Jackson Jambalaya

It's one thing when outsiders think Mississippians are ignorant and backward -- it's a totally different thing when Mississippians do their best to PROVE they are.

Is there a way to contact the members of the school board?

A simple and uncomplicated complaint filed through an attorney with the EEOC claiming discrimination under the ADA will get the collective asses in gear even of 'redneck board members' (one would think).

But, maybe not, in which case a cash award will.

Seein' as how this is Scott County, the same dog, if used to alert the principal as to the presence of a possum inside the Garbage-freezer out on the road, would be given a pass and access to the cafeteria.

But what about kids who are allergic to dogs? or deathly afraid of them?

3:31
Don't confuse the self-righteous posters with minor details like that.

About what you would expect from that part of the world. I am sorry to say that I grew up there but wasted absolutely no time in moving away - I knew when I was 12 that it was not a place that I wanted to live. I would expect better from Roy Noble Lee; but, it seems he has been there too long as well. I hope this teached takes her issue to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary! It's time to stop this backward nonsense!!!

TO: 3:31

Oh, Please!!! Do you live there as well????

No, 3:59, but I have a son with severe allergies to dogs.

Anon@3:31, what would you do if this were a service dog for a visually-impaired staff member? I think (or at least, I hope) the school board would have approached this very differently if Mrs. McCurdy had been blind rather than diabetic.

Do you think public places should have the right to refuse all service animals to protect the potentially-allergic?

I'm sure they can move the one or two kids in the school that might actually have an issue with the dog. Too bad the same can't be said about the adults on the school board.

What if a restaurant disallowed the entrance of a service animal? The court would cut no slack to the person who is 'deathly afraid of animals' or the kid who might be 'allergic to them'.

Some people are deathly afraid of African Americans and others are allergic to animal fur. Does the airhead at 4:05 suggest those fears and allergies have rights that supercede the laws that apply to restaurants?

4:19
In the words of 3:59: Oh,Please.
How many visually impaired public school teachers do you know?
Do you think we should threaten the health of allergy-impaired children? Are they supposed to run the other way when the diabetic teacher walks down the hall with her service dog? Whether Ironghost believes it or not, it's not as simple as moving the child to another room.

You can "what if" this thing to infinity, but the bottom line is that these idiots on the school board have no legal justification whatsoever to prevent this lady from using her service dog.

Assuming that the Board claims "fear of allergies" is why they won't allow the dog, that dog won't hunt. As long as the schools allow police K9s to come in and look for drugs, the "allergies" argument will remain a loser.

This is about a bullheaded school board consisting of two career bureaucrats, a country doctor and 2 rednecks trying to show everyone who runs things.

This is about a bullheaded school board consisting of two career bureaucrats, a country doctor and 2 rednecks trying to show everyone who runs things.

Change the titles, quantities and appellations and you've got nearly the same description and control motive of the people who are absconding with Jackson's treasury in the name of the failed downtown strategy.

This is a prime example of media manipulation and weak minded readers. The school board has a job to do and that is protect the rights of all and not just one non compliant diabetic that has been this way for years. Look at the other article in the CL regarding taking the dog to fast food restaurants, last time I checked most fast food restaurants do not have diabetic friendly menus. There are lots of compliant diabetics out there that do not require this. Also, the teachers father in law was smart enough to stay out of this. Her father spoke to the CL representing the Mississippi Department of Education as the Director of Public School Safety. He has a biased opinion as this is his daughter. His job should be to protect all children and not just his adult child. This is a great misuse of authority but is really nothing new....

This issue needs to be resolved as there are other teachers and administrators out there with special needs, but needs to be done in an unbiased informed way without manipulation of the general public. Amazing what a picture of a lady and puppy does to the weak minded...

I disagree with you. Boxers are not usually the friendliest dogs. If a kid was attacked, who cares about responsibility, kind of dangerous. Also, this is not the only way to control Type 1 diabetes. If she is so non-compliant, maybe she needs to go back to dietary counseling. Type 1's are rarely overweight and somehow she is. A dog (especially a boxer) in the classroom would have scared the crap out of me when I was a kid.

7:26, your comment is written like someone who has been well-trained to step-and-fetch without question or thought upon the command of people in authority (even when those authorities are idiots).

You did not cite a single fact that would support disallowing this service animal. You simply bought the School Board's side of the story, which is comical considering that the Board refused to give its side of the story. You merely assumed that, because they are the School Board, then by God they are correct.

And you call the rest of us "weak-minded???"

I have a solution to this diabetic dog dilemma, it is called a glucometer. You test your blood sugar with it and it doesn't shit on the carpet, get nervous and piss on things, fart while it sleeps, or cause allergies, but to most diabetics, using it seem so difficult. Sadly, until we can implant a device that checks glucose and gives insulin in a closed loop, assholes with agendas will always jerk the hearts out of suckers and sappy eyed fruitloops, which incidentally is a horrible breakfast choice if you are a diabetic.

7:26: you have a great argument and one that would no doubt stand up, at least until daylight came and any person of reasonable intelligence and knowledge of the ADA became aware of it.

You obviously don't know jack-shit about the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Oh, wait, perhaps we could just assign this teacher to a bus driving job or maybe janitorial duties at the district office. That, and your opinion, would be a stellar suggestion as long as you have about three quarters of a million dollars to blow in court.

I have horrible gas and right before I let out a window fogging fart that would knock Jeff Good off a Fondren food truck filled with catfish tacos, my dog, Mr. Sniffles, leans his head back and cries. Just cause my dog is in tune to my horrific gas doesn't mean I should be able to take him to school with me, cause it was against the rules..........I will take beano and wear a adsorbent carbon insert in my trousers as not to offend my cowokers.........

I saw in the CL article where it mentioned there was only one case holding diabetes was a "disability" under the ADA? Any ADA lawyers know if diabetes counts? If not, I wouldn't think the ADA is going to help her out.

I can only speculate on the board's decision to do what they have, but if I was the board's lawyer, I would advise caution approving this, also. That might be a really sweet dog, but it bites one kid and you're looking at something like strict liability when you put little Suzy or Johnny in front of a jury, with pictures of the bite, and a big poster of the projected costs of multiple, revisionary plastic surgeries. You'll hit the MTCA's 500K cap in a hurry.

The ignorance about childhood allergies, Type I diabetes,childhoold phobias, dog breeds and service dogs is astounding.

If you are a mother whose child is " highly allergic" to dog dander ( it's not the dog) or is very afraid of dogs, that child needs to see either an allergist or a psychologist.

Both conditions are treatable and your child is suffering needlessly.

"I have not found a single recorded instance in the United States where a service animal attacked or harassed another person," said Laird, director of school safety for the state Department of Education, who is also McCurdy's father.

Curt to site one reference. Open google and search for "service dog bite child" This is an example of Robert Laird using his authority to state an opinion and not fact. I'm not taking up for the school board by any means, it's just the article didn't mention the relationship of Robert Laird to the teacher in question originally. It is the rights of all MS tax payers to have their children protected without bias in any district as is obvious Robert Laird can NOT do since information is so easily obtainable of the issues that can exist with service dogs. There is also a story of a service dog that failed to detect the diabetic events accurately and actually bite the child.

I by no means am trying to come down on one side or the other, its just all information needs to be out there and readers should research things for themselves and not just assume a spokesman for the government is telling the entire truth or a writer for the paper. That defines the week minded mentalitly that is referred to and is not an attack on any one individual.

According to the 5th Circuit, diabetes can qualify as a disability under the ADA if the effect on the employee meets the statutory definition of disability: a disease that impairs one or more life activities, or the person is perceived by the employer as being so impaired by the disease. Rodriguez v. ConAgra Grocery Products Co., 436 F.3d 468; Riel v. Electronic Data Systems Corp., 99 F.3d 678 (discussing reasonable accomodations).

The oversimplified answer is that it depends on the effects of the disease on the employee. If a person has diabetes but is not impaired in life activities (and not perceived to be by the employer), then that's not a disability under the act. On the other hand, if a person suffers from diabetes and is significantly impaired by the disease (or perceived to be), then it is a disability.

A seeing eye dig for a blind person is one of, if not the, only option to accomodate that disability. For a diabetic, there are multiple other options available to monitor blood sugar. Thus there is quite a difference in what is a reasonable accommodation for blindness vs for diabetes. This lady has other options availble to address her heath needs....she choices she can make that will resolve this issue.

'Non-Compliant Teacher'? So, now we have an individual who insists on her legal rights and she's labelled as 'non compliant'? What do the interns assigned to monitor this site for Donna Ladd have to say about a responsibility to be 'compliant' when confronted with abusive authority?

Oh, the audacity of non-compliance. When the law and 'what's right' are both on your side, non-compliance is a good thing.

According to the ADA website:
A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
Generally, title II and title III entities must permit service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go.

And the definition of disability is
Disability means, with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment


The question now is, how severe is her diabetes. If her doc prescribed her a service dog since she cannot reasonable check her blood sugar every minute of every day, I would say the doc considered her to have a disabilty.

With the expansion of the ADA last year, allergies are now conidered a disability.

7:51: guess what? She's had those and also a pump. She's been in the hospital more than a few times over the years due to her diabetes and she's done everything. One scumbag made a comment about her weight. She watches her diet and carbs religiously. Some people just can not lose weight. Can't tell that to the scumbag though. Every diabetic is different and the get a glucosemeter crowd ignores that fact.

As for the Pettus not reporting Laird's relationship, you are correct and I had a problem with it. I would not have used him for the quote for that very reason. Its also why I didn't mention it at all because it was not needed.

5:48, you obviously know nothing about diabetes starting with the fact that there is more than one type and one cause.

Some types are not so easily managed, particularly when the diabetes is part of auto-immune disease and other auto-immune diseases, like Lupus, are also present.

While I applaud 8:51 for finding AN example of a service dog bite, I think further research was needed as to the " facts" surrounding the extremely RARE instance of such occurances.
In the example 8:51 actually found, the dog in question was 14 months old and still in training. The aggressive approach of the bitten child was also a factor. I , frankly, think it was the adults who were inadequately trained.

If you have not taught your child how to approach an animal, particularly dogs, it's something you should learn to do. My childen understood to go towards a dog ( even our own) slowly while speaking calmly and to allow the dog to sniff the top of their hand before trying to pet the animal. They were taught HOW to pet a dog. They were taught when NOT to approach a dog ( ears back, dog growling,tail not wagging, dog shaking). They learned the basics by age two and education continued as to breed traits and how to defend oneself.

They were also taught NOT TO APPROACH A SERVICE DOG. That dog is working and should NOT be distracted.

Indeed, ADULTS shouldn't approach service dogs without asking permission.

Making a policy decision based on the irrational fears of a few is absolutely one of the worst plagues on this Nation. And, in this case, Mississippi will again look like a bunch of ignorant rednecks thanks to a loud few who can't seem to understand that " they don't know what they don't know" and that personal experience can be ODD rather than common.

The reason some of you bloggers got so many Cs on your term papers is because you didn't adequately research your topics! Depending on your age, simply going to World Book back when and reading blurbs on the Internet now isn't good enough! And, you appear ignorant to those who have done their homework!

9:29 Amen! You are absolutely correct people need to do their own research. The reference that I made earlier regarding the 1 dog is not the only one you will find when searching for "service dog bite child" on google. The main issue I take is Robert Laird the father of the teacher speaking in an official capacity and the CL not fact checking to determine a relationship of a source that is out of work on "leave." Also not to fact check the outrageous statement of can't find one instance of a service dog biting a child. That is silly as there are many instances. I understand the aspect of teaching kids how to approach dogs, but not all adults know how to do this the right way. Anyway off my soapbox. My main point is people should have all the facts and not just automatically take the easist side because it emotional or sympathetic.

I think when the above poster referenced "non-compliant" teacher, they were referring to her management of her medical condition and not whether she was complying with the directives of the school.

From reading posts, above, I gather that her compliance is an issue because, if she can reasonably control her diabetes some other way, the service dog might not be absolutely necessary (and her condition might not rise to the level of a disability under the ADA). If that is the case, and she can manage her diabetes some other way (even if it is inconvenient for her) then the school would rather not assume the potential liability of having a dog around a bunch of kids (some of which are, statistically speaking, bound to be morons).

And I don't think "blaming the victim" is going to be a good defense if the dog bites a kid. The kids are required by law to be in the classroom and have no choice in the matter. If this, or some other, service dog bites a kid, the school is going to be shelling out some cash. Or, to put it in a language some of you can understand, YOU, the taxpayer will be shelling out the cash, to a PLAINTIFF attorney who will then contribute it to the OBAMA campaign.

Actually, it's totally irrelevant whether or not a case can be found where a service dog, somewhere, bit someone. We don't enforce laws in this country based on that sort of analysis.

Are there examples of people being rear-ended at red lights? Sure, but that won't hold up in court if we use it as our defense for not stopping at one of them.

I'd feel better about this school board if the article stated that their attorney reviewed the requirements of the ADA and entered into a discussion with the employee regarding reasonable accommodation, but I'm doubtful that's the case. That discussion is also a requirement of the ADA.

If the employee requested the accommodation and was ignored or the request was simply denied, she should have consulted an attorney. If she made the request and it was denied following review of her medical documentation and a discussion with her, she should have gone to an attorney with ADA knowledge.

Those on here who are ignorant, through perhaps no fault of their own, regarding the ADA, reasonable accommodation and disabilities, are enjoying comedic replies about who is related to whom, how much the employee weighs, whether a dog has bitten someone in the US, an imaginary child with pet hair allergies and other imaginary children who might be fearful of a service dog. All of that parenthetical commentary is about as valuable as the score of last year's Egg Bowl when it comes down to the employee's rights, once determined.

An employer is not required (by the ADA) to accept the accommodation preferred by the employee; however, the employer canNOT simply dismiss the request without further discussion and consideration of alternatives that are recommended by her physician (not herself, the employer or members of an anonymous blogsite).

Some of you will be surprised to learn that morbid obesity is also covered by the ADA, not that that relates to this employee. The ADA is a mighty broad and deep-reaching law.

You can't fix stupid and this is pure stupidity! What are they afraid of? A lawsuit? Would the teacher posting a bond for any liability help? How could she afford such a bond? PURE STUPITY! Let the dog in and quit worrying about it.

I love that people see this as cut and dry. It is really easy to argue a point by discrediting someone by making fun of their point of view without dealing with facts. Democracy the great experiment.

"The reason some of you bloggers got so many Cs on your term papers is because you didn't adequately research your topics! Depending on your age, simply going to World Book back when and reading blurbs on the Internet now isn't good enough! And, you appear ignorant to those who have done their homework!"

Actually I suspect those pinhead posters gave up on their GEDs when they couldn't figure out how to re-sharpen their pencil.

And KF - I've never heard of an insulin pump failing. That might be the ideal situation, if her insurance would cover it. I've treated a lot of diabetics, including 1) brittle diabetics and 2) those with diabetic neuropathy who can't sense when they are getting hypoglycemic; she may well be both. Are you sure she failed using a pump? That would be really odd.

I'm sure y'all won't post this... Curt Crowley (or should I say Kingfish!) I see from your blog you are a personal injury attorney who advertises a specialty on VISCIOUS DOG BITES AND ATTACKS. So my child doesn't listen, goes near the dog and gets bit, I can call you to represent me against who... Mrs. McCurdy??? Clearly you stand to gain from potential attacks by dogs in the classroom. Oh wait you would have a conflict of interest because you clearly state on your blog you have known her for 10 years. (If that happens I guess I'll just call R. S.) These facts explains your short inflammatory comments (here and on C/L) without reasonable explanation. Save the opening remarks for the courtroom counselor.

Makes my point further about the first post. Folks need to do their research and get the full scoop about how people are connected to these motivating stories before letting news stories articles/comments/responses determine how they are going to side.

You're a complete idiot.

Can you clarify to whom that attack is addressed 1:57, and perhaps why? Thank you.

Scared of vicious dog bites (and by no means is a Boxer a vicious dog!), muzzle the dang dog!

"So my child doesn't listen, goes near the dog and gets bit, I can call you to represent me against who... Mrs. McCurdy???"

Not a chance. If your kid is so buck wild that he/she cannot follow a simple instruction to stay away from the dog, then he/she wouldn't have a case against the teacher. I might, however, take your kid's case against you for negligent parenting for not teaching him/her to behave. Get control of your own animals and you won't have to worry about the dog biting them.

Why don't you just go ahead and tell us which one of the 5 school board idiots you are?

@Crowley ~ accolades, salutations, congratulations, high fives and ten fours for that post.

Great spirited discussion. Do we really have to resort to name calling? I found the comments interesting that there were short inflammatory answers given to legitimate issues, then came more of the short answers with name calling....I guess freedom of speech doesnt always mean the ability to use it appropriately.

1:56
Home school

If a child gets hit on the football field and gets hurt, the school is on the hook for a lot of money. That doesn't stop the schools from allowing sports....Just sayin!

I know a teacher in the Hinds system who is so fat he can hardly squeeze through a classroom door. What if he falls on a child or backs up toward the blackboard and a child is at the board doing a math problem (2 + 2) and the child is mashed against the board and severely injured by the chalk tray? Or what if he reaches in his drawer and brings out a Snickers Bar and chomps away not knowing there's a snot nosed fifth grader with a peanut allergy in the front row?We kain't be too keerful in these edukationul setings.

Oh, come on Shadow...you know you made that up.

9:50 There are not MANY instances.
You also have to do the math. What are the odds? Do you keep your kids inside when thunder storms are the weather prediction for fear they'll be struck by lightning? And, with dog bites, you have defenses, with the weather, not so much.
This woman teaches Middle School,not kindergarten or elementary school.
I'm sure the board knew Mr. Laird is her father and his bias is understandable. His daughter has a life threatening medical issue. His comments are hardly relevant to this debate other than to consider the impact on her family if she dies.
What if she goes into coma in the classroom? I guess most of the " agin the dog" folks just think she shouldn't work but should get public assistance and stay home.
IF the kids are TAUGHT ( not a wild request in a SCHOOL) not to approach the dog as the dog is WORKING,there shouldn't be a problem. Allergic kids ( who should be taking shots or antihistimines if they are THAT allergic) can sit at the back of the room.
We are so stuck in extremes these days with every discussion as black or white, we can't find sensible solutions to any damn thing.
Once upon a time, parents only involvement in the school was PTA , chaperoning trips and bringing cupcakes for classroom parties. They didn't think they knew more than the teachers or think the system should revolve around their little Johnny or Jane. They thought instead that Johnny and Jane should learn to adapt and learn life isn't all about them. Teachers had authority and support in the system. School boards weren't political because we elected qualified people who could contribute and problem solve rather than someone with a gripe.
The system worked better. All of our systems worked better when people didn't think an OPINION was worth crap...even their own. Once upon a time people with good sense thought they should spend alot of time STUDYING and GATHERING FACTS before sticking their nose into the business of others ( personal or public).

Shadow,

I can see where you might have thought KF's admonition was aimed squarely at you, however, we just think that all the time now.

KK

Kangaruler: I don't know of any admonition that might have been aimed at me; however, it's become quite apparent from your repetitive jabs that you feel I didn't properly kiss your, ah, ring when I came into this room a month or two ago. For that I won't apologize but will only remind you occasionally to kiss my ass (he says, dropping his Dockers and bending over as K-Ruler approaches quickly).

Dude, take it easy. I'm just playin'.

what if the dog learned to read and write by osmosis? then we'd have a fine mess on our hands

There are some serious issues mentioned in these comments (well some of them). These dogs are as well-trained as you can get; better than most humans. See, the Wild Rose website, www.uk.com. This is in Oxford, MS, not UK. Some would say I'm biased - I'm on the Diabetes Foundation of MS Board and we sponsor a couple of these dogs. It ain't fun being diabetic - I'm not - and it can be outright dangerous. In this situation, there's a whole lot better chance that the teacher might die in front of her kids w/o this dog than that the dog will bite one. Another issue lurking in the background here are the diabetic kids in the schools and whether or not their well-being is at risk because no many people truly understand this disease.

Al Sage

Kangaroot: Not to hijack and make this personal, but your 'playing' has gone way beyond that. Continue at your peril.

What if it were a child in the school system that had severe Type I diabetes and needed a service dog? Would the school board deny that child the right to bring a service dog to school? I doubt it.

Service dogs are trained and certified. It's not like someone just picks any dog and declares it a "service dog."

I agree with a previous post.. transfer the severely allergic kids to another class. Other mitigation efforts could include utilizing air filtration devices in the classroom and requiring the dog to be professionally bathed and groomed on a regular basis.

The bottom line is the school board is denying a person's right to utilize the tools that are available to preserve his/her life. And, I believe that kids witnessing their teacher going into a diabetic coma would be much more traumatizing than having a certified service dog in the room.

Shadow at 5:21-- I agree completely. At first, I was thinking that Kanga-raving-lunatic needs a tongue lashing, but I think that therapy and medication may be more productive.

Go forth and conquer, Shadow!

Sewers, sounds like someone's wittle bitty fealins' gawt huwrt. And another anonymous a$$hole fell in the woods.

Curtfish, Just want to let you know I am 1:56, I am also Lost Orbit, I am not a school board member. If you will sharpen your technical skills a bit you will see that it was not hard to figure out all of the connections. The Internetweb reaches a lot of places and that's the dastardly demon of social media. You should also check your computer for hidden keyloggers and spyware, some of it is pretty hard to find. There are many competent IT professionals out there that can help you with that for a fee. Speaking of fees, I'll leave all this be since I'm sure your billable time for this week looks terrible. It was a couple of vacay days for me and I didn't have much else to do but stir some pots. Anywho, site looks great... gubmint's a bunch of incompetent a-holes. To that I believe we can both agree. Cheers. LO

Thank you, Kingfish for responding to the idiotic posters on 10/3/11 7:47 and 7:51.

Those of us who are diabetic don't choose to be that way. Some of us did not eat too much sugar, etc. There are diabetics who are hypo unaware, and obviously this lady is. I have been hypoglycemic many times,and I check my sugars religiously, wear a bracelet, have glucose tablets, etc. But shit happens and sometimes you go low. I wish the general public would be required to be educated about this disease, because I guarantee you know more than one person who has it. Hell, you might even have it yourself and don't know it.