Just received word that the new director of RSU’s Bit by Bit therapeutic horseback riding program has called at least one of the horse owners who has allowed gratis use of her horses for the program in addition to being a program volunteer (and who also happens to have been one of the more vocal critics of the recent issues with Bit by Bit) and told her that her horses will no longer be needed for the  program. She’s on her way to get her horses now.

This leads to some questions:

• With the exit of trained, “old hand” mounts, how many horses are trained and ready to work with classes set to start soon?
• What does Bit by Bit view as the proper ratio of horses:students for the program?
• Was every horse lender who dared utter a word against RSU and/or has criticized the program of late told his or her horse(s) isn’t/aren’t needed?
• Is refusing a gift of horse use from generous people the best response to the situation, and for what purpose was it done?
• Is this an attempt to silence calls for greater openness and accountability from within the program by excluding critics from Bit by Bit?
• Will RSU, in fact, be changing the program to the Little by Little therapeutic stickhorse riding program?

Discuss…

UPDATE: The Claremore Progress reports that RSU has hired a new full-time therapeutic riding instructor, Elizabeth Capalbo, for the Bit by Bit program. Her credentials, like Ms. England’s, look great. But as I said with the announcement of Ms. England, the hiring of great personnel does nothing to change bad behavior of the past, and if nothing changes in the way Bit by Bit is administered by RSU execs, these great staffers will soon be facing the same frustrations and asking the same questions that led to the recent departures of Milliman, Switala, and Hart. Here’s hoping the someone, somewhere learned something. We continue to share our deep concern about those who have given so much of themselves to make Bit by Bit what is it, only to have their service and dedication discarded so shabbily. (On a side note, and this goes far beyond RSU, I have recently become somewhat concerned at the notion of doing a “nation-wide search” as a means of recruiting talent. Nothing about being from far away gives anyone more or less skill in certain areas. It simply makes them from far away. It’s not wrong to look broadly, but if it is used as a maneuver to neglect and/overlook genuine talent in your own backyard, something’s not right. And let’s not forget that when brother Joe Wiley departed RSU for greener pastures in Tennessee, the transition was too delicate to wait on a nationwide (or, heck, multicounty) search. Dr. Rice was designated very quickly. Just my opinion, which may or may not be worth exactly what you paid for it.)

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I have a wicked head cold and work is busier than busy, so I don’t have time to give many details, but I can make a few quick updates.

Megan Hart has also resigned from RSU’s Bit by Bit program. It appears she will be allowed to work out her notice (but seriously, how could she not, there’s no one left). It appears Ms. English will have a very clean slate when she arrives.

There’s been another firing resignation in another department at RSU. I’ll add more as I am able.

You Welchites, don’t forget the Welch Public Schools Enrichment Banquet tonight at 6:30. I’ll be there, head cold and all.

Most recently in what is becoming the RSU saga revisited, Pam Switala has resigned from her position as equine manager of the Bit by Bit therapeutic horseback riding program at Rogers State University. You may remember Switala’s being interviewed by New’s on 6’s Tara Vreeland about 11 days ago.

What led to Switala’s departure? Several allegations are swirling, and the WynnBlog has not yet confirmed all the circumstances surrounding her departure, but I’ll keep searching for the truth.

Also, those of you concerned with the continuation of the Bit by Bit program need to keep a couple of things in mind. First, what is to become of the horses that are committed to the program contingent upon Switala’s caring for them? Such contingencies do exist. Second, know that your concern about Bit by Bit and your calls and emails to those in power are beginning to make a difference. Be intrepid until you see the changes you know are needed to make Bit by Bit the program it is supposed to be–and that the Bit by Bit students need it to be.

More to come when I am able.

News on 6’s Tara Vreeland did a story on RSU’s Bit by Bit issues on tonight’s 6 p.m. broadcast. Here’s the video.

Here’s KOTV’s web story.

Your opinion?

News came yesterday that RSU has hired a new director for the Bit by Bit therapeutic equestrian program. I shared the information via Twitter and Facebook yesterday. You can read RSU’s reeducation document press release here.

First, what do I think of Jennifer England? All I know is what I have read in this press release. It appears she is a well qualified and competent person. Her years of involvement seem to indicate a sense of commitment and caring for persons with needs similar to those who so greatly benefit from Bit by Bit. I can’t argue with that.

That said, when was the last time you ever saw anyone issue a press release that said, “Please note, we have hired a complete loser.” Read me well: I am not saying England is a loser, but I am saying that if RSU, in its haste to install a new Bit by Bit director—maybe to help squelch public backlash over a blatant and idiotic administration blunder—did hire someone less than primo, do you think they’d tell you? RSU’s press release is merely its spin, designed to restore public trust in a program people know has some serious problems.

But let’s assume that Ms. England is absolutley as described, which I am sure she is, and that she is a caring, capable woman who will care deeply about the Bit by Bit program. How does that set her apart from the previous directors, all of whom have been described to me using the same words by volunteers in the program? How does that fix the issues with Bit by Bit, NONE OF WHICH HAVE BEEN IN REGARD THE DIRECTORS OF THE PROGRAM? It doesn’t. Period.

In short, a new Bit by Bit director does nothing to fix the problems in RSU administrative oversight and operation of the program. Further, if she is a smart and savvy professional who truly cares about the program, and nothing changes within the RSU administration, she will get frustrated, ask questions, and—most likely—be terminated like those before. I, for one, want Ms. England’s association with Bit by Bit to be more than a brief interlude before she has to file a wrongful termination lawsuit.  That means reform must occur.

And so I ask, What does reform look like? I’d like the many of you who are visiting this site to weigh in via the comments sections and tell me what you need to see from RSU to convince you to reinvest your time, talent, and treasure in the Bit by Bit program.

And let’s all be clear here. This issue is not dead. There are many volunteers and donors who are still livid over RSU’s (mis)administration of Bit by Bit. And while no one I have communicated with desires to see any Bit by Bit students harmed, they are committed to seeing Bit by Bit fixed—even if that means withdrawing themselves and their resources, including horses, until a real fix is executed. That, in the long term, will ensure that there is a Bit by Bit to serve those with special needs. In short, it’s the most caring and most responsible response. We all know Bit by Bit can exist and operate without being under the RSU umbrella. Is that what it will take? Is RSU willing to fix what is truly broken? Weigh in below.

It’s been a busy few days, so I don’t have a lot of analysis to provide with these documents, but I did want to share them with you.

As you may know, the lawsuit by former Bit by Bit director Jana Walstrom against Rogers State University for wrongful termination was kicked from the federal courts back to state court, specifically Rogers County District Court, where the case is presided over by Judge Post.

Here is RSU’s response to the allegations made in Walstrom’s First Amended Petition.

Here is the schedule both sides have agreed to for trying the case.

And, here is what I consider the most significant document in the file. This was attached to the back of Judge Eagan’s federal court opinion, which I previously shared here. I find this document noteworthy because, in all the litigation I have seen RSU involved in—and there has been a bunch—I have never seen RSU or any of its people represented by attorneys other than those of OU’s office of Legal Counsel. As this document clearly shows, former State Senator Pro Tempore—and RSU library namesake—Stratton Taylor is listed as lead counsel, as is Clint Russell, of Taylor’s law firm. To further muddy things, it should be noted that the Burrage of Taylor, Burrage, Foster, Mattett, Downs & Ramsey is current state senator Sean Burrage. Further, Sean Burrage’s wife, Carole, is a former RSU faculty member, and Stratton Taylor’s wife, Carolyn, is currently on the faculty of RSU’s History & Political Science Department. Clint Russell, of Taylor’s law firm, is also listed as lead attorney, and it appears as if he has been signing most of RSU’s documents; additionally, two attorneys from OU’s Office of Legal Counsel are listed.