American
Council
of the
Blind
of
Minnesota
A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF:
THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND OF MINNESOTA
P O BOX 7341
MINNEAPOLIS MN 55407
The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the position of the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota. They are the views of the article's author. Product and service information is provided as a resource only and not as an endorsement of a particular product or service.
Jo Taliaferro, Editor
E-mail: soaringeagle7@comcast.net
Bob Lockwood
E-mail: peggy_bob@msn.com
Carolyn Coby, Webmaster
E-mail: cs_coby@hotmail.com
ACBM Info Express - (612)-486-5180, our telephone news and information hotline was established by the membership in October 2005. Its purpose is to provide important and relevant information vital to the membership, quickly and efficiently between scheduled business meetings. Please keep yourself informed by calling regularly. You can also contact any board member using the information provided at the end of this issue of the Minnesota Memo.
The deadline for article submission for the next edition of the Minnesota Memo is 15 March 2009.
Note: Article titles are marked with ** for easy searching.
Hello and happy 2009. The older I get the faster time seems to go. Hope everyone had a very enjoyable holiday season. I’m looking forward personally to many changes in 2009. Retirement, getting a dog guide and attempting to fill Pam Shaw’s shoes as the information desk coordinator at the national convention to name a few. What about each of you? Will there be big changes in 2009 or do you anticipate a quiet year? I’d like to share information from our national ACB president Mitch Pomerantz, regarding ACB in 2008.
"ACB experienced a tremendously successful year with our victory in Federal Court which will require U.S. currency to be fully accessible to blind and visually impaired persons, just as it is for blind and visually impaired persons in 180 nations around the world. We continue to make other aspects of life more accessible for blind people through our advocacy efforts including the use of structured negotiations, promoting accessibility on the internet and in all aspects of telecommunications, and the numerous other arenas in which ACB makes our influence felt.
As we enter into the bicentennial of Louis Braille's birth, my commitment as ACB President is to build on the momentum of our successes to even greater efforts to promote our positive belief in the abilities and capabilities of blind and visually impaired people throughout this Nation and worldwide. However, I need to acknowledge that I cannot do any of this without the support and commitment of you, the members of the American Council of the Blind. For everything you've done in 2008 and previously, as well as for what you will do in 2009 and beyond, my sincerest appreciation and thanks for your efforts.”
On the Minnesota front we have had several notable events. In March we had a very successful meeting at the VA hospital with blind veterans and some family members. We moved our Braille printer to the ACB-ES office so it could be more easily used for printing projects. then upgraded our Braille printer (at a lesser cost than our original purchase) so that we have a printer that better meets our needs. We had successful meetings with Minnesota legislators in February and a great showing of MN members at the national convention in Louisville. We continue to have new members join ACBM. I echo Mitch’s sentiments that none of this could be done without ACBM members support and commitment.
Please register for our upcoming convention January 23rd through the 25th. Hope to see as many of you as possible in attendance. The convention committee has worked hard to make this an informative and interesting event. Our quarterly meeting will be held at the convention on Sunday January 25th.
January also marks the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth. It’s remarkable to think of what our lives would be without Braille. Personally I use Braille on a daily basis and in spite of all the technological advances couldn’t imagine my life without those marvelous dots!
Please keep in mind over the next few months that our elections will be held at the April quarterly meeting. President, treasurer and 3 board positions will be up for election.
As always please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or suggestions at (651) 428-5059, or Janet.Dickelman@comcast.net. You can also leave a message on info express: 612-486-5180.
Janet Dickelman, President, ACBM
VLR will be taking a group to an Audio Described play on Jan. 25th at the History Museum in St. Paul. The play starts at 2:00 but we will be meeting at 1:45. Call Stacy at 612-871-2222 for more details including cost.
2009 Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI) Scholarship Announcement.
On behalf of the CCLVI Scholarship committee, we are please to share this exciting scholarship opportunity with you. And thank you for passing along to those who could benefit from this announcement. Note that the online application process will go live at cclvi.org on New Year's Day, Thursday, January 1st, 2009. The announcement is as follows.
The Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI) will award three scholarships in the amount of $3,000 each to full-time entering freshmen, undergraduate and graduate college students who are visually impaired, maintain a strong GPA and are involved in their school/local community.
Applications may be submitted beginning January 1st, 2009 and all materials must be received by March 1st, 2009. Scholarship monies will be awarded for the 2009-2010 academic year.
To read the scholarship guidelines and complete an on-line application, please visit: www.cclvi.org and click on the "Scholarship' link. Applications will be available to submit on-line until March 1st at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time. Questions may be directed to CCLVI at (800) 733-2258. We look forward to receiving your application materials!
Listed below are important dates for 2009.
January 23rd, 24th, and 25th – ACBM State Convention
February 20th through 25th – ACB Mid-year Meeting and Legislative Seminar
March 13th – Dues must be submitted to ACB National office
April 25th – Quarterly Membership Meeting and elections
June 1st – ACBM Scholarship applications are due
July 25th – Quarterly Membership Meeting and Scholarship winner announcement
August 12th – Daily-3 fundraiser starts
August 21st – Daily-3 fundraiser ends
August 22nd – Annual picnic and auction fundraiser
October 24th – Quarterly Membership meeting and budget approval
October 26th – Start of Bachman’s gift card fundraiser
November 13th – End of Bachman’s gift card fundraiser
Note that there are standing meetings that occur throughout the year. The ACBM Board of Directors meets on the third Monday of every month from 6:30PM to 8:30PM in the community room of the Lunds market on West Lake Street in Minneapolis. Dunn Brothers coffee outings occur on the third Saturday of each month from 10AM to Noon at the Dunn Brothers coffee shop located at 1915 South Lyndale Ave. in Minneapolis.
WebAIM is conducting a survey of screen reader users - http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey/
Web accessibility experts often say something like, "Screen reader users prefer?" followed by some accessibility recommendation. However, many of these recommendations are based on personal preference or conjecture - often from sighted users who only test with screen readers. The fact is that there is little data about screen reader usage to back up these recommendations.
This survey will ask screen reader users about their usage and preferences. If
you are a full-time, part-time, or even occasional screen reader user, please
take a few minutes to complete the survey and provide us with a few details on
your screen reader usage and preferences. We will be comparing results between
those that rely on screen readers and those that primarily use them for
evaluation and testing, so all screen reader users are invited to respond. Your
feedback will help influence the accessibility techniques that web developers
implement and that experts recommend. We'll be posting the survey results in a
few months.
http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey/
December was upon us, so it was time to look for the PERFECT live tree! I wanted a Douglas fir just like I had a few years ago, and began searching online for the tree farm with exactly what I had in mind. The needles would be soft and short. The tree would be full and stand maybe 7 feet tall. The fragrance would be awesome, looking wonderful with a few strings of LED lights wound among the branches.
I came upon a 1-800 number and made my phone call, specifying to the automated voice that answered, the picture in my mind and hands. What would the staff at the tree farm think? Would I even get a return phone call?
Keith did return my call on a snowy evening and taught me about himself and the trees he grows on his North Branch farm. The Douglas fir just might be there, or “Maybe,” he said, “I could find you a soft-needled Balsam tree!” “Let me look around and give you a call. Ya know, Minnesota doesn’t have much luck growing the Douglas fir but perhaps a Frazier fir might do.”
I respectfully declined the Frazier fir option saying that it was too prickly to which he replied, “You’ve done your homework so I better be careful what I choose for you. I’ve just had surgery for glaucoma so I understand how important those soft needles and that aroma would be!”
A few days later Keith called back to tell me he would love to cut a beautiful hybrid tree and store it till I could come pick it up. The cross between the Balsam and the Frazier was waiting for me and I responded with gratitude for “not just ANY tree."
Keith and his staff cut the tree, baled it and sure enough, when my friend drove me to the tree farm in North Branch, there it was, ready for loading, giving it a fresh cut off the bottom so it could soak up gallons of water and setting in the tree stand to be admired and enjoyed. So, “Nellie” as she is called, adorns our living room shining with small pine-cone lights and giving off that fragrance that begs one to touch and breathe in the miracle of the tree that Keith knew would be the exquisite choice for two people without sight. “Keith,” I queried when I phoned to thank him, “do you think you could check to see if my tree for next year is out there somewhere?”
It’s no wonder the farm is called, “Blue Ribbon Tree Farm.” If you’re looking for “not just any tree” Keith is happy to accommodate.
For more than a century, Free Matter for the Blind and Handicapped legislation has facilitated the process of sending and receiving mail for people who cannot read standard print. Free Matter is free to its users, but the U.S. government actually reimburses the Postal Service for providing the privilege, which is widely used. In 2004, 71.1 million pieces of Free Matter, weighing 34.6 million pounds, were sent through the mails.
It was not in the United States, however, where Free Matter mailings originated. Canada, in 1898, implemented this mailing privilege for its citizens. The United States did not follow suit until March of the next year.
Over time, the U.S. Free Matter law has been substantially altered in at least 14 instances, mostly to eliminate restrictions on the matter. Initially, unsealed letters with raised characters were permitted to be mailed by blind people. Shortly thereafter, books were allowed to be sent back and forth between public libraries and blind readers. Although there were specific weight requirements, books and pamphlets were the first published materials that could be mailed free of charge.
The next significant modification occurred several years later, and was spearheaded by the Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind's first editor, Walter Holmes. Free Matter, at that time, did not apply to magazines. The Ziegler was forced to charge an annual subscription fee of 10 cents so that the magazine would qualify for the second-class mailing rate. Mr. Holmes was not particularly stringent about collecting this fee. Moreover, he thought his magazine should be eligible for Free Matter mailing, and so he lobbied Congress to amend the law to include periodicals. In 1910, Congressman William Stafford of Wisconsin introduced the amendment, and two years later, the Ziegler and other magazines were being sent through the mail free of charge.
Mr. Holmes's efforts would have long-lasting and much- appreciated results, as every comparable publication relating to blind and physically handicapped readers would thereafter reap the benefits of this change in the law. Of course, the amended law was accepted with some parameters. It prohibits magazines that use Free Matter from charging a subscription fee and/or carrying paid advertising.
Throughout the next several decades, the Free Matter law was progressively altered to allow matter other than letters and publications to be sent. In 1934, Congress decreed that sound reproduction records would be the first non-embossed items eligible for mailing by Free Matter.
Heavier items, such as braillewriters, received a mailing privilege of a different sort. In 1941, braillers were permitted to be mailed at a rate of one cent per pound, but, over the years, weight regulations for such heavier objects, including books with multiple volumes, became more lenient and then were dropped altogether.
Along with the continuous expansion of the U.S. law, Free Matter eventually became international--for at least some people, according to the National Library Service's book, That All May Read. Although every country was not involved initially, "Exemption from Postal Charges for Impressions in Relief for the Blind" was adopted by the Brussels Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1952. The UPU Congress convened again in 1957, leading to future postal agreements that permitted blind people in any country to use the mail system free of charge.
When sending packages as Free Matter to a destination outside the United States, a 15-pound weight limit applies, although the domestic weight limit is 70 pounds.
After such issues as weight requirements and international mailings were successfully resolved by 1970, Free Matter became virtually barrier-free. Today, there is a long listing of Free Matter regulations. For instance, senders and receivers of such mailings should be aware that all mail in this category can legally be opened for postal inspection, and should only be sent by blind or physically handicapped individuals and related organizations. In addition to recordings and reading material in Braille, print material is permitted, as long as it is in 14- point or larger type. Advertising is not permissible in any format. Also, the words "Free Matter for the Blind or Handicapped" must appear on the upper right-hand corner of envelopes.
Postal workers sometimes refuse Free Matter privileges to people who meet all the requirements. According to the U.S. Domestic Mail Manual, if an eligible person is ever wrongfully denied this service, he or she may have to provide the post office with documentation from a competent medical authority or librarian. To resolve a problem, first try talking to the local postmaster. Should that not work, ask to speak to the consumer advocate at that post office or one for the region. As a last resort, write to the Postmaster General, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, DC 20260.
In honor of the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth, here’s an abridged biography.
There was a time, not long ago, when most people thought that blind people could never learn to read. People thought that the only way to read was to look at words with your eyes.
A young French boy named Louis Braille thought otherwise. Blind from the age of three, young Louis desperately wanted to read. He realized the vast world of thought and ideas that was locked out to him because of his disability. And he was determined to find the key to this door for himself, and for all other blind persons.
This story begins in the early part of the nineteenth century. Louis Braille was born in 1809, in a small village near Paris. His father made harnesses and other leather goods to sell to the other villagers. Louis' father often used sharp tools to cut and punch holes in the leather.
One of the tools he used to makes holes was a sharp awl. An awl is a tool that looks like a short pointed stick, with a round, wooden handle. While playing with one of his father's awls, Louis' hand slipped and he accidentally poked one of his eyes. At first the injury didn't seem serious, but then the wound became infected. A few days later young Louis lost sight in both his eyes. The first few days after becoming blind were very hard.
But as the days went by Louis learned to adapt and learned to lead an otherwise normal life. He went to school with all his friends and did well at his studies. He was both intelligent and creative. He wasn't going to let his disability slow him down one bit.
As he grew older, he realized that the small school he attended did not have the money and resources he needed. He heard of a school in Paris that was especially for blind students. Louis didn't have to think twice about going. He packed his bags and went off to find himself a solid education.
When he arrived at the special school for the blind, he asked his teacher if the school had books for blind persons to read. Louis found that the school did have books for the blind to read.
These books had large letters that were raised up off the page. Since the letters were so big, the books themselves were large and bulky. More importantly, the books were expensive to buy. The school had exactly fourteen of them.
Louis set about reading all fourteen books in the school library. He could feel each letter, but it took him a long time to read a sentence. It took a few seconds to reach each word and by the time he reached the end of a sentence, he almost forgot what the beginning of the sentence was about. Louis knew there must be a better way. There must be a way for a blind person to quickly feel the words on a page. There must be a way for a blind person to read as quickly and as easily as a sighted person.
That day he set himself the goal of thinking up a system for blind people to read. He would try to think of some alphabet code to make his 'finger reading' as quick and easy as sighted reading.
Now Louis was a tremendously creative person. He learned to play the cello and organ at a young age. He was so talented an organist that he played at churches all over Paris. Music was really his first love. It also happened to be a steady source of income. Louis had great confidence in his own creative abilities. He knew that he was as intelligent and creative as any other person his own age. And his musical talent showed how much he could accomplish when given a chance.
One day chance walked in the door. Somebody at the school heard about an alphabet code that was being used by the French army. This code was used to deliver messages at night from officers to soldiers. The messages could not be written on paper because the soldier would have to strike a match to read it. The light from the match would give the enemy a target at which to shoot. The alphabet code was made up of small dots and dashes. These symbols were raised up off the paper so that soldiers could read them by running their fingers over them. Once the soldiers understood the code, everything worked fine.
Louis got hold of some of this code and tried it out. It was much better than reading the gigantic books with gigantic raised letters. But the army code was still slow and cumbersome. The dashes took up a lot of space on a page. Each page could only hold one or two sentences. Louis knew that he could improve this alphabet in some way.
On his next vacation home, he would spend all his time working on finding a way to make this improvement. When he arrived home for school vacation, he was greeted warmly by his parents. His mother and father always encouraged him on his music and other school projects. Louis sat down to think about how he could improve the system of dots and dashes. He liked the idea of the raised dots, but could do without the raised dashes.
As he sat there in his father's leather shop, he picked up one of his father's blunt awls. The idea came to him in a flash. The very tool which had caused him to go blind could be used to make a raised dot alphabet that would enable him to read.
The next few days he spent working on an alphabet made up entirely of six dots. The position of the different dots would represent the different letters of the alphabet.
Louis used the blunt awl to punch out a sentence. He read it quickly from left to right. Everything made sense. It worked.
Phil Shapiro
Copyright 1995
All Rights Reserved
[This story may be freely copied and distributed for noncommercial purposes. Commercial distribution of the story can be arranged by contacting the author at: pshapiro@his.com]
A full-length biography of Louis Braille, Louis Braille: A Touch of Genius, is published by the National Braille Press. This book has been garnering strongly favorable reviews.
November 20, 2008
Did you know that there are over 87,000 beverage combinations at Starbucks? To
help you order, Starbucks has made their popular brochure, "Make It Your Drink,"
available in both Braille and Large Print. Ask your barista for it the next time
you visit your local Starbucks.
The input from customers, partners (employees), and disability organizations helped guide this effort.
Starbucks would specifically like to thank the American Council of the Blind, the American Association of the Deaf-Blind and the Seattle Lighthouse for their input. Thank you also to Easy to Read Documents for producing the Braille and large print.
1 package premade meatballs, or you can make your own.
1 cup ketchup
1 cup tomato juice
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce or 1 1/2 cup homemade
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
Toss meatballs in crock pot. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and pour over meatballs. Cover and heat in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Tip: Place meatballs on a cookie sheet to keep them from rolling away!
ACB national offices are moving! The new address, effective, Christmas Week, will be: American Council of the Blind, 2200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 216, Arlington, Virginia 22201. The 800, (1-800) 424-8666, toll-free and regular, 202, number will remain the same, but the fax number will be changing. Thank you Catalina Roisum and Juliette Silvers for assistance in assembling the Fall Memo.
If you would like information about the ADA Amendments Act and how it might affect you here's the link. http://www.jan.wvu.edu/.
Janet Dickelman, President
St. Paul, MN
Phone: (651) 428-5059
E-mail: Janet.Dickelman@comcast.net
Michael Malver, Vice-President
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: (612) 673-0664
E-mail: mmalver@visi.com
Sue Lindgren, Secretary
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: (612) 605-4526
E-mail: slindgren@mindspring.com
Juliette Silvers, Treasurer
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: (612) 824-2131
E-mail: jsilvers03@comcast.net
Chris Bell, Director
Roseville, MN
Phone: 651-636-0404
E-mail: christophergbell@comcast.net
Carolyn Coby, Director
Forest Lake, MN
Phone: (651) 464-5935
E-mail: cs_coby@hotmail.com
Catalina Roisum, Director
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: (612) 823-4474
E-mail: catroi@msn.com
Jo Taliaferro, Director
Roseville, MN
Phone: (651) 636-0404
E-mail: soaringeagle7@comcast.net
Jeff West
Golden Valley, MN
Phone: (763) 544-5664
E-mail: westjeffm@comcast.net