Hello everyone,
 
I will try to keep this as short as I can, so if I leave something out that
you want to know, please feel free to email me.
 
Sue Thomas, who operates the Okechobee Ferret Shelter in Okechobee, FL has
recently had some problems.  In 1992, she had an accident on the job, and
had head injuries which have caused her to develop agrophobia (the fear of
crowds, of people, of being away from home in her case).
 
She was denied her disability by a judge in Ft.  Lauderdale.  She appealed
and, contrary to normal procedure, the appeal board returned it to the
original judge for re-trial.  Her attorney attempted to have the venue
changed to one closer to her house, or to have her present at the hearing
via conference call, due to her disability.  The judge denied the request,
and said that if she wasn't at the hearing, he would deny her disability
and have her SSI (interim payments, if my understanding is correct)
terminated.
 
She had problems during the court case because of her phobia.  The judge
had her thrown out of the hearing because of these problems, even though
he knew they were because of the exact disability she was there to prove.
Afterwards, her attorney stated that the judge offered a settlement - she
either agree to move her disability date to January 1997 (and thereby
forfeit approximately $20,000 in back disability payments) or she would be
denied and lose not only her disability, but also her SSI payments.
 
She had not choice but to accept.  She was counting on that money to reduce
her mortgage so she had more money each month for the shelter.  She also
planned to use it to buy another computer or repair her old one so she
could make some extra money from home (remember, she can't go out to do
work and make money).
 
She has written to all of the FL congressmen and senators, and the
governor's office.  She is asking that the judge's actions be reviewed in
her case.  She is getting the run-around and has come to the end of her
patience.  She feels that the government will continue to ignore her
requests for aid, and has decided that a hunger strike in protest is the
only form of action available to her, so that is what she is doing.
 
She would like to get the word out to try and get some action, but the
local TV stations and newspapers aren't interested, so she is turning to
the ferret community for assistance.
 
If you have any thoughts or suggestions (no flames, please), feel free to
email me at [log in to unmask], or to call Sue directly at 941-467-6658.
 
Debbie
[Posted in FML issue 2667]