HAB FORUM
Advocating for
Vol. IV No. I February 2006
ALOHA! The Hawaii
Association of the Blind (HAB) is proud to introduce everyone to the HAB Forum. This newsletter is published twice a year.
HAB is an organization comprised of blind and sighted
members, who strongly believe in advocating for independence, equality, and
opportunity for all blind persons. The
officers are:
·
President: Warren Toyama, vendor at the
·
First
Vice-President: Filo Tu, President and CEO of Blind Vendors
Ohana
·
Second
Vice-President & Scholarship Chairman: Don Thomson, Professor at
·
Secretary: Maureen
Sheedy
·
Treasurer: Amelia
Cetrone, retired hotel CEO
·
Board Members:
· Myles Tamashiro, vendor at
· Norman Ota, dark room technician at
· Louise Horio, retired teacher
· Miriam Onomura, vendor at
PRESIDENT’S
CORNER – Warren Toyama
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
2006 holds great promise for a fruitful year for the Hawaii Association
of the Blind (HAB). Our membership is
poised to work through our committees to make positive things happen.
Our Membership Committee is committed to work with our
newer members to develop a better understanding of the fundamental philosophy
of HAB and the American Council of the Blind (ACB). This project should motivate all HAB members
to support initiatives by the Membership Committee. Imua, Norman!
The US Department of Education has reorganized the
Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).
We are bringing in a mainland expert to discuss with us how this new
restructuring of RSA is working. Stay
tuned for more reports on this issue.
We will be attempting to send more members away for
training this year. Leadership training,
understanding ACB philosophies, and being versed in blind services are key
ingredients in what 2006 holds for HAB members.
The Randolph-Sheppard Program has come under attack
from the US Senate Oversight Committee on HELP(Health Education Labor and
Pension).
I want to conclude this message with a personal
tribute to Herb Yamamura who passed away early Thursday morning,
SOCIAL COMMITTEE - Myles
Tamashiro
The Social
Committee organized a wonderful Thanksmas dinner on
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE – Norman Ota & Filo Tu Happy New Year from the Membership Committee. Welcome to
2006!
We are looking toward another year which
promises more activities, the chance to meet new people, and get more involved
in issues concerning the blind.
We will continue what we have already
begun in 2005, and we encourage members to gain knowledge about HAB, ACB, and
issues concerning the blind in the state of
FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE – Myles Tamashiro,
Chairperson
The Fundraising Committee is planning
another fund drive from April through June of 2006. We haven’t decided on what we are going to
sell, so keep your ears close to the ground!
TECHNOLOGY
COMMITTEE – Ronald Flormata, Webmaster
·
Audio Books
Not
so long ago, I enjoyed reading novels, especially those written by my favorite
author Robert Ludlum. That was a time
when I could still enjoy reading printed material with my vision. As the years passed, I came to realize that
normal reading was becoming more and more elusive, and eventually I totally
gave up on the idea of reading popular novels, newspapers, tech magazines, and
other printed matter. Then I learned
about audio books and magazines that the Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped provides for free to blind and visually impaired subscribers. The idea of converting printed books and
magazines into audio format is a wonderful way of bringing people back to
reading.
I began reading magazines using the bulky cassette
player (11” long x 9” wide x 3” height, weighing about 5 lbs) provided by the
Library. Since most of the time I am
traveling from home to work and back, I wanted something that allowed me to
read on the road. Consequently, I had to
purchase a smaller 4-track cassette player for that purpose. But technology just keeps knocking and
presenting itself to us. Have you heard
of Ipods? These are the very popular
portable digital music players weighing 5 ounces and fits in your pocket. Of course there are other similar brands
available. Audio books and other
materials can be purchased via the Internet which is then downloaded to play on
your player. The Library also offers a
limited but definitely growing number of book titles available online for
downloads. At the November HAB meeting,
Art Cabanilla showed us a small and portable digital audio book player called
the Book Courier priced at $379.
·
Talking Cell Phones
A few
months ago, I featured on the HAB website an article about accessible cell
phones for the blind. Little did I know
that such accessible cell phones are not that accessible when you walk into a
dealer’s store. Most likely, the
salesperson would not know what accessible cell phones are, and what services
are available for blind or visually impaired cell phone users. Although we are aware of technologies that
read cell phone displays, it is frustrating not to be able to get the info from
dealers. There are presently two
accessible software solutions available to the blind or visually impaired user
for use on a mobile phone. One is Talks,
developed by a German company, the other is Mobile Speak from Code Factory. Both programs act as a screen reader similar
to JAWS or Window Eyes. Cell phones
capable of running these programs are typically made by Nokia and GSM, thus the
leading carriers are AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile. ETO Engineering offers comprehensive
information on this topic (http://www.etoengineering.com/vision.htm). If you are interested in purchasing an
accessible cell phone with screen reader, visit:
http://www.cingular.com/about/talks_program, and http://www.cingular.com/about/talks_rebate.
We
encourage everyone to visit the HAB website at:
http://www.acb.org/hawaii. For comments and suggestions, please contact
HAB webmaster, Ronald Flormata via email at comhaus1@hotmail.com.
INTERNAL
SUPPORT COMMITTEE – Beth Flormata, Chairperson
As 2005 draws to a close, let us be thankful
for all the wonderful blessings that we, as HAB members, have received. The friendships that bloomed during the ACB
Convention in
We look forward to the New Year and the
pleasant surprises it will offer. Let us
unite ourselves even more toward achieving HAB’s mission of independence and
equality for the blind of
I wish each and every one of you: MALIGAYANG PASKO AT MANIGONG BAGONG TAON!!!
The California Council of the Blind (CCB) held their
State Convention on
The
opening session dealt with changes in
I attended the President’s Dinner. What an eye opener! Each chapter President gave a brief report,
boasting about the activities they used to attract new members and strengthen
their own chapters. They spoke of who
has the best BBQ’s. Others had potlucks
every other month, dances, and day trips.
All this was to encourage and support membership and growth in their
community. Chapters invited other
community groups to join them so the community could become aware of blind
services, needs, and the abilities of the blind and visually impaired.
Having both blind and sighted members was
stressed. Membership for each chapter is
75% blind or visually impaired and 25% sighted, giving all a better perspective. The chapter that won the Chapter of the Year
Award had a growth increase of 30%!
I was amazed and impressed by one speaker
who is a totally blind architect. He
uses raised lines on his blueprints so he can read the plans. He redesigns homes and does interior
decorating!
This was a great Convention, and I am
happy to have been able to attend this wonderful event.
Vending
News – Filo Tu
Happy New Year! I would like to talk to you about what is happening with the Blind
Vending Program. The Program is not
doing well at all. In my last report, I
informed you that the military is trying to remove the Blind Vendors at the
Arizona Memorial. I don’t know what
plans the Hawaii Blind Vending Program has, but this is one of the reasons why
we try so hard to bring the Vendors together so that when things like this
occur, we can work together to find a solution to help the Program.
I believe I also reported to you about
the State Committee of Blind Vendors’ elections. We had, I believe, 5 elections. I was elected for another term. I would like to take this opportunity to
thank all of you who believed in me and what I stand for in the Vending
Program. We had the election for the
Chairman of the Committee, and it was a tie between Kyle Aihara and
myself. We have 9 members on this
Committee, but the member who happened to receive the most votes, wasn’t
present.
I want to inform those who supported me
throughout the years that I will not be running for Chairman of the Committee,
and Warren Toyama will not seek the Vice-Chairman’s post. This enables the Committee to organize itself
and get on with business.
I believe that the Vending Program is
very important, and we have been fighting among ourselves for too long. I hope that Kyle will do a good job as Chair
of this potentially great Committee. I
also hope that Kyle will remember that the State Committee belongs to the Blind
Vendors. I hope he does not make the
same mistakes he did when he was Chairman of this Committee. During that period of Chairmanship, Kyle gave
Mr. Teeter the right to run the Committee and appoint the Secretary of his
choice. As you know, the State agency
was never involved in the selection of the Secretary of the Committee. Let’s all give Kyle our support and let’s
make sure he does not make the same mistakes.
The state agency has made it very clear
to us that the Hawaii Blind Vendors Association is not being recognized as part
of the Vending Program. Therefore, it is
very important for all Vendors to make sure that we do whatever is necessary to
protect this Committee. It is our
Committee, and don’t ever forget it!
This is potentially a very powerful Committee, and don’t ever let anyone
tell you that this Committee does not have any power. Without this Committee, the Business
Enterprise Manager would have been able to do whatever he wants to do.
Happy New Year to All!
HAPVI has had a happy year, with continued membership and regular
meetings for parents and families. The
last meeting was held at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
on November 5th. A tour of
the library facilities and hands-on experience with the new audio book players
were included. In September, HAPVI
hosted their annual convention at the Pagoda Hotel. Ginger Marcellus and I shared our experiences
of attending the ACB Convention in
Vice-President:
Walter Chun
Secretary:
Ginger Marcellus
Treasurer:
Amelia Cetrone
The
next HAPVI meeting will be on Saturday, February 25 at HCDB Library from
Keiki and Parents of the Visually
Impaired (KAPVI) – Carol Hotta
Another
year has gone by, and KAPVI members on Maui just celebrated Halloween with a
party and pumpkin decorating contest, hooked up with the Maui Lions’ clubs for
a Thanksgiving dinner, and had the most enthusiastic BINGO game at the
Christmas party (Thanks to Marge, Jody, Vavega, and the other members). And again we appreciate the members of HAB
for providing some of the financing for the group’s activities.
A whale watch and Easter egg hunt are
coming events. If you plan to be on
Other KAPVI news: Kurt, one of the older members recently
moved, but before he left he told us how much the group meant to him, and that
he hopes he finds a similar group in
For information about KAPVI on
State of
The members of SHAER met in September
2005 at HCDB. The main topic was
planning for an upcoming conference that
SHAER will host on October 21 & 22, 2006. The topics will be Transition and
Technology. Esteemed author and
educator, Dr. Karen Wolffe, will return to
Blindsight News – Iolana
(Landa) Phelan
·
Escalator
Experience
I
was at the Outrigger Main Hotel with a couple of friends and we decided to use
the escalators to get down to the street level.
Now I don’t know about you, but I believe most escalators go up on the
right side and down on the left side. I
never gave it a thought until I went to get on the escalator telling my guide
dog to go forward! She resisted but I
insisted giving the command to go forward so she tried and I stepped on the
escalator and ended up going backwards right into my girlfriend and then
realized we were trying to go down the up escalator. I would have landed right on my bottom if my
friend was not in back of me! You also
have to think thin because the escalator is really narrow. I am not sure if there is a standard for
escalators to go up or down the same or not, but if you are in the Outrigger
Main Hotel, please be aware!
·
Dole Cannery
Dole
Cannery now has some audio described movies.
It is not done for all movies, and is only described for certain show
times. When you purchase a ticket ask
for the headset. When calling the
theater, they may say that they are unaware of this being available so be
patient with them. I wasn’t going to
report this to you until I went to the theaters myself, but maybe you folks can
try it out. The number for the Dole
Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters is 528-3653.
If you asked about described audio they can tell you which movies are
available and the show times. Have fun!
Auntie Weezie’s Corner – Louise Horio
Hello, again! I hope all is well. I am still waiting for recipes from you. Wassa maattah, nobody cooks anymore? Here are some more fun recipes to try…
Potato Salad for Two (Russell Oshiro)
Microwave
1 large Potato
3 Hard Boiled Eggs
1
Tablespoon finely minced Round Onion
½
Apple, chopped
Raisins,
small handful
1/3
to ½ cup canned Peas and Carrots (drained)
Salt
and Pepper to taste
Mayonnaise,
enough to mix
Peel
off skin of cooled potato and cut into bite sized pieces. Place in medium sized mixing bowl. Add chopped or grated eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste, and toss
lightly with apples and raisins. Add
Mayonnaise and mix well. Gently mix in
peas and carrots.
Crab and Asparagus Soup (Tran Nguyen)
·
Chop 1 Tbsp
yellow onion (about ¼ of a small onion).
Sauté onion in ½ stick of butter on medium heat. Be careful not to burn it!
·
Add 2 cans of
Chicken Broth and 2 cans of Water. Boil.
·
Add Crabmeat
(about 1 cup chopped) and 1 can green Asparagus (chopped).
·
Bring soup back to a boil and then turn off heat. In a small bowl beat 2 eggs, and slowly add to
soup to make like egg drop soup. Be
careful to stir soup, you do not want scrambled eggs in soup.
·
Add 2 Tbsp
cornstarch mixed in a little water to thicken soup. Serve hot.
Ideas
for using Bounce (Fabric Softener Sheets):
·
About a week
before the trip to
·
Collect cat
hair: Rubbing the area with a sheet of
Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
·
It will chase
ants away when you lay a sheet near them.
It also repels mice. Spread them around
foundation areas, or in cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering.
·
It takes the odor
out of books and photo albums that don’t get opened too often. Also terrific on the bottom of waste baskets,
under the plastic bag.
Things
to Think About:
·
“Pain is
inevitable; Misery is optional.” Mike
McIntosh,
·
Use of artificial
sweeteners, some drugs, and some food additives, no matter what brand, will
cause the eyes to be sensitive to light.
Amy O’Conner, Prevention Magazine (KHON2 News,
Send Recipes or Comments to:
Louise Horio
Artist’s Nook
To Gramma
By: Maureen Sheedy
How do I
find the words for what I want to say?
How do I say
good bye to one who’s gone away?
Why should I
weep for one whose life was full and free?
Why should I
mourn for one who died so peacefully?
Should I
come bringing flowers that wither into dust,
To lay upon
a coffin that soon will warp and rust?
I’d rather
give a gift of living poetry,
A portion of
myself that lives eternally.
If I could
send a note to Death’s great hidden land,
It would be
short and clear, not hard to understand:
“I loved you
for your caring, and your understanding, too.
But most of
all I loved you for simply being you”.
HAB Scholarship
The Hawaii Association of the Blind is
offering scholarships to legally blind college students who are also
Scholarships may be offered on an annual
or a semi-annual basis as determined by the scholarship committee. The committee reserves the right not only to
accept or deny scholarship applications, but also to determine the amount and
duration of the scholarship. Scholarship
recipients must re-apply in order to be considered for future scholarships. Those who are denied a scholarship are
eligible to re-apply in the future.
Scholarships will not exceed one-year in duration and are not expected
to be less than $500 per semester.
·
Eligibility Requirements:
·
Must be legally
blind as defined by national standards.
·
Must be planning to
attend college for the period which he/she is applying.
·
Must be a
resident of the State of
·
Must not be a
member of any national organization other than The American Council of the
Blind, the parent organization of the Hawaii Association of the Blind (since
other national organizations have their own scholarships).
·
Persons who are
not affiliated with any national organizations of blind people are encouraged
to apply.
For
further inquires, Phone: (808) 455-0367 or Email (thomsond@hawaii.edu)
College Scholarship
Application Form
Name:
______________________________________________________________________
Address:
____________________________________________________________________
City: _______________________ State:
__________ Zip: _____________________
Daytime
Phone:________________________ Evening
Phone: ______________________
College: _____________________________ Major (if any): _______________________
Completed
Credit Hours: _______________ Class:
______________________________
·
Applicants must
submit a letter of no more than two pages describing his/her educational goals,
and informing us of information he/she deems relevant to the application.
·
Applicant must
provide the scholarship committee with official college transcripts. If the applicant has not attended college or
is in the first semester of attendance, official high-school transcripts are
required.
·
Applicant must
submit at least two letters of reference, one of which must come from a
professor or teacher.
·
The committee
reserves the right to ask the applicant for further information.
·
Relevant false
information given will cause any scholarship recipient to have his/her
scholarship terminated and a legal action will be taken to reclaim money
already awarded.
·
Information
omitted which is relevant to the requirements of the scholarship shall be
considered to be falsely presented, and thus will result in the same penalty.
Please send scholarship applications to:
College Scholarship Committee