[Nfb-idaho] NFBI Winter Newsletter

Sat Feb 11 14:46:10 UTC 2017

Al

Thanks Al.First time I have read newsletter in a long time.

Harry

________________________________
From: Nfb-idaho <nfb-idaho-bounces at nfbnet.org> on behalf of allan schneider via Nfb-idaho <nfb-idaho at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2017 7:21 PM
To: nfb-idaho at nfbnet.org
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Subject: [Nfb-idaho] NFBI Winter Newsletter

Our “EOB”

The 2017 Legislative Luncheon

Allan Schneider

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 16, 2017, was a day to recognize the achievements as well as the benefits of the civil rights movement.  Both are remarkable.  On that same day the blind of Idaho had the remarkable opportunity to explain the benefits of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to Idaho’s lawmakers during the 2017 Legislative Luncheon.

Over 40 legislators along with Sheri Ybarra, the Superintendent of Education and Dr. Charlie Silva, the Director of Special Education were in attendance.  The NFB was represented by 30 members including Dana Ard, the state president, and Susan Bradley, the Treasure Valley Chapter president.   Administrator Beth Cunningham, Vocational Rehabilitation Chief Mike Walsh, and Commissioner Allan Schneider from the Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ICBVI) attended as well.

Jan Gawith was the organizer and MC of the event.  Dana Ard spoke about the continuing partnership between NFB Idaho and the ICBVI.  Dana, Megan Geisler, and Mike Gibson explained the benefits of public transportation for the blind and others.  Allan Schneider discussed the Workplace Innovation and Opportunities Act, its impact on the ICBVI, and the focus on transitioning students from school to work.  Sandy Streeter informed the legislators about the independent living and older blind programs.  Legislators were also asked to form a bipartisan team to ride in the 2017 Cycle for Independence.

The National Federation of the Blind of Idaho has been hosting this “meet and greet” with its Idaho legislators since the early 70’s.  It is the organization’s way of presenting its Explanation of Benefits.

[pic]

Larry Bateman and Representative Steven Miller

[FullSizeR]

Over 75 people attended the 2017 Legislative Luncheon

President’s Address

Looking Forward and Reflecting Back

Dana Ard, NFBI President

The NFBI state convention will take place March 23- 25 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel.. Susan Bradley and I met with Jonathan Ray, director of sales and event services. He is excited to work with us to make our convention a success. All conference rooms, including hospitality, will be on the first floor. There is free WiFi in the hotel. Make your reservations at 208-343-4900. Hotel rates are $83.00 for all rooms with  a %13 tax in addition. Rate includes breakfast buffet.  President Mark Riccobono will be our national representative. He is excited to come to Idaho and I’m sure his enthusiasm, dynamism, and commitment to the NFB will fuel our determination to make the NFB of Idaho an even stronger state affiliate. On Thursday evening we will have a reception, hosted by the Treasure Valley Chapter, to meet our scholarship winners and other students, and to socialize, and have a good time. We will have a general session Friday morning and a product and services expo Friday afternoon. There will also be a senior seminar on Friday afternoon as well as a student seminar. We will also have some classes such as an introduction to the iPhone. I would like input on other classes people would like. Last year Karl Smith gave a very successful class on the Victor Stream. Let me know if you would like him to do a similar class this year. The board dinner will take place Friday after the expo.  Chris Jones will host our open mic which will be the Friday evening event. Contact Chris to let him know what you want to perform at 208-308-8876.  On Saturday, we will have general session for part of the morning followed by tracks for parents, students, BELL kids and others.

 General session will continue in the afternoon, with our final event being the banquet including the address by our national president, tantalizing auction items, and much more. Last year, we had 85 people registered for the banquet. Let’s shoot for 100 this year.  Book your reservations and get ready to join your federation family for education, information, inspiration and just plain fun.

Our Idaho scholarship form is now on the website, www.nfbidaho.org<http://www.nfbidaho.org>. We will be giving three scholarships: $1000, $1500, and $2500. Please let any legally blind Idaho high school senior or college student know of this opportunity.
NFB Idaho – National Federation of the Blind of Idaho<http://www.nfbidaho.org/>
www.nfbidaho.org
Serving Idaho's Blind Over 80 Years The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future

The Idaho read-a-thon is now in progress and welcomes more readers. Contact Susan Ford, committee chair at 208-376-1727 for further information. Remember, all participants will receive a cash prize. The event ends March 4.

The NFB Washington seminar takes place on January 30 through February 2.  Megan Geisler, Ramona Walhof,  Alana Leonhardy, and I will meet with our Idaho senators and representatives to discuss four critical issues to the federation.  For more information, go to www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org/> and read the legislative fact sheets under the Washington Seminar heading.  Prior to Washington Seminar, I will be attending a president’s seminar at our national center. I am sure I will come back with great ideas and much valuable information.

Now that I have reminded everyone about current events in our organization, I want to look back at some of our accomplishments in 2016.   In January, we held a highly successful legislative luncheon with 75 people in attendance, half of them legislators and public officials. Our presentation in support of the new positions for IESDB helped to get them approved. In April, 85 people attended our NFBI convention banquet. This convention was highly successful with great energy and participation. We had three BELL programs this year, Boise, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene, with a total of 25 blind children served. We had a Jernigan scholarship winner along with her young blind son attend the national convention. We had the largest number of state scholarship applicants in recent history with eight students applying. I believe we had more media exposure this year than in the past.  We have a great newsletter that we can all be proud of.  Finally, we have a new chapter in Pocatello, giving us eight chapters around the state.  We have worked hard, but there is much more to do. We will need to strengthen our chapters, get members involved in our state and national conventions as well as in other events. We need to make 2017 even better than 2016.

We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines us or our future. We must continue to spread our federation message to bring hope to blind people throughout our state. In other words, let’s go build the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho.

Independence 3: Discovering Idiosyncrasies

The third of three installments

as two Idahoans adjust with new Seeing Eye dogs

Part 1

Rebecca Scott

These past six months with Danika have been amazing. I am incredibly blessed to have Danika guiding me. Our teamwork has improved and will keep improving as we work together.

          This winter has been a rough one due to the snow and ice amounts. The ice is awful, and Danika and I must slow down to avoid going ice skating on the sidewalk. However, this snow and ice has served a good purpose as well. It has shown me just how cautious Danika truly is. When walking down the sidewalk Danika will constantly stop to show me ice blocks and rough patches in the snow. She truly is an amazing dog, as are all Seeing Eye dogs.

          Being cautious is a trait you want in a Seeing Eye dog, but it is not the only trait Danika possesses. She also owns one of the loudest snores I have ever heard come from a little dog. I can't stop her from sleeping in school. That rule only applies to humans. So I must endure my wonderful Seeing Eye dog snoring her way through biology presentations, English lectures, and algebra reviews. Ah well, no dog is perfect.

          After Danika and I return from school, all of the energy that she has not spent in school goes to playing with my mom's Seeing Eye dog, Ian. He is a massive German Shepherd, but size matters little to Danika. She will paw and whine at him until he gets up and plays with her. They will run around the backyard and the house barking and playing to their hearts’ content.

          I love Danika and am so thankful to God for allowing me to go to the Seeing Eye and receive her. These past six months have been good, but I'm sure the next weeks, months, and years will be even better.

[X]

Rebecca and Danika

Part 2

Britt Raubenheimer

Six months after becoming a team, Hugger and I are doing great, confidently traveling and exploring. Surprisingly, she’s turning into a cuddler, and snuggles with my husband and me. But we’ve also entered the terrible two’s --seeing how far the rules stretch.

I know that if I let her push the rules today, tomorrow will be worse. For example, when walking into a restaurant, she made a quick duck and snag for a crumb, so fast that she was behaving perfectly by the time I thought to correct her. Or when I went to get her food, she stayed in place, and when I returned, she was sitting perfectly still, sincere and innocent. But somehow she had gotten several feet into the living room. I expect that as with Whit, I’ll have to stay on my toes for a few months.

Meanwhile, we attended our first major conference in San Francisco, with 25,000 other scientists. I hate crowds and noise, but Hugger was in heaven back in the city life, enjoying the challenge of weaving through the swarms.

Back home, guiding me along the empty, snowy roads is somewhat boring. But we get to practice dog distractions, since many people let their dogs roam and almost all walk or ski with their dogs off leash. Hugger has been a perfect lady when working, ignoring everyone. But I’m ready for that to change.

Out of harness, she loves playing in the deep stuff. And she’s a tease, managing to get even the older, grouchy, or shy pups to play with her. And persistent, getting us to throw the squishy ball over and over in the house. Hugger has nestled in to our lives.

Baker's Recipes

Tips and Techniques Around the House, by Lisa Baker

This month I wanted to share a device that can be helpful in the home. The Amazon Echo is a blue tooth speaker with built in speech. For those of you who are familiar with using Siri on the IPhone, you will find it similar to use. All with voice commands, you can set timers and alarms, get the weather, and check the time, sports scores, news updates and much more. You can listen to music, play books from Audible, Kindle and your Bard app. You can make grocery lists which will sync with the app on your smart phone and allow you to access your list wherever you are. There are three devices to choose from: The Echo is the biggest speaker, most expensive, but has voice activation. The Amazon Tap is a smaller speaker, battery operated and you have to push the Alexa button to activate voice commands, similar to Siri on the IPhone. The Dot is the least expensive, the smallest speaker, and works similar to the Tap. These devices will also work with certain appliances in the home allowing you to set your oven, turn the lights on and off, adjust the thermostat, and they can even work as a TV remote. They are certainly not for everyone, but they can be a useful device in the home.

        [X]

Heard Birds – Fall 2016

Steve Bouffard-Curator of Birds

Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History-College of Idaho

With all the snow we've had, it's even harder to get around. So the best way now to listen to birds is at bird feeders. The deep snow makes it harder for birds to find food. That makes it more likely they will show up at feeders. Feeders will attract chickadees, mourning doves, Eurasian collared doves, song and house sparrows, American and lesser goldfinches, house finches, dark-eyed juncoes, and starlings. You might hear California quail, too. At suet feeders you might hear downy woodpeckers and northern flickers. If you have hawthorn or crab apple trees that still have some fruit, you can hear robins and cedar as well as Bohemian waxwings. The two waxwings sound similar, but with persistence you can tell the difference. Then there are the geese. They fly over all day, sometimes you can hear them from inside your house. Stay warm, stay dry and enjoy the natural sounds around you.

[Image result for clip art bird at bird feeders]<https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjmt5aFzLXRAhWpw1QKHWpKBG4QjRwIBw&url=https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-bird-feeder-birdfeeder-table-tray-devices-placed-outdoors-to-supply-food-to-birds-feeding-image45664047&psig=AFQjCNHPTxN1Yz5h5z8R7bUmJNSnqNEldw&ust=1484069415674205>

A successful bird feeder

Meet the Board----Chris Jones

A Series Introducing the NFBI State Board

I was born on December 17, 1952, the youngest of four children, into a military family in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  My blindness was caused by retinopathy of prematurity and in my case, I was totally blind as a result.

When I was approximately five years of age, I started taking piano lessons and music would prove to be an important part of my life.  I started my education in the San Francisco Public Schools and obtained some excellent training in Braille for three years.

My family moved to Paris, France, while I started the fourth grade.  My mother had taken Braille the year before and she Brailled everything except my math book.  The next year, we moved to Frankfurt, Germany, and we remained there for two years.

Towards the end of that period, I met Judy Taylor, whom I would later marry. Judy was also blind and her father was an officer in the US Air Force.  Her family was stationed in Wurzburg, Germany.

I continued in public school in Atlanta, Georgia, and musically I became fascinated with African-American recording artists.  I graduated from high school in Winter Park, near Orlando, Florida—the first blind student to do so from that school.

I then enrolled in Florida State University and in December of 1974 received a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.  While in Tallahassee, I became an active member of the Church of God of Prophecy and became very involved in learning more about my newly-found faith in Jesus Christ.

In 1979, I learned about the whereabouts of then Judy Taylor, and we started a phone and letter connection which led to our marriage in July, 1980.  Soon thereafter, we both became involved in a small chapter of the National Federation of the Blind in Tallahassee and when we relocated to the Orlando area, we continued our affiliation with the organization.

We moved from Orlando to Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1985 and left Twin Falls in 1989 to relocate to Tacoma, Washington.  In 1991, I obtained a position with Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, near Tacoma.  I was the Student Disability Specialist for the college.  My duties involved general advising to any students with a specific emphasis of accommodating students with disabilities.

I was very active in state organizations of higher-education professionals serving disabled students in Washington State, holding positions in the two main organizations.  I retired from that position in 2008, and in December of that year we relocated to Twin Falls to serve a church in the area in music ministry.  I continue to seek secular employment and my primary goal is to enter the field of gospel music professionally.

While in Tacoma, I was a founding member of the Washington State Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America.  I am a published writer of gospel music, called to preach and to the music ministry.  Judy and I have two children who now live in Washington State.  We are determined to help within the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho, and know many people have made sacrifices so that we have had the success which has been available to us.

When Braille met Paisley:

Local Artist Judd Cottrell Works in Fractals

Allan Schneider with Judd Cottrell

          They remind one of 1960’s paisley shirts.  They were born of a computer set to continuously solve a never-ending repeating pattern.  The accidental result was beautiful, highly complex shapes.  Some examples in nature that are similar in logic are snowflakes and crystal formation.  Combine computer generated design with artists adding color, and the results are limitless.

          Local blind artist, Judd Cottrell, has taken the idea to a new level, however, by adding 3-dimensional printing to the mix.  Imagine taking a paisley print and adding depth to the pattern.  That’s pretty close to what Judd does.  Judd explains, “The depth can range from low to high across a piece, too. With 3-D I’m able to add grooves, slopes, holes, bumps, etc. utilizing various shapes I create with a fractal.  Shapes can be circles, waves, squares, triangles and whatever else my imagination comes up with.”  The result is beautiful both visually and tactilely.   “I came up with the idea of making my fractal art tactile so that [the blind] could experience it in a whole new way.” He added, “I won’t explain exactly how I do it because I don’t want others taking and running with it. Currently, I am the only artist doing it this way.”

          Judd’s art needs to be experienced to be understood.  Contact Judd at jcfractalart at gmail.com<mailto:jcfractalart at gmail.com> or visit his shows at First Thursday Art Shows at the Alaska Center, 1020 W Main St, from five until nine.  His 2-d fractal art can be seen at cottrell.deviantart.com/.

          “I love blending colors, crafting magical designs, and using effects to wow folks with this style of abstract art. This world is an ugly place and I exist to add beauty to it.”

[Happy Freaky and Scary]

The Mobile Revolution

 Bill Holton<http://www.visionaware.org/info/about-visionaware/contributors/bill-holton/235>, AccessWorld Correspondent

Over the past several years the number of smartphone users has exploded. The capabilities of these devices have doubled and redoubled, so that today we can carry a device in our pocket that has more processing power and memory storage than that possessed by the world's fastest supercomputers of just a few decades ago. Today you can check your e-mail, the weather forecast, or a stock quote on your mobile device. Want to know which movie won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1973? Speak to your smartphone and ask the question. Use your smartphone to log onto Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, or another online video streaming service.

If you've used a smartphone these past several years you already know that a great deal of voice command capabilities come built in to most current models, so you can verbally instruct your smartphone to "Call my wife," or "Read my last text message." In addition, the three major smartphone platforms—Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone—all include built-in screen readers similar to those that allow you to use your PC or Mac computer with little or even no vision. So you can also read a webpage, compose an e-mail, or use your phone's GPS function to help you find the nearest coffee shop.

Most smartphones have replaced a majority of their physical buttons and other controls with visual icons that appear on a smooth glass touchscreen. You use a finger to select and activate these icons, and to enter phone numbers, messages, and other text via visual representations of keyboards and number pads. At first glance, so to speak, a touchscreen would appear to present insurmountable difficulties for those with visual impairments. You may be saying to yourself, "On my home phone I can still feel my way across, up, and down the keypad to dial a number. How can I find the right number on a flat piece of glass?"

This guide will show you exactly how this is possible. By the time you finish, you will feel empowered to use your smartphone in new ways or to purchase your first smartphone and enjoy a world of data and communications you can carry with you everywhere.

Ed. Note:  To access this guide, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/using-technology/cell-phones-tablets-and-other-mobile-technology-for-users-with-visual-impairments/123

Support is Available for Idaho’s Visually Impaired

Compiled by Dana Ard and Nancy Wise; Edited by Al Schneider

Support from ICBVI Peer Support Groups:

BLACKFOOT:  VEE ANN WILLIAMS--850 Parkway, #17,Blackfoot, ID 83221

 (208) 785-6656.
BOISE & TWIN FALLS: GEM STATE REGIONAL GROUP OF BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION, VALERIE DUFFY (OOVIS)
VA Medical Center, 500 West Fort Street, Boise, ID 83702-4598 (208) 422-1228

VA office/Twin Falls - Golden Corral/Nampa - Valley View Retirement/Boise - Pancake House/Boise Family and FriendsBOISE: KATHY SLETTEN, 6486 S. Constellation Way
Boise, ID 83709, (208) 866-3641.
COEUR D'ALENE: MIKKI OLSON,3857 W. Linneatus Drive
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83815, (208) 930-4602.

HEYBURN: LINDA CROFT, 335 South 400 West

Heyburn, ID 83336, (208) 679-0229.
JEROME: CARLYNE WOOLF, 604 East Avenue A
Jerome, ID 83338, (208) 324-6833.
MOSCOW: LUELLA FREY, 1501 E. 3rd
Moscow, ID 83843, (208) 882-2086 .
NEW PLYMOUTH: RON BICKMORE, 759 N.W. 8th Street #37
Ontario, Oregon  97914, (541) 889-5804.
TWIN FALLS: Donalyn Jorgenson, 216 Settlers Way W
Jerome, ID  83338, 208-749-8236.

WEISER: LES HARMON, 913 Haas Road
Weiser, ID 83672, (208) 549-0061.

Ed. Note----contact info for NFBI local chapters was featured in the

FALL 2016 edition of MILESTONES

[Image result for idaho state clip art]<http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjMxIOAkIvQAhUC5WMKHU1GDbAQjRwIBw&url=http://www.istockphoto.com/tr/illustrations/idaho&psig=AFQjCNGmYQWCmRHb10rYslDZlVVRz6cAWg&ust=1478212178893401>

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