[nfbwatlk] [nfb-talk] Trees Could Harm Blind Children, Parents Contend (fwd)

Thu Jul 27 15:32:19 CDT 2006

Is anyone forwarding this to Barbara Cheadle?

Judy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "marty" <martythekid at hotmail.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] [nfb-talk] Trees Could Harm Blind Children,Parents 
Contend (fwd)

> good grief, hand them a cane and get some witch hazel, or tea tree oil.
> Though if they are so concerned with the safety of these poor blind
> children, perhapse a bar b q, and a swimming pool, and my gosh, a swing 
> set?
> I don't know, maby they should be wrapped up in cotton batting and set 
> aside
> someplace safe.   Please.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jim Portillo" <jp100 at earthlink.net>
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 11:45 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] [nfb-talk] Trees Could Harm Blind Children,Parents
> Contend (fwd)
>
>
>> Right.
>> Just treet these kids normally!
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Prows, Bennett (HHS/OCR)" <Bennett.Prows at HHS.GOV>
>> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 10:43 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] [nfb-talk] Trees Could Harm Blind Children,
>> Parents
>> Contend (fwd)
>>
>>
>>> There are people in the world who believe that the way to be blind is to
>>> accept all the sighted help, encourage barrier removal, and otherwise
>>> let society take care of you, and you'll be better off.  Well, quite
>>> frankly, this article shows, that they're barking up the wrong tree.
>>> One reason I love the NFB, is that we believe that we  live in a world
>>> that is as it is, and we don't want or need a lot of special or
>>> different things to function as normal, productive human beings.  We
>>> don't live in a vacuum, and there will be barriers, trees, fences, etc
>>> we need to learn how to deal with, just as each person has obstacles in
>>> life.  Hope these parents don't join other organizations, but find the
>>> NFB parents division.  And, finally, hope these parents don't give their
>>> kids black eyes because of their attitudes.  (smile.)
>>>
>>> Bennett Prows, J.D.
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>> On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
>>> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 10:26 AM
>>> To: NFB of Washington Talk
>>> Subject: [nfbwatlk] [nfb-talk] Trees Could Harm Blind Children, Parents
>>> Contend (fwd)
>>>
>>> Oh lord! And people wonder why the NFB?
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:53:52 -0400
>>> From: Sherrill O'Brien <srobrien at tampabay.rr.com>
>>> Reply-To: NFB of Florida Listserv <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> To: NFBFL <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> Subject: [Nfbf-l] [nfb-talk] Trees Could Harm Blind Children, Parents
>>> Contend
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>> Oh my goodness, how these parents need to be taken under the wing of our
>>> NFB
>>> parents division!!  My heart aches for these kids who are in the care of
>>> such misguided parents.
>>> Sherrill
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
>>> Behalf Of Ryan O.
>>> Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 11:19 PM
>>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>>> Subject: [nfb-talk] Trees Could Harm Blind Children Parents Contend
>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Washington Post
>>>>>> Friday, July 14, 2006
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Trees Could Harm Blind Children, Parents Contend
>>>>>>
>>>>>> By Lisa Rein, Staff Writer
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Family's New Fairfax Home Stuck in a Regulatory Forest
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Friday, July 14, 2006; B05
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Their seven-bedroom, $2.2 million dream home is in spotless, move-in
>>>>> condition. It's an elegant hideaway on 1.6 acres in Oakton, set back
>>> from
>>>>> a
>>>>> winding, tree-lined road -- a perfect place for their four youngest
>>>>> children
>>>>> to grow up.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> But for 36 days, Karen and Joe Bartling and their children have been
>>>>> homeless. Along with their college-age son and the family's Labrador
>>>>> retriever, they have been holed up in a tiny efficiency apartment in
>>>>> Chantilly with a pullout couch, all of their belongings in a storage
>>>>> locker.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The Bartlings can't move in until their builder plants 20 to 80
>>> trees on
>>>>> their property that Fairfax County says are required in part because
>>> the
>>>>> builder cut down too many mature trees during construction.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> But to the Bartlings, the trees are nothing but booby traps wrapped
>>> in
>>>>> wire and wooden stakes: Four of their five children -- who were
>>> adopted
>>>>> from
>>>>> Korea, China and India -- are blind. For them, trees are bumps and
>>>>> scrapes
>>>>> waiting to happen.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "I don't want my kids having black eyes running into trees all day,"
>>>>>> said
>>>>> Karen Bartling, 48. "These kids have enough obstacles in their lives.
>>> The
>>>>> last thing we want is trees in our yard."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In a suburb whose last patches of green space are disappearing, the
>>>>> prospect of a canopy of hickories, oaks and maples would be welcome
>>> to
>>>>> many
>>>>> homeowners. Not the Bartlings. "For our family, trees don't work,"
>>> said
>>>>> Joe
>>>>> Bartling, 48, who works in the District as a forensic investigator.
>>>>> "Maybe
>>>>> for other families, trees work."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The Bartlings said they planned to build a swimming pool and put a
>>> swing
>>>>> set, trampoline and barbecue in the back yard, leaving precious
>>> little
>>>>> room
>>>>> for a forest. The trees would be scattered around the property,
>>> making it
>>>>> impossible to fence them off.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The odyssey started June 9, the day the Bartlings were supposed to
>>> close
>>>>> on their house on Coulter Lane. The piano mover arrived at 11 a.m. at
>>>>> their
>>>>> old, much smaller house on a forested lot in Oakton. The rest of the
>>>>> trucks
>>>>> were loaded by noon. Then the builder, NV Homes of McLean, called at
>>> 1
>>>>> p.m.
>>>>> to cancel the closing, the Bartlings said. The county had denied the
>>>>> builder
>>>>> a permit for occupancy of the house.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The day before, an NV Homes representative had shown the Bartlings a
>>> new
>>>>> plan for their lot with more than 80 trees in the front and back
>>> yards,
>>>>> in
>>>>> addition to the row of old trees the builder had left at the edge of
>>> the
>>>>> property. The trees were not on the original lot plan. The couple did
>>> not
>>>>> agree to the new proposal, believing they could work it out after the
>>>>> closing.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What the Bartlings didn't know was that the county was requiring the
>>>>> builder to come up with a new tree conservation plan for the site
>>> after a
>>>>> neighbor notified the county that a contractor for NV Homes had
>>> illegally
>>>>> cleared a dozen 25-year-old, 100-foot trees during construction. This
>>>>> violated Fairfax's limits on clearing and grading.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Things got testy. NV Homes asked the Bartlings to sign a document
>>>>>> agreeing
>>>>> to accept and maintain the 80 new trees and restrict any changes to
>>> the
>>>>> land, so they or any future owner would never cut down the trees.
>>> "Can
>>>>> you
>>>>> imagine paying that much money for a house and having someone telling
>>> you
>>>>> what you should do on your property?" Karen Bartling asked.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> They called the county and got a lawyer and have been negotiating
>>> ever
>>>>> since. Yesterday, the county, the developer and the Bartlings reached
>>> a
>>>>> precarious agreement that could allow as few as 20 trees to be
>>> planted.
>>>>> But
>>>>> nothing is final.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Fairfax requires builders in residential developments like the
>>>>> Bartlings' -- four homes on 10 acres called the Estates at Oakton
>>>>> Hollow --
>>>>> to preserve trees on 20 percent of the property. The trees can be old
>>> or
>>>>> new, to replace those that were knocked down for construction. NV
>>> Homes
>>>>> planned to put a "significant portion" of the trees on the Bartlings'
>>>>> lot,
>>>>> county spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald said. This was partly because
>>> some of
>>>>> the other lots lie in a septic drain field that needs to be cleared,
>>> said
>>>>> Hugh Whitehead, a county urban forester.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The builder also recently cleared some trees on another lot it may
>>>>>> develop
>>>>> in the subdivision, county officials said, prompting a new round of
>>>>> planning
>>>>> to replace them. In both cases, dozens of new trees are needed to
>>> make up
>>>>> for the old ones, Whitehead said.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Normally, the county allows trees on a private lot to be removed
>>> once
>>>>>> the
>>>>> developer is released from bond. But in this case, NV Homes had
>>> violated
>>>>> the
>>>>> rules, and stricter requirements applied, officials said.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "It gets pretty sticky sometimes with homeowners wanting to do what
>>> they
>>>>> choose with their property," Whitehead said. "I'd certainly hope that
>>>>> most
>>>>> people want trees. I've been surprised by people who buy a lot and
>>>>> proceed
>>>>> to cut down every tree on it for one reason or another. They don't
>>> see
>>>>> the
>>>>> benefits."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Whitehead said he sympathizes with the Bartlings, who have tried to
>>>>>> reach
>>>>> a resolution with the county and NV Homes as they pay $219 a night
>>> for
>>>>> lodging. The number of trees required plunged to 68 and then 50, and
>>> the
>>>>> builder and county dropped the requirement prohibiting the trees from
>>>>> being
>>>>> cut down, said the Bartlings' attorney, Gorham Clark. Last week, the
>>>>> Bartlings agreed to accept some trees but demanded $250,000 in
>>>>> compensation
>>>>> from NV Homes. In response, NV Homes threatened to terminate the
>>>>> Bartlings'
>>>>> contract and resell the house. Whitehead, asked about the Bartling
>>> case,
>>>>> said he is willing to accept fewer trees. "This is not a situation
>>> where
>>>>> I
>>>>> typically find myself," he said.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> James Sack, NV Homes' general counsel, declined to comment.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The Bartlings are born-again Christians who said their faith led
>>> them to
>>>>> children with special needs. After their son Joel was born, fertility
>>>>> problems led them to adoption. They brought Hannah, 11, a bright
>>>>> fifth-grader who sings in the church choir, home from Korea nine
>>> years
>>>>> ago.
>>>>> David, a precocious 6-year-old from China, literally appeared on the
>>>>> couple's doorstep less than two years ago after another couple
>>> decided
>>>>> they
>>>>> could not handle a blind child. The year before, Karen Bartling had
>>> read
>>>>> in
>>>>> a publication for parents and teachers of blind children that Jesse,
>>> from
>>>>> Korea, and Abi, who had been abandoned malnourished on the streets of
>>>>> Calcutta, needed homes.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Life at the Towne Place Suites has been a mix of improvisation and
>>>>> anticipation. Everyone needed new clothes, and the children new toys.
>>>>> Five-year-olds Abi and Jesse, not good sleepers to begin with, are
>>>>> uncomfortable sharing beds with their older siblings, their mother
>>> said.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Meanwhile, with the lock on the interest rate on their mortgage
>>> about to
>>>>> expire, the Bartlings have taken to calling their predicament their
>>>>> Extreme
>>>>> Screwover.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "We're just sitting on the sidelines waiting for NV Homes to deliver
>>> us
>>>>>> a
>>>>> home we contracted for," Joe Bartling said. "Since when are trees
>>> more
>>>>> important than people?"
>>>>>>
>>>>>> (ENDS)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> (Thanks to Barry J Campbell for bringing our attention to this
>>> article).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/13/AR200607
>>> 1301
>>> 485_pf.html
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> BlindNews mailing list
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Archived at: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind/
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Address message to list by sending mail to:
>>>>>> BlindNews at blindprogramming.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Access your subscription info at:
>>>>>
>>> http://blindprogramming.com/mailman/listinfo/blindnews_blindprogramming.
>>> com
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To unsubscribe via e-mail: send a message to
>>>>> BlindNews-Request at BlindProgramming.com with the word unsubscribe in
>>>>> either
>>>>> the subject or body of the message
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Join the MMS program of ACB and help improve tomorrow today in ACB.
>>>>> Contact Dr. Ron Milliman, MMS Program Committee Chair, by e-mail:
>>>>> rmilliman at ziggycom.net
>>>>> or by phone at 270-782-9325 and get started making
>>>>> tomorrow look brighter today!
>>>>>
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>>>>> List for use by the leadership of the American Council of the Blind.
>>>>> This communication is privileged and may contain confidential
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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