Thursday, January 19,1967, Cooleemee, (N. C.) Journal
Former March of Di
Is Part of Twin Medical Problem
Identical twins are sup
posed to be carbon copies of
each other in every respect
but twin brothers Joel and
Jeffrey Kirker, 6, New Stan
ton, Pa., have been cruelly
different from birth.
Joel, the older brother by five
minutes, was born with an open
spine (spina bifida), a birth de
fect that has paralyzed him
from the waist down. At the
same spot on his back, Jeff has
only a birthmark.
"When Jeff doesn't feel well,
he gets two blisters on his birth
mark, otherwise he is a normal,
very active little boy," says his
mother, Mrs. Thomas Kirker.
Understandably, the young
Kirkers pose a medical puzzle.
As their mother puts it, special
ists are "amazed that only one
has the defect and not the other"
or else are "quite lost for words"
to explain the crippling differ
ences in these identical twins.
Yet Mrs. Kirker says, "We
feel we have a great deal to be
thankful for because Joel is do
ing well and we can hope for
even more improvement in the
future."
Despite his physical handicap,
Joel gets around quite a bit.
During January, 1966, he was
Pennsylvania State Poster Boy
for the March of Dimes camp
aign to fight birth defects. This
means that Joel traveled through
a number of counties in his area
and even appeared on a tele
thon in Pittsburgh.
Now as they watch the twins
pretending they're big leaguers
or playing together on the back
yard slide, Mr. and Mrs. Kirker
can appreciate all the things
Joel can do even though he
wears braces and uses a cane.
They are thankful for the skilled
medical care Joel received from
the day of birth. Without that
care, Joel might not be alive to
day.
When Joel was only one day
old, his open spine was operated
upon to give his spinal cord
some protection. While surgeons
could not restore the function of
nerves and muscles, they did
prevent further complications,
the most dangerous being infec
tions such as meningitis.
Like many other victims of
open spine, Joel also had hy
drocephalus ("water on the
brain"). Doctors performed sev
eral operations to drain off the
dammed-up fluid within the
brain and thus relieve pressure.
Mother of March of
Teaches Child Brail
"When the doctors told
me my daughter was prob
ably going blind, I deter
mined to learn Braille and
be her teacher. I wanted to
cushion the shock of know
ing she might lose her sight,
and to try to share the ex
perience with her."
Speaking is Mrs. Mary A.
Fennell of Archer, Fla., mother
of five-year-old Lucille, who
has congenital glaucoma
(hardening of the eyeballs).
The attractive blonde and
blue-eyed child is also the vic
tim of another birth defect
which consists of malforma
tions of the lymph vessels
throughout her body.
"I've been warned," Lucille's
mother explains, "that if I
make a mistake in her diet—
such as using the wrong kind
of flour in my pies—Lucille
won't be with us very long."
Mrs. Fennell told of her ef
forts to learn Braille, and why,
at the Birth Defects Center at
the University of Florida
School of Medicine at Gaines
ville. The Center is one of 77
supported by the March of
Dimes across the nation.
At the suggestion of the
Florida State Council for the
Blind, Mrs. Fennell wrote to
the Library of Congress for a
book of Braille and teaching
instructions. (Available at no
cost for. anyone declared
legally blind.)
"I thought that was all
there was to it," Mrs. Fennell
says. "I figured I'd just do a
little studying and soon I'd
be teaching Lucille how to
spell by 'feeling* the raised
dots. How mistaken I was!"
A person who has normal
sight encounters far more dif
ficulty learning Braille than
the non-sighted. The reason is
that the sighted individual re
lies on the faculty of sight
rather than that of touch. ■
Lucille will not wrestle with
ZIP CODE AIDS IN MAILING OF PACKAGES
Use of ZIP CODE will make
it easier to mail packages
aiter January 15th, Postmaster
Bill White of Cooleemee said
today.
New rates and a new sys
tem for identifying parcel post
i zones will go into effect on
that date as provided in legis
lation signed into law by Pre
sident Johnson on September
20, '66, the Postmaster point
ed out.
The rate increase will av
erage about 10 cents a par
cel the Postmaster said. Start
Page 3
; 3i-ir n|
_ ... .. . ; 7 o
mm / QHHB
"That's OK, Joel, even astronauts need help with their gear some
times," says Jeff Kirker, 6, of New Stanton, Pa., as he helps his
identical twin Joel into his braces.
Without relief, this pressure can
lead to permanent mental dam
age, blindness or even death.
_ For Joel's parents, the past
six years have been times of
great emotional anguish, to say
nothing of financial strain. Mr.
Kirker has worked for the Bell
Telephone Company since he
graduated from McKeesport
Technical High School in 1950.
In addition to caring for the
twins and keeping house, Mrs.
Kirker sells kitchenware to sup
plement her husband's income
and help with medical expenses.
The Kirkers are deeply grateful
to the local chapter of the
March of Dimes which helped
pay Joel's hospital bills and
covers the cost of braces which
must be changed periodically.
Braces or not, Joel loves it
when the family pile into their
trailer and set out on a camping
trip, something all the Kirkers
enjoy. When they settle in a
campsite, the whole family
knows what to expect from Joel.
LOSING HER EYESIGHT because of a birth defect which destroys the
optic nerves, Lucille Fennell, Archer, Ha., is learning to read Braille
with her mother's help.
anywhere near as much of a
Braille problem as does her
mother. Hie child's print vi
sion is limited to letters one
inch high, so that she will
never read book and news
paper type and be confused by
memories and associations of
the printed letter or word.
Mrs. Fennell is helping Lu
cille memorize the "feel" of a
few letters of the alphabet in
raised-dot language, and to
recognize how the "feel"
sounds when spoken. Mother
and child make a game of it.
School authorities were so
impressed with the child's
progress that they permitted
Lucille to enter regular kinder
garten.
When she enters first grade
and moves into u textbook
oriented world, tuch classic
readers as "Dick and Jane"
will be unintelligible to her in
ing July 1, the law provides
for a series of size and weight
increases on packages mailed
between first class offices.
Cooleerr.ee is a second class
office. The size and weight
increases will be in five an
nual steps, tiie last coming
on July 1, 1971.
Use of ZIP CODE in the
receipient's address will en.
able the sender or a mail
clerk to quickly determine
the proper zone, and thus the
rate, for the package. The
zones will be based on the
He invariably takes off to visit
all the other campers, one by
one. He loves to meet and chat
with other people, even if it
means climbing hills and fight
ing the underbrush every step
of the way.
The twins can take care of
each other pretty well these
days. Joel can put on his braces
for himself but sometimes Jeff
helps him. Active, outgoing Jeff
helps his quieter, more thought
ful brother in other ways, too.
A firm "I think you'll like this,
Joel," from Jeff often helps Joel
make a decision in favor of
places or things. This sort of
fraternal influence leads Mrs.
Kirker to tell friends that Joel's
"twin brother is his therapist."
By this time, the Kirkers
know what Joel can do and they
avoid overprotectivcness which
could be harmful to both boys.
His doctors hope that when
Joel is about 14, surgery can be
performed that will make the
leg braces unncessary.
conventional type. But her
mother will translate such
books onto sheets of "raised
pinpricks," using a special
Braille typewriter.
At the March of Dimes-sup
ported Birth Defects Center,
to which Lucille is taken for
check-ups every few months,
the specialists avoid an un
qualified prediction. But if
pressure against her optic
nerves increases, total blind
ness is almost certain to result.
Understandably, this is the
kind of tragedy that many
fathers and mothers find in
tolerable to face. But Mary
Fennell is facing it, the doc
tors say, courageously and with
intelligent compassion. They
wish more parents, in similar
unhappy circumstances, could
summon the same fortitude
and sense of realism.
distance a parcel travels be
tween the 552 sectional cen
ters in the country, Postmas
ter White said.
By consulting a simple chart
which is available at all post
offices, the zone can be readi
ly identified because the first
three members of the ZIP
CODE represent the sectional
center. This replaces a method
in which a directory often
had to be consulted to locate
the proper zone for each of
the nation's 33,000 post offic
es.
m
Hugo Harriman String fellow Phgfe
Cherished his car tu well as his wife;
On the ice, in the snow,
With tire chains they'd go,
Safe and secure, OJoy, what a Ufel
HERE'S ADVICE TO HELP YOU 50...
The Safe Winter Driving League presents this tip for safer
winter driving from the National Safety Council: 44 For severe
snow and ice conditions, tests ahow that reinforced tire - I **'"*
provide four to five times as much traction as regular tins
without chains." Assure your ability to get through regardless
of the weather— always carry chains and be prepared for
winter's worst storms.
ZAP! BOOM! Youth Must Bo Served
NEW YORK (CFN) —Like Pow and Wham! And the kid
can't look at it any longer so he stares at his shoes but they are
new and in their waxy reflection he still sees it and it careens
around the comers of his mind,
brakes squealing, exhausts roar
ing, radio blasting.
So he looks up and stares at
it again and his knuckles whiten
as his nails claw into his palm
on account of like nobody, but
nobody, ever could imagine drag
gin' back to the pad in such a
heap!
Translated into adult English,
the foregoing concerns a phe
nomenon that links a shoe and a
car to the teen-age consumer
market.
The car is Pontiac's GTO. The
shoe is Thorn McAn's GTO
model. The two are wedded in
a sweepstakes contest, to be held
in 20 cities from coast to coast,
that will enable 20 young Ameri
cans to win a car loaded with
more accessories than Perle Mesta
at a White House high tea.
The car will have a gold
colored body. It will have ram
y —n s _— .
?Fafbtan\ your Holiday Dress
\ Pointo I
On® of the start Tweoming
and appealing looka In many
season* has arrived on tfaa
fashion scene ... and jtist in
time, it seems, for thoaa who
ware beginning to fear fufcka
had pasaad them by. ,
' The mood of your new boU*
day dress will be young and
elegant, too. Not kicky, not
bare, bat a chiffon smoefe
sleeved and beaded, or a shirt
dress in white wool or lace, in
a soft, mobile shape that wQL
keep yon reaching into your
closet for it because of its com
fort and the magic it works
in camonflsging measurements
that are less than ideaL
There are plenty of little
sparklers around, too, in silve*
and gold lame, and flowing bias
crepes with sparkling sleeves,
yokes or • gUfrfoHpg hamlinee>
> 1
M
o
air quadra power. It will have
mag wheels. It will have red line
rubier. It will have everything.
The shoe will have laces. It
will have tongues. It will have
soles. It will have youthful styl
ing. It will have everything.
And from November 14th
through December 17th, the con
test will have everything P. T.
Bamum could imagine, including
point of sale personal appear
ances by teendom's leading disk
Jockeys.
So if you should, in the near
future, see hordes of dazed, fever
ish teenagers pressing their noses
against the windows of dealer
display windows, have pity on
them.
After all, never before has
breaking in a pair of shoes in
cluded the possibility of breaking
in a new car that does everything
but imitate Elvis Presley.
Another certainty fc fee SUS»
black dress that will take
you comfortably to any holiday
party, along with the brocade
dress in alight, bright shade
*iif j B 11 !""! lutes takes ca the
free, simple shapa of • caftan.
What about dress lengths?
Enjoy tfaa one that salts you,
even though the mini skirt
will faeoone mors and more
minuscule. This, and other
valuable fashion pointers, are
found in a asw bookie* titled
"Looking Tour Fashionable
Age," mads available fay the
Consumer Service Division of
tfaa ILGWU. For a free cop*
writet Union Label Depart*
pentt i7S Seventh Jk*VHfr
DAVIE COUNTY SCHOOLS
BOX 447, MOCtSVILLE, N. C. 27028
NOTICE OF SCHOOL DESEGREGATION PLAN UNDER TITLE VI
OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
IBIS NOTICE IS MADE AVAILABLE TO INFORM IOC ABOUT THE
DESEGREGATION OF OUR SCHOOLS. SEEP A COPY OF THIS NOTICE
IT WILL ANSWER MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SCHOOL DESEGREGATION
1. Desegregation Plan in Effect
The DAVIE COUNTY public school system is being desegregated under a plan
adopted in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The purpose
of the desegregation plan is to eliminate from our school system the racial
segregation of students and all other forms of discrimination based on race,
color, or national origin.
2. Thirty-Day Spring Choice Period
Each student or his parent, or other adult person acting as parent, is required to
choose the school the student will attend next school yar. The choice period will
begin on January 19, 1967 and close Feb. 17, 1967.
S. Explanatory Letters and School Choice Forms
On the first day of the choice period, an explanatory letter and this notice will
be sent by first-class mail to the parent, or other adult person acting as parent,
of each student then in the schools who is expected to attend school the following
school year. A school choice foim will be sent with each letter, together with a
return envelope addressed to the Superintendent. Additional copies of the
letter, this notice and the choice form are freely available to the public at any
school and at the Superintendent's office.
4. Returning the Choice Forms
Barents and students, at their option, may return the completed choice forms
by hand to any school or by mail to the Superintendent's office, at any time
during the 30-day choice period. No preference will be given for choosing early
during the choice period A choice is required for each student. No assignment
to a school can be made unless a choice is made first.
5. Choice Farm Information
The school choice form lists the names locations and grades offered for each
school. The reasons for any choice made are not to be stated. The form asks for
the name, address and age of the student, the school and grade currently or last
attended, the school chosen for the following year the appropriate signature,
and whether the form has been signed by the student or parent. "The race,
color, or national origin of the student is requested for purposes of recordkeep
ing required by the U. S. Office of Education. The information will not be used
in any way to discriminate against the student." Any letter or other written com
munication which identifies the student and the school he wishes to attend will
be deemed just as valid as if submitted on the choice form supplied by the school
system. The names of students and the schools they choose or are assigned to
under the plan will not be made public by school cflkfrfa.
0. Coarse and Program Information
To guide students and parents in making a choice of school, listed below by
schools are the courses and programs which are not gives at every school in
this school system.
Davie County High School: Advanced Composition and Appreciation, Journalism,
Consumer Math., Business Math., Advanced Math., Geography, Economics and
Sociology, Spanish, Industrial Arts, Distributive Education, Introduction to Vo
cations, Vocational Office Occupations.
Cooleemee Elementary: Class for Educable Mentally Retarded.
7. Signing the Choice Form
A choice form may be signed by a parent or other adult person acting as parent.
A student who has reached the age of 15 at the time of choice, or will next enter
the ninth or any higher grade, may sign his own choice form. The student's
choice shall be controlling unless a different choice is exercised by his parents
before the end of the period during which the student exercises his choice.
8. Processing of Choices
No choice will be denied for any reason other than overcrowding. In cases where
granting all choices for any school would cause overcrowding, the students
choosing the school who live closest to it will be assigned to that school. What
ever a choice is to be denied, overcrowding will be determined by a uniform
standard applicable to all schools in the system. *
9. Notice of Assignment, Second Choice
All students and their parents will be promptly notified in writing of their school
assignments. Should any student be denied his choice because of overcrowding
he will be promptly notified and given a choice among all other schools in the
system where space is available.
10. Students Moving Into the Community
A choice of school for any student who will be new to the school system m my be
made during the 30-day choice period or at any other time before he enrolls
in school. An explanatory letter, this notice and the school choice form will be
given out for each new student as soon as the school system knows about the
student. At least seven days will be allowed for the return of the choice form
when a choice is made after the 30-day choice period. A choice must be made for
each student. No assignment to any school can be made unless a choice is
made first.
11. Students Entering First Grade
The parent, or other adult person acting as parent, of every child entering the
first grade, is required to choose the school his child will attend. Choices will be
made under the same free choice process used for students new to the school
system in other grades, as provided in paragraph 10.
12. Priority of Late Choices
No choice made after the end of the 30-day choice period may be denied for
any reason other than overcrowding In the event of overcrowding, choices made
during the 30-day choice period will have first priority. Overcrowding will be
determined by the standard provided for in paragraph 8. Any parent or student
whose first choice is denied because of overcrowding will be given a second
choice in the manner provided for in paragraph 9.
IS. Tests, Health Accords and Other Entrance Requirements
Any academic tests or other procedures used in assigning students to schools,
grades, classrooms, sections, courses of study, or for any other purpose, will be
applied uniformly to all students without regard to race, color or national origin.
No choice of school will be denied because of failure at the time of choice to pro
vide any health record, birth certificate, or other document. The student will
be tentatively assigned in accordance with the plan and the choice made, and
given ample time to obtain any required document. Curriculum, credit, and pro
motion procedures will not be applied in such a way as to hamper freedom of
choice of any student.
14. Choices Once Made Cannot be Altered
Once a choice has been submitted, it may not be changed, even though the choice
period has not ended. The choice is binding for the entire school year to which
it applies, except in the case of (1) compelling hardship, (2) change of residence
to a place where another school is closer, (3) the availability of a school designed
to fit the special needs of a physically handicapped student, (4) the availability
at another school of a course of study required by the student, which is not
available at the school chosen.
15. All other Aspects of Schools Desegregated
All school-connected services, facilities, athletics, activities and programs are
open to all on a desegregated basis. A student attending school for the first
time on a desegregated basis may not be subject to any disqualification or wait
ing period for participation in activities and programs, including athletics,
which might otherwise apply because he is a transfer student. All transportation
furnished by the school system will also operate on a desegregated basis. Fa
culties will be desegregated, and no staff member will lose his position because
of race, color or national origin. This includes any case where less staff is needed
because schools are closed or enrollment is reduced.
16. Attendance Across School System Lines
No arrangement will be made, or permission granted, by this school system for
any student living in the community it serves to attend school in another school
system, where this would tend to limit desegregation, or where the opportunity
is not available to all students without regard to race, color or national origin.
No arrangement will be made, or permission granted, by this school system for
any student living in another school system to attend school in this system,
where this would tend to limit desegregation or where the opportunity is not
available to all students without regard to race, color or national origin.
17. Violations To Be Reported
It is a violation of our desegregation plan for any school official or teacher
influence or dissuade any person from choosing a school where a desegregated
education can be obtained, or to threaten any person with penalties or promise
favors for any choice made. It is also a violation of Federal regulations for
any person to intimidate, threaten, coerce, retaliate or discriminate against
any individual for the purpose of interfering with the free making of a choice
of a desegrated school. Any person having any knowledge of an violation of
these prohibitions should report the facts immediately by mail or phone to the
Equal Educational Opportunities Program, U. S. Office of Education, Wash
ington, D. C. 20202 (telephone 202-962-0333). The name of any person report
ing any violation will not be disclosed without his consent. Any other viola,
tion of the desegregation plan or other discrimination based on race, color,
or national origin in the school system is also a violation of Federal re
quirements, and should likewise be reported. Anyone with a complaint to re
port should first bring it to the attention of State or Icoal school officials, tax
less he feels it would not be helpful to do so. If State or local officials do not
correct the violation promptly, any person familiar with the facts of the viola
tion should report them immediately to the U. S. Office of Education at the
above address or phone number.