From jjones at okdrs.gov Fri Feb 3 11:44:45 2012 From: jjones at okdrs.gov (Jean Jones) Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 16:44:45 +0000 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Legislative Update Part 1 Message-ID: <7CD94588BF2C9A4DA3DA4D9DD3DF9FAB0B9122DE@Exchange00.okdrs.gov> This Update will be sent in three parts. Legislative Update February 2, 2012 2012 State Legislation - Overview of Introduced Bills The 2012 session of the Oklahoma Legislature begins on Monday, February 6 at Noon. Over 2,000 new bills and joint resolutions have been introduced this year. In addition, a large number of bills remain in the system from last year. Oklahomans with disabilities and the programs that serve them could be affected by legislation on state government structure, disability programs and staff, health care, education, transportation, employment, mental health, state revenue, taxation, the legal system, community access and services. Following are just a few of the newly introduced bills of potential interest to the disability community. For an extended list email jjones at okdrs.gov. To read a bill go to www.oklegislature.gov, where you can look up bills by number, read them and check status (place in the legislative process). Introduced Bills Affecting People with Disabilities Mental illness; criminal justice SB-1594 Brecheen Changing verdicts of "not guilty by reason of insanity" to "guilty but insane." Mental illness; conviction of crime SB-1936 Paddack Providing that any person acquitted of a violent crime based on insanity shall be kept under supervision for a period of five years as the person undergoes observation and treatment, Providing for reassessment, providing for extending the period of supervision and treatment, and providing for full release of the individual when it is determined that the person does not pose a danger to the public. Mental illness HB-3002 Newell Adding "guilty but mentally ill" verdict. Mental illness SB-1063 Simpson Amending current law that prevents a person found guilty of murder from inheriting money or property from the victim. Providing that persons found not guilty by reason of insanity shall not be able to inherit from the victim. Mental health HB-2478 Scott Law enforcement behavioral health emergency dispatch system. Medicare and Medicaid SB-1389 Crain Requiring an evaluation to determine if persons are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Medicaid SB-1390 Crain Requiring a plan on Medicaid recipients and emergency room utilization. Health insurance; premium assistance SB-1397 Crain Providing for a sliding scale for Oklahoma's premium assistance program, which is administered by the Health Care Authority. The sliding scale would reduce an employee's premium assistance as the employee's salary increases. Medicaid SB-1609 Constance Johnson Directing the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to amend the state Medicaid plan to provide a separate benefit category within the state Medicaid program for complex needs patients. Stating that the Legislature recognizes the need to provide special attention and supports under the Medicaid program for individuals with complex medical needs, in order to help them remain living at home, avoid costly hospitalizations and secondary complications. Medicaid SB-1010 Brecheen Requires any person reporting a false claim for Medicaid benefits to receive 15 to 25 percent of the recovered amount; requires county OKDHS offices to post signs offering rewards for reports of false claims; provides effective date. Medicaid HB-2844 and HB-2846 (Jackson) Ownbey Nursing Facilities Quality of Care Fee. Providing that the amount of the Quality of Care Fee shall not exceed what is federally allowable. Limiting the fee charged to continuum of care facilities. (Note: The Nursing Facility Quality of Care Fee is assessed of nursing homes and is used to draw federal Medicaid match, providing enriched funds that can be used for a variety of Medicaid purposes including dentures and eyeglasses for nursing home residents, an increase in the personal needs allowance for nursing home residents and durable medical equipment for elderly Medicaid eligible individuals.) Health insurance SB-1004 Adelson Requires the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and OSEEGIB to not reimburse hospitals for specific hospital-acquired conditions such as wrong site surgery, air embolism, blood transfusion incompatibility, and others. Health insurance; life-preserving medical care SB-1695 Sykes Creating the Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act. Providing that a health care provider shall not deny to a patient a life-preserving health care service the provider provides to other patients, the provision of which is directed by the patient or a person authorized to make health care decisions for the patient: 1. On the basis of a view that treats extending the life of an elderly, disabled, or terminally ill individual as of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, nondisabled, or not terminally ill; or 2. On the basis of disagreement with how the patient or person authorized to make health care decisions for the patient values the tradeoff between extending the length of the patient's life and the risk of disability. Medicaid SB-1694 Sykes Dealing with penalties for Medicaid fraud. DRS is listed among agencies that are obligated to take punitive action against an employee or licensee convicted of Medicaid fraud. Durable medical equipment HB-2616 Johnson Creating a sales tax exemption for durable medical equipment. Jobs tax credit SB-1054 Garrison Providing an income tax credit for any Oklahoma employer who hires or contracts with a worker for full time work. The employee cannot have been employed by the employer during the previous year. The credit would be up to 50% of the person's first-year wages or compensation, not to exceed $12,500. Children with visual and hearing impairments SB-1119 Garrison Requiring school districts to provide parents of children with visual or hearing impairments with information concerning the programs available at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and Oklahoma School for the Deaf. Further requiring that school districts providing special education services to students with auditory or visual impairments shall develop procedures to ensure that staff assigned to work with students have effective access to resources and information provided by the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. Visually impaired persons; driving; bioptic systems SB-1354 Burrage Directing the Commissioner of Public Safety to issue rules allowing for a restricted Class D driver's license to be issued to individuals with visual impairments who can successfully use bioptic telescopic systems to enable them to drive. Health insurance SB-1059 Brown Creating the Health Care Choice Act. Allowing insurers in other states to market and sell their health and accident insurance Oklahoma. The Insurance Commissioner may negotiate one or more compacts with other states to allow insurers domiciled in such compacting states to sell specified lines of coverage in Oklahoma without being granted a certificate of authority by Oklahoma. The out of state insurance companies would not be obligated to comply with Oklahoma laws pertaining to health insurance. The Insurance Commissioner could decide what provisions and requirements to include in the compacts. Compacts could be disapproved by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature or by executive order of the Governor. Health care for the uninsured SB-1105 Wilson Making the Health Care authority the administrator for medical charges for care to the uninsured. Health care providers would be prohibited from charging an uninsured person fees that exceed the Medicare allowable rates or Workers Compensation rates. Medical providers would transmit bills for services to uninsured persons to OHCA, which would in turn collect charges from the uninsured person and pay the provider. College tuition SB-1062 Wilson Requiring legislative approval of any college tuition hikes approved by the State Regents for Higher Education. College tuition SJR-79 Sykes A proposal to amend the state constitution to grant the Legislature the exclusive authority to set tuition and fees in higher education. Developmental disabilities SB-1452 Brecheen Creating the Task Force on Vocational Services for Persons with Developmental Disabilities. Injured workers SB-1522 Rob Johnson This bill modifies the rights of injured workers. It provides that although an employer may not terminate an employee because the employee files a workers comp claim, the burden of proof is on the employee to prove that was the employer's reason for terminating him. Allowing an employer to fire an employee on temporary disability after one year. Education; dyslexia SB-1565 Paddack Establishing a dyslexia teacher training pilot program. Schools; related services; students with disabilities SB-1570 Sparks Allowing for professional development for related service personnel who provide services to students with disabilities. Medical research and education SB-1580 David State Anatomical Board; providing for anatomical donor program registration. Veterans' employment; tax credit SB-1632 Marlatt Providing a tax credit for employing certain veterans. Disability parking SB-1674 Anderson Remitting disability parking fines to DPS. Health insurance; cancer coverage SB-1687 Treat Requiring health benefit plans to establish equal requirement for different types of cancer treatments. Health care HB-2271 and HB-2763 Bennett Creating the Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Act of 2012. Medicaid; OHCA HB-2273 Cox Including establishment of prior authorization requirements among the policies that may be set by the Medicaid Prescription Drug Utilization Board. Also permitting the Health Care Authority to pay certain expenses of the agency administrator and physicians working full time for the agency. Expenses which could be paid would include medical license fees and continuing education costs. Social services HB-2300 Peterson Creating the Department of Human Services Reform Act of 2012. Workers compensation HB-2316 Key Creating the Oklahoma Employee Injury Benefit Act. Providing for an alternative to Workers Compensation Court as a means of determining benefits for an injured worker. Developmental disabilities HB-2363 Billy Directing DHS to contract for construction of two eight-bed units at both SORC and NORC each year and to build 20-bed acute care units at each. Health care HB-2399 Rousselot Creating the Rural Access to Care Act. Prohibiting insurance plan discrimination against rural health care providers and facilities when those are the only sources of care accessible to rural residents. Transportation HB-2469 Morrissette Creating the Oklahoma Transportation Infrastructure Bank. Projects eligible for funding through this mechanism could include a highway, including bridges, or transit project which provides public benefits by either enhancing mobility and safety, promoting economic development, or increasing the quality of life and general welfare of the public. "Eligible project" also includes but is not limited to mass transit, such as monorail and monobeam mass transit systems. Stem cell research and treatment HB-2421 Enns Adding five dollars to the birth certificate fee to be used to create an umbilical cord blood bank to contribute to stem cell research. Health care; free clinics HB-2521 Kern Defining "free clinic" under the Volunteer Professional Services Immunity Act. Autism; health insurance HB-2529 Brown Requiring insurance plans to cover treatment of autism as prescribed by the individual's physician under a treatment plan. Prohibiting insurance companies from charging premiums, copayments or deductibles that are less favorable than those established for other medical treatment. Disabled parking HB-2562 Wesselhoft Directing municipal courts to remit a certain percentage of a disability parking fine to the Department of Public Safety. Assisted living HB-2566 Wright With regard to the rights of residents in assisted living centers, providing that resident rights shall include the freedom of choice regarding any personal attending physicians and all other providers of medical services and supplies without a financial penalty charged by the assisted living center. Mental health HB-2580 Jeannie McDaniel Adding grandparent to the list of family members who may petition a court to order mental health intervention and treatment for a relative. Continued in Part 2 Jean Jones DVR/DVS Legislative Informatin Rep. Department of Rehabilitation Services Office Phone: 405-951-3488 Toll Free: 800-845-8476 Email: jjones at okdrs.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jjones at okdrs.gov Fri Feb 3 11:47:33 2012 From: jjones at okdrs.gov (Jean Jones) Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 16:47:33 +0000 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Legislative Update Part 2 Message-ID: <7CD94588BF2C9A4DA3DA4D9DD3DF9FAB0B9122FE@Exchange00.okdrs.gov> Legislative Update Part 2 Patient and resident protection; nurse aides HB-2582 Jeannie McDaniel Establishing provisions related to state and federal criminal background checks for nurse aides who provide direct patient care. Prohibiting employers from hiring direct patient care personnel who have certain criminal backgrounds. This measure affects residents of nursing homes, assisted living centers, residential care homes, continuum of care facilities and recipients of home health, hospice, personal care through DHS or Advantage and other individuals receiving direct care. Injury prevention HB-2583 Jeannie McDaniel Requiring seat belt use by all persons riding in a passenger car, not just front seat passengers. Prescription drugs HB-2606 Blackwell Creating the Continuity of Care Act. This bill requires health insurers provide covered individuals with information on any drug formularies they use and how they can find out what drugs are covered. The law would not apply to all insurers, and would exclude Medicare supplemental policies, Medicaid managed care plans, workers compensation and specialized policies that are condition specific. The bill provides that a health insurer can modify drug coverage when a plan renews, with 60 days notice to covered persons. Insurers would have to continue to cover a drug until plan renewal date, if needed by a patient. Covered individuals could appeal denial of coverage for a medically necessary drug even if it is not on an approved formulary. Developmental disabilities HB-2611 Cox Transferring resource centers to University of Oklahoma University Hospitals Authority and Trust Health care nondiscrimination HB-2617 Johnson Creating the Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act. Prohibiting an insurance plan from denying coverage of health services to a person on the basis of a view that treats extending the life of an elderly, disabled, or terminally ill individual as of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, nondisabled, or not terminally ill. Medical services could also not be denied based on disagreement with how a patient values the trade-off between extending life and the risk of disability. Prescription drugs HB-2628 Blackwell Creating Oklahoma Prescription Drugs Act of 2012. Shell as filed. Personal care HB-2640 Schwartz Prohibiting a health care facility from referring a patient to any home care source that is not licensed. This would apply to referrals for home care, companions and sitters. Sickle cell disease HB-2671 Shumate Services for adults with sickle cell disease. Developmental disabilities HB-2709 Morrissette Modifying DDSD Waiver request waiting list eligibility. Employment HB-2724 Inman Making it illegal for an employer to allow only currently employed individuals to apply for job openings. Debts; disability exemption HB-2734 Morrissette Providing criteria for a court to consider in granting an exemption or repayment modification for a debt owed by a person who has been determined disabled by Social Security. Prescription drugs; pharmacies HB-2812 Roberts Creating the Oklahoma Prescription Medications Reform Act of 2012. Safety; insurance for injuries HB-2830 Sean Roberts Providing that an insurer providing motorcycle liability and physical damage insurance shall require any insured motorcyclist over the age of eighteen (18) who does not use a helmet in the operation of a motorcycle to purchase major medical insurance coverage providing for at least Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a crash while operating or riding a motorcycle. Developmental disabilities HB-2850 Jackson Extending date to submit plan to discontinue state-administered resource centers. Employment of persons with criminal histories HB-2870 Shelton Providing for a certificate of rehabilitation which may be issued to a person leaving the correctional system and which serves to remove barriers to employment for the individual in some regards, such as in public employment. Vulnerable adults HB-2893 Pittman Creating the Vulnerable Adult Protection Act of 2012. Shell as fled. Sickle cell disease HB-2896 Pittman Services for persons with sickle cell disease. Prescription drugs HB-2946 Derby Creating the Oklahoma Improvement in Maintenance Medications Act of 2012. Disability tax provisions; state revenue HB-2947 (Derby) As introduced, this measure reduces state income tax and offsets the lost revenue by eliminating a number of income tax deductions, exemptions and tax credits. This bill would eliminate all individual income tax adjustments, exemptions and deductions, but leave in place business deductions. It would eliminate the personal exemption, the exemption for blindness, the exemption for low income taxpayers over age 65, the exemption for a limited amount of retirement income and for Social Security retirement income, and it would eliminate the deduction for making a home, vehicle and workplace accessible for a taxpayer with a physical disability who has a barrier to employment. A similar bill, HB-3038, has 22 initial sponsors (Osborn, Newell, Derby, Murphey, Brumbaugh, Blackwell, Hall, Randy McDaniel, Holland, Cockroft, Faught, Tibbs, Cooksey, Grau, Vaughan, Ortega, Kirby, Jackson, Armes, Denney, Sanders, Wright and Mulready). Many other tax reform bills have been introduced, but most have no content as yet. It is expected that some of these bills may be used to carry recommendations from last fall's interim legislative task force on tax reform, headed by Senator Mazzei of Tulsa. Information on the Task Force report is provided later in this issue. Human services HB-3062 Steele Creating the Department of Human Services Restructuring Act of 2012. Dyslexia; teacher preparation HB-3073 Dorman Providing for establishment of a dyslexia training pilot program in the Oklahoma higher education system. Human services agencies; administrative consolidation HB-3082 Murphey Administrative Cost Consolidation for Human Services. Shell as filed. Human services HB-3134, 3136 and 3137 Nelson Department of Human Services Restructuring Task Force Act. State Use Act; employment of persons with disabilities HB-3144 Nelson State Use Contract Transparency Act of 2012. No content as filed. Health insurance; cancer treatment HCR-1021 Banz Creating the Oklahoma Cancer Treatment Parity Task Force Human services; DHS HJR-1074 Stiles Requiring a vote of the people on a proposal to abolish the Oklahoma Public Welfare Commission and provide that the Governor shall have authority over the agency and appoint the director. Introduced Bills Affecting State Agencies and Employees State agency directors SB-1908 Russell Requiring that regardless of any other section of law, all agencies of this state that provide for a position of Director or any other such title that designates a person as the primary executive of the agency that is not currently appointed by the Governor or holds the office by statewide election shall have such Director or primary executive position appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and that person shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. Governor appointing authority HB-3045 Osborn Providing that in addition to any appointments created by expiring terms or vacancies provided by law, the Governor shall have the power, subject to the confirmation by the Senate, to appoint and replace any gubernatorial appointments on any agency, board, or commission. State employees SB-1046 Newberry Providing that on and after the effective date of this Act, all current and future state employees shall serve at the discretion of the hiring agency, and agencies shall not convey any right or expectation of continued employment to any employee. The hiring agency could terminate an employee at any time with or without cause. State employee health insurance SB-1097 Brecheen Stating that it is the intent of the Legislature that Oklahoma adopt a "consumer driven" health insurance plan for its employees. This plan would be modeled after Indiana's system of high deductible insurance in combination with a Health Savings Account from which the employee pays his/her own routine health costs. The purpose would be to save money for the state and give state employees choice. State agencies; administrative rules SB-1258 Sparks Requiring legislative approval of certain administrative rules. The Legislature's failure to specifically approve an agency rule would constitute disapproval of such rule and it could not become effective. State employee travel; Trip Optimizer SB-1428 Wyrick Provides an exemption from the Trip Optimizer system for employees of agencies, boards, commissions or entities which do not have access to a state-owned vehicle or do not have a dedicated vehicle at their assigned work location and cannot lease or rent a vehicle within a ten-mile radius of the their assigned departing location. These employees would not be required to utilize the Trip Optimizer system with regard to their travel expenses. State employee travel; Trip Optimizer SB-1890 Bass Providing an exemption from the Trip Optimizer system for employees of agencies, boards, commissions or entities subject to the provisions of subsection A of this section where the place of employment is located in a municipality with a population of less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) according to the latest federal decennial census shall not be required to utilize the Trip Optimizer system. State employee travel; Trip Optimizer HB-2862 Hoskin Providing that state employees who perform field work shall be exempt from the Trip Optimizer system. State government HB-2197 Murphey Creating the Strategic Cost Reduction and Saving Act. Administrative rules HB-2240 Faught Creating the Administrative Rules Update Act of 2012. Shell as introduced. Administrative rules HB-2241 Faught Expanding on last year's legislation that requires any state agency rules deriving their authority from title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes to be approved by the legislature, to include any rules deriving their authority from title 63. State agency budgets HB-2327 Lockhart Requiring that each state agency shall prepare its budget work program containing a contingent or alternative budget which does not include the expenditure of any federal funds. State employment HB-2328 Lockhart Requiring that any person applying for employment with the state or any political subdivision of the state shall sign an affidavit of noncollusion stating that the individual is not in collusion with any elected official in Oklahoma to gain employment with the state or a political subdivision of the state. State government HB-2520 Murphey Government Reorganization Act. Shell as filed. State agencies; purchasing HB-2969 Thomsen Creating the Legislative Task Force on The Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act. The Task Force shall review and evaluate The Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, including, but not limited to, bidding process and procedures, deadlines, and the appropriate or inappropriate involvement of the Legislature and agency directors. State government; consolidation HB-3053 Steele Creating the State Government Administrative Process Consolidation and Reorganization Reform Act of 2012; consolidating certain agencies into the Office of Enterprise and Management Services. Renaming the Office of State Finance and specifying its divisions and functions. Placing the Merit Protection Commission and State Bond Advisory in this agency. State employee pay and benefits HB-3041 Osburn State employee benefits; salary increase; sales tax revenue apportionment; longevity pay plan; flexible benefits allowance. Providing that if funding allows, on July 1, 2013, state employee pay will be raised to 86 percent of the market-based amount. To pay for the increase the legislature would take $20 million a year that would otherwise go into the General Fund and put it in a State Employee Market Compensation Fund. When the Fund has enough in it to warrant raising state employees to 85% of market compensation, it could be expended for that purpose. The bill modifies the longevity pay schedule, and provides that if an employee receives a "meets standards" or better on the performance evaluation, the longevity amount will be increased. Longevity pay is lowered in some cases for employees who do not "meet standards." Longevity pay adjustments are linked to the Consumer Price Index. The benefits allowance is frozen at the 2012 level for one year, following which the allowance would be the greater of the 2012 level or an amount equal to the premium cost of Health Choice High, plus dental, disability and basic life premiums. State employee benefits HB-3056 Steele Making the plan year for state employee benefits match the state fiscal year, from July 1 to June 30. State employee retirement SB-1392 Crain Creating the State Retirement System Reform Act. State employee retirement SB-1394 Holt of Senate; Randy McDaniel of House Modifying the confidentiality protection of state retiree information. Stating that except for the retiree name, age, amount of contributions paid in, amount of benefit, amount of credited service and documents verifying service, all other information in a retiree's file is confidential. State employees; public retirement system HB-2322 Randy McDaniel Deleting language that required the public retirement system Board of Trustees to include a cost-of-living assumption in its annual actuarial valuation. Some changes also to retirement for elected officials. State employee pension system HB-2427 Enns Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act; definition; cost-of-living adjustment. This appears to modify legislation passed last year placing restrictions on state pension system legislation. This bill modifies the definition of a "Non-fiscal" retirement system bill to allow the definition to include a measure which would provide a cost-of-living increase to retirees if the pension system liability is funded at 80% and would remain funded at this level after granting of such a COLA. State employee retirement system HJR-1091 Randy McDaniel Constitutional amendment related to state employee retirement systems. State employee retirement system SJR-65 Sparks Calling for a vote of the people on a constitutional amendment requiring the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System to have a funded ratio of 90 percent or greater by 2045. State employees; ethics; political expression HB-3131 Nelson Prohibiting public employees from certain actions regarding legislation. Stating that no public employee employed in this state by a governmental entity having authority to issue, revoke, suspend or deny a license, permit or certification to a person shall directly or indirectly coerce, attempt to coerce, command, advise or direct a person who is seeking or has a license, permit or certification issued by the governmental entity, to pay, lend or contribute money, time, effort or anything else of value to any party, committee, organization, agency or person for political purposes or to support, oppose, express or refrain from expressing facts or opinions on proposed or pending legislation, regulations, rules or ordinances affecting the governmental entity or its employees. Further providing that no public employee shall retaliate against any person for exercising his or her rights or for participating or not participating in permitted political activities as provided in Ethics Commission Rule 257:10-1-4 or for supporting, opposing, expressing or not expressing facts or opinions on proposed legislation, regulations, rules or ordinances. Jean Jones -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jjones at okdrs.gov Fri Feb 3 11:51:04 2012 From: jjones at okdrs.gov (Jean Jones) Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 16:51:04 +0000 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Legislative Update Part 3 Message-ID: <7CD94588BF2C9A4DA3DA4D9DD3DF9FAB0B912337@Exchange00.okdrs.gov> Legislative Update Part 3 Schools and education issues with potential impact for students with disabilities NOTE: School testing measures are watched for possible impact on test accessibility. Other school-related bills are watched for potential effect on students with disabilities whether attending special schools, public schools or other educational programs. Bills reported under the general Disability Legislation section include: SB-1119 - OSB and OSD SB-1565 - Dyslexia SB-1570 - Related services personnel HB-3073 - Dyslexia School testing; testing accessibility HB-2755 McPeak and Jordan Enacting the Freedom to Succeed Act. Providing for alternative testing to qualify students for high school graduation. School testing SB-1033 Paddack Modifying requirements for demonstration of subject-matter mastery for purposes of high school graduation. School testing SB-1093 Coates Allowing students to take the ACT to graduate from high school as an alternative to the subject mastery tests now required. School testing SB-1815 Stanislawski Eliminating certain assessments required to complete certain grades. School testing; college preparation HB-2544 Nollan Creating the ACE/ACT Task Force on Preparing Students for College. The Task Force shall study ways to align testing under the Achieving Classroom Excellence Act of 2005 and subsequent amendments and testing under the ACT, in order to prepare students for college. School testing HB-2545 Nollan Delaying requirement for students to demonstrate mastery of state academic content standards. School testing HB-2668 Jordan Definitions used in the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act School testing HB-3099 Williams Repealing certain end-of-instruction testing requirements for graduation. Children with disabilities; education HB-3090 Nelson Modifying the Llindsay Nichole Henry scholarship program. Schools; virtual education SB-1816 Stanislawski Creating the statewide chartering commission; allowing commission to sponsor online virtual providers for full-time education Schools; graduation requirements SB-1818 Halligan Requiring four years of math in order to graduate from high school. Schools; student safety HB-2514 Kern Providing that a concealed handgun may be carried onto private elementary or private secondary school property by a person who is licensed pursuant to the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, provided a policy has been adopted by the governing entity of the school that authorizes the possession of a concealed handgun on private school property. Schools; student safety HB-2417 Enns Providing that regardless of state law prohibiting the carrying of guns onto school property, a concealed handgun may be carried into a public or private elementary or secondary school by a person who is licensed pursuant to the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, provided a policy has been adopted by the board of education of a public school district or the governing entity of a private school that authorizes the carrying of a concealed handgun into the elementary or secondary school. Education funding SJR-77 Holt Calling for a vote of the people to amend the state constitution to add: Section 9. The State of Oklahoma shall not accept any federal education funds for elementary and secondary education which require the state to implement a federal education program or achieve standards established by the federal government as a condition of receiving federal education funds. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit the state from accepting block grants, funds provided by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended, funds provided by the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, or funds provided by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Education; students with disabilities HB-2596 Holland Creating a task force to study mandates on public schools. State Government Funding Tax Structure Changes Recommended In fiscal year 2010 Oklahoma's personal income tax collections accounted for 32.1% of state tax collections and provided a major source of funding for state government programs, including those that serve Oklahomans with disabilities. Corporate income tax accounted for 3.1% of revenue in 2010, while sales tax made up 26.2% of taxes collected. Together, these revenue sources make up a substantial part of the funding used to provide state services. Ideas to restructure Oklahoma's taxation system are continually under discussion. In the fall of 2011 a legislative task force developed a serious framework for tax system reform and many elements of that framework are now being introduced in specific legislation. The Task Force on Comprehensive Tax Reform was chaired by Tulsa Senator Mazzei. The panel issued a report with recommendations including: * Reducing corporate taxes. * Reducing the top personal income tax rate. * Offsetting the lost revenue from the reduced income tax by ending many tax deductions and credits. * The ultimate goal is end all state income tax. * To do this, state services must be reduced and made more efficient. Sales tax revenue would need to increase. The report projects this will happen if the top income tax rate is reduced or all income tax ended. The sales tax base would need to be studied in comparison to other states with no income tax, to see how they structure their sales tax. The Report provided estimates of money that could be saved by eliminating a number of existing tax deductions, exemptions and credits. Estimates of savings from eliminating a few of the provisions affecting individuals with disabilities include: * Blind exemption - $130,722 * Physical disabilities deduction for accessibility modifications - $40,682 * Age 65+ low income - $474,303 * Personal exemption - $132,699,190 * Low income property tax relief - $226,000 * Sales tax relief (for very poor) - $43 million * Earned Income Tax Credit - $31.8 million A few of the measures introduced to accomplish some of the Task Force recommendations include, in addition to HB-2947 (previously noted): Income and sales tax SB-1435 (Mazzei) Income tax, sales tax and credits: modifying apportionment of sales tax; modifying income tax rates; eliminating various tax preferences. Income tax; state revenue SB-1437 (Mazzei) Income tax; modifying tax rates; providing for contingent rate change; requiring determination by State Board of Equalization. Sales tax; state revenue SB-1447 (Mazzei) Eliminating exclusions and exemptions from sales tax. Income tax; state revenue SB-1571 (Jolley) Modifying income tax rates for specific time periods; limiting ability to claim certain tax preferences. Income tax; state revenue SB-1572 (Newberry) Income tax; modifying tax rates for specified years; eliminating certain tax preferences after specified date. Income tax; state revenue SB-1623 (Mazzei) Income tax; modifying rates and brackets for certain time periods; modifying ability to claim certain tax preferences. Taxes; tax credits; state revenue HB-2978 (Dank) Revenue and taxation; tax credits; criteria; restrictions. The bill provides that only tax credits that create or preserve jobs may be enacted, and that tax credits may not be transferred to another entity. Taxes; tax credits; state revenue HB-2979 (Dank) Tax credits; transferability. Taxes; state revenue HB-3038 (Osborn, Newell, Derby, Murphey, Brumbaugh, Blackwell, Hall, Randy McDaniel, Holland, Cockroft, Faught, Tibbs, Cooksey, Grau, Vaughan, Ortega, Kirby, Jackson, Armes, Denney, Sanders, Wright and Mulready) Revenue and taxation; individual income tax; rates; reductions; deductions and exemptions; tax credits; sales tax revenue apportionment. This bill would eliminate all individual income tax adjustments, exemptions and deductions, but leave in place business deductions. It would eliminate the standard deduction, the exemption for blindness, the exemption for old age, the exemption for a limited amount of retirement income and for Social Security retirement income, and it would eliminate the deduction for making a home, vehicle and workplace accessible for a taxpayer with a physical disability who has a barrier to employment. Same as HB-2947 by Derby. Tax reform; state revenue HB-3061 (Steele) Tax Reform Act of 2012. Shell as filed. Taxes; state revenue HB-3085 (Murphey) Omnibus Tax Reform Act of 2012. Shell as filed. Jean Jones Office Phone: 405-951-3488 Toll Free: 800-845-8476 Email: jjones at okdrs.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cobyis at juno.com Wed Feb 8 12:52:03 2012 From: cobyis at juno.com (clivingstone) Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 17:52:03 GMT Subject: [oklahoma-l] Bionic Eye Message-ID: <20120208.115203.15246.6@webmail04.vgs.untd.com> http://www.blindness.org/blog/index.php/the-retina-goes-bionic/ Article from Blindness.Org website. Coby ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4f32b6a76c27dc1a86st01vuc From afallin at cox.net Sat Feb 11 11:33:17 2012 From: afallin at cox.net (Allison Fallin) Date: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:33:17 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Accessible DVD players Message-ID: <52870FBCC355446083198475BD4227CE@DHGDN7G1> With everything on DVD's, I'm wondering if anyone knows of an accessible DVD player. I know I can play them on my PC, but I'm looking for a separate unit. Allison Fallin From jjones at okdrs.gov Mon Feb 13 17:46:49 2012 From: jjones at okdrs.gov (Jean Jones) Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:46:49 +0000 Subject: [oklahoma-l] FW: URGENT ALERT: Transportation Amendment Commercializes Rest Areas In-Reply-To: <810CD98214C5C844B2A5967C5F26AE91112CE9C4@Exchange00.okdrs.gov> References: <810CD98214C5C844B2A5967C5F26AE91112CE9C4@Exchange00.okdrs.gov> Message-ID: <7CD94588BF2C9A4DA3DA4D9DD3DF9FAB1129D122@Exchange00.okdrs.gov> See the alert from administrators of agencies for the blind, warning of a threat to vending program opportunities. Jean Jones DVR/DVS Legislative Informatin Rep. From: Michael Jones Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 4:17 PM To: Jean Jones; JMassay (jmassay1 at cox.net); Jim H. Kettler Subject: FW: URGENT ALERT: Transportation Amendment Commercializes Rest Areas Hi thought you folks might like to act: Thanks Dear NCSAB Member: We are writing to alert you to a potentially devastating amendment in HR 7, the House's transportation reauthorization bill. We understand that this bill may come to the House floor as early as tomorrow, Tuesday, February 14th. Representative Steve LaTourette of Ohio plans to offer an amendment that would lift the ban on commercial activity on federal highway rest areas. This is a direct threat to Randolph-Sheppard businesses, and would clear the way for states to contract with fast food restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations to open up shop next to Randolph-Sheppard vending machines. It is absolutely imperative that Congressional offices hear from Randolph-Sheppard stakeholders during the day Tuesday that the LaTourette amendment poses a serious threat to more than 500 small, family-owned businesses managed by blind entrepreneurs. State agencies: lobbying restrictions may constrain you from calling Representatives from your state and asking them to vote NO on the LaTourette rest area commercialization amendment. However, it is not lobbying to call and let them know what the impact would be on Randolph-Sheppard vendors and the Randolph-Sheppard program in your state and across the country. Elected Committees of Blind Vendors and Consumer Groups: You can call your Representatives and tell them "Vote No on the LaTourette rest area commercialization amendment. Give blind entrepreneurs the opportunity to earn a living and support their families!" You can reach your Congressman's office by calling (202) 225-3121 and asking to be connected to your Member's office. If you are not sure who your Representative is, you can look it up by entering your address on the form found atwww.house.gov. Please contact your Member of Congress today to stop commercialization of federal highway rest areas and protect business opportunities for the blind. Catriona Macdonald President Linchpin Strategies, LLC 639 Massachusetts Ave NE Washington, DC 20002 866-443-0998 MAIN 202-345-3334 MOBILE 202-318-8113 FAX CMacdonald at LinchpinStrategies.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From afallin at cox.net Mon Feb 13 22:54:44 2012 From: afallin at cox.net (Allison Fallin) Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:54:44 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Accessible cell phone Message-ID: <20120214035507.HUOK5450.eastrmfepo201.cox.net@eastrmimpo110.cox.net> Hello, I have a Bree-ze 2 cell phone from Pantek. I know a Bree-ze 3 has come out and I plan on upgrading to it soon. Can anyone tell me more about it? What new accessible features does it have? Thanks for any help you can give. Allison Fallin From jaydoudna at cox.net Tue Feb 14 10:58:42 2012 From: jaydoudna at cox.net (Jay Doudna) Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:58:42 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] New NLS Director Message-ID: <20120214155850.DPOZ1165.eastrmfepo202.cox.net@eastrmimpo210.cox.net> Below is an announcement of the appointment of Karen A. Keninger as the new NLS Director and additional information I could gather on her. New director of NLS Karen Keninger Appointed Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today announced the appointment of Karen A. Keninger as director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), effective March 26, 2012. Keninger succeeds Frank Kurt Cylke, who retired from federal service on February 28, 2011. "Ms. Keninger's qualifications and experience are superb for this position," said Billington in announcing the appointment. "She has demonstrated leadership and strategic thinking throughout her career." Since 2008, Keninger has been the director of the Iowa Department for the Blind, a leading provider in the United States of vocational rehabilitation and independent-living programs and library services for blind and visually impaired individuals. Keninger was selected from an impressive pool of candidates following an extensive search process that began last year. "Keninger is no stranger to the NLS program," Billington noted. "She is a highly respected administrator and a leader in the NLS library network." As director of the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped for eight years, from 2000-2008, Keninger managed the statewide library program, the machine-lending agency, instructional materials center, braille production, and audio production units. Keninger's initiatives included the planning and implementation of a new, in-house digital recording program with a state-of-the-art recording studio and a corps of volunteers to expand and transform the state's audio-production program. "Keninger has a proven track record of collaboration and innovation," said Billington. She served on the Digital Long-Term Planning Group established by NLS in 2001 to guide planning for the now successfully completed digital talking book transition, and on the successor Digital Transition Advisory Committee. She led the transition in Iowa from analog to digital talking books and players and was successful in securing funds for the digital conversion of locally-produced talking books. She is a daily user of the full range of information technologies for the blind and visually impaired, including Web-Braille, digital talking book machines and books, and online download services. Throughout her career, Keninger has established and maintained effective working relationships with a broad range of individuals and organizations at the national, state, and local levels. Keninger was elected 2012 president of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind. From 2002-2008, she served as chair of the Consortium of User Libraries. Keninger holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Drake University in Iowa and a master's degree in English, business and technical writing from Iowa State University. She completed graduate courses in library and information science at the University of Iowa. Karen Keninger was born and raised in Vinton, Iowa, the third of seven children in a happy and lively farming family. When she was 16 months old her parents discovered that she could not see very well, and she was later diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. Although she had some vision as a child, she was completely blind by the age of 20. She attended school at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton, graduating in 1970. In 1973 she graduated from Drake University with a B.A. in Journalism. In 1987, after many years as a full-time homemaker and mother, she established a freelance writing service in Newton, Iowa. As part of this effort, Keninger went back to school and graduated in 1991 with a masters degree in English with an emphasis in business and technical writing from Iowa State University. She continued her freelance work until 1995 when she accepted the position of Rehabilitation Consultant with the Iowa Department for the Blind. In 2000 she was promoted to Program Administrator for the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. After eight years in that position, she was appointed by the Iowa Commission for the Blind to the position of Director of the Iowa Department for the Blind. As director, Keninger oversees 90 staff members working in six major program areas. She is responsible for developing and upholding the Department's mission of creating opportunities for independence for all blind and visually impaired Iowans. During her 14 years of work with the Department for the Blind, Keninger has been involved in initiating many new programs for various sectors of the Department and for the Department as a whole. These initiatives included: list of 4 items . The introduction of digital talking books to the Iowa Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped . Implementation of an in-house, state-of-the-art digital recording program and a new set of volunteers to expand and transform the audio production program at the library . Establishment of the Friends for the Library group, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the library . Initiation and implementation of an internationally recognized computer training project, which was funded through a $1 million grant list end Keninger also serves on several professional boards, including the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind and the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation. While Keninger has achieved much throughout the span of her career, she has done it while balancing the needs of her family. Keninger has six grown children, one daughter and five sons. Five have established professional careers in management positions in various fields, including computer software, public accounting, banking and insurance. Her youngest is currently completing a masters degree in forestry at Iowa State University. Keninger has seven grandchildren. Keninger lives on an acreage southwest of Newton in a home she built in 2003. Her interests include national and international travel, as well as reading, writing, tandem biking and community theater. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jaydoudna at cox.net Tue Feb 14 11:05:12 2012 From: jaydoudna at cox.net (Jay Doudna) Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:05:12 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] survey Message-ID: <20120214160519.HVYJ8874.eastrmfepo103.cox.net@eastrmimpo305.cox.net> Apologies if you see this announcement more than once. Please share with other appropriate lists. The Digital Images and Graphic Resources for Accessible Materials (DIAGRAM) Center is a U.S. Department of Education-funded project, conducted by Benetech, with the US Fund for DAISY and the WGBH National Center for Accessible Media. DIAGRAM is conducting a brief survey to track trends in how people with print disabilities obtain and access reading materials electronically. Your answers will help us focus our research and development efforts on the reading tools and digital reading materials. Please take a few minutes to visit the link below and give us your input. The survey closes on March 8, 2012. Many thanks. http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/786454/DIAGRAM-Reading-Technology-Survey - The DIAGRAM Team -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 3542 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jaydoudna at cox.net Tue Feb 14 11:07:13 2012 From: jaydoudna at cox.net (Jay Doudna) Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:07:13 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Hadley School for the Blind Message-ID: <20120214160722.EBVJ1165.eastrmfepo202.cox.net@eastrmimpo210.cox.net> FYI -----Original Message----- From: Tom Babinszki [mailto:babinszki at hadley.edu] Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 2:32 PM To: Undisclosed recipients: Subject: Hadley Offers 4 Exciting New Opportunities Dear Students, As Director of the Forsythe Center for Entrepreneurship, I have four exciting announcements I want to share with you. We hope to continue contributing to the success of your business with the following four new offerings: 1. MYOB (Minding Your Own Business). Our new online business series will begin on Monday, February 27 at 2PM CST. It will be similar to the Seminars at Hadley series, but much more flexible and conversational. Please join us on the 27th when we will discuss how to start your business with $100 or less. Read more at: http://www.hadley.edu/FCE-MYOB.asp 2. Business Directory. We would like to offer you even more networking opportunities, as well as free advertisement of your business. We have created a directory of businesses owned or operated by visually impaired individuals around the world. You can have your own business listed there, too. Read the directory and submit your business at: http://www.hadley.edu/FCE-BusinessDirectory.asp 3. Discussion List for visually impaired entrepreneurs. We have created a mailing list where blind and visually impaired business owners can join the conversation, network with one another, ask questions and exchange ideas and support. Read more at: http://www.hadley.edu/FCE-DiscussionGroup.asp 4. One on One with Urban Miyares. We put together a series of 21 short interviews on entrepreneurship with Urban Miyares, a blinded veteran who has started several successful businesses. You can listen to these interviews at: http://www.hadley.edu/FCE-SeminarsRecordings.asp Sincerely: Tom Babinszki Director, Forsythe Center for Entrepreneurship The Hadley School for the Blind 700 Elm Street Winnetka, IL 60093-2554 Phone: 847-784-2804 Fax: 847-446-0855 E-mail: babinszki at hadley.edu -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4402 bytes Desc: not available URL: From vgolight at yahoo.com Wed Feb 15 16:54:35 2012 From: vgolight at yahoo.com (Lynn Golightly) Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:54:35 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Exhibits for Oklahoma Council of the Blind Convention Message-ID: <000001ccec2c$68337260$389a5720$@com> Good Afternoon! I am the 2012 OCB Conference and Convention exhibits chairman and I need your help. Who would you like to see exhibit at this convention? What type of exhibits would you like to see? If possible, please send me the contact info for the vendors you wish to exhibit. Thanks. Vicky Golightly -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jaydoudna at cox.net Thu Feb 16 23:28:40 2012 From: jaydoudna at cox.net (Jay Doudna) Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:28:40 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Info from ACB Message-ID: <20120217042842.LUSX18243.eastrmfepo101.cox.net@eastrmimpo109.cox.net> FYI The Transportation committee will host its first phone workshop on March 3rd. The topic is The Basics on Paratransit and How to file complaints when they violate the ADA. The presenters will be Donna Smith and Jesus Garcia. To help Donna prepare send any questions you wanted answered about Paratransit to the Transportation list at transportation at acb.org or to alice.ritchhart at comcast.net no later than February 28, 2012. To take part in the conference workshop follow the steps below. Saturday, March 3, 3 p.m. Eastern: transportation workshop Conference Dial-in Number: (605) 475-4825 Participant Access Code: 661001# -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jaydoudna at cox.net Thu Feb 16 23:40:47 2012 From: jaydoudna at cox.net (Jay Doudna) Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:40:47 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Camp Siloam for the Blind 2012 Message-ID: <20120217044050.UNHO1165.eastrmfepo202.cox.net@eastrmimpo110.cox.net> FYI Hi Jay- I am sending you an announcement concerning Camp Siloam for the blind. Perhaps you could mention this at your next meeting. Thanks. Camp Siloam for the Blind 2012 "Announcing The Gospel Association for the Blind's 2012 Camp Siloam Bible Conference and Camping Session." This year our theme is We are More than Conquerors" taken from Romans 8:37. Preparations for camp are in their final stages. This year, the dates for camp are Saturday, May 19 - Saturday, May 26, 2012. Our camp will be held in New Caney, Texas at the Golden Cross Ranch. The ranch is over 100 acres in size .New Caney is just 25 miles North of Houston, Texas . Our morning Bible teacher is Bro. Bruce Coonce who is the Assistant Pastor of San Marcos Community Baptist Church in San Marcos, Texas. Bro. Coonce himself is blind and has a unique style of teaching the Bible; this year he will be showcasing several Bible men and women who were 'more than conquerors.' Some examples are: Abraham: Walking by faith. Text: Hebrews 11 and Genesis 12-25. Joseph: From the Prison to the Palace. Genesis 37-50. Caleb: Standing on the promises. Numbers 13? Joshua 14-15. Esther: From Captive to Queen. Book of Esther. Paul: Fighting the Good Fight of Faith. 2 Tim. 4. The evening services will be conducted by camp director, Bro. George Gray. Besides the morning and evening services which will feed and refresh your soul, there are a host of activities planned to introduce you to Texas. A variety of activities are planned for the week, including a shopping trip to Wallmart, swimming each day, Bible games, horseback riding, two hayrides, horseshoe pitching and two talent nights to name just a few. You will enjoy the tasty and bountiful food prepared by the cooks at the camp thru the week! During the week we plan on showing the documentary film on Fanny J. Crosby, a blind hymn-writer who wrote approximately 1500 hymns in the early 1900's and another film 'Cutback' a story about a teenager wanting to be a professional surfer until a tragedy strikes and his plans are then totally changed. During the hours when there are no activities, you will be able to sit on large cushioned, comfortable couches and chairs and "chat" with old and new friends in the lounges of the two air conditioned dormitories. If you are in good health and between the ages of 17 and 69 get your applications today and come and enjoy the good food, fun, fellowship and Bible teaching at the 2012 Gospel Association for the Blind's Siloam Camping Session! For updates on camp you may call, toll free, 866-251-5165 and then enter mailbox 7128#. The deadline for all camp aps. To be in is Tuesday, April 17, 2012, so there is no time to waste to get your application in! The cost of the week of camp is $220. A $25 non-refundable application fee is required for ALL campers in order to get and process the applications. If you are a first-time camper your camp costs $0 -except for the application fee! If you need help with transportation costs, please let us know. To start the camp process send a $25 non-refundable registration fee to: The Gospel Association for the Blind PO Box 1162 Bunnell, FL 32110 Phone: 386-586-5885 Upon receipt of your non refundable $25 registration fee your camp application form along with a medical form and other camp information will be mailed to you. When requesting camp aps., please include a 3 by 5 card with your name, address, phone number and e-mail and cell number if applicable. New first-time campers should also include a recent photo of themselves if possible. We are looking forward to a great week at camp! Our goal is to be a place away from your normal day to day surroundings, where you can relax and let down your guard long enough to receive that fresh touch from God. This will be a memorable week you will always cherish! Come and join us! Rev. George Gray Camp Director Phil. 1:6 My prayer for husein obama Psalms 109:7 & 8 \7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. 8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office. "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests". Patrick Henry -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jaydoudna at cox.net Tue Feb 21 11:32:49 2012 From: jaydoudna at cox.net (Jay Doudna) Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:32:49 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Braille Contest Message-ID: <20120221163257.HFNL8874.eastrmfepo103.cox.net@eastrmimpo110.cox.net> Hello Everybody, I received this information from Kim Charlson, Vice President of OCB and a member of the Board of the Braille Authority of North America. Kim is also the Director of the Library for the Blind at Perkins in Watertown Massachusetts. She has also represented ACB at meetings of the World Blind Union. Jay Greetings: The Onkyo Corporation is again sponsoring a braille essay contest for people of all ages. Contest winners receive cash prizes valued from $500 to $2,000. The link for full information and application is below, but here are the basics. Please help spread the word! Onkyo Braille Essay Contest Sponsored by Onkyo Corporation and The Braille Mainichi The Onkyo Braille essay contest is being administered by the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of the North America-Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union. Essays must be written by contest participants, in English or their native language, in Braille, and must be completely original in nature. Entries should be no fewer than 800 words and no more than 1,000 words in length. There will be two groups of competitors-one Junior group, aged 25 and under; and one Senior group, aged 26 and up, and prizes range from $500-$2,000. Essay topics: 1. How do you acquire knowledge and information through Braille or audio devices? (Illustrate with some interesting personal stories/episodes.) 2. How can blind persons become independent by learning Braille or music? 3. Individual concept about world peace from the viewpoint of persons with disabilities. All essays must be received by April 30, 2012. Visit http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Onkyo_Braille_Essay_Contest.asp for more information and an application. The application is also attached here, in PDF and BRF format. Please contact Trisha Tatam at (410) 659-9314 (ext. 2510) or ttatam at nfb.org if you have any questions. Please help spread the word about this writing contest with prizes for people who are Braille readers. Kim -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4186 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jmijer at yahoo.com Tue Feb 21 11:57:09 2012 From: jmijer at yahoo.com (Jeanne Meyer) Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:57:09 -0800 (PST) Subject: [oklahoma-l] We Need Your Help Message-ID: <1329843429.90459.YahooMailNeo@web125502.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> ? OSB Alumni and Friends, ? We need you to contact members of the House Common Education Committee urging the support of SB ? 1119 as soon as possible. Here is a list of those members with email addresses: ? House Common Education Committee Rep. Ann Coody, Chair - anncoody at okhouse.gov Rep. Jabar Shumate, Vice Chair - jabarshumate at okhouse.gov Members: Rep Gus Blackwell - gusblackwell at okhouse.gov Rep. Ed Cannaday - ed.cannaday at okhouse.gov Rep. Dennis Casey - dennis.casey at okhouse.gov Rep. Donnie Condit - donnie.condit at okhouse.gov Rep. ?Doug Cox - dougcox at okhouse.gov Rep. Corey Holland - corey.holland at okhouse.gov Rep. Fred Jordan - fred.jordan at okhouse.gov Rep. Sally Kern - sallykern at okhouse.gov Rep. Jeannie McDaniel - jeanniemcdaniel at okhouse.gov Rep. Jason Nelson - jason.nelson at okhouse.gov Rep. Jadine Nollan - jadine.nollan at okhouse.gov Rep. Dustin Roberts - dustin.roberts at okhouse.gov Rep. Emily Virgin - emily.virgin at okhouse.gov ? ? Children with visual and hearing impairments SB-1119 Requiring school districts to provide parents of children with visual or hearing impairments with information concerning the programs available at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and Oklahoma School for the Deaf.? Further requiring that school districts providing special education services to students with auditory or visual impairments shall develop procedures to ensure that staff assigned to work with students have effective access to resources and information provided by the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cobyis at juno.com Tue Feb 21 13:28:39 2012 From: cobyis at juno.com (clivingstone) Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:28:39 GMT Subject: [oklahoma-l] Senate Bill 119 Message-ID: <20120221.122839.424.5@webmail01.vgs.untd.com> HelloI would like to have more information about the SB 119 related to the School for the Blind and the School for the Deaf in Oklahoma. What are some resources I could research (other than a website for each school)? Why should I support the bill?1. Why is this senate bill necessary?2. How many graduates each year from each school?3. How many students obtain basic skills at each school and then are provided the option to return to the home school district?4. How many school districts in Oklahoma refer children to the School for the Blind and School for the Deaf each semester, each year?5. What are the current systems in place for mutual communication: How do parents interested in services contact school?, What PR campaigns are utilized? Which staff members attend IEP meetings or provide public awareness presentations on a regular basis?6. How often are Special Education Direcotrs/Coordinators contacted each month regarding services provided by the School fr the Blind or the School for the Deaf?7. And other questions...etc. I'd like more background I guess. Does someone know of any documents I could research?Thanks.Coby LivingstoneOklahoma CityLow Vision Solutions for Older AdultsLow Vision Therapy Services ****************************************************************** OSB Alumni and Friends, We need you to contact members of the House Common Education Committee urging the support of SB – 1119 as soon as possible. Here is a list of those members with email addresses: House Common Education CommitteeRep. Ann Coody, Chair - anncoody at okhouse.gov Rep. Jabar Shumate, Vice Chair - jabarshumate at okhouse.gov Members:Rep Gus Blackwell - gusblackwell at okhouse.gov Rep. Ed Cannaday - ed.cannaday at okhouse.gov Rep. Dennis Casey - dennis.casey at okhouse.gov Rep. Donnie Condit - donnie.condit at okhouse.gov Rep. Doug Cox - dougcox at okhouse.gov Rep. Corey Holland - corey.holland at okhouse.gov Rep. Fred Jordan - fred.jordan at okhouse.gov Rep. Sally Kern - sallykern at okhouse.gov Rep. Jeannie McDaniel - jeanniemcdaniel at okhouse.gov Rep. Jason Nelson - jason.nelson at okhouse.gov Rep. Jadine Nollan - jadine.nollan at okhouse.gov Rep. Dustin Roberts - dustin.roberts at okhouse.gov Rep. Emily Virgin - emily.virgin at okhouse.gov Children with visual and hearing impairmentsSB-1119Requiring school districts to provide parents of children with visual or hearing impairments with information concerning the programs available at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and Oklahoma School for the Deaf. Further requiring that school districts providing special education services to students with auditory or visual impairments shall develop procedures to ensure that staff assigned to work with students have effective access to resources and information provided by the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4f43e28e6749b15cdf80st02vuc -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jfallin46 at cox.net Tue Feb 21 16:33:44 2012 From: jfallin46 at cox.net (Joe Fallin) Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:33:44 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Your taxes are about to increase! Message-ID: <002a01ccf0e0$7d578510$78068f30$@net> This came from the Associated Press. State leadership is in the process of raising the taxes of one in three Oklahomans without a vote of the people. If you are blind and/or make $35,000-40,000 your taxes will be increased. Joe Fallin Fallin tax plan wipes out deductions By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY - A state government review of Gov. Mary Fallin's proposed income tax plan shows that Oklahoma would do away with $888 million worth of deductions and exemptions - including commonly claimed items like mortgage interest and charitable giving - while simplifying returns and lowering the state's maximum tax rate. The analysis of Fallin's proposal, conducted by the Oklahoma Tax Commission and obtained by the Associated Press under the state Open Records Act, shows that nearly one in three Oklahoma tax filers would see their liability increase. The most-used deductions and exemptions total $750 million, including itemized deductions, personal exemptions and adjustments for Social Security, military pay and retirement income. The $1,000 personal exemption is claimed on more than 1.5 million of the state's 1.64 million tax returns. Deductions for college savings are gone, too, along with payments made to survivors after military members are killed in action and exemptions for the blind and disabled. "Even after eliminating those exemptions and deductions, a majority of taxpayers in every income tax bracket will save money," Fallin's spokesman Alex Weintz said Friday. "We are leaving more money in the wallets of more Oklahoma taxpayers. We think they'll appreciate that, and in addition to saving money, we think it will also help stimulate the economy." The analysis shows that while a majority of Oklahoma taxpayers, about 61 percent, would see their taxes reduced under the governor's plan, the tax burden would increase on nearly 510,000 Oklahoma returns, or 31 percent. About 8 percent of Oklahomans would see no change. Those earning between $30,000 and $40,000 per year will benefit most, the review shows, as more than 80 percent of taxpayers in those brackets would see their tax liability reduced. The personal income tax currently accounts for about $1.9 billion of the state's $6.4 billion this year. That figure would be trimmed to about $1.6 billion when fully implemented. Fallin's proposal has not yet been drafted into a bill and introduced to lawmakers. "By lowering our income tax rate, we will make Oklahoma more competitive," Weintz said. "It will give us the second-lowest income tax in the region and one of the lowest in the country, which she feels will make Oklahoma more attractive to businesses deciding where to locate or expand." David Blatt, the director of the Tulsa-based Oklahoma Policy Institute and an advocate for increased funding for state services, said he's concerned that eliminating deductions such as the personal exemption will unfairly target some taxpayers. "In the current tax code we've said we want to provide additional assistance to seniors, families with children, veterans and others. Our concern is that some vulnerable segments of the population may end up in the loser category," Blatt said. "Mainly upper-income folks, those without children and those under age 65, generally will do better. Blatt said he's also worried that eroding the state's tax base will lead to deeper cuts to areas like education, transportation and public health. The governor's office acknowledged that many Oklahomans who currently earn less than $15,000 and who receive a small subsidy from the government for qualifying for certain exemptions would not benefit under the plan. "Our plan, I think, reflects what people think taxes are, which is a way of raising revenue, not a welfare system," Weintz said. Oklahoma currently has seven tax brackets ranging from 0.5 percent for single taxpayers earning $1,000 or more in taxable income to the top rate of 5.25 percent of taxable income of more than $8,701. Under Fallin's proposal, the number of income tax brackets would shrink to three starting in January 2013. Individuals earning $35,000 or more would be taxed at the new top rate of 3.5 percent, those earning between $15,000 and $35,000 would be taxed at 2.25 percent and individuals who make $15,000 or less would not pay any income taxes. Fallin also wants to implement a revenue-growth trigger that would further reduce the income tax by one-quarter of 1 percent each time state revenues grow by at least 5 percent. Neither Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman nor House Speaker Kris Steele have specifically endorsed Fallin's plan, but both have said they support the concept. And it's clear the Republican-controlled Legislature is eager to endorse a tax cut they can tout on the stump during an election year. A more far-reaching legislative proposal by state Rep. Leslie Osborn to completely abolish the state's income tax over the next decade already has passed a House panel and has 23 Republican co-authors. "I think that we need to be very methodical in our approach so as not to jeopardize funding for core services of government," said Steele, R-Shawnee. "I think everybody primarily shares the same goal. It's just a matter of ultimately how we get there." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cobyis at juno.com Wed Feb 22 21:14:04 2012 From: cobyis at juno.com (clivingstone) Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:14:04 GMT Subject: [oklahoma-l] Descriptive Video Message-ID: <20120222.201404.14284.1@webmail05.vgs.untd.com> This website is very clever, TravelVision; Orientation and Mobility Services. In addition to promoting their mobility instruction services, the website inludes other useful tidbits and links. Check out the resource: Descriptive Video, http://www.travelvision.org/r_videos.htm Coby ____________________________________________________________ 57 Year Old Looks 27 Local Woman Reveals Wrinkle Secret That Has Doctors Angry. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4f45a13e176981693001st01vuc From jaydoudna at cox.net Thu Feb 23 00:23:54 2012 From: jaydoudna at cox.net (Jay Doudna) Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:23:54 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Legislative Seminar Message-ID: <20120223052354.NLYZ1165.eastrmfepo202.cox.net@eastrmimpo109.cox.net> FYI This announcement from ACB President Mitch Pomerantz Colleagues: I want to let everyone know that arrangements have been made for the ACB Legislative Seminar to be streamed on ACB Radio World beginning on Sunday February 26, 11:00 A.M. PST, 12:00 Noon Mountain, 1:00 PM Central and 2:00 PM EST. The Yin and Yang guys, Brian Charlson and Rick Morin will be handling hosting duties through the close of business Monday afternoon. I also want to let you know that Marlaina Lieberg will be recording the Presidents' Meeting for future streaming, perhaps as soon as the weekend after next. Either Larry Turnbull or Marlaina will keep everyone informed as to when it will be carried on Radio World. Take care. Mitch Pomerantz, President American Council of the Blind -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raythel at cox.net Thu Feb 23 08:15:32 2012 From: raythel at cox.net (jean jones) Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:15:32 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Senate Bill 119 In-Reply-To: <20120221.122839.424.5@webmail01.vgs.untd.com> References: <20120221.122839.424.5@webmail01.vgs.untd.com> Message-ID: <004201ccf22d$38e3b900$aaab2b00$@cox.net> It is Senate Bill 1119 by Senator Earl Garrison of Muskogee. This is a bill to require that in IEP meetings for students who are visually or hearing impaired, information be provided on services available from the school for the blind and school for the deaf. This would include information on the outreach and consultation services that the schools provide for students attending public schools. The provision is needed to make sure that parents, teachers and the students themselves get full information on the resources and services available for educating kids with vision and hearing disabilities. This does not always happen now. The bill was modeled after a Texas law. It also mirrors a provision that was sought by many of our own teachers of the visually impaired, O & M specialists, parents and advocates as they worked on the development of bills with Rep. Anastasia Pittman over the last few years. The State Department of Education may have some concern that requiring information on specific resources to be provided during IEP development would set a precedent, or constitute another "audit point" for schools to meet when they are audited for compliance with legal requirements related to IEP process. However, federal law encourages availability of all pertinent information as plans are made for a disabled student's educational program. SB-1119 really just would put some teeth into what the feds already require. It is basically to make sure that students, parents and teachers get all the information they need to make good decisions about a blind or deaf child's education. Jean Jones From: oklahoma-l-bounces at acb.org [mailto:oklahoma-l-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of clivingstone Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 12:29 PM To: jmiijer at yahoo.com Cc: oklahoma-l at acb.org Subject: [oklahoma-l] Senate Bill 119 Hello I would like to have more information about the SB 119 related to the School for the Blind and the School for the Deaf in Oklahoma. What are some resources I could research (other than a website for each school)? Why should I support the bill? 1. Why is this senate bill necessary? 2. How many graduates each year from each school? 3. How many students obtain basic skills at each school and then are provided the option to return to the home school district? 4. How many school districts in Oklahoma refer children to the School for the Blind and School for the Deaf each semester, each year? 5. What are the current systems in place for mutual communication: How do parents interested in services contact school?, What PR campaigns are utilized? Which staff members attend IEP meetings or provide public awareness presentations on a regular basis? 6. How often are Special Education Direcotrs/Coordinators contacted each month regarding services provided by the School fr the Blind or the School for the Deaf? 7. And other questions...etc. I'd like more background I guess. Does someone know of any documents I could research? Thanks. Coby Livingstone Oklahoma City Low Vision Solutions for Older Adults Low Vision Therapy Services ****************************************************************** OSB Alumni and Friends, We need you to contact members of the House Common Education Committee urging the support of SB - 1119 as soon as possible. Here is a list of those members with email addresses: House Common Education Committee Rep. Ann Coody, Chair - anncoody at okhouse.gov Rep. Jabar Shumate, Vice Chair - jabarshumate at okhouse.gov Members: Rep Gus Blackwell - gusblackwell at okhouse.gov Rep. Ed Cannaday - ed.cannaday at okhouse.gov Rep. Dennis Casey - dennis.casey at okhouse.gov Rep. Donnie Condit - donnie.condit at okhouse.gov Rep. Doug Cox - dougcox at okhouse.gov Rep. Corey Holland - corey.holland at okhouse.gov Rep. Fred Jordan - fred.jordan at okhouse.gov Rep. Sally Kern - sallykern at okhouse.gov Rep. Jeannie McDaniel - jeanniemcdaniel at okhouse.gov Rep. Jason Nelson - jason.nelson at okhouse.gov Rep. Jadine Nollan - jadine.nollan at okhouse.gov Rep. Dustin Roberts - dustin.roberts at okhouse.gov Rep. Emily Virgin - emily.virgin at okhouse.gov Children with visual and hearing impairments SB-1119 Requiring school districts to provide parents of children with visual or hearing impairments with information concerning the programs available at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and Oklahoma School for the Deaf. Further requiring that school districts providing special education services to students with auditory or visual impairments shall develop procedures to ensure that staff assigned to work with students have effective access to resources and information provided by the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried consumerproducts.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cobyis at juno.com Thu Feb 23 10:53:42 2012 From: cobyis at juno.com (clivingstone) Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:53:42 GMT Subject: [oklahoma-l] Senate Bill 1119 Education of Children with Visual Im pairments Message-ID: <20120223.095342.7477.3@webmail05.vgs.untd.com> SENATE BILL 1119- (eleven nineteen)Very useful information Jean. I will be supporting Bill 1119. It seems prudent to me to have an Information Packet that is given to Parents at the initial IEP meeting, at least, that would contain information about all the services provided to people with vision impairments in Oklahoma; education, parent training/education, support groups, therapy, recreation, tutoring, etc. A checklist or "sign off" sheet could be provided at the meeting where all the participants sign or initial their acknowledgement that Parent Information on Services was provided to the parents. Certainly some system could be easily included in the packet used for distribution at the IEP meeting in order to satisfy the Auditors. It would be great if many of these documents could be stored in a "paperless" format. The parents probably need this information presented to them several times and in different ways throughout their parenting careers and offered to them by many of the professionals working with their child. I encourage that the Information Sheet be available in several formats (electronic, large print, non-education/legal jargon etc). Coby Low Vision Resources, LLCTherapy for Older Adults with Vision Loss ---------- Original Message ---------- From: "jean jones" To: "'clivingstone'" Cc: Subject: RE: [oklahoma-l] Senate Bill 119 Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:15:32 -0600 It is Senate Bill 1119 by Senator Earl Garrison of Muskogee. This is a bill to require that in IEP meetings for students who are visually or hearing impaired, information be provided on services available from the school for the blind and school for the deaf. This would include information on the outreach and consultation services that the schools provide for students attending public schools. The provision is needed to make sure that parents, teachers and the students themselves get full information on the resources and services available for educating kids with vision and hearing disabilities. This does not always happen now. The bill was modeled after a Texas law. It also mirrors a provision that was sought by many of our own teachers of the visually impaired, O & M specialists, parents and advocates as they worked on the development of bills with Rep. Anastasia Pittman over the last few years. The State Department of Education may have some concern that requiring information on specific resources to be provided during IEP development would set a precedent, or constitute another “audit point” for schools to meet when they are audited for compliance with legal requirements related to IEP process. However, federal law encourages availability of all pertinent information as plans are made for a disabled student’s educational program. SB-1119 really just would put some teeth into what the feds already require. It is basically to make sure that students, parents and teachers get all the information they need to make good decisions about a blind or deaf child’s education. Jean Jones From: oklahoma-l-bounces at acb.org [mailto:oklahoma-l-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of clivingstone Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 12:29 PM To: jmiijer at yahoo.com Cc: oklahoma-l at acb.org Subject: [oklahoma-l] Senate Bill 119 Hello I would like to have more information about the SB 119 related to the School for the Blind and the School for the Deaf in Oklahoma. What are some resources I could research (other than a website for each school)? Why should I support the bill? 1. Why is this senate bill necessary? 2. How many graduates each year from each school? 3. How many students obtain basic skills at each school and then are provided the option to return to the home school district? 4. How many school districts in Oklahoma refer children to the School for the Blind and School for the Deaf each semester, each year? 5. What are the current systems in place for mutual communication: How do parents interested in services contact school?, What PR campaigns are utilized? Which staff members attend IEP meetings or provide public awareness presentations on a regular basis? 6. How often are Special Education Direcotrs/Coordinators contacted each month regarding services provided by the School fr the Blind or the School for the Deaf? 7. And other questions...etc. I'd like more background I guess. Does someone know of any documents I could research? Thanks. Coby Livingstone Oklahoma City Low Vision Solutions for Older Adults Low Vision Therapy Services ****************************************************************** OSB Alumni and Friends, We need you to contact members of the House Common Education Committee urging the support of SB – 1119 as soon as possible. Here is a list of those members with email addresses: House Common Education Committee Rep. Ann Coody, Chair - anncoody at okhouse.gov Rep. Jabar Shumate, Vice Chair - jabarshumate at okhouse.gov Members: Rep Gus Blackwell - gusblackwell at okhouse.gov Rep. Ed Cannaday - ed.cannaday at okhouse.gov Rep. Dennis Casey - dennis.casey at okhouse.gov Rep. Donnie Condit - donnie.condit at okhouse.gov Rep. Doug Cox - dougcox at okhouse.gov Rep. Corey Holland - corey.holland at okhouse.gov Rep. Fred Jordan - fred.jordan at okhouse.gov Rep. Sally Kern - sallykern at okhouse.gov Rep. Jeannie McDaniel - jeanniemcdaniel at okhouse.gov Rep. Jason Nelson - jason.nelson at okhouse.gov Rep. Jadine Nollan - jadine.nollan at okhouse.gov Rep. Dustin Roberts - dustin.roberts at okhouse.gov Rep. Emily Virgin - emily.virgin at okhouse.gov Children with visual and hearing impairments SB-1119 Requiring school districts to provide parents of children with visual or hearing impairments with information concerning the programs available at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and Oklahoma School for the Deaf. Further requiring that school districts providing special education services to students with auditory or visual impairments shall develop procedures to ensure that staff assigned to work with students have effective access to resources and information provided by the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried consumerproducts.com ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4f46614e3b37e13c76e9st05vuc -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cobyis at juno.com Thu Feb 23 10:58:25 2012 From: cobyis at juno.com (clivingstone) Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:58:25 GMT Subject: [oklahoma-l] Legislative Seminar-February 26, 1pm CST Message-ID: <20120223.095825.7477.4@webmail05.vgs.untd.com> Keep up the Reminders Jay!Thank you. Coby ---------- Original Message ---------- From: "Jay Doudna" To: "'Oklahoma Listserve'" Subject: [oklahoma-l] Legislative Seminar Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:23:54 -0600 FYI This announcement from ACB President Mitch Pomerantz Colleagues: I want to let everyone know that arrangements have been made for the ACB Legislative Seminar to be streamed on ACB Radio World beginning on Sunday February 26, 11:00 A.M. PST, 12:00 Noon Mountain, 1:00 PM Central and 2:00 PM EST. The Yin and Yang guys, Brian Charlson and Rick Morin will be handling hosting duties through the close of business Monday afternoon. I also want to let you know that Marlaina Lieberg will be recording the Presidents' Meeting for future streaming, perhaps as soon as the weekend after next. Either Larry Turnbull or Marlaina will keep everyone informed as to when it will be carried on Radio World. Take care. Mitch Pomerantz, President American Council of the Blind ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4f466241ca0af13c7bd5st04vuc -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmijer at yahoo.com Fri Feb 24 12:21:34 2012 From: jmijer at yahoo.com (Jeanne Meyer) Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:21:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: [oklahoma-l] Buy a Brick to Honor Someone Message-ID: <1330104094.97981.YahooMailNeo@web125505.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> ? OSB Alumni Panther Walk of Honor ? Honor a classmate, teacher, houseparent, or someone special in your life with a laser engraved brick. Each brick can have one, two, or three lines with up to 14 characters per line including spaces. The bricks can be purchased at the rate of $40 for 1 brick. If the same person would like to honor more than 1 person the rate will be $70 ($35) for 2 bricks, $100 ($33.33) for 3 bricks. For those who would like to donate $1-$5 toward a brick to honor a certain person, you can make your donation and when donations of $40 have been reached that brick will be purchased. We plan to have the Walk of Honor in place at the next reunion May 2013. All bricks purchased prior to April 15, 2013 will be set and a dedication will be held on Saturday afternoon of the reunion. ? The Panther Walk of Honor will include a three-dimensional or raised-line drawing of a panther on a base with a plaque commemorating the OSB Alumni. It will be constructed in a prominent place on campus. A braille and large print key will be available to locate your honoree?s brick. ? Contact Carolyn Patocka, Tommy Robertson, or Jeanne Meyer to donate your brick. Checks may be sent to OSB Alumni, 3300 Gibson St., Muskogee, OK 74403 ? Carolyn Patocka ? 918 683-4617 or cpatocka at osb.k12.ok.us Tommy Robertson ? 918 682-2629 Jeanne Meyer ? 918 683-4252 or jmeyer194 at gmail.com ? Please share this information with those who don?t have access to computers. OSB Alumni Panther Walk of Honor Brick Order Form ? Name: Address: City, State, Zip: Phone: Email: ? Amount Paid: ? Brick Text can be 1-3 lines of 14 characters each (spaces count as characters). Honoree Name Class of ?? ? or Position Held* Dates* *Optional Information -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From afallin at cox.net Mon Feb 27 19:46:23 2012 From: afallin at cox.net (Allison Fallin) Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:46:23 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] two questions about Braille and Main menu Message-ID: <629D9FAED8F14A9D87C70169803633B0@DHGDN7G1> Hello. I have two questions. First of all, is there a list of grade 3 Braille contractions? If someone has a URL for it, I'd appreciate having it. My second question has to do with Main menu on ACB radio. I'd like to download a previous show to my Victor Stream but when I try there's no way to download it in an MP3 format , and I don't think the Stream will play either HTM files or All Files, which are my two choices. Any help would be appreciated. Allison Fallin From cobyis at juno.com Mon Feb 27 21:52:22 2012 From: cobyis at juno.com (clivingstone) Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:52:22 GMT Subject: [oklahoma-l] two questions about Braille and Main menu Message-ID: <20120227.205222.29476.2@webmail09.vgs.untd.com> http://www.loc.gov/nls/reference/circulars/brailleliteracy.html Coby Livingstone Oklahoma City ---------- Original Message ---------- From: "Allison Fallin" To: "Oklahoma List" Subject: [oklahoma-l] two questions about Braille and Main menu Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:46:23 -0600 Hello. I have two questions. First of all, is there a list of grade 3 Braille contractions? If someone has a URL for it, I'd appreciate having it. My second question has to do with Main menu on ACB radio. I'd like to download a previous show to my Victor Stream but when I try there's no way to download it in an MP3 format , and I don't think the Stream will play either HTM files or All Files, which are my two choices. Any help would be appreciated. Allison Fallin _______________________________________________ oklahoma-l mailing list oklahoma-l at acb.org http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/oklahoma-l ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4f4c4185761c316090c0st06vuc From rm1947 at swbell.net Wed Feb 29 17:34:02 2012 From: rm1947 at swbell.net (Bob Moore) Date: Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:34:02 -0600 Subject: [oklahoma-l] Mark Ruth is in the hospital Message-ID: <002401ccf732$3db1a6e0$b914f4a0$@net> ~Mark had to be take to the hospital last night with his hart acting up. I talked with him just now and he is doing well but the blood pressure is still really high. Until that get it down he will be staying in the hospital.