{"id":19477,"date":"2012-08-02T14:08:36","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T19:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=19477"},"modified":"2012-08-02T15:25:21","modified_gmt":"2012-08-02T20:25:21","slug":"beebe-administration-turns-a-deaf-ear-to-deaf-community-arkansas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/08\/02\/beebe-administration-turns-a-deaf-ear-to-deaf-community-arkansas\/","title":{"rendered":"Beebe Administration Turns A Deaf Ear To Deaf Community (Arkansas)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beebe Administration Turns A Deaf Ear To Deaf Community (Arkansas)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSeven other candidates tested better. Six other candidates were
\ncertified. But the state hired her anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the lead in to a news story from a local Little Rock media
\noutlet who conducted a rare act of journalism regarding the recent
\nhiring of a state sign language interpreter, Miss Clara Taylor.
\nAccording to the report, the woman is not a certified interpreter and
\ntested near the bottom of the pool of applicants for the position.<\/p>\n

And in another rare act of journalism, Max Brantley has acquired a
\ndocument from one of the other applicants for the position that claims
\nthat, based on public records, Miss Taylor\u2019s scores were 8th overall
\nand she did not even apply for the position!<\/p>\n

State Workforce Director Bill Walker says Taylor is qualified for the
\nposition because she \u201chas a deaf family member, has signed for members
\nof her church for the past ten years and has been a loyal state
\nemployee for more than 20 years\u201d\u2013which is akin to saying I am qualified
\nto sing in the opera because my grandmother was a music teacher, I sing
\non the praise team, and I loyally served popcorn at the theater.<\/p>\n

As a special bonus, Walker told the state personnel committee that
\nTaylor is \u201ca team player\u201d and \u201cpassionate.\u201d The real reason for her
\nhire, however, is more likely that Walker and the woman are old
\nfriends: according to one report, the woman is a previous employee of
\nWalker\u2019s funeral home. (Walker\u2019s tenure with the state has been
\nriddled with scandal and cronyism.)<\/p>\n

In a letter to state Senator Eddie Joe Williams, dated April 16th,
\nWalker says that Taylor \u201cdemonstrated the knowledge, skills and ability
\nrequired by the position.\u201d State Representative Bryan King disagreed
\nwhen I spoke with him earlier today:<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t even score 50% on the written test. She didn\u2019t even make a
\nLevel 1. The deaf community is dependent upon the qualifications of
\nthe person in this position. We are trying to get them the help that
\nthey need. They rely on her abilities, but she could not even
\ncommunicate 50% of a conversation in sign language.\u201d<\/p>\n

King also said the number of attendees from the deaf community at the
\ncommittee meeting spoke to the seriousness of the matter:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had 40-50 people there from the deaf community. It was pretty
\nserious.\u201d<\/p>\n

But wait! It gets better! Would you, hard-working Arkansas taxpayer,
\nbe excited to learn that you are now actually paying for this woman\u2019s
\nsign language certification? According to Rep. King, she will be
\ntaking an exam at a cost of $600. She is also enrolling in classes at
\nUALR in order to seek a national certification. The cost for the
\ncourses is unknown at this time. King and other lawmakers are working
\nto acquire that information, but he did say that the bill will be
\npassed along to the taxpayers.<\/p>\n

King said he will be working in the next legislative session to make
\nsure that strict qualifications are attached to these types of state
\npositions. \u201cEither the passage of an exam or a national certification
\nshould be required,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

This is really one of those stories that makes you stop and ask, \u201cWhat
\nthe heck is going on here?\u201d Chances are, you\u2019re an average
\nhard-working Arkansan that is struggling to get by in the Beebe\/Obama
\neconomy. Now you\u2019ve learned that the state is handing out jobs based
\non personal friendships, regardless of a person\u2019s qualifications, and
\nyou are paying for their certification. Might I suggest that this is
\nwrong: that people should be hired based on their credentials?
\nFurthermore, why is taxpayer money being wasted on qualifications exams
\nand interviews if these jobs will ultimately be handed out based on
\npersonal preferences? What is the point in having rules and procedures
\nif we do not follow them? In a system where rules and procedures are
\nflippantly discarded, personal preferences and cronyism are king.<\/p>\n

The committee has passed this matter over to the Department of Finance
\nand Administration for further review. We will keep you posted on
\nfurther developments.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.thearkansasproject.com\/beebe-administration-turns-a-deaf-ear-to-deaf-community\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beebe Administration Turns A Deaf Ear To Deaf Community (Arkansas) \u201cSeven other candidates tested better. Six other candidates were certified. But the state hired her anyway.\u201d That\u2019s the lead in to a news story from a local Little Rock media…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[663,4621,14501,14498,797,1594,24,505,14503,40,3152,872,662,14497,14504,14499,191,14500,14505,14502],"class_list":["post-19477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-arkansas","tag-article","tag-beebe-administration","tag-bill-walker","tag-candidate","tag-certified-interpreter","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-community","tag-department-of-finance-and-administration","tag-interpreter","tag-journalism","tag-legislative","tag-little-rock","tag-max-brantley","tag-qualifications-exams","tag-senator-eddie-joe-williams","tag-sign-language","tag-state-representative-bryan-king","tag-taxpayer","tag-ualr"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-549","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29555,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/12\/22\/4-week-introductory-course-to-legal-interpreting-fort-worth\/","url_meta":{"origin":19477,"position":0},"title":"4 week introductory course to legal interpreting – Fort Worth","author":"Chrissy Snider","date":"December 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Come join Gwendolyn Bennett at Tarrant County College for a 4 week introductory course to legal interpreting! When: February 10th - March 5th, 2015 T\/TH 6:00 pm-8:00pm Where: TCC Trinity River Campus\u00a0 Fort Worth, TX. Cost: $160.00 for the course (manual additional) *Please fill out a registration form and mail\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Legal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Legal-232x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22144,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/03\/08\/interpreter-for-the-deaf-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":19477,"position":1},"title":"Interpreter for the Deaf Bill","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Interpreter for the Deaf Bill March 7, 2013 By Jason Pederson Last summer, KATV put the spotlight on a problem at Arkansas Rehabilitation Services. A woman had been hired as an interpreter for the deaf but she lacked the skills to do the job. That particular issue has been resolved.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29611,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/01\/05\/should-i-become-a-deaf-interpreter-workshop-12415-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":19477,"position":2},"title":"Should I Become a Deaf Interpreter? Workshop 1\/24\/15 – Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Presents: \u201cShould I Become a Deaf Interpreter?\u201d Presented by Ann Horn DATE: January 24, 2015 TIME: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm WHERE: Texas School for the Deaf MPR-CTE Building 1102 South Congress Austin, Texas TO REGISTER:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"deaf interpreter workshop flyer austin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/deaf-interpreter-workshop-flyer-austin.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28635,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/09\/18\/job-opportunity-deaf-ed-teacher-wanted-waco\/","url_meta":{"origin":19477,"position":3},"title":"Job Opportunity: Deaf Ed Teacher Wanted – Waco","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Job Opportunity: Deaf Ed Teacher Wanted - Waco WACOISD.ORG is in the need of Deaf Education teachers with ASL fluent. 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Any of the interpreters who wish to volunteer may call me Stella Ashley at 214-969-5585. We are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scarborough Faire","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/scarboroughfulllogoweb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26758,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/03\/21\/updated-scarborough-renaissance-faire-deaf-day-interpreter-wanted\/","url_meta":{"origin":19477,"position":5},"title":"UPDATED: Scarborough Renaissance Faire Deaf Day – Interpreter Wanted","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Scarborough Renaissance Faire Deaf Day DATE: Saturday, May 3, 2014 TIME: 10 AM to 7 PM We need the interpreters to volunteer. The actual date is Saturday, May 3, 2014. Any of the interpreters who wish to volunteer may call me Stella Ashley at 214-969-5585. 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