It seems that some backends are working well in Ubuntu Feisty, but some are not activating the scanner. Xsane & Kooka go thru the motions of a scan--progress bars/etc, but the affected scanner is not active. The result is a black scan. Current thread with links to more of the bug reports is at:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=389113 Thank You for you help in this matter. Dean Loros Performance by Design Ltd.