CCB OUTLOOK Winter, 2000 Steve Dresser, Editor Published by The Connecticut Council of the Blind Alice Jackson, President Toll-free: (800) 231-3349 Hartford area: (860) 521-6749 On the World Wide Web: http://members.tripod.com/~dmclean/ccb.html Together, we can make a difference. This newsletter is published four times a year, and is available in braille, print, large print, on cassette, via E-mail, and on the CCB Web site. =========================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE MEMBERSHIP UPDATE BENEFIT DANCE FOR CCB by Dave Baldwin PUBLIC ACT by Cheree Heppe OFFICIAL IN STATE POST IS BEING REASSIGNED AFTER PROBE by Jon Bender BRAILLE LITERACY TASK FORCE COMPLETES ITS WORK by Marcia Dresser CCB NEWSMAKERS SNET AMERICAST: MORE ACCESSIBLE THAN YOU THINK by Steve Dresser CALIFORNIA'S SECOND-LARGEST BANK MAKES MACHINES AVAILABLE FOR ITS BLIND CUSTOMERS by Maura Dolan CCB CLASSIFIED CCB STANDING COMMITTEES CCB BOARD OF DIRECTORS =========================================================================== FROM THE EDITOR I don't think I could have said this last October, but 1999 turned out to be a far better year than I expected. On a personal note, my daughter was seriously injured in an auto accident just three days after her birthday, and I spent a few very anxious weeks hoping and praying that she would survive. I'm happy to say that not only is she surviving, but the doctors expect a full recovery. Now that life here is finally returning to normal, I can get back to the business of compiling the first _Outlook of the first year of the 21st century. As you read through these pages, you'll see that CCB is taking on some interesting projects in the year 2000. Some of them will be fun, while others will be challenging and require lots of hard work. In either case, we need participation and commitment from every member of this organization to turn our dreams into realities. One event that offers a unique challenge to CCB and to the blind community of Connecticut is the resignation of Kenneth R. Tripp, BESB's executive director since 1996. Ostensibly, he resigned to accept a non- management position with the Department of Education. There may be more to the story since Tripp is still under investigation regarding some rather questionable activities at BESB. At this point, Tripp's guilt or innocence is of little consequence--he has been replaced, and our task, both as individuals and as an organization, is to work with the new executive director to improve relations between BESB and the blind people it serves. To begin that process, we all need to look at a few hard truths: First, the agency's present location is, for better or worse, a fact of life that is not likely to change any time soon. Granted, it was a bad choice, but relocating an entire agency costs far too much money to be undertaken twice in succession. Practically speaking, we should focus on improving the present physical plant in as many ways as possible. Second, morale within BESB is at an all-time low. Several dedicated people have left the agency because they felt they could no longer serve their clients. Many of those who remain are completely overwhelmed by frustration which will eventually lead to apathy and a degradation of service. This situation will not change unless a working climate of professionalism and mutual respect replaces the current unprofessional atmosphere of personal favoritism and mistrust. It's too early to predict with any certainty what the new executive director will do, although some significant changes have already been made. For example, Tripp's executive suite, formerly "off limits" to all but a few of his personal staff, has been opened up to all agency employees. His old office now serves as a conference room when the need arises. Let us hope that these are the first of many improvements in the BESB work environment. Third, there is the problem of morale within the blindness community itself. Many people who once thought that BESB cared about them are now convinced that the agency neither knows nor cares about their needs. It is sad to note that since Mr. Tripp became Besb's executive director, he has only attended _one CCB convention despite being invited several times. That would have been understandable had he bothered to send someone in his place. Apparently, however, he just didn't think there was any reason to talk to us, even to try to persuade us that his agency was trying to be responsive. Whatever else you can say about George Precourt, Mr. Tripp's predecessor, at least _he came to every CCB convention and gave us a BESB update. Finally, if we want our working relationship with BESB to improve, we will have to communicate with the agency far more effectively than we have in the past. Not only must we voice our concerns, but we must make sure we know just what BESB is doing to address them. To that end, monthly meetings between BESB's new executive director, its management team, and representatives from CCB and NFB have been scheduled. Perhaps by the end of 2000 we will be well on the way to building a healthy and positive alliance with our Board of Education and Services for the Blind. The effort will involve a lot of hard work for all of us, but if we're successful, the people of Connecticut will surely come out the winners. --Steve Dresser =========================================================================== PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Here it is the middle of January, 2000! The 20th century is at an end and a new millennium has begun! We have survived unscathed, despite the hype of the doom-sayers who would have had us stock-pile everything from cash to water to canned food. These are exciting times in which we are living. I see the year 2000 as a new beginning, a clean slate: we have been given the challenge to be better than we were last year, to look at ourselves and assess our strengths as well as our weaknesses. I am asking all of us in CCB not to lose sight of our strengths. It is all too easy to dwell on our weaknesses and lacks. One of the most precious things that each of us brings to this organization is our unique self, with talents and gifts which are all too often unrecognized. In the year ahead, we will face many new challenges. As our membership increases, we are welcoming older and younger members. How can we as an organization meet the differing needs of both? We cannot do it by reducing our standards to a "one size fits all" mode. I think that we must look to each other and our various talents, to use those talents, whatever they may be. Everyone has a place of value in this organization. Let us not underestimate ourselves. If someone is currently unemployed, for example, perhaps he/she has time to devote to a project. If someone is employed, and has less time, perhaps his/her gift lies in writing for the newsletter, or writing a press release. We have many talented people in this organization. I hope they will come forth and give of those talents and of their time. At the end of 1999, we engaged in a fund-raising project which turned out to be quite successful. It was a raffle and venison dinner hosted by the Elks of Glastonbury. I hope that we can devote our energy to future successes after this one. On October 15, 1999, I had the privilege of representing CCB at the Governor's commemoration of White Cane Safety Day. I talked about the importance of the white cane for safety, and expressed the hope that continuing public awareness will improve the safety of people who are blind as we travel in our communities. We must continue to be in the forefront and in the public spotlight, so that people who need us in the future know we are there to assist in meeting the coming challenges. I am confident that we can do this better than anyone else because of the community spirit we share. --Alice Jackson =========================================================================== MEMBERSHIP UPDATE Happy New Year! As you can see from the notice enclosed with your newsletter, it's once again time to reaffirm your commitment to CCB by renewing your membership. I'm very happy to tell you that as soon as we receive your dues, we'll send you a CCB membership card as proof of your membership in good standing. I hope you'll display it proudly! If you haven't already been contacted, we'll be calling you soon regarding the membership survey. Please be open and honest when answering the questions; it's the only way CCB will become the organization you want it to be. As always, we're looking to expand our membership, so please let us know if you come across someone, blind or sighted, who might be interested in joining us. Also, your ideas are always welcome. We hope you'll leave a message for us in CCB voice mailbox 15. --Marcia Dresser, Membership Chair =========================================================================== BENEFIT DANCE FOR CCB by Dave Baldwin On April 8, 2000, CCB will hold a benefit dance at the VFW Hall, 608 East Center Street, Manchester, Connecticut. Members interested in buying or selling tickets should call me at (860) 568-2995. Phone between 6:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M. weekdays, or 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. weekends. To make this a successful fund raiser, it is imperative that we have everyone's total involvement. The cost will be $10 a ticket for this event, which will run from 7:00 P.M. to midnight. There will be a live D.J., several raffle prizes, and a variety of refreshments. Drinks will be available at club prices. Make this a fun fund raiser! Eat, drink, and be merry! =========================================================================== PUBLIC ACT by Cheree Heppe What began as a frightening attack and injury turned out to be a means to benefit others. In October, 1997, while my daughter, dog guide and I walked home, my dog and I became the targets of an unprovoked pit bull attack. My daughter escaped physical injury, but my dog guide and I both needed emergency attention. The aftermath of the attack brought serious working aberrations in my dog guide and a desire on my part to try to secure a remedy for others experiencing similar problems. The attack received media coverage and my state representative, Senator John Fonfara, contacted me to ask how he could assist. With the considerable support of Senator Fonfara and his aide, Linda Buchanan, we began working toward adding to existing law to increase penalties should dog guides or service dogs be attacked. The effort received support as well from John Garappolo, who's dog guide was also attacked by a loose dog. State senators and legislators came to a breakfast hosted by Senator John Fonfara with CCB's Guide Dog Users of CT. Legislators included Jack Thompson, Marianne Handley, Alvin Penn, Don Williams, and Mike Lawlor. Jim and JuneRose Killian, Mary Brunoli and Ben Snow attended representing NFB of CT. Requests for written testimony went out for information on effects of attacks on dog guides and their owners. Guide Dog Foundation, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., Leader Dogs for the Blind, The Seeing Eye, Inc., and Southwest Guide Dog Foundation sent written commentary, as did many dog guide owners. Efforts resulted in two bills being raised in the State Senate and Assembly during the 1998 legislative session. Committees heard both bills which were merged and passed into law. Very sincere thanks is due to all those who supported, promoted and worked toward the passage of this amendment to Connecticut state statutes. The law sets a new, higher floor beyond which judges and attorneys may act to seek remedies for an attack on a dog guide or service dog. The language of the act does not differentiate between "service" dogs, who work for physically disabled people, "signal" or "hearing" dogs, who work for deaf people, and "dog guides" or "guide dogs" who work for blind people. This nondifferentiation of working dog service types does not affect the application of the statute. The language also specifies that guide dogs wear a harness or orange leash and collar identifying them as being in this specially protected category. This does not mean that dog guides must wear orange collars and leashes in order to qualify for protection under the statute. Some signal and service dog programs use the orange collar and leash as an identifier, however. * * * Editor's note: For more information about Public Act 98-61, the guide dog statute, contact Guide Dog Users of Connecticut toll-free at (800) 231-3349, Mailbox 21. A summary of the statute is available on request. =========================================================================== OFFICIAL IN STATE POST IS BEING REASSIGNED AFTER PROBE By JON LENDER The Hartford Courant December 23, 1999 The director of the state agency serving blind people is being reassigned to a non-management job in the Department of Education after being dogged by a state investigation and turmoil in his agency. Kenneth R. Tripp, a former Republican state legislator and friend of Gov. John G. Rowland, will end three years as head of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind by the end of next week, Rowland's office confirmed Wednesday. Rowland spokesman Dean Pagani was mum on reasons for the move. He did not know exactly what new duties Tripp's new job will include, except that it involves special education and is "not a management position." He added: "The pay is comparable, or slightly less." Tripp was paid $65,000 in 1997. No new figure was available Wednesday. Tripp did not return calls. Under consideration as a possible successor to Tripp, state government sources said, is Lawrence Alibozek, who quit earlier this year as Rowland's deputy chief of staff to take a private sector job. Alibozek has served as an assistant to Rowland's co-chief of staff, Peter Ellef. [Editor's note: Mr. Alibozek was appointed BESB's executive director and began serving in that role on January 3, 2000.] Rowland installed Tripp in 1996 to clean up what was called a management mess, but now Tripp leaves behind serious problems of his own. For six months, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office has been investigating management practices at the Windsor-based agency, including possible violations of state law. Sources say dozens of witnesses have been interviewed, many of them subpoenaed. The probe grew out of numerous whistleblower complaints from agency personnel, contending Tripp was arrogant and unresponsive, sources say. There also were claims that certain employees got preferential treatment, including one with whom Tripp allegedly had a personal friendship. Tripp has denied wrongdoing. Blumenthal said only that his office plans to report its findings "within a few weeks." Meanwhile, major disputes continue about the lease of the agency's quarters, under which the state is paying $838,000 a year to occupy a once- struggling shopping center structure owned by people with personal and political ties to Rowland and his wife, Patricia. Before the lease was signed in 1998, the general partner of the building's ownership group, Allicia Wertheim, co-hosted a fund-raiser that pulled in more than $23,000 for Rowland's re-election campaign at her West Hartford home. Later, Wertheim's husband was given a 50th-birthday party at the governor's residence. For much of this year, Rowland's appointees in the public works department--including deputy commissioner P.J. Delahunty and administrator Joseph Nesteriak--have supported requests by the building's owners, but these have been blocked so far by the watchdog State Properties Review Board. Those requests already have included a proposed lease amendment to increase the annual rent by $25,000. Also, months ago, the owners sought to collect tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for an increase in their local property-tax bill from Windsor. That request led to a behind-the-scenes fight over whether someone, in drafting the May 1998 lease, departed from the language approved by the properties review board and inserted wording opening the state to the owners' tax-relief request. Officials Wednesday could not produce any clear resolution on that dispute, shown in documents on file at the attorney general's office. Sources say that Tripp's reassignment stems from issues raised in the Blumenthal investigation, not the lease controversy. Also Wednesday, Thomas A. Barretta, head of the New Britain chapter of the National Federation for the Blind of Connecticut, said he wants Rowland to consult the federation on who should succeed Tripp. =========================================================================== BRAILLE LITERACY TASK FORCE COMPLETES ITS WORK by Marcia Dresser Although the Braille Bill did not pass last year, it generated enough interest in the legislature that Senator John Fonfara proposed that the feasibility of braille literacy legislation be investigated by an independent panel. The resulting task force was co-chaired by Representatives Pat Shea and David McCloskey. The other members were: Representatives Melody Curry and Alfred Adinolfi; Marina Eastham as Senator Fonfara's designee; Marybeth Dean, Education Supervisor, from BESB; John Purdy of the Department of Education; Sharon Ellsworth, parent of a legally blind student; Marcia Dresser of CCB; and Maureen Carr of NFB. The meetings were open to everyone, but only task force members were allowed to speak. During our six intense, very productive meetings, we explored such issues as learning media assessments for students, teacher certification, service delivery models of BESB education consultants and itinerant teachers hired by individual school districts, allocation of BESB funds, and outreach to the elderly blind. To aid us in our work, we spoke with Dr. Philip Hatlen, superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind, and Kim Charlson, president of the Bay State Council of the Blind. (Texas and Massachusetts have recently passed braille literacy legislation.) In accordance with our recommendations, the State Department of Education revised Section 14 of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) form to comply with the federal IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) regulations concerning the primacy of braille instruction for visually impaired students. In addition, we drafted recommendations for braille literacy legislation, which will be presented at the start of the legislative session in February. To request a copy, simply leave a message on the CCB voice mail system. I was pleased and honored to represent CCB on this committee. It was exhilarating and gratifying to work with such dedicated legislators and professionals. Hopefully, this year, Connecticut will become the 30th state to enact braille literacy legislation. Stay tuned! =========================================================================== CCB NEWSMAKERS Cheree Heppe and her dog guide Haven are the subject of a chapter in __Working _Dogs, a book by Carrie Owens containing photographs and stories about how service dogs and their human partners compliment each other and benefit society. A dog guide user since 1970, Cheree trained Haven, who has performed her role successfully since 1996. __Working _Dogs, published by Prima Publishing and distributed by Random House, is available from several bookstores. * * * After serving as an education consultant for 13-1/2 years at BESB, Marcia Dresser has decided to try her hand at independent contracting. She spends three days a week teaching blind students at Wilmington High School in Massachusetts for the SEEM Collaborative. She also works one day a week for ACES, teaching blind students in Milford and West Haven. Marcia, we wish you all the best in your new job. * * * John and Laurie Mattioli have moved from Hamden to Arlington, MA, a suburb of Boston. On January 17, John starts a new job as a software engineer for Lernout and Hauspie, developers of reading systems for the blind and learning disabled. Laurie will soon begin her search for work in the Boston area. We wish you both success and happiness in this new adventure. You will be sorely missed here in Connecticut. =========================================================================== SNET AMERICAST: MORE ACCESSIBLE THAN YOU THINK by Steve Dresser A constantly recurring frustration for blind people these days is the number of inaccessible electronic devices with their ever more elaborate and totally unreadable on-screen menus. Nowhere has this trend been more evident than in the cable TV industry. With the mere push of a few buttons, you can do everything from selecting a Pay-Per-View movie to searching for your favorite program. And so, when Marcia and I switched (partly from frustration with all the menus) from TCI to SNET Americast, we weren't surprised to encounter yet another set of menus we couldn't read. Resignedly, we braced ourselves for the usual battery of excuses and mumbled apologies about how it was all just too complicated to explain, and so on and so forth. To our amazement, however, the installer thoroughly and carefully explained all the menus to us without missing a beat, even though he knew we couldn't see them. When I voiced my frustration about the inaccessibility of the Pay-Per-View menu, he thought for a minute and said, "I'm sure that if you call Customer Service, they will read you the selections and even activate them for you." I smiled and nodded politely, although I had my doubts. After all, I'd seen this movie before. In my experience, most customer service people do quite well with mainstream questions and problems, but have more difficulty with specialized needs and requests. When we received a notice in the mail of the Pay-Per-View listings for October, we discovered that there were a couple of movies we _really wanted to see. It was time to put the installer's advice to the test, so we called the toll-free Customer Service number. When we explained that we are visually impaired, the representative read us the Pay-Per-View listings for the weekend, as well as descriptions of the movies we were curious about. Deciding to press our luck, we asked if she could select the 11:30 A.M. showing of "October Sky." After requesting Social Security numbers to verify our identity, she agreed, and told us to tune to Channel 88 at 11:30 on Sunday morning. At 11:25 on the appointed day, we tuned to Channel 88, and it was dead. No sound, no picture--just nothing! At 11:28 when there was still no sound or picture, we were sure they had forgotten about us. Just when we were about to call and complain about the lousy service, the sound came on and we breathed a sigh of relief. The movie was as good as we hoped it would be, and better still because we knew at last that our cable really _was fully accessible to us. Maybe the box can't talk, but the Customer Service people are willing to go the extra mile for us, and that's what really matters. * * * For more information about SNET Americast, call 1-800-925-2278. =========================================================================== SETTLEMENT: CALIFORNIA'S SECOND-LARGEST BANK AGREES TO MAKE MACHINES AVAILABLE FOR ITS BLIND CUSTOMERS. By Maura Dolan, Times Legal Affairs Writer [Reprinted from the Los Angeles Times June 24, 1999, Thursday, Home Edition] Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to provide talking ATMs in California after more than three years of negotiations with lawyers for the blind--the first time a U.S. bank has agreed to take such a step. Wells Fargo, the second-largest bank in California, is among those that already provide Braille instructions on ATMs. But only about 15% of the blind can read Braille, and many of those who do say it still does not allow them to interact with the machines. Coming just a day after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed a federal disabilities rights law, the settlement is a reminder of the continuing power of both the federal law and state statutes to protect the disabled. Under the out-of-court settlement unveiled Wednesday with the California Council of the Blind, Wells Fargo will install 20 talking ATMs with earphones next year in Los Angeles and San Diego counties and the Bay Area. The settlement calls for talking machines at all of Wells Fargo's 1,500 California locations by the year 2003. Lawyers for the blind believe other banks will follow. "This should really be the beginning of a wave," said Oakland lawyer Linda Dardarian, who represented four blind Wells Fargo customers and the California Council. Indeed, Bank of America will begin a pilot program of talking ATMs next year, bank spokeswoman Ann DeFabio said. The bank has not yet decided where to test the machines or how many to test, she said. Wells Fargo's talking machines, which are still in development, will give voice instruction through headphones on how to make deposits, withdrawals and transfers, and purchase stamps. There will be one talking machine at all ATM sites, and customers will be able to choose whether to read or listen. Dardarian and a Wells Fargo spokesman said the settlement is the first such plan to be announced. A lawsuit to force a bank in Pennsylvania to install voice-equipped automated teller machines is pending in federal court, and Royal Bank of Canada has deployed such a machine. Larry Haeg, a Wells Fargo spokesman, refused for "competitive reasons" to disclose the cost of providing talking ATMs. If the machines succeed in California, the company will offer them to other regions around the nation, he said. Kathy Martinez, 40, one of the blind plaintiffs in the case, said she has long been frustrated by being unable to use ATMs by herself. Blind since birth, Martinez reads Braille but says that only allows her to obtain a small amount of "quick cash." At times she has even resorted to asking strangers to help her at the cash machines, she said. "It is scary," the Bay Area resident said. "I do it as little as possible, but if I don't have a stranger do it, I have to have my friends do it. There is a lack of privacy." She and other blind plaintiffs, including the Council of the Blind, decided to target Wells Fargo because they bank with the financial services company. Catherine Skivers, president of the advocacy group, said it has not yet decided whether to pursue similar programs with other banks. She said there are more than 500,000 legally blind residents of California. "I don't know what we are going to do yet," Skivers said. "We are just basking in what happened here." Although the talks could have ended in a lawsuit, Wells Fargo's Haeg said the company quickly realized that talking ATMs represented a "business opportunity." "If there is an opportunity to earn more business and develop stronger relations with a certain segment of your customer base, why wouldn't you want to do it?" he said. Dardarian said her law office was pleased to reach a settlement without going to court. The talking machines will be introduced beginning next June, with locations of high customer use receiving them first, she said. "It is pretty clear that the law--the Americans With Disabilities Act and the California Disabled Persons Act--requires equal access to ATM services," she said. "There is no excuse for not doing it. There is not a technological barrier, and there is no undue burden that the banks can show." Negotiations with Wells Fargo took years to complete in part because the different parties had to evaluate various kinds of technology, Dardarian said. The technology that was eventually accepted includes earphones and a voice welcoming the customer to Wells Fargo. The voice explains the layout of the keypad and gives instructions in how the user can make different transactions. When one is selected, the machine audibly confirms it, she said. The technology is not able to inform the user verbally of his or her balance, nor can the user communicate with the machine by voice. The settlement also obligates Wells Fargo to make other banking information accessible to the visually impaired. Account statements, product brochures, notices, loan applications and legal disclosures will be made available by audio, in Braille, large print or computer disc, or on- line, Dardarian said. She declined to disclose how much she and co-counsel Lainey Feingold will be paid for their legal work in the case, explaining that it was part of the settlement that is to be kept confidential. "We told them we can either negotiate or file a lawsuit as an alternative," she said, "and they said, `We will be happy to talk to you." =========================================================================== CCB CLASSIFIED [The listings of products and services in this column are provided free of charge for the benefit of our readers, and should not be considered as endorsements. The Connecticut Council of the Blind assumes no responsibility for the reliability of products and/or services mentioned.] * * * SPECIALIZED CLASSES OFFERED HARNESS MAKING AND DESIGN Attention all independent service dog and dog guide owners, equine enthusiasts, do-it-yourselfers, and serious hobbyists: classes in harness making are being offered free of charge! Learn all the skills you need to craft and repair a professional grade working harness for a horse, service dog or dog guide. Classes will be tailored to the individual, and held in our well- equipped East Hartford shop. There will be no charge for instruction, although students must purchase materials used in their projects. Students wishing to live in the area while attending classes must also be prepared to pay for lodging and meals. A Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn or YMCA, as well as many grocery stores and restaurants are available on or near public transportation. For more information, contact Mike Derrick at (860) 528-6195, Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. eastern standard time. Contacts may be made via e-mail at harnessworks@water-hole.com * * * Your Guardian Angel Cleaning Service Personalized, with fifteen years experience in the Greater Hartford area. Thorough, careful, and conscientious. We cater to your needs, and have experience working with blind customers. Excellent references. Call Kimberly in Wethersfield at 563-5271. =========================================================================== If you'd like to contribute to the next issue, please have your article ready by Saturday, April 15. You may submit your article in braille, on cassette or computer disk, via e-mail, or over the phone. If you want to dictate your article, please leave a message on our voice-mail system, and I'll return your call. Remember, this newsletter is nothing without your help, so please keep those articles coming! =========================================================================== CCB STANDING COMMITTEES Convention (Voice-mail box 20): Barbara Blejewski, (860) 721-8601 Bryan McGucken, (203) 265-2452 Legislative (Voice-mail box 14): Jeanne Dugas, (860) 529-1019 Membership (Voice-mail box 15): Marcia Dresser, (860) 521-8903 Newsletter (Voice-mail box 13): Steve Dresser, (860) 521-8903 Publicity (Voice-mail box 16): Camille Petrecca, (860) 563-2259 Transportation (Voice-mail box 18): No chair at present Ways and Means (fund-raising) (Voice-mail box 19): Carol Gillispie (203) 933-3929 You can leave messages for committee chairs and board members on our toll-free line (800) 231-3349, or (860) 521-6749 in the Hartford area. President Alice Jackson is an ex officio member of all committees. =========================================================================== CCB BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Alice Jackson 191 Centerbrook Road Hamden 06518 (203) 281-0676 Voice-mail: box 11 E-mail: alicej@concentric.net First Vice President: Carol Gillispie 68 West Spring Street West Haven, CT 06516 (203) 933-3929 Second Vice President: Dave Bates 44 Garden Street Wethersfield 06109 (860) 257-0602 Third Vice President: Camille Petrecca 2 Tabshey Court Wethersfield, 06109 (860) 563-2259 Treasurer: Roland Soucy 15 Shawnee Road East Hartford 06118 (860) 895-8157 Voice-mail: Box 12 E-mail: Wtrskii@aol.com Recording Secretary: Cheree Heppe 68 Gilman Street Hartford 06114-2536 (860) 296-4922 Corresponding Secretary: Bryan McGucken 11 Hillside Lane Wallingford, 06492 (203) 265-2452 Immediate Past President: Marcia Dresser 142 Webster Hill Boulevard West Hartford 06107 (860) 521-8903 Board Member at Large: Barbara Blejewski 4 Tabshey Court Wethersfield, CT 06109 (860) 721-8601 Board Member at Large: Tina Ciarciello 966 Silas Deane Highway Apartment A15 Wethersfield, 06109 (860) 529-8923 e-mail: dolly@ntplx.net GDUCT Representative: Jeanne Dugas 337 Hartford Avenue Wethersfield, 06109 (860) 529-1019 E-mail: jingles@ntplx.net