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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:7.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><a name="x__Ohio_Channel_Testimony"></a><a name="x__Governor_DeWine_Announces_1"></a><a name="x__Central_Ohio_advocates"></a><a name="x__Disney_will_have"></a><a name="x__Hard_work_pays"></a><a name="x__Ohio_Governor_Mike"></a><a name="x__Knox_County_emergency"></a><a name="_Governor_DeWine,_Lt."></a><a name="_New_project_in"></a><a href="https://www.statenews.org/section/the-ohio-newsroom/2026-02-19/agrability-keeps-aging-and-injured-ohio-farmers-in-the-field"><b>AgrAbility keeps aging and injured Ohio farmers in the field</b></a><b> – OOD Mention<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>DeWine’s Final 'State of State' Address Set for March 11<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><a href="https://people.com/all-about-elana-meyers-taylor-family-husband-kids-11907747"><b>Elana Meyers Taylor's Family: All About the Olympian Bobsledder's Husband and Kids</b></a><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><a name="_Columbus_Goodwill_facility"></a><a name="_Twelve_direct_support"></a><a name="_Ohio_nurse_to"></a><a name="_Controlling_Board_Approves"></a><a name="_Helping_and_Empowering"></a><a name="_Ageless_Tenacity:_Olivia’s"></a><a name="_State_Fair_Sets"></a><a name="_ODJFS_Announces_Funding"></a><a name="_How_CVG_passengers"></a><a name="_Governor_DeWine_Announces_1"></a><a name="_Auglaize_County_Board"></a><a name="_A_Brief_But"></a><a name="_Prevent_Blindness_Ohio"></a><a name="_Boot_earns_Ms."></a><a name="_Ahead_Of_Crucial"></a><a name="_Work_Is_Improving"></a><a name="_Governor_DeWine_Announces Grant"></a><a name="_Ohioans_with_disabilities"></a><a name="_Students_With_Disabilities"></a><a name="_Disabled_Ohioans_can"></a><a name="_Allen_County_Board"></a><a name="_Owners_of_Hinckley"></a><a name="_SOCIL_provides_adaptive"></a><a name="_Get_a_communication"></a><a name="_Making_Ohio_Destinations"></a><a name="_Governor_DeWine_Marks"></a><a name="_Helping_Ohio’s_Businesses"></a><a name="_Governor's_Appointments_for"></a><a name="_Federal_funds_for"></a><a name="_Governor_DeWine_Orders"></a><a name="_Northeast_Ohio_nonprofit"></a><a name="_Governor_DeWine_Announces"></a><a name="_Ohio_Governor_Mike"></a><a name="_Ohio_State_Fair"></a><a name="_Statement_from_Governor"></a><a name="_Helping_Abuse_Survivors:"></a><a name="_OOD_Recognizes_National"></a><a name="_Condado_Tacos_receives"></a><a name="_12_New_Ways"></a><a name="_Ohio_Statehouse_to"></a><a name="_All_are_welcome:"></a><a name="_A_celebration_of"></a><a name="_K-9_gives_new"></a><a name="_Nashville_theater_company"></a><a name="_New_Hope_Industries"></a><span style='font-size:36.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Source Sans 3";color:#0E3F75;letter-spacing:-.5pt;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:ZH-TW'><img border=0 width=624 height=3 style='width:6.5in;height:.0312in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DCA25A.AEBF6F10" alt="red line"></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><h2>AgrAbility keeps aging and injured Ohio farmers in the field<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>The Ohio Newsroom<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>February 19, 2026<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Len Vonderhaar has been farming corn and soybeans in Preble County since 1962. Each year his love has only grown for his around 2,000-acre utopia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>“</b>We just, we live in a paradise right here in the Midwest,” he said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>One of his greatest joys is being out in the field, working alongside his son and grandson. At 87 years old, he’s never once considered stopping.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“I get tired, but not retired,” Vonderhaar said. “I probably would never [retire] unless I'm forced to sit back or settle down. I enjoy getting out every day.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>But, an incident ten years ago put a wrench in that plan: Vonderhaar suffered a severe spine injury. Suddenly, he couldn’t operate the farm equipment he had used for years.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Injuries, like Vonderhaar’s, or chronic conditions, like arthritis or diabetes, slow Ohioans down as they age. For farmers, these physical disabilities can threaten their livelihood.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>The Ohio AgrAbility Program is working to keep them out in the fields. The Ohio State University Extension program partners with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) and the non-profit Easterseals Redwood to connect farmers, like Vonderhaar, to free assistive technology.<o:p></o:p></p><h3>Keeping farmers in the field<o:p></o:p></h3><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>On a cold and windy afternoon, Vonderhaar peered up at his combine. The farm machinery towers at about 10 feet tall. Its steep and narrow steps have been too difficult for Vonderhaar to climb since his back surgery.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>But, each September, he’s still able to harvest, thanks to a mechanical lift.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>“</b>See this button right here?” he said, pressing it down. “You just raise yourself up.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Ohio AgrAbility installed the combine lift for him, free of charge. Program director Laura Ackgerman said it’s not a hand-out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“Our food does not come from the grocery store. It comes from a farmer,” she said. “We need them to continue growing.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Agriculture is a taxing occupation. Heavy machinery makes farming an inherently dangerous profession: 1 out of 14 Ohio farm families experience a farm-related injury each year, <a href="https://agrability.osu.edu/" target="_blank">according to the program</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>On top of that, the agricultural workforce is aging and dealing with things like arthritis and diabetes. The average age of an Ohio farmer is 58, according to <a href="https://www.statenews.org/section/the-ohio-newsroom/2024-03-12/three-takeaways-for-ohio-from-the-latest-agriculture-census" target="_blank">an analysis of the USDA Census</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>AgrAbility coordinators educate disabled farmers on their options, Ackgerman said. Having trouble moving livestock? A calf cart puts less strain on your back. Wrists hurt when you rake? They can install a robo-handle to ease the pain.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“It's too easy to focus on what you can't do. They know exactly what they can't do. I wanna talk about what you can do,” she said.<o:p></o:p></p><h3>New beginnings <o:p></o:p></h3><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>This adaptive tech helps around 20 Ohio farmers each year. It’s provided by coordinators who come from agricultural backgrounds and understand the specific needs that come with planting and tending to livestock.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“It's a way of life, it is a culture, it is truly something that you understand more if you do it yourself,” said Rachel Jarman, one of Agrability’s rural rehabilitation coordinators and a farmer herself. “I understand the necessity of needing to get back out there, even though your life may have severely changed.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>25-year old Kane Lewis always knew he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a farmer in West Portsmouth. But, when he became a paraplegic after a hunting accident at 19, that dream felt far away.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>“</b>When I had the surgery, my doctor [asked me], ‘What's your major?’ And I said, ‘Agriculture.’ And he goes, ‘Well, you probably should switch it because a guy in a wheelchair will never be able to have a job in agriculture,’” Lewis recalled.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>He wasn’t deterred. He tried using a forklift at home to get in his tractor, but he didn’t feel safe. Agrability coordinators installed a lift on his truck that could bring him onto any piece of machinery and got him a motorized wheelchair that easily rolls across soil.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>The program didn’t just allow Lewis to harvest, it gave him independence. That’s a quality, he said, that every farmer values.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>“</b>Man, it's saved my life, I guess is the best way to put it,” Lewis said. “I live life now. I'm not just getting through it. I live life.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:115%'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></div><h2>DeWine’s Final 'State of State' Address Set for March 11<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>Hannah News Service<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>February 19, 2026</b> <b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Gov. Mike DeWine will deliver his final “State of the State” address to a joint session of the General Assembly next month, per a resolution introduced and approved Wednesday in the House.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>The chamber passed HCR36 (Manning), which sets Wednesday, March 11 as the date of the speech.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>The resolution still needs Senate approval which likely won’t happen until Wednesday, March 4 – the next day a Senate session is set at this point.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>It will begin at noon in the House Chambers.<o:p></o:p></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:115%'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></div><h2>Elana Meyers Taylor's Family: All About the Olympian Bobsledder's Husband and Kids<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>People<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>February 17, 2026</b> <b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>When <a href="https://people.com/team-usa-olympic-bobsledder-elana-meyers-taylor-secures-gold-medal-in-historic-win-11907533">Elana Meyers Taylor</a> won gold for the first time at the <a href="https://people.com/olympics-5669938">2026 Winter Olympics</a>, she immediately thought about her husband, Nic Taylor, and their two kids, Nico and Noah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>After <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7NIaCf6vY" target="_blank">seeing the results</a> of the women’s monobob race on Feb. 16, she embraced her sons, who are both deaf, and signed to them, “Mommy won!”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Elana later gave her children a shout-out for their constant support during her intense training. "They've been with me every step of the way," <a href="https://www.nbcolympics.com/videos/elana-meyers-taylor-gold-medal-still-feels-surreal" target="_blank">she told</a> NBC’s <a href="https://people.com/nbcs-mike-tirico-explains-why-he-exited-kentucky-derby-coverage-severe-nut-allergy-11728052">Mike Tirico</a>. "It was a late night for them, so just having them there meant so much to me."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Their firstborn Nico arrived in 2020 and he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and hearing loss, per NBC Olympics. The pair later welcomed their son Noah in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Clb8dYBPNt8/" target="_blank">2022</a> and he was also born deaf.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>"Having Nico, like, that reinvigorated me," Elana told <a href="https://www.olympics.com/en/news/elana-meyers-taylor-exclusive-parenting-has-really-opened-me-up-to-be-adaptable" target="_blank">Olympics.com</a> in March 2025. "Knowing he had disabilities [motivated me] to kind of show him, like, his mom is strong and his mom can overcome obstacles. If I could do that, so could he."<o:p></o:p></p><h3>Elana and her family use ASL and SimCom to communicate<o:p></o:p></h3><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Elana and her family are learning American Sign Language (ASL) and simultaneous communication — SimCom — to speak with her sons, per <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DU1H7pVkyTq/" target="_blank">NBC Bay Area</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>"Being a mom to two deaf kids is it's kind of crazy in the sense that when they're born, you're told that you need to learn a whole new language to be able to communicate with your child," she revealed to NBC Sports. "It's like walking into this brand new world that you never really knew existed."<o:p></o:p></p><h3>Elana's kids support her at her events<o:p></o:p></h3><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Elana's two sons were there when she won her gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, even if it was "past their bedtime," as she told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7050927/2026/02/16/elana-meyers-taylor-monobob-gold-medal-winter-olympics/" target="_blank"><i>The Athletic</i></a>. "But to have them here and share that moment with them at the bottom, it was really cool."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>For Elana, as an athlete and a mom, winning gold is "everything, and it’s nothing — because in six days, I’ve got school pick-up in the middle of Texas," she explained.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><a href="https://people.com/all-about-elana-meyers-taylor-family-husband-kids-11907747">Learn more about Elana’s family at People.com.</a><o:p></o:p></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:115%'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> Suzanne M. Hartfield Turner</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Vice President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Ohio Legislative Director<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Cleveland Chapter, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:24.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity achieve the aspirations of all blind people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>P: (216) 990-6199<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>W: NFBOhio.ORG<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>