Ore. teachers' quest ends in new law
By Julia Silverman, Associated Press Writer | June 12, 2007
SALEM, Ore. --As she watched Gov. Ted Kulongoski ink his signature on a bill making Oregon the first state in the country to ban the use of metal halide lights in schools, Kellie La Follette couldn't help but tear up.
After all, feelings have poured from her eyes for three years now, since the day she was seated directly under a broken metal halide bulb during a daylong training session at a school gymnasium in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego.
The bulb, unbeknownst to anyone at the school, had been leaking radiation since being shattered by an errant volleyball. And that night, dozens of teachers who'd been at the training session flooded local hospitals, complaining of burning, itchy eyes and an extreme sensitivity to light.
Most recovered within a few days or weeks. But for La Follette and four other teachers who had spent the most time directly under the light, the extreme pain -- like having grated onions rubbed constantly and directly onto your eyes -- lingered, driving them to wear sunglasses even when indoors, venturing out only on cloudy days.
The teachers, and their families, embarked on a crusade to require Oregon schools to ban the bulbs in schools, in favor of a more expensive kind of bulb that turns off automatically within 15 minutes after breaking.
Each self-extinguishing bulb costs $12 to $20 more than the standard kind. A handful of Oregon schools, including those in the Lake Oswego district, have already made the switch. All public schools must have the new bulbs within six months.
Bulb manufacturers had objected to the bill, countering that lights in school gyms should have protective coverings made of tough, transparent material such as Plexiglas.
The goal now, La Follette said, is to use the Oregon law as a model for other states where burns from halide light bulbs have been reported, including Tennessee, Mississippi, South Dakota and Missouri.
The new law's passage is the latest sign of hope for La Follette, whose eyes were still stinging so badly last fall that her doctor ordered her to stay home for months -- a last-ditch attempt to avoid putting her on permanent disability. She was beginning to resign herself to losing the life she'd loved: teaching, mountain-climbing, fishing with her husband.
Then, in late March, after an Associated Press story about her appeared nationally, La Follette and her husband were flooded with offers of sympathy and help, including one from a stranger in Arizona, who suggested that they visit the Boston Foundation for Sight, where doctors work on restoring sight to damaged corneas.
The nonprofit foundation had helped her son after cancer radiation treatment, the Arizona woman told La Follette. The woman offered to donate her frequent flier miles to pay for La Follette's cross-country ticket.
La Follette and her husband, Joel, had heard of the foundation's work, and figured it was worth a shot. So they cashed in their own miles, enough to buy Kellie La Follette a ticket, first-class, so at least she'd be comfortable on the way home if doctors in Boston couldn't help.
But the Boston doctors, who are writing a research paper about La Follette's case, fitted her with large lenses specially cut to fit her eyes. The lenses keep the eyes hydrated by holding in a liquid band of moisture.
The lenses are expensive -- $10,000 on the La Follette's credit card, since their insurance company hasn't guaranteed they'll cover the cost -- and the splitting pain returns when she removes them at night to get rid of any accumulated debris.
But for the first time in years, La Follette said, she feels like she has her life back. She's run outside and gone to the beach, worked in the garden and gone out to dinner -- all the quotidian things that used to be her norm and now seem like miracles. In August, she's hoping to go back to teaching full time.
On Monday, waiting for Kulongoski to sign the halide light bill into law, La Follette said she felt both hopeful for the future, and an enormous sense of relief.
"Everyday there is no story about more burns in the paper, that is our celebration," she said. "It's not the kind you have a party for. We just want to protect others from having to go through this each day."
Posted here with permission
Lights go out
House passes bill on halide lights
By Cori Bolger The Lake Oswego Review, May 31, 2007 (printed here with permission)
Kellie La Follette has two big reasons to celebrate this week.
First, with the help of special lenses, she has regained her normal vision for the first time in years.
Then, the Oregon House of Representatives voted unanimously to ban the lights that severely burned La Follette’s eyes in 2004.
“It felt like we won the Super Bowl,” La Follette said, describing how she felt when the 55-0 vote result came in at the House chambers Tuesday.
She shared many hugs and tears of joy with friend Sherry Rhoades.
“We knew the ramifications of passing (the bill) meant that children, parents and patrons of Oregon public schools will never have to go through what we have,” she added. “It’s been a very emotional day.”
La Follette, Rhoades and several other Lake Oswego teachers suffered long-term injuries in 2004 after they sat under a defective halide light during a teacher in-service day at Bryant Elementary School.
Several of the injured teachers now wear wrap-around sunglasses to leave their homes and visit doctors regularly.
La Follette, who suffered the most severe injuries, covered her windows with brown wrapping paper this spring. She no longer went fly-fishing or hiking in the Oregon wilderness, a love she shared with her husband.
The teachers’ situation prompted legislation to ban the halide lights in schools across Oregon. Senate Bill 479 will require all Oregon school districts to replace light bulbs that can injure students and teachers.
Rep. Greg Macpherson, D-Lake Oswego, spoke about the bill for 10 minutes before leading legislation to the vote on the floor of the Oregon House.
It took less than a minute for the House to pass the bill and send it back to the Senate for its OK on a change that shortened the proposed compliance deadline from one year to six months.
If the Senate approves the change, the bill will then move forward to Gov. Ted Kulongoski for his signature. The bill is scheduled to take effect July 1.
“If we had our choice we would make it active immediately, but anything that shortens that period of time and gets schools safer sooner, certainly it’s a good thing,” La Follette said.
Senate Bill 479 is sponsored jointly by Macpherson and by Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, who carried the bill in the Senate in April. It requires all school districts in Oregon to replace R type metal halide or mercury vapor light bulbs with T type lights bulb.
The banned lights are commonly found in large warehouses, stores and gymnasiums at schools. The R type bulb, which doesn’t turn off when it’s broken, poses a danger when its cover is broken and the light continues to burn and emit high doses of ultraviolet rays.
The alternative T type bulb snuffs out on its own 15 minutes after it breaks. The bulbs are easily interchangeable, according to Devlin, whose district includes Lake Oswego and West Linn.
The Lake Oswego School District took action to replace the dangerous bulbs promptly after the 2004 incident.
The House decision represents a milestone for the teachers, who have worked with Devlin to shape the legislation and campaigned for its approval.
La Follette recently returned from a trip to the Boston Foundation for Sight, where specialists fitted her with custom lenses that give her sight without the usual pain or light sensitivity. The lenses, which act as “liquid bandages,” must be removed before bedtime.
“I am truly living a miracle right now,” she said. “Everything seems fresh and exciting and I got another chance.”
La Follette, who formerly taught at River Grove Elementary, hopes to teach again when school resumes in late August. Rhoades, a physical education teacher, splits her workday between River Grove and Bryant elementary schools.
The women along with injured teachers Denise Fletter, Mary Neerhout Borge and Carol Teater, may meet with Kulongoski for a ceremonial bill signing within the next two weeks.
“The real crowning moment is a silent moment no one will be able to hear … the sound of children not being burned anymore,” La Follette said, her voice cracking with emotion.
“You don’t want anyone to ever go through it and we celebrate Oregon being the first state to pass this legislation. We can’t stop … not when you know what harm (the lights) can do.”
