February 2010
From the President
Embarrassing Moment
Gebhard Greeting
Philosophical Approaches on Blindness
Legislative Report, Winter 2010
Cold is a Relative Thing
August Will Soon Be Here
Donations and Memorials In
Memory of Donald Neal
In Memory of George Schumacher
Unique Dog
7th Annual AT Expo
Study: Hybrid Cars Hit More
Pedestrians
Save the Date!
NDAB FAMILY NEWS
Bismarck Area News
Fargo Area News
Williston Area News
48th National Convention Report
Candy’s Corner
From The President
Happy New Year to all NDAB members;
Here we are again at the start of a new year. I hope you
enjoy the following story and find it both informative and amusing.
Deciding to begin 2010 with a deep cleaning of my “entire”
apartment, New Year’s Eve, I began with the office. It was just the first room
on the long list of things to clean that day. No problem with dusting off the
computer desk but it went all downhill from there and I am not talking about
skiing!
Downhill skiing is one
of the events along with cross country skiing, and snowshoeing held at the
annual Black Hills Regional Ski for Light near Deadwood, SD. Many of our daring
members of NDAB and I attended this past January 24th through the 30th.
Consider joining in the fun next year. Our gratitude to those that help make
this event a success including; the North Dakota School for the Blind
Foundation, the Fargo Gateway Lions Club, Judy’s Leisure Tours, in cooperation
with Schuck Bus Company, employees of North Dakota Vision Services School for
the Blind, and volunteers from across
both the states of North and South Dakota. The participants from
Now, let’s return back to my messy office. Dusting off the
artificial tree and pictures above the daybed went well but while climbing back
down from the daybed I began to fall. Both of my arms were waving wildly about
and trying to restore my balance. My right arm came down sending a coffee cup
flying, knocking over cleaning supplies, and shoving both the printer and
scanner across the desktop and into the computer. Nothing was broken or needs
to be replaced, which allows me to make a donation for the NDAB Walkathon, Saturday, April
24th and I challenge each of you
to participate or make a donation this year!
I have not found time to learn the new tips and tricks for
the printer purchased in December or the recently updated scanner. My plans in
March will definitely have to include the next
adult week offered through
Luckily, when I fell, the office chair was facing the daybed
so my bottom landed on the chair seat.
But just a short time later, while picking up an old scanner stored
under the office desk, I felt a ripping pain in my finger. I began jumping all
around, clutching the injured finger until the pain eased. Gingerly, I touched
around the sore spot to check for bleeding. There were only a few layers of
skin missing so I continued on with the list.
When only after a few minutes under the desk armed with the
vacuum hose; I smacked my head on a corner of the desk. There wasn’t any
bleeding this time either and knowing that my dog guide Jenna, has allergies to
household dust, I continued on removing the irritant.
Jenna received a clean bill of health in November after
surgery to remove a swollen lymph node that was originally thought to be
cancerous. Jenna remains in good health and we hope she will continue to be
with us for a long time.
The closet revealed many treasures accumulated over time
including items purchased at camp auctions.
The dates of this year’s camp are August 8th through the 15th
and the banquet theme is “Birthday Bash.”
Feeling pretty proud of my progress, I confidently strode up
the step stool to wipe down the upper shelf and “bashed” my head, again! You
might want to reconsider who to vote for at the upcoming NDAB convention at the Williston, Airport International
Inn;
Larry fortunately came to the rescue shortly following the
last knock to the head, restored some order to the chaos and whisked me away in
his white work van. He plied me with Tylenol, bandaged my throbbing finger, and
instructed me to apply a heating pad to my aching shoulder and lower back.
I complied and promptly fell asleep. I close with these
parting words. We all have bad days, which I often call “blind” days. Time
heals all wounds. Laughter is often the best medicine. And always remember, if you can’t laugh at
yourself; who can you laugh at?
Best wishes and stay safe,
Michelle
Embarrassing Moment
This Mom will probably never forget this particular Sunday
sermon. “Dear Lord,” the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a
rapturous look on his upturned face. “without you Lord, we are but dust...” He
would have continued but at that moment her very obedient daughter who was
listening leaned over and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four year
old girl voice, "Mom, what is butt dust?"
Gebhard Greetings
The past several months have been filled with preparations. Alex
has been visiting colleges, having senior pictures taken, ordering graduation
announcements, picking out music for a vocal solo for music contest and all the
other things that make the senior year of high school go fast forward in a
blur. Some of the pressure has been
relieved as he has made the big decision – where he will go to college next
year. He had several nice offers to play
football and he finally decided to be a Viking and major in business at
Though the winter has been cold and snowy, I have been
enjoying the sheer beauty of it all! We
had snowflakes last Saturday as big as feathers! They were gorgeous as they drifted down. It
is quite easy to see the beauty as long as I can view it from the warm side of my
picture window!
Spring is coming.
Before you know it we will have baby lambs running around. Then it will
be time to plant the garden and mow the grass.
Guess I will make a cup of tea and settle down on the couch with a
blanket as I savor what’s left of winter before my mind conjures up the buzzing
of mosquitoes!
Thanks to our faithful reporters, we are able to ‘keep in
touch’ with the comings and goings of our fellow members. Unfortunately, along with the good times we
share there are the sad ones also. Two
of our members have lost their husbands this winter. You can read in this issue about the
remarkable men they were privileged to share their lives with.
We recently received word from Eunice Ketterling that her
husband, Lester, has been diagnosed with lymphoma. You can connect with the Ketterlings by mail at 2136 Leisure World,
Before I close I
want to encourage you to take some time to thoughtfully consider the talents
and abilities you have and how you might share those gifts with your NDAB
family. Once again, our Nominating
Committee is searching for people to fill some important positions in our
organization. There are a variety of
leadership opportunities available. At
our convention in June, we will have election of the following: President, V. President, Secretary, Treasurer,
Promoter editor and one board member. There are some currently serving in these
positions who are willing to run again for another term and some that are
wanting to do something else. Please
contact Olga Neal, Nominating Committee Chair if you would like more
information about the duties. She
welcomes your questions and especially your expression of interest. You may
write to her at
Zelda Gebhard,
Editor
Philosophical Approaches on Dealing
with Blindness
By: Allan Peterson
The question is often raised as to why there are two
national organizations of the blind. The next question that is often asked is,
“wouldn’t it be better if there were just one national organization of the
blind that spoke with a united voice”?
The answer to the first question about why there are two
national organizations of the blind is straightforward. Once upon a time there
was just one national organization; namely it was the National Federation of
the Blind (
The split or “revolution” in the Federation happened as a
consequence of a bitter internal fight that broke out among the leaders of the
organization in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. The bitter fight culminated
when a group of Federationists walked out of the
The people, who walked out of the 1961
Perhaps, the most galling aspect of the controversy to
people, who were a part of the reform movement in the Federation, was that they
were denied the opportunity to share their views and grievances in the
The
Today, the Federation’s governance structure remains
centralized in its national headquarters located in
By contrast to date, ten individuals have served as
President of ACB since its formation in 1961. Perhaps, one of the principle
reasons for the changes that have occurred in ACB’s leadership is due to its
Constitution which limits the service of officers to three consecutive two year
terms in the same office.
The Federation chooses to dismiss the part of its history
when the formation of ACB occurred, as a slight hiccup in its overall work on
behalf of people who are blind in
Prior to the schism that took place in the Federation, those
who were instrumental in the formation of ACB, had been valued members of the
It is noteworthy, for us in NDAB, that our affiliate played
a key role in the 1961
There is, of course, more that could be said about the
history of ACB but, neither time nor space allows more to be written here on
this topic. A detailed history of ACB can be found in the book “People of
Vision: A History of the American Council of the Blind” the authors of this
book are James and Marjorie Megivern. It is the source that I used to help
write this brief synopsis of the events that led to the formation of ACB. The
book can be purchased from the ACB Store or can be loaned from the State
Library.
One of
It is then a fair question to ask, as to whether ACB has an
underlying stated philosophical outlook on blindness that is similar to that of
The column Paul Edwards wrote is reprinted below in this
article to offer a perspective as to whether ACB has a philosophical approach
on dealing with blindness. The reason for doing so at this time is that the
This is the article:
Braille Forum, January 1998
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: THE QUESTION
by Paul Edwards
At the beginning of a new year,
it's perhaps appropriate to pause for a little reflection. It's customary to do
what I have done before with this column and look back at the preceding year
and ahead to the next one. I am not going to do that! Instead, I want to offer
some of my answers to the question I get asked more often than any other as
president of the American Council of the Blind. Can you guess what the question
is? What does the ACB stand for? What is ACB's philosophy? What makes the ACB
different from the
I have often thought of dealing
with this issue here and have avoided it because many will disagree with
whatever I say. Disagreement is good! One of ACB's hallmarks is its tolerance
for people with divergent notions of who they are and what ACB is! That, in
fact, is one of the organization's characteristics!
It is a fluid set of beliefs
and assumptions that changes from state to state and from time to time. But,
for me anyway, there are some core values that are at the heart of what the ACB
is! Here are some of them!
It is OK to be blind! That's a
big one! It carries with it a whole set of other ancillary values. First and
foremost, people who have meaningful vision loss are blind. Blindness is much
more than just a nuisance. Blind people can and should expect society to make
changes that facilitate the inclusion of people who are blind. These last two
values may be areas where members of the National Federation of the Blind would
not agree with us!
Another core value of the ACB
relates to expectations! We are absolutely convinced that there is not a
one-size-fits-all "blind person" or that there should be! I believe
that ACB values diversity and is tolerant of people who are at various levels
of independence. Does that mean that we don't champion good training or expect
a lot of our members? I don't think so! It does mean that we embrace people at
various levels of competence and try very hard not to be judgmental
about where people are! In a very real sense, I think that ACB has almost
instinctively adopted the "People First" model by placing
individuality far above other values in seeing each other.
And then there is democracy!
ACB, as most of you well know, was formed, in part, because those who created
our organization believed that states and individual members alike had to have
substantial autonomy to express divergent opinions without being penalized. So,
another core value of ACB is the notion that there must be room for a broad
range of beliefs within our organization. If this is a core value, and I think
it is, it goes a long way toward explaining why we have never been able to
produce the kind of coherent, easily portable creed that all of our members
must accept.
All of the divergence I have
talked about so far has some real drawbacks. It truly has impeded coherent,
centralized decision-taking and probably always will. That divergence has also
made it difficult for us to arrive at positions sometimes. Where there is
disagreement, we debate. This debate can often take many years and can cause us
to take positions that may seem somewhat ambivalent to those who do not know us
well. I choose to use a different word!
Our positions validate divergence by creating a place where the majority
of our members are comfortable.
What I have written about here
does not constitute a complete list of our core values. It may well not be your
core list of our fundamental beliefs.
But there is one more core
value I think we can agree upon! That is that the ACB is much more than just a
group of blind people meeting and working together for common goals! It's much
larger than the sum of its members! It's a hug when you're feeling sad! It's a
belly-laugh at those in society who just don't understand! It's arms around
each other when we lose someone! It's a place where you can feel safe! It's
anger distilled into action as people die falling off subway platforms! It's
people arguing and hugging afterwards! It's 1,500 people singing the national
anthem! It's help and hope and hands and holding and happiness and hilarity.
It's us, alone and together, divided and united, men and women, young and old!
And it's the American Council of the Blind!
So when someone asks you what
the American Council of the Blind is or any of those other questions, you can
show him or her this column! Will it tell him or her who we are and what we
believe? Not really. It might help, but ACB is not a philosophy. It's a dynamic
never-ending experience, and the only way you can truly understand us is to
plunge right in among us and become us!
And then, if you fully understand who we are, tell me because I would
like to know too!
A Commentary on the Edwards article and
It is my impression that the Federation is trying to make
the argument that ACB has no uniform philosophical approach to making an
adjustment to blindness and that ACB isn’t capable of agreeing among itself on
much of anything of substance. They probably would argue that because we can’t
agree on our approach we are ineffective in our efforts to change policy. I
think that is why they feel the Edwards article typifies the ineffectiveness of
ACB and why they have chosen to use it as an educational tool in their
criticism of ACB.
This begs the question, Is ACB an effective voice for people
who are blind? I think it would be very hard for anyone to argue otherwise.
Unfortunately, many of the issues that ACB has championed have been opposed by
the Federation – such as accessible paper currency, provision for audio
description, the use of detectable warning strips and installation of
pedestrian audio signals – just to name some of the prominent issues that have
engendered
Does ACB invite and welcome debate
and does this sometimes impede direction and action? Yes, undoubtedly the answer is that this is
true. Those who have had the opportunity to attend an ACB Convention or one of
its Board meetings would likely agree that they can, at times, be very
contentious. In defense of this reality, it has been stated, that the decision
processes employed by any true democracy is sometimes quite messy. Conversely,
it can also be argued, that our debate has strengthened our position and our
resolve.
In the game of contrasts and comparisons, the Federation has
made the claim that its organization’s internal governance follows a democratic
process. Those who have been ostracized, shunned or banned from the Federation
would not agree with this claim. Over the period of years beginning after the
1957
So in answer to one of the introductory questions, “wouldn’t
it be better if there were just one national organization of the blind which
spoke with a single united voice”? Yes undoubtedly that would be preferable but
given the past history of the
Legislative Report, Winter, 2010
By: Allan Peterson
I am, no doubt, not the first person to wish you a “Happy
New Year” but I probably have running dibs on being the last one for this year!
So my wish is that each of you have a very Happy New Year and that you are able
to keep at least one of your New Year’s Resolutions! If you don’t have any
resolutions, let me know, maybe we can write some together so they can be
considered by our next NDAB Convention. Sorry about the pun – I could not help
myself!
Just when we think there may be a political tide that is
turning in one direction, it turns on its heel and seemingly things start going
the other way. I’m speaking of course about the outcome of the Senate race that
recently took place in
On the state level we, of course, have our own political
earthquake as fresh meat for the political grist mill. I don’t think many
predicted that Byron Dorgan would decide that he would not run for reelection.
I for one cannot blame Senator Dorgan for his decision not to run for another
term – his job is certainly not all fun and games.
Regardless of what your impressions of Senator Dorgan may
be, I believe him to be a honorable man. As a holder of public office he, like
any public official, opens himself up to a lot of personal criticism. For
example, I attended a town hall meeting this past spring in West Fargo where he
had to field many questions from a crowd that included a number of angry
people; my friend who brought me and I thought that many of the questions that
were asked were unfair and some went way beyond the bounds of civility. This
meeting took place around the time when the stimulus bill and the bank rescue
bills were being considered by Congress.
If you have gotten the impression that there hasn’t been
much of a break in our election cycle you would be right. Politicians are
gearing up for another national election this November and we’ve just witnessed
millions of dollars being spent on ads about health care, most of it was spent
to oppose health care reform that is (still??) under consideration by Congress.
But do remember above all, whatever the outcome of this
fall’s elections; our elected officials will have the responsibility of
representing us in the State Legislature and in the U.S. Congress. The election
and its outcome should be of much concern to all of us because I would argue
that all legislation affects us whether or not we are persons who live with
sight loss.
But, the legislative agenda that has a direct affect on us
is shorter and it is designed to address topics that are of specific concern to
people who are blind and visually impaired. To help engage us in those specific
legislative issues, the American Council of the Blind conducts an annual
Seminar every year. This is a Seminar that I’ve attended every year for a
number of years as a representative from NDAB. This year there is to be a bit
of a change in this routine, Because both Zelda Gebhard and I will attend the
Seminar and take the message on these issues to Capitol Hill when we make our
visits to our
The legislative priorities that we will be addressing
include:
A House Bill, H.R.
3101, the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act
This legislation is designed to update the communications
Act to provide greater access for people who are blind or visually impaired to
wireless devices such as PDA’s, accessible user interfaces like menus on DVR’s
and TV menus, along with accessible emergency alerts on TV and a requirement
for video description for primetime programming.
The House and Senate Bills,
H.R.734 and S.841, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act
This legislation would provide a minimum sound emission
standard for hybrid or electric vehicles when traveling at low speeds. Its
intent is to reduce the increasing danger that these vehicles pose to the blind
community due to the lack of traffic sound that they emit.
A list of other topics that may be discussed at the Seminar
include:
An update on legal
developments that are related to litigation and structured negotiations that
have been undertaken by ACB.
The lack of compliance
by the federal government regarding parts of the Rehabilitation Act and ACB’s
advocacy efforts in this area.
The two pieces of legislation that are listed as priorities
for this year’s Seminar (1) an update of the Communications Act through
pursuing passage of the 21st Century Communications and Video
Description Act and (2) seeking enactment of a noise standard for quiet cars
are both ones that ACB has pursued in the past. However, despite this lack of
success, there are some lessons that guide our efforts, first it sometimes
takes time before any important piece of legislation is finally enacted and
second, it is persistence that often is what makes the difference.
The ACB Legislative Seminar is scheduled to take place from
Sunday, February 21st through Tuesday, February 23 at the Airport
and Holiday Inn in
Zelda and I will provide you with a report on our trip to
the ACB Seminar and our visits to Capitol Hill in the next Promoter and no
doubt we will be asking for your involvement in the efforts to seek support
from our congressional representatives regarding the ACB priorities as well.
Finally, Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!
Cold is a Relative Thing!
65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
60 above zero:
Californians shiver
uncontrollably.
50 above zero:
Italian and English cars won’t
start. People in ND drive with their
windows down.
40 above zero:
Georgians don coats, thermal
underwear, gloves and wool hats. People
in ND throw on a flannel shirt.
35 above zero:
20 above zero:
People in
ZERO:
Californians fly away to
10 below zero:
20 below zero:
30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North
Pole.
40 below zero:
50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
August Will Soon Be Here!
Isn’t that a comforting thought to help us get through these
winter months? The 40th
annual NDAB Summer Camp will be held August 8-15 by the shores of
The Friday night banquet, planned by Mary Stip and friends,
will be centered around a birthday party theme.
If you really want to get into the birthday party spirit, come dressed
in the style of clothes worn during the decade of your birthday. You have lots of time to do some research and
hunt for the perfect costume.
If you have any questions or have any suggestions for camp,
call Loris at 774-3399.
Loris Van Berkom & Rick Feldman,
DONATIONS
NDAB
received a donation from Norm & Kristina Reich in honor of her parents,
Cliff and Pat Phelps. A donation from
the Petersburg WELCA, and a donation from Cassel Everson.
The
following memorials have been received during the past quarter:
A memorial
for Terry Bjornstad from Ethel Halvorson.
Memorials
for Don Neal from Lee & Rom Theilman, Gary & Renae Huseby, Mavis
Anderson, Candy & Terry Lien, Loris Van Berkom, Stan & Kathy Larson.
And a
memorial for Hazel Nerison from Mavis Anderson.
Thank you
for remembering NDAB with your donations and memorials!
Renae
Huseby, Treasurer
Donald K. Neal
Donald
K. Neal, 85, died on
He
married Olga Dorr on
Don sang
for a time with the Barbershop Chorus in
Don is
survived by his wife, Olga, Grand Forks; daughters Donna Lee Neal, Grand Forks
and SJ Neal (Marty Klann), Rochester, Minnesota; grandson Christopher Neal
Anderson (Lisa Schultz), Eugene, OR; sister Ruth Hendrickson, Portland, OR; two
great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews and other relatives and
dear friends who will miss his presence tremendously.
He was
preceded in death by his parents, his sister Helen, and his brother and closest
friend Harriman.
Don was
a resident of the Good Samaritan Society, Larimore for nearly three years, where
he received excellent and loving care for which his family will be ever
grateful.
George Schumacher
George J. Schumacher, 88,
Kenmare, died
George Joseph Schumacher
was born
George entered the United
States Army on
George married Evelyn
Goebel on
George was a member of St.
Agnes Catholic Church, the American Legion Post #64, the Veterans of Foreign
Wars Post #7049, and the Last Man’s Club, all in Kenmare.
Those who shared in his
life, loving wife of 62
years, Evelyn, Kenmare, ND; daughter, Theresa (Jim) Burbidge, Mohall, ND; sons,
Leon (Deb) Schumacher, Columbia, MO, Nick (Kathy) Schumacher, Kenmare, ND, and
Raymond (Colette) Schumacher, Monument, CO; ten grandchildren, Marcia Raguse,
Brian Burbidge, Brandon (Linda) Burbidge, Monica (Mike) Pitt, Travis (Megan)
Schumacher, Adam Schumacher, Kara Schumacher and her fiancée, Kacy Keysor, Ross
Schumacher, Chase Schumacher and Cole Schumacher; numerous nieces, nephews and
cousins.
George was preceded in
death by his parents; sisters, Gertrude (Albert) Smetana, Isabell (Wilmer)
Finken, and Louise (Jim) Linnertz; brother, Wilfred (
Unique Dog
Submitted by Lynn Hanson
A
remarkable revolutionary breakthrough in Guide Dog handling at the Technical
University of Copenhagen-Denmark, has Danish scientist speculating what may
evolve in the future for guide dog handlers.
Chief
scientist Dr. Henrik Svensmark is a Geneticist who alleged Since the 1950's
scientist here have been breeding a rare, unique dog with vocal cords similar
to that of humans. These genetically
engineered prospective guide dogs exhibit rudimentary vocal cords similar to
humans. Thus making these canines a link
closer to communicating vocally with their handlers. To date researchers have been breeding Great
Danes with vocal cords similar or at least the closest in producing similar
sound wave frequencies to that of humans.
In
particular these Danish researchers have a Great Dane that goes by the name of
"King Dog". King Dog is a 13th
generation canine developed exclusively for verbal communication in a language
comparable with humans.
Working
with King Dog, Doctor Garity Bjornson is able to communicate and get verbal information from King
Dog. An example of some of the feedback
King Dog will advise his handler of are,
step up or step down for a change in elevation , obstacle in pathway which King
dog will say "barrier", door is simply door and many other "
Researcher
Garity Bjornson said a Guide Dog that has the ability to verbally speak will
give the blind handler the necessary
assurance to prepare for potential hazardous situations and for identifying
landmarks for traveling orientation. He
also indicated that it is simply a matter of how much time you want to spend on
a dog to train him a number of different vocal commands. The more commands desired the longer the dog
must train. One can only speculate how
far this can go. Especially with a well
trained dog that exhibits emotions and capable of making decisions (Thinking ?) Scientists question whether one day these
animals will communicate to us in our language similar to that as another human
?
7th Annual Assistive Technology Expo
Assistive technology (AT) helps people do many things such
as: remembering to take medication,
hearing on the phone, reading, communicating, accessing the computer, and
controlling their environment. The 7th Annual Assistive Technology Expo is the
place to learn about available technology. Make plans to attend on
This Expo offers presentations and exhibits on all types of
AT devices and services for people of any age and ability to help them live,
learn, work, and play.
The day includes a morning of presentations by AT
providers. There is a registration fee
of $25 for these sessions and lunch.
Scholarships are available to individuals with disabilities on a
first-come, first serve basis.
From
For more information or to apply for the scholarship,
contact Daphne Meyers toll free 1-877-760-2939, local (701-235-2330) or by
email: daphne@atexpo.org, www.atexpo.org.
Study: Hybrid cars hit more pedestrians
According to a National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration study,
hybrids are twice as dangerous to pedestrians because they are sneaky-quiet.
This has provoked debate in the auto industry, with manufacturers trying to
pick a noise to warn pedestrians of the vehicle’s presence.
HEV’s are most dangerous in the city, when they are almost
silent. A rumbling V-8 lets you know it is coming but electric vehicles offer
no such warning.
The American Council of the Blind has issued a number of
press releases in recent months warning of the danger that HEVs pose. There is
also a bill with 139 lawmakers on board that would force the Department of
Transportation to establish safety standards round “non-visual warnings” for
vehicles.
Out of the vehicles in the study:
• 8,387 were hybrids, of which 77 had struck a pedestrian —
this works out to a 0.9 percent incidence rate
• 559,703 vehicles were traditional gas-burners, which
struck 3,578 pedestrians, which works out to a 0.6 percent incidence rate
Electric vehicles are thus determined to be 50 percent more
dangerous to pedestrians. Of the pedestrian accidents, it was almost a
fifty-fifty break on under or over 35 mph, with one-third of accidents not
including speed limit information.
In accidents involving bicyclists, the numbers get worse:
• 0.3 percent of standard cars on the road hit a bicyclist
• 0.6 percent of HEVs hit a bicyclist
• Out of the speed limit data available, 25 of 34 collisions
were in a 35 or under zone, suggesting that city streets are the most dangerous
places to be a cyclist
Pressure from the ACB and others has spurred a new
controversy in the electric-vehicle field. Nissan, Ford and Chevrolet are all
trying to determine what, if any, “non visual signals” will be included in
their EV models.
Tesla has said that it has no intention if implementing
“fake noises,” as it has delivered 700 vehicles and the quiet power train is
consistently noted as a plus.
The Fisker Karma will include a “distinctive audio signature
… reflective of the car’s advanced technology.” Whether this means a Jetsons
like bubbling whir or cutting- edge dance beats remains to be seen.
Nissan and Ford are still on the fence, not having firm
plans either way. According to Ford’s hybrid division head Nancy Gioia, “if we
all do it differently, we will confuse the heck out of the consumer.”
Representative Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat, has
introduced a bill that would require the Department of Transportation to
establish non-visual warning requirements for HEVs. So far it has 139
supporters.
Public reception for the idea has been mostly negative on
the Internet, with people citing the quiet of EV power trains as a decisive
advantage not to be canceled by artificial noises.
Save the Date!
Our 2010 NDAB State Convention will be held at the
International Inn in Williston June 11-13.
Our theme for the weekend is “True Vision Goes Beyond Sight”. Plans are underway for an interesting,
informative, fun-filled weekend so mark your calendars and plan to attend. As members of NDAB, it is our privilege and
responsibility to participate in conducting the business of our
organization. Watch for your convention
packet in May.
Submitted by Loris Van Berkom, Convention Coordinator
NDAB FAMILY NEWS
By Mavis
Since
the
For the
November meeting, the Seniors listened to Pat Brunelle, a pharmacist from Gateway Pharmacy who spoke on vitamins,
relationship of vitamins to
prescriptions and also Medicare Part D.
On a later date that month, many attended the annual soup and dessert at
Lola
Huwe, Marie Weixel and I attended a Strategic
Planning meeting for non-profit organizations. Bob Vandal
was intending to be there but he got his days mixed up. However, we do have to excuse Bob because he
had his mind on another day….his wedding day!
Congratulations to Bob and Evangeline Suarez!
Bob
Westemeyer reports that the ‘Meetin and Eatin’ bunch ate pizza at Pizza Ranch
in November and had their Christmas
party at the Golden Corral in December.
Bob also tells me that he donated his 15th GALLON of blood/platelets a few days before
Christmas. I think you are to be
commended, Bob! I do have a question,
“Do you have any blood left?”
Lavonne
Tank recently hospitalized for a heart procedure of adding a stint. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
On behalf
of the Bismarck NDAB community, I wish to extend our condolences to Olga Neal
and family in the loss of Don, husband and father, who passed away on December
26th.
By Shereen Faber
Well I'm sure the majority of our great state
of
The
Insight support group had our Christmas party Dec. 12th. We had about 19 people
that came with a big variety of great food, interesting and fun exchange gifts.
We also had a mystery guest which led to a lot of questions and talk afterwards
and we still don’t know who she was.
Our
braille group Christmas party was postponed because of too many illnesses. We rescheduled
for Jan. 8th and a lot more people were able to come. We read fun readings,
played bingo and shared snacks. We learned that Candy Lien has a new grandson.
His name is Anders Lien. Congratulations Candy and Terry. Doranna Robertson
moved to a different location in
In Dec.
our Community Theater put on "A Christmas Carol," which I understand was
very, very good. In Jan. the Tin Roof Theater Company is putting on
"Laura" a murder mystery, which was made into a movie in 1944 and
according to Karla Peterson, our audio describer the script is better than the
movie.
We want to give Olga Neal our sympathies and
prayers for the passing of her husband Don. Don was such a wonderful man. You
couldn’t help but laugh when you were around him because he was always ready
with a joke or ready to hear a new one, and what a laugh he had. Love you Olga.
In closing,
I’m hoping everyone stays safe and warm until Spring breaks which I hope will
be sooner than later.
By Ruth Phalen
The big event for the NDAB group in
Some of the people attending were Viola Lillehaugen and
Hazel Frederikson (Hazel Nut) from the
Our Support Group played bingo at our November meeting. A collection is taken at the meetings during
the year and at holiday time Tracy Wicken (our leader) gets some turkeys and
Thanksgiving dinner fixings which are used as prizes – of course, we all want
to win the turkeys but only a few do.
In December we played our, now traditional, dice game which
determines the gift exchange with the
winners choosing wrapped gifts. After
all the gifts are taken and opened winners now select and “steal” the gifts
they want. It’s timed so what you have
at the end of the time is what you go home with. Then, of course, there is food – and lots of
it - no dieting then!!
Our January Support Group meeting was very informal with
The sad news for this period was the death of Don Neal on
December 26. Don was a strong supporter
of our organization but ill health has kept him from being with us much for
several years. Rom, Lee and I attended
the visitation service and heard of his great personality and gifts. Our sympathies go to Olga and her family.
As for me, I visited my children and families in
By Connie Springsted
Happy
new year to each and every one of you from the snowy northland around
Well,
the winter snow closed us down again and at this time many side streets have
one “frontend loader” trail down them.
So, with all this snow, do we prepare for spring flooding again? That’s the big question.
Ernie
hosted a Christmas party at his building again this year. There were 13 sight impaired plus sighted
helpers who enjoyed the afternoon together.
I am
writing this on January 4th.
Yesterday was Carol Schmitt’s birthday.
When I called her to congratulate her, she said many had remembered and
called her. Mary Forness also has a
January 3rd birthday. It was
Mary’s 83rd this year.
The
Mary also wanted to let everyone going to camp
in August 2010 that the banquet theme is “Birthday Bash”. Get your birthday party duds rounded up.
Wishing
you all a Blessed and Happy New Year!
Williston Area News
By Loris Van Berkom
“Happy 2010 “to all of our NDAB friends! Another new year has begun, filled with lots
of opportunities for everyone to make a difference to someone in our community
and to our organization.
Our vision support group continues to meet the second
Saturday of the month at
When I ask my Williston NDAB friends for news, no one ever
has any news to share but I gleaned these tidbits from conversations with
them. Helen Howard, who celebrated her
87th birthday January 6th, received the best present of
all when her daughter Nancy and husband from
Our deepest sympathy goes out to Olga Neal on the death of
her husband Don who died December 26 at the Good Samaritan Society
Larimore. They would have celebrated
their 57th wedding anniversary on January 17. Don will be greatly missed.
We will be hosting the 2010 state convention here in June so
make plans to come!
48th National Convention Report, 2009
By Shereen Faber
First, I would like
to thank N.D.A.B. for giving me the opportunity to attend my first national
convention. It was quite the experience! It was definitely extremely hot and
humid in
Sunday
evening there was roll call and it was kind of fun to hear from all the states
and how many seats were representing each state. I was awed at just how many
people were there. We were entertained by Amy Carroll Webb, a folk singer from
Monday was opening ceremonies and presentation
of awards. The speaker was Shakila Maharaj, an organizational psychologist from
Tuesday
we had the reading of two resolutions and being that Allan Peterson previously reported
on the resolutions, constitution and by-laws I won’t elaborate on those. Thank
you Allan, for that as it is more your forte. They presented scholarship awards
to the college students and were well deserved.
On the national level this was so impressive! We
heard a very complete history on the great city of
There
was a presentation on the I-phone from Apple, AT&T is the server and it
sounds very effective if you have the knack for this kind of technology.
Wednesday the Durwood McDonald Ambassador Award
was presented to Kathy Nimmer as she couldn’t be at the banquet Friday night.
This was awarded to her for her great accomplishments and works in her
community towards and for the blind.
Steve Rothstein talked a little about Louis
Braille's 200th Birthday and we did celebrate with a scrumptious cookie at
coffee break with the letters
Our next
speaker was L.J. Ganser, a talking book reader. L. J. was not only interesting
but very entertaining! He explained to us in a comical way just what a reader
has to go through when they mispronounce a word, WOW! What a process. Now that
things are digital it will be a lot easier. Hearing L.J.’s sound effects and
character voices was very enjoyable. He was a
The last
speakers of the morning were two ladies talking on Identity Theft. They touched
on how it could affect your bank accounts, medical accounts anywhere from
emergency rooms to doctor bills, from clinic appointments to hospital stays.
Keeping your social security numbers safe is the most important thing to
remember.
On Thursday morning we found out that the live
auction held on Wednesday night made $24,500!
Good Job!
The
Assistant to the President on Disabilities Policy, Kareem Dale spoke to the
convention by phone. He expressed that our president is committed to helping to
get our concerns passed through more smoothly and hopefully quickly. Kareem’s focus
is more on policy, education, accessibility and technology. There are presently
three people in the White House advocating for people with disabilities. There
recently was a person elected and is going to be in charge of appointing
someone to be commissioner of RSA.
Friday
was election day. All running officers where uncontested and things went quick
and easy. We voted on all the resolutions which, of course, took a bit more
time.
Now, I would like to highlight some of our
afternoon and evening activities. Elton and I took a day at Discovery Cove
which is all water interaction activities. I took in a lifelong dream of mine
and swam with the dolphins. It was absolutely phenomenal! My dolphin’s name was
Diago. He was 11 years old and weighed 550 lbs and was about 5-1/2 to 6 ft.
long.
Speaking of animals we came across a couple at
the convention. One lady had a seeing eye horse. The horse was a palomino and obviously
was rather small. Her name was Confetti. We visited for a time with this couple
and learned some interesting things. I had never heard of a seeing eye horse
before.
We took
in the tour at
The last
fun park we went to was Seaworld and discovered I really, really like roller
coasters. I think the last time I was on one was when I could see and boy does
it make a difference. After the third time on this one coaster Elton said,
"I’m going to try it this time with my eyes closed and see what it’s like
for you." When we were done he said, "Yah, it’s not
as scary when you can’t see what’s coming." Oh, yes we did take in almost all the shows
and exhibits.
All in
all it was a wonderful trip and I loved my first experience at a national
convention so thank you again, NDAB!
Candy’s Corner
Reader's Digest Subscribers' Alert
Since 1928, the American Printing House for the Blind has
provided Reader's Digest® in braille at no charge to subscribers. For your
information, the magazine recently decided to combine the December and January
issues and to combine the June and July issues.
If you know of anyone, of any age, who is blind or visually
impaired and would like a free subscription to Reader's Digest in braille or on
cassette, please
ask them to call 800/223-1839 and ask for Magazine Services.
Free subscriptions to Newsweek® on cassette are also available.
I have learned about a new currency identifier
that sounds very intriguing! It is called the iBill Talking Bank Note
Identifier, and the cost is less than most other electronic paper currency
identifiers on the market, only $99.00. It is available from Orbit Research,
and here are some of the specifications:
-Ultra-slim and compact
“key-fob” design – 3.0 x 1.6 x 0.7 inch
- Recognizes all US bills in circulation - $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100
(including the new $5 bill)
- Provides instantaneous response – bill is identified in less than one second
- Can recognize banknotes in any orientation
- Ultra-high accuracy - better than 99.9%
- Ergonomic, user-friendly design provides ultimate ease of use – has just two
buttons for operation
- Clear announcement of denomination by speech, tone or vibration
- Long battery life – over a year with typical use
- Powered by a single AAA battery; easily replaceable by the user
- Durable, heavy-duty engineering-grade polycarbonate construction – fully
sealed design, resistant to dust and fluids
- Easily updateable to recognize new banknote designs
- Clearly indicates un-identifiable bills – e.g. torn or badly defaced ones –
does not incorrectly identify them
- Operates over the full consumer range of environmental conditions –
temperature and humidity
- Supplied accessories include battery, user manual in large print and audio
- One-year warranty covering manufacturing defects
Contact:
Orbit Research
1-888-666-7248
Or visit their web site at: http://orbitresearch.com/23328.html
Granny Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ cup butter or
margarine
3 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas
1 8oz. can crushed
pineapple
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup finely chopped
pecans
In bowl, stir together flour, sugar, soda, nutmeg, salt and
cloves; set aside.
In large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer for 3
seconds.
Add eggs, banana, undrained pineapple and vanilla.
Beat till combined.
Add flour mixture. Beat on low speed till
combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute.
Fold in pecans, then Spread in well greased and floured 10
inch fluted tube pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 70 to 75 minutes or until toothpick
inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake 10 minutes, then remove.