr. Nancy Amann came to work for ASDB. Dr. Amann has been with ASDB not 14 years as has been reported by some, but more like 6 years or so. Those teachers and other professional staff are competent and certified and were not beholden by the "special treatment" afforded her hires. Their work emanates from professional dedication, the desire to serve the educational needs of their students, to prepare them for the world, and not for money, fame or for Deaf cultural reasons.
Less than a year ago, the ASDB Board voted unanimously to renew Superintendent Robert Hill's contact for another 3 years. Not a single issue or opposition was raised by the public. The State of Arizona had been performing an audit of ASDB and some of its dealings. Other issues may have come to light that have not been publicly released. The buck has to stop at the desk of Superintendent Robert Hill, and Robert is the authority that has to bring about disciplinary actions as necessary upon those directly in his charge, in this case, Dr. Nancy Amann. It should strike one as strange that Lisa Svenningsen, Brandon Decker, Vivienne Schroder, Maureen Mazza by proxy, and even Richard Layton, who was physically present, and others acting in consort but not present. These people have amassed a phalanx of over 30 grievances, many out of the blue and never previously reported. This comes across as reversing roles to become the victims. Mr. Decker even threw himself at "the mercy” of the Board." Most of these complainants have been supervisors long enough to know that there is a grievance process for them and it is actually long past the statutes of limitations as defined under the ASDB grievance policy to assert these claims. Their actions are seen as a lame attempt to thwart, confound or lessen the pending actions against Dr. Nancy Amann.
A parent wrote a public letter to the ASDB Board describing her experience with an audience where Dr. Nancy Amann entered the auditorium and everyone jumped up and shouted for joy. In her mind, such devotion and affection could only have come about by good, fair and strong leadership. One must be mindful that many such persons are narcissistic, maintain power position with rewards, favors or adherence to a shared, zealous quasi-religious dogma. Although some were cut down when they had second thoughts, most followers of Jim Jones willingly drank the Kool Aid. And I thought people from Missouri always asked to "show me" before they believed in anything.
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
to Christian Pederson - she does know the reasons, she's responded to them and her contract was still not renewed.
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
For the record, Robert Hill's brother is deaf.
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
NatalieA - appears to support unlawful retaliation and a culture of fear for deaf people - is a regular poster to what she calls a "TABLOID newspaper" - seeks to demonize or threaten the victims by insinuating they need anti-psychotic meds - wishes to shame whistleblower victims - who is this NatalieA-Hole and what anti-deaf bully law firm is behind her? Speak out and come forward anyway ASDB!
Re: “Protesting Disaster”
OH OH just hit us! all of this is a TABLOID newspaper! the AZ deaf community is becoming a big big HUGE embarrassment to others. They need to stop with this propaganda and make up stories... would not be surprised to see that camp behind bars or in court anytime soon for libel and defamation. that camp needs to get ob anti-psychotic meds for hallucinations and paranoia PRONTO.
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Re: “Community Conundrum”
I am straight, but have had very some positive dealings with Wingspan and hope they get thru this, whatever it really is. The people above who find Tucson so offensive strike me as the ones who gripe and groan no matter where. So you pine for the west coast (yucck), just go there.