Published by the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities“Helping people to live, learn and work in our community”

DatelineDateline January 2012

GarnettSteele,alongtimeleaderinFranklinCounty’sdevelopmentaldisabilitiescommunity,diedonNovember23rd.Shewas86.

Until her death, Garnett served as the Executive Director of the Council forRetardedCitizens(CRC),aposttowhichshewasappointedin1978.Beforethat,shehadbeenateacheratWestCentralSchool.Shehadworkedasateacherinthespecialeducationfieldfor17years.

Among her many accomplishments, Garnett started Camp Breezewood, asummer camp located in Delaware County. This program allowed children withdevelopmentaldisabilities toenjoyabreak from their routinesduring thesummerandexperiencenature.

GarnettalsostartedalatchkeyprogramthatcontinuestoserveFranklinCountyfamilies.

“IthinkGarnettpackedseverallifetimesintoone,“saidFCBDDSuperintendentJed Morison. “She was a great lady, andcertainly made her mark as a strongsupporterofpeoplewithdisabilities.”

Garnettissurvivedbyherson,RandySteele.

Community leader Garnett Steele remembered

FCBDD board members LitoRamirezandLeahReibelhaveoptednottocontinueserviceontheboard.

They are ending their servicedue to extremely busy schedules. Inadditiontotheirvolunteerserviceontheboard,bothhavebeenhighlyinvolvedinprofessional,communityand familyactivities.

Two board members calling it quitsLito Ramirez, a Dublin resident,

beganboardservicein2009.Ahealthcare consultant, he has been veryactive in advocacy efforts on behalfofpersonswithDownSyndrome. Heis the father of a 5-year old boy withDownsyndrome.

Duringthepastyear,Mr.Ramirezserved as Chairman of the HumanResourcesCommittee.

LeahReibel,anattorneyinprivatepracticeinWorthington,beganservingontheboardin2010.Sheisthemotherof a son in the Worthington PublicSchools’specialeducationprogram.

Ms. Reibel has served on theHuman Resources Committee for thepasttwoyears.

Superintendent Jed Morisonsummed up his reaction to the boardmembers’ departures: “Leah and

Lito have been highly dedicatedboard members who have providedinvaluable leadership for our agency.Ourcommunityowesthemitsgratitude.I’m very sorry to see them go, but atthe same time I can understand theirreasoning.”

2 12 - 2012

Eight long-serving FCBDD staffmembersretiredinDecember,biddinga fond farewell to the agency andcoworkers.

The retirees are: Millie Jones,Accounting Officer, Administration;Kathy Wallen, Habilitation Specialist,Hague Living Skills Center; AliceTalley, Instructor Assistant, NortheastSchool; Scott Buffington, SafetyCoordinator, Transportation; DanEspinoza, Alternative TransportationCoordinator, Transportation; PhillisJaccaud,AssistantTrainingSpecialist,ARC South; Homer Green, InstructorAssistantatWestCentralSchool;andJudy Snedaker, Instructor at WestCentralSchool

Commenting on the retirements,Superintendent Jed Morison said,“We’re saying goodbye to someoutstanding staff members who haveservedouragencywell. Certainlywewishthemtheverybest.”

Staff members retire

MillieJonesjoinedFCBDDin1979.She was responsible for receivingall revenue coming to the agencyas well as processing staff mileagereimbursements.

Alice Talley started with FCBDDin 1979 after a five-year stint at theColumbusDevelopmentalCenter.Shehasworkedasan InstructorAssistantduringherentire32-yearcareer,mostlyat Northeast School, though she didstintsatbothBexleyHighSchoolandReynoldsburgaswell.

Alice greatly enjoyed her work, and describes her feelings as “bittersweet.” She explained that she looks forward to retirement, but “will miss the kids” and her coworkers.

Aliceisparticularlylookingforwardto spending more time with her 13year-oldgrandson. “Iwillenjoy that,”shedeclared.

TwonewmembersoftheFranklinCounty Board of DevelopmentalDisabilities have been named. TheyareJohnBickleyandBethSavage.

New board members namedThe new members will succeed

Lito Ramirez and Leah Reibel. TheirtermsaresettobeginonJanuary26,2012.Boardmembers’termslastfouryears.

Dateline will provide backgroundinformationonthenewboardmembersinitsFebruaryissue.

Millieandherhusbandof27years,Maurice Jones, have 6 children,15 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.Sheislookingforwardtospendingmoretimewithherfamily.

At 82 Millie held the accolade forbeing the agency’s oldest employee.She was also one of the mostenergetic. “I loved my work,” shesaid. That positive feeling went bothways said her supervisor, JenniferSchueneman. “Millie has made anoutstandingcontributiontotheagency’sfiscaloperation,”shesaid. “Milliewillcertainlybemissed.”

Maury and Millie Jones.

Kathy Wallen joined FCBDD in1988asaResidentialSpecialistattheDierkerRoadresidentialfacility.Afteradecadeofservice,sheswitchedtotheHagueLivingSkillsCenter.Accordingto Hague Director, Annick Parker,“Kathy has displayed a kind, gentlespirit.”

Kathy organized an annual “HeeHaw” film festival for participants.She also became well known for herspaghettidinnersanddelicious“Kathycake.”

AresidentofNewStraitsville,Kathyplanstospendmoretimewithherlarge

Kathy Wallen

familywho live inKentucky. Shewillalsocontinuetocareforfivedogs,fourofwhomliveoutside.

“We will miss Kathy very much,”saidAnnick Parker. “She will alwaysbeinourhearts.”

Alice Talley

3 1 - 2012

Scott Buffington of theTransportation Department began hisFCBDD career in 1979. Initially hewas a mechanic and then becamePartsManager.Inrecentyears,Scotthas served as Safety Coordinatorin the Transportation Department.Unfortunately, he experienced somehealthproblemsinrecentmonths.

AhighlightofScott’scareerwastheagency’s success in passing annualHighwayPatrol inspectionsofthebusfleet. “Weused tohaveacookout tocelebrateasuccessful inspection,”herecalled.

Scott’s hobbies include organicgardening and raising bees. He isalso a car racing buff, and for years,drove a race car competitively onweekends. Appropriately enough,Scottcustomizedthecartolooklikeamini-schoolbus.

“Scott was a fixture in thevehicle maintenance department,”said Transportation Director PaulChenderlin.“Hisexperienceandabilitywilldefinitelybemissed.”

AnotherlateDecemberretireefromFCBDD’sTransportationDepartmentisDanEspinoza.Hebeganemploymentat the agency in September, 2000.Afterservingasaflexbusdriverforfiveyears,DanwaspromotedtoAlternativeTransportation Coordinator, a post heheldfor11years.

Dan’sshort-termplansare to takesomeshort tripswithhiswife. Downtheroad,hehopestotraveltosunnierclimes to find an “active retirementcommunity we would move to,” hesaid.

Asked for his parting thoughts,Dan simply replied, “Best wishes toeveryone!”

Transportation Director PaulChenderlin commented, “Dan wasmuchadmiredforhishardwork.TherewillneverbeanotherDan.”

Phillis Jaccaud has served as anAssistant Training Specialist at ARCIndustries South since 1996. Duringher15-year tenure,Philliscontributedtotheagency’sservicesinavarietyofways.

Among the accomplishmentsof which she is most proud are:developing lifelong relationships withmany consumers; teaching someconsumers to tell time; teaching acourseonsignlanguage;andcreatinga game (“Body Bingo”), that helpsteachpersonalhygiene.

Phillisislookingforwardtotraveling,downsizingandmovingtothecountry.

Dan Espinoza

Phillis Jaccaud

Homer Green, an InstructorAssistant at West Central School,worked30yearswithFCBDD.Hehasexperience working with all ages ofstudents,andmostrecentlyhasbeenworkinginRoom156withDalePugh,Teacher and Kathy Ahlers, InstructorAssistant. Homer has worked on theCombined Charities and OperationFeed committees. He is certified indelegated nursing and van driving.He has provided behavior supportthroughouthiscareerwithno injuries.Homer is married to Virginia Greenand they have recently moved toPickerington.He is looking forward to“Sleeping in, and taking it easy for awhile.”

Judy Snedaker has worked forover 30 years in the developmentaldisabilities field. She worked fourteenyears with the Scioto County Boardand then moved to Columbus andjoined FCBDD in 1990. Judy was aclassroom teacher with FCBDD forfiveyearsandthentookthevocationalpositionatWestCentralSchool.

Judy was married for 19 years toEd Snedaker, who passed away in2010. She has a daughter, son andtwograndchildren.Judyplanstospendmoretimewithherfamilyandwouldliketotravel.Judyisthankfulshestumbledon to FCBDD when she moved toColumbus. “It’s been wonderful andtheyearshaveflownby,”shesaid.

Homer GreenScott Buffington

4 1- 2012

Ilookedatthelunchofferingsinthepatients’diningroomatMt.Carmel’sInpatientRehabilitationCenter--wheretheyhavebeenhelpingpeoplerecoverfromavarietyofillnessessince1987--andponderedtwoquestions:

A fishsandwichorgrilledcheese?And,what theheckamIdoinghere?

Thegrilledcheeseturnedouttobetasty,butmypresencein the Rehabilitation Center makes for a more interestingtale.

Muchtomysurprise, IhadastrokeonthemorningofJuly16th.AsIsawit,thiswasnotsupposedtohappen.At57, Iwas tooyoung. Moreover, Ihadbeen feelinggreat,goingtothedoctorregularly,anddoingquiteabitofexercise(including running the Capital City 1/2 Marathon in May).AndIwasalifelongnonsmoker.

But as I learned firsthand, a stroke isn’t necessarilypredictable,anditcanhappeninaninstant.AccordingtotheAmericanHeartAssociation,about700,000Americanssufferstrokeseachyear. Commonwarningsigns includeproblems with speech, tingling or any numbness in thebody,memorydifficulties,severeheadachesandproblemswithvision.

Inthiscase,Isimplybeganfeelingdizzyanddisorientedwhileathome,thenlostmyfootingandtookatumble.Makingmattersworse,thefallapparentlycausedalargesubduralhematomathatwastorequireemergencysurgery.

Luckily,aMifflinTownshipambulancerespondedquickly,and within a short time, I was in a well-staffed operatingroomatMt.CarmelEastHospital.IshouldmentionthatthesurgeonwhosavedmylifewasDr.KellyKielm.

Ten days later,I moved to theRehabilitationCenterat Mt. Carmel West.Shortlyafterarriving there, Ilooked into a mirror for the firsttime since my surgery and noticedthat the left half of my head had beencompletely shaved. I thought I resembledan extra in a late-night horror movie, but my loving wife,Maribel,assuredmeotherwise.

Ahighlightofmystaywasgoingoutsidewithmembersofmyfamilyforadailywalk.TechnicallyIwasbeingpushedin a wheelchair rather than walking, but I was walking inspirit. We often stopped briefly in a small garden areawhere some old statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary andvarioussaints stood. I’mpretty sure I recognizedoneofthe statues as Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, whichseemedappropriate.

My two-weekstayat theCenterendedonAugust9th.I am pleased to say that, with the excellent help of thephysicians,therapists,andnursingstaff,Iwasabletomeetallmytreatmentgoals.Afterdischarge,Iwentontoenrollin a ten-week outpatient therapy program at the MarthaMorehouseMedicalPlazaatOhioState.Thisprogramalsoprovedtobeimmenselyhelpful.

Iwouldnotopttohaveastrokeifgiventhechoice.ButIdofeelthatinmanyways,myexperiencewasapositiveone. Certainly it helped me better appreciate the manygood things in my life, especially my family and devotedfriends.Also,Ifeelluckytobealiveandextremelygratefulto the many caring people who reached out during thistryingtime.

A stroke of luck? by Martin Kerscher

For the first time, FCBDD’sTransportation Department haspurchased a propane poweredschoolbus.ThispurchasewasmadepossiblethroughagrantfromtheU.S.Department of Energy, Clean CitiesProgram,administeredbyCleanFuelsOhio.Thegrantcoveredtheadditionalcostofapropanebus.

A Bluebird Vision model, thebus is in its early test phase in theTransportation Department, having

The green spot -- by Cindy Wilcox

beenontheroadsinceearlyOctober.Thebus,numbered179,ispoweredbyaGMVortec8.1literengine.

Propane is a safe, alternativefuel that is nontoxic, colorless, andodorless. It emits fewer greenhousegasemissionsthangasolineordieselandisnotharmfultothesoilorwater.Becausepropaneisdeliveredthrougha sealed system, it helps protect ourenvironment.Inadditiontoprovidinglow emissions, the propane-poweredbusoffersreducedmaintenancecosts

andimmediatefuelcostsavingsbasedoncurrentprices.

Propane has been used as acommercial motor fuel for more than80yearsandhasa longhistoryasasafe,cleanandreliablealternativefuelchoice.TheTransportationDepartmentcontinuestostrivetobethebestgreenfleetthatitcanbe.

5 12 - 2011

Good For YouNotable Achievements in the FCBDD community Career Milestones

Patrick Rafter, Chief ExecutiveOfficerofCreativeHousing,Inc.sinceitscreationin1992,wastherecipientofthe2011Partners In Excellenceawardpresented by the Ohio Associationof County Boards of DevelopmentalDisabilities recently. Pat wasrecognizedforbuildingtheorganizationinto a nationally recognized leader inprovidingaccessiblehousing.Creativecurrently has a total of 491 housingunits, including 157 apartment units,104duplexunits,and230single-familyhomes. Congratulations Pat, on thiswell-deservedhonor!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Red Hat Ladies of ARCIndustries West have gone to thedogs! Recently the ladies visited theCHAAnimalShelterat3765CorporateDrive,wheretheyhavebeenrescuinglost dogs and cats since 1975. Theladies donated $60 worth of pet foodand supplies that they had raisedthroughrecyclingaluminumcans.Theladiesare continuing their fundraisingeffortsandaskthatyousupportthemifyou“can.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A strong supporter ofdevelopmental disabilities servicesis retiring from his post soon. Mike Curtin, Associate Publisher of theColumbus Dispatch,willbeleavingthenewspaperaftermanyyears.Bestofluck,Mike!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Loretta “Cookie” Dews,aservicerecipient at the Bixby Living skillsCenter,waspresentedaspecialhonorrecently by the Union Grove BaptistChurch.Cookie receivedanhonorarymembership from Pastor Henry L.Johnson III. Cookie’s sisters, Lillian Shank and Kay Davis are lifelongmembers and take Cookie to churchfrequently.Congratulations,Cookie!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A tipof thehatgoes toColumbus Dispatch reporter Rita Price for herpackage of articles regarding DownSyndrome on December 4th. ThearticleswerewellreadandappreciatedintheFCBDDcommunity.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

35 yearsSheila Sparks

25 yearsLaura BillinghamDeborah Lawson

20 yearsBennie Hill

Annick Parker

15 yearsJessica Siebold

Janice Tartell

10 yearsEric Kinney

5 yearsVirginia Abbott

Jack AkinPatsy Gayle

Dana JohnsonRenee PolingSarah Thiel

Darren Thompson

Pam Sonagere of the Human Resources Department took the lead indevelopingavisualaidforstaffandvisitorstoFCBDD’sAdministrationBuildinginDecember.ShecreatedaposterbearingpicturesandnamesofAdministrationstaff.Itmaybeseeninthemailroom,whichislocatedjustoffthecentercorridor.ThanksPam,forajobwelldone!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

OACBD Executive Director, Dan Ohler congratulates Patrick Rafter.

Information about the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities

is always available on the internet at:www.fcbdd.org

The Franklin County Board of Developmental DisabilitiesHelen Ninos, President

Dean Fadel, Vice PresidentJean Williams, Secretary

Linda Craig Lito RamirezLeah ReibelRenee Stein

Superintendent Jed W. Morison

The Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities does not discriminate in employment or services on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, or handicap.

Dateline

News releases, story ideas, and suggestions should be sent to Martin Kerscher at: 2879 Johnstown Road Columbus, Ohio 43219 (614) 475-6440 FAX 342-5001

The following staff contribute to the monthly publication and distribution of Dateline.Jed W. Morison Carl Scott Martin KerscherMichael Davis Amy Maginnis Jennifer Cunningham

“Quotables quote”

CalendarJanuary, 2012

2 New Year’s celebrated -- all county facilities closed. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2 Gator Bowl: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Florida Gators, Jacksonville, Florida, 1 p.m. GO BUCKS!

3 FCBDD early childhood, schools, and adult programs resume.

10 Franklin County Residential Services Board of Trustees meeting, 11 a.m. Please call 844-3800 for location.

16 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observed -- all county facilities closed.

17 Benjamin Franklin’s birthday

18 Family Support (formerly Parent League), 2879 Johnstown Rd., 9:30 a.m.

21 “For the Fun of It” bowling tournament, Columbus Square Bowling Palace, Rte. 161 and Cleveland Ave., 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. Please call 342-5960 for details.

23 ARC Industries Board of Trustees meeting, Fawcett

Center, 11:30 a.m.

26 FCBDD Finance and Human Resources Committees meeting, 2879 Johnstown Rd., 4 p.m.

26 FCBDD Annual Organizational Board meeting followed by regular meeting, 2879 Johnstown Rd.,

5 p.m.

“Do not squander time,

for that is the stuff life is made of.”

- Benjamin Franklin

ForinformationconcerningemergencyclosingsofFCBDD facilities,please listentothefollowingafter5:30and6:30a.m.:

Tune in for closing news

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