Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.10.2006, Blaðsíða 2

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Linda Bjarnason
Cooper James had an in-teresting beginning to his second year of high
school this fall.
Cooper, 15, is the son of
Eyvis James and grandson of
Ollie James and Keith James
(longtime members of the Leif
Eiriksson Icelandic Club of
Calgary). He has a degenera-
tive disease that limits his mo-
bility and requires him to use
a wheelchair when attending
school or going a long distance
from his home.
The story began in May
with a phone call from the Li-
ons Foundation of Canada to
Cooper’s mother Eyvis, to tell
her that her son qualified for a
Guide Dog. (“Guide” means
Seeing Eye, Hearing Ear and
Special Skills dogs).
Cooper’s dog would be
classified as a “Special Skills”
dog that would be able to assist
him at home, school or wherev-
er he needed to go, and would
greatly increase Cooper’s in-
dependence. The dog would
be trained to retrieve dropped
items, open doors or help him
get up if he happened to fall.
The Lions Foundation of Cana-
da would cover all costs associ-
ated with this gift.
The James family was quite
excited about the prospect of
the new companion coming to
live with them to assist Coo-
per. Arrangements were made
with Dr. E. P. Scarlett High
School for Cooper’s exams to
be moved up earlier in June; the
school staff was also informed
about the upcoming trip and
that Cooper would be bringing
a “working” dog to school in
fall 2006.
In order to qualify for a
dog, Eyvis and Cooper trav-
elled to Ontario in June of this
year for two and a half weeks
of training. During this time
Cooper was introduced to Ko-
dak, a one-and-a-half-year-old
standard poodle. At the end of
the course, Cooper received a
special ID card that stated his
dog was a working dog. The
purpose of this card is to allow
Cooper to bring Kodak into
public places where non-work-
ing dogs are not allowed.
The James family and Ko-
dak returned to Calgary at the
end of June. Cooper and his
canine companion attended
a three-week summer school
course at Viscount Bennett
Centre, a Calgary School Board
facility.
On August 31, five days be-
fore the fall session of school
began, Eyvis was asked to come
to a meeting at Dr. E. P. Scarlett
High School. She was devastat-
ed to learn that the school board
was not going to allow Cooper
to bring his dog to school.
They said there was a pol-
icy in place that did not allow
dogs on school property. The
concerns seemed to be with al-
lergies and students being fear-
ful. Eyvis assured them that the
dog would not be a concern this
way because Kodak was a hy-
poallergenic breed and not ag-
gressive.
The school staff also said
that there is a city bylaw that
states no pet dogs are allowed
on school property. Eyvis in-
formed them the dog was clas-
sified as a working dog and not
a pet. She also told staff that she
felt that Cooper’s human rights
were being denied. At the end
of the meeting, the school had
not reversed their decision.
By the next day, the James
family had hired a lawyer and
informed the media. The Cal-
gary Sun ran several articles
throughout the week on Cooper
and Kodak’s story.
This resulted in the Calgary
School Board agreeing to allow
Kodak in school, if letters were
provided by a medical doctor
and the Lions Club Founda-
tion of Canada, explaining why
this dog was a medical need to
Cooper. Eyvis delivered both
of these letters to the school
on the following Tuesday and
this resulted in Cooper being
allowed to bring Kodak the
next day. However, he was not
allowed to bring Kodak on the
school bus yet, so Eyvis would
have to provide transporta-
tion for them. By Thursday,
the school had agreed to allow
Cooper and Kodak on the bus
and finally, the situation was
resolved.
Eyvis says, “We are glad
that Cooper and Kodak are able
to attend school, but our point
is they never should have been
refused in the first place.
“I thought they were pro-
tected by law, but the assistant
principal informed me that
school board policy supersedes
the law in some cases and the
Human Rights Act does not ap-
ply because a public school is
not a public facility.”
2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15 October 2006
Special Skills dog banned from Calgary school
James family fights for son’s hard-working companion, Kodak
PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES FAMILY
Eyvis James (left) and Ollie James stand behind Cooper and his companion Kodak.
Ollie James’s paternal
grandparents were Þeyðrik
Eyvindsson, born in 1857,
and Guðrún Pétursdóttir, born
in 1864, both from southern
Iceland. They immigrated to
Canada in the late 1800s and
settled in Churchbridge, SK.
Sadly, their only two chil-
dren died shortly after arriving
in Canada. This tragedy led to
another move, and Þeyðrik and
Guðrún put down roots in Big
Point, near Langruth, MB.
In the years to come, they
had 11 more children, all born
in Canada. Ollie’s father, Ey-
vindur Eyvindson, born in
Churchbridge, SK in 1888,
was one of these children.
Ollie’s maternal grandpar-
ents were Guðríður Einars-
dóttir and Bjarni Þorsteinsson,
both born in Iceland in 1867.
They immigrated to “The
Narrows” of Manitoba in 1892.
Because there were so many
other Thorsteinsons in this
area, Bjarni changed his last
name to Eastman. Guðríður
and Bjarni had four children,
all born in Canada. Ollie’s
mother, Anna Eastman, born
in 1898, was one of these chil-
dren.
Eyvindur Eyvindson and
Anna Eastman had three chil-
dren. One of these children
was Oluf Mae Eyvindson
(Ollie) and she was born in
Big Point, MB. Ollie married
Keith James in 1951 in Portage
la Prairie. Ollie and Keith, who
currently reside in Calgary,
have three grown children and
three grandchildren. Cooper
James is one of these grand-
children.
Ollie James: pioneer from Big Point