Guide Dog Users of Oregon 9th Annual Spring Romp
The Guide Dog Users of Oregon’s 9th Annual Spring Romp is planned for the weekend of June 13 at Lewis & Clark College. This year’s theme is accessibility. As in past years, one low price includes Friday and Saturday accommodations, all meals on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. This year a bonus will be the pizza dinner on Friday night.
For more information, or to receive a registration packet, contact Judy Wilkins at (503) 227-3504 or via e-mail, [email protected]. For more information about Guide Dog Users of Oregon, visit http://www.gduo.org.
Rev up your engines for Indianapolis in September!
ACB of Indiana will be holding its state convention Sept. 12- 13 at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in Goshen. The room rate is $59 per night plus tax. To reserve your hotel room, call (574) 533-9551. For more information about the convention, contact Dolly Sowder at (812) 279-1669, or via e-mail, [email protected].
Accessible Pedestrian Signal in New Jersey
by Ottilie Lucas
I am thrilled to let all of you know that, thanks to much hard work and the assistance of Lukas Franck of the Seeing Eye and Will Day of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, an accessible pedestrian signal has been installed at an intersection near my home.
A pole next to the crosswalk has a locator signal beeping at all times to assist blind pedestrians in locating the signal. When you push and hold down the pushbutton for a few seconds, it emits a sound to indicate that the voice signal has been activated. The signal comes from the pole next to the crosswalk, and says, “Safe to cross Pennington Road” at the best time to do so. It repeats this message several times. This corner of Pennington Road (Route 31) and Ewingville Road is a complex intersection with three left green arrows and four right on reds. It is difficult to know the best time to cross. I used the accessible signal this morning and found it to be a great step toward making travel safer and more accessible. My guide dog, Kory, and I thank all who made this a reality.
State Conventions by Date
April 3: Oklahoma Council of the Blind, Trade Wind Central, 3141 E. Skelly Dr., Tulsa, OK. Contact Marilyn Sanders, (918) 488- 0845.
April 5: Badger Association of the Blind, 912 N. Hawley Rd., Milwaukee. For more information, contact Kathleen Brockman at (414) 615-0108.
April 9-13: California Council of the Blind, Arden West Hilton Hotel, 2200 Harvard St., Sacramento. For more details, contact the CCB office, (510) 537-7877.
April 11-13: Mississippi Council of the Blind. Contact the Mississippi Council office at (601) 982-1718 for more information.
April 25-27: Iowa Council of the United Blind, Ramada Inn North, 5055 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines. Call (800) 643-1197 to make room reservations. The room rate is $51 per night plus tax. For details, contact Donna Seliger, (515) 284-0505 or (888) 404-5562.
April 25-27: ACB of Nebraska. Call (888) 218-8061.
May 9-10: ACB of New Mexico. To reserve a room, contact the Best Western Inn Suites at (505) 244-7022. For more information, contact David Armijo, (505) 437-9295.
May 16-18: Florida Council of the Blind, Ft. Lauderdale. Contact Robert Miller at (850) 906-9821 or (800) 267-4448 (in Florida only).
August 22-24: Tennessee Council of the Blind, Clarion Hotel, Chattanooga. Contact Brenda Dillon at (615) 874-1223 for more information.
October 10-12: Illinois Council of the Blind, Radisson Chicago Northshore Hotel, 4500 W. Touhey Ave., Lincolnwood. Room rates are $79 plus tax. To reserve your room, call (847) 677-1234. Reservations must be made by Sept. 10. For more convention information, contact the ICB office at (888) 698-1862 or [email protected].
November 6-8: Washington Council of the Blind, Downtown Doubletree Inn, Spokane. For more information, contact Cindy Burgett, (360) 698-0827.