White Cane Update
Published and distributed by the Iowa Department for the
Blind
Allen C. Harris, Director
Karen Keninger, Editor
Members of the Commission:
Robert Martin, Davenport
Julie Scurr, Coralville
Doug Elliott, Grinnell
Winter 2006
Des Moines, Iowa
Table of Contents
From the Director
Friends Group
Forming for Library
Blind Iowans
Continue to Get Good Jobs and Maintain Independence
Jim Crawford
Retires--Again!!
IDB Partners
with Wolfe Clinic
Fun for Teens
at the Fall Transition Retreat
Library
Enters the Digital Age!!
New Ventures
in Business Enterprises
Monster
Reads--Adult Summer Reading Program
Kudos
Iowa Guide to
Keeping You Safe
University
Museum to Host Exhibit on Blindness
Raising Cane
for a Cause
Instructional
Materials Center
Library
Honors Postal Employees
2006 SSA
Changes & Amounts
What Happened
to My Books?
Upcoming
Events
By Allen C.
Harris
The
real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.
It is the misconceptions about blindness commonly held by members of the
public and by many blind people themselves, which erect the barriers and prevent
blind men and women from fully participating in work, home and community. With
proper training, tools and opportunities, the average blind person can and does
perform the average job in the average workplace as competently as his or her
sighted peers. The Department's
programs were built on this positive philosophy of blindness articulated so
clearly by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan. For
more than 45 years, this philosophy has been born out in the continuing
successes of blind Iowans at work, at home, and in their communities.
In this issue of the White Cane Update, you will see a variety of
jobs blind Iowans have taken during the past year, and you will be pleased to
see that the average wages for those jobs is 12 percent higher than the average
wage in Iowa. I
am pleased with the wide range of jobs, which our clients choose--it is a
reminder that blind people are just like everyone else. They have varied
interests and abilities and a wide range of successes--just like society at
large.
We
continue to work on our access technology programs to bring distance learning to
blind persons around the United States.
We are writing tutorials for our Project ASSIST series, and the demand
for these materials and our programs is strong.
We are consistently challenged by the wide range of work sites, which
require some level of adaptation and access technology to be used by a blind
employee.
In
the Library, we are reaching out to our patrons in many ways.
This fall we inducted eleven centenarians into the 10-Squared Club and
recognized individual postal carriers for a job well done.
We expanded our youth programming, and added three new magazines.
We've nearly finished building our recording studio and are busy
recruiting new narrators.
We've also established a Friends Group to help support the Library in a
variety of ways.
You
will read about the ongoing efforts to improve and upgrade the businesses in our
Randolph-Sheppard (RS) Program.
As I have discussed with you on previous occasions, the nature of our RS
Program businesses is changing and we are challenged to respond to today's
opportunities.
Also, on the national level Congress has put a spotlight on the RS
Program and has criticized it harshly.
It is our responsibility to work with Congress and other interested
individuals to maintain the integrity of the RS Program and see that it is not
merged with general disability programs.
I am working with the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB),
consumer groups and others who will help us plan and execute an effective
strategy.
Our
Independent Living Rehabilitation (ILR) Program is faced with a rapidly growing
demand for services to older Iowans who are experiencing blindness and severe
vision loss. The
challenge is to find ways with declining revenues and increasing costs to see
that IDB can continue to give quality service to as many individuals as
possible. This
has meant that our ILR staff has been developing new and effective practices to
get services to more people around Iowa.
We have not found the perfect answer yet, however, we are making
progress, and the feedback we get from our clients continues to be very
supportive.
We
know that a head start is a real positive factor for assisting our blind
students as they transition to our adult training programs.
We also know that youngsters who are mentored by blind role models are
likely to have higher expectations for themselves and more likely to achieve
career choices which reflect their dreams.
Therefore, we are very proud of our Transition Programs. Both our
Pathfinders Mentoring Program and our year-round Transition activities are very
busy working with youth ages 14 and up.
You will read about one of them, the Teen Retreat Weekends, later in this
issue.
The
Adult Orientation and Adjustment Center Programs look for ways to strengthen our
ability to get students to adopt our positive attitude about blindness, and
master the alternative skills of blindness, both of which they need to achieve
complete independence.
For the first time in a while, we have a blind travel instructor. Cynthia
Qloud, a remarkable role model in this area, spends half of her workday sharing
her expertise and practical experience with Center students on travel throughout
the Des Moines metro area.
On
March 21 we will hold our annual Legislative Breakfast at the Capitol.
This gives us a chance to talk to our friends in the Iowa House and
Senate to explain the work we do and serve some breakfast treats made in
Orientation.
We
must work to maintain our traditions and high standards of service in order to
keep the trust with Dr. Jernigan and all of the staff and students who created
this unique institution.
After all, we are different.
We have a philosophy of blindness which seeks to change attitudes about
blindness and recognizes that the blindness skills we teach will only be
effective if we achieve success in transforming attitudes toward blindness.
On Friday, April 21, 2006, the
first meeting of the Friends of the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped will convene at the Department.
The meeting will begin immediately following the annual Elizabeth
Perowsky Volunteer Awards Luncheon, at approximately 1:30 p.m.
During the meeting the Board of Directors will be elected, and the
Constitution and Bylaws will be adopted.
The
purposes of the Friends Group are to build support in the community for the Iowa
Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; to encourage gifts,
endowments, bequests, and memorials to the Library; to enhance the image,
materials, services, and facilities of the Library by undertaking specific
projects on its behalf; to maintain an association of individuals, civic
organizations, businesses, and other groups interested in the Library; to create
public awareness of the activities of the Friends of Iowa Library for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped and encourage participation in the organization; and
to assist in outreach helping to find newly blinded persons not aware of library
services for the blind in the state of Iowa.
The
official address of the Friends Group is:
Friends of the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
PO Box 93046
Des Moines IA
5039
3-3046
If
you have any questions about the Friends Group or would like to volunteer,
please contact Karen Keninger or Randy Landgrebe at the Library-800-362-2587.
By Curtis
Chong
During the past
federal fiscal year (October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005), our Vocational
Rehabilitation, technology, and Independent Living programs continued to improve
the quality of life for blind Iowans.
Our
Vocational Rehabilitation program placed approximately 120 blind Iowans in
good-paying jobs that were well above the minimum wage.
In keeping with our high standard of performance, those clients who
obtained full-time employment realized average hourly earnings that were 12%
higher than the prevailing hourly wage in the state.
This is a very high standard, which most agencies for the blind around
the country have not been able to approach, not to mention beat.
Examples of the many jobs that we have been able to help our clients to
obtain or retain include chiropractor, substance abuse counselor, supported
living technician, and clerk-typist.
Nonvisual
access technology continued to play an important part in our successful training
and job placement programs.
Rehabilitation technology specialists worked with blind Iowans and
employers to ensure that speech, Braille, and screen magnification technologies
could be used and integrated into worksites with maximum efficiency.
We provided access technology training and over-the-phone technical
support to over 200 individuals.
Our ASSIST Online program, designed to help blind people across the
country to obtain certification as Microsoft Office Specialists through a
distance learning approach, has worked with over 70 students since its inception
four years ago.
Five of these students have obtained Master level certification.
Iowa continues to lead the way in technology distance learning training
and is regarded as a model program across the country.
Well
over 1,300 individuals were referred to our Independent Living program.
This reflects a growing demand for services brought about in large part
by the increasing number of older Iowans, for whom a leading cause of blindness
is age-related macular degeneration.
The most critical service provided by this program is training in the
nonvisual alternative techniques needed to carry out the routine activities of
daily living essential to maintaining an independent and active life style.
This training ranges from very simple and fundamental techniques to more
complex skills, depending on the unique needs and goals of each person served.
Training is provided on an outreach basis one-on-one (we come to you) or in
small groups.
To
keep pace with the increased need for training, our Independent Living program
last year expanded its community-based training opportunities.
Small-group sessions were held in communities throughout Iowa and
provided training in such things as communication techniques (how DO you dial
that phone if you can’t see it?); cooking techniques (so you say I can still
measure, pour, and use the stove safely?); leisure activities (what about
handcrafts and table games?); and medication management (how to keep track of
all those pills).
In total, the Independent Living program conducted 30 sessions in large
and small communities throughout Iowa with 157 participants, many of them in
their eighties and some in their nineties.
Jim
Crawford is retiring from his post as poet laureate for the Orientation Center.
His service to the Department began in 1960 when, as a member of a Des
Moines Lions Club, he helped build shelving for the new Library.
It has continued through the next 45 years, including work as a counselor
and as a travel instructor.
In 1996 he officially retired from his employment as a travel instructor
in the Orientation Center, but he maintained his post as resident poet, creating
rhymes for students and staff alike.
Each Christmas Jim wrote a poem containing all the names of the current
staff. Below
is his final poem for the Department, delivered at the December staff meeting.
Allen Harris presented Jim with a plaque in appreciation of his many
years of service.
I’d
personalize the stuff they do by those words you’d know.
When John Taylor became Director, he asked with a little laugh could I write a
Christmas poem including all the staff?
Yes! And
I did for many years and had a lot of fun.
Some guys said they liked them – every lousy pun.
But now I think it’s time to quit – though I could write some more.
There are lots of poets around who also know the score.
So give 'em a chance.
We cannot tell who best could do the job.
Just be sure, whoever does, you must name all of the mob.
So let me bid farewell this way.
I promise not to bawl.
I’d like to say we’ve had great fun.
Merry Christmas to y’all!
By Liz Soenen
On November 5,
2005, the Iowa Department for the Blind partnered with the Wolfe Eye Clinic to
host an informational presentation on age-related macular degeneration (AMD),
the leading cause of vision loss among retirement-aged Iowans.
Over 150 guests interested in learning more about the disease and the
Department filled the Assembly Room for an information-packed presentation by
Dr. David D. Saggau and Dr. James F. Lawler from the Wolfe Clinic.
The
program was packed with information. IDB Director Allen Harris and Library
Director Karen Keninger shared highlights about IDB’s philosophy of blindness
and the services available to help people with significant vision loss to
continue full and productive lives. Julie Bergeson, Rehabilitation Teacher and
her client, June Thomas, held a dialogue panel about June’s personal
experiences with AMD and her participation in several of the Department’s
training opportunities. Dr. David D. Saggau and Dr. James F. Lawler presented
the latest in medical treatment and research on AMD, showing slides and
answering audience questions.
The
ever-popular Aids and Devices Store displayed products for demonstration and
sale. Informational display boards from the Library, Independent Living,
Vocational Rehabilitation, Orientation Center and the Wolfe Eye Clinic provided
additional information to guests.
Three tables of computer and magnification technology gave people an
opportunity for hands-on experience.
Mr.
Harris summed up the event this way, “Macular degeneration needs to be
understood. We are pleased to have this opportunity to work with the Wolfe
Clinic to educate people about this widespread eye condition and also to let
everyone know that people with significant vision loss can live normal,
independent, and productive lives.”
By
Yolanda Garcia
I am one of
the blind college students who work as a counselor for the Department's
Transition Program. Through
this program, we help Iowa's teens that are blind or severely visually impaired
make the transition from high school to living independently and working
competitively as adults.
Through such events as weekend retreats and summer camps, they
participate in activities that will build their self-confidence and teach them
effective blindness skills.
The
teens that participated in this year's fall weekend retreat learned a lot and
had a good time doing it.
The program was held at Camp Hantesa near Boone from November 18th to the
20th. Some
new faces joined many of the teens that had been participants in our previous
transition retreats and Summer Camps.
On
Friday night, we settled in our living quarters before heading off to a
scrumptious family-style dinner in the cafeteria. Once our tummies were nice and
full, we returned to the rec center for ice-breaking and team-building games.
We popped balloons and read the surprise Braille questions inside. We
played "heightened senses," which challenged everyone, while wearing
sleepshades and remaining silent, to find a way to line up by height. Finally,
we ate yummy snacks and watched a DVD of all of the fun activities we
experienced during last summer's Camp Discovery.
Saturday
was filled with more team-building and other activities.
In a game called the "Floating Stick,” team members had to
cooperate with each other to balance lightweight wooden dowels on the backs of
their fingers and then lower them to the ground.
The harder we tried to lower the sticks, the more they seemed to levitate
into the air. Then
our special guest, David Lenz, one of the Department's Job Placement
Specialists, talked to participants about the importance of finding part-time
jobs while in high school, exploring future careers, writing resumes, and
dealing with blindness in a job interview.
After
lunch, we took on another team-building challenge.
We split the group into two teams, each team forming a line with balloons
wedged between players.
The object of the game was for each team, without using their hands, to
walk across the room without dropping the balloons.
Afterwards, we had a serious discussion about the effect blindness could
have on the choice and pursuit of a career.
That evening was spent playing board games, cards, and even the piano.
After
breakfast on Sunday, we hurried back to the lodge to play one last team-building
game before packing up to go.
Groups of four had to tie a knot in a rope without moving their hands or
letting go of the rope.
We looked pretty hilarious twisting around as we went over and under each
other's arms trying to tie that knot.
After
packing up our belongings and eating one more delicious lunch, we hit the road.
Although it saddened me to say goodbye to our new and old friends, we
were already looking forward to getting together again at the spring retreat,
which will be held the weekend of March 3-5.
By
Tim West
The
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) has
determined to implement digital
audio technology as the framework of the future Talking Book system. Cassette
books and machines will continue to be the backbone of the system through
approximately FY 2007, but in the five years between FY 2008 and FY 2012,
digital books and machines will effectively replace cassette books and machines
as the primary technology employed in the system.
NLS
has been developing its collection of
Digital Talking Books since FY 2002 and has goals to produce 10,000 new titles
in digital format by FY 2008, convert another 10,000 existing analog titles
(books recorded on tape originally) to digital format by FY 2008, and continue
to produce an average of 2,000 titles per year during FY 2008 and in future
years.
Compared
to the cassette-based system, digital audio technology offers significant
improvements to patrons of the program, network libraries, and NLS. Audio reproduction quality is superior in flash memory, which will
provide better sound quality in playback;
flash memory has higher storage
densities and capacities than cassettes, which will provide better
portability for patrons; there will be fewer
items for patrons to keep track of (generally one cartridge instead of
several cassettes), and there will be no
need for patrons to flip a switch or turn the cartridge over during play.
Playback
devices will have smaller physical size
and weight and better portability than cassette players and require less
storage space in network libraries. The machines will be more
reliable than cassette machines, resulting in fewer malfunctions and
fewer repairs by network agencies and NLS contractors.
The
medium to be used for digital books is expected to be a high-density 128 MB
flash memory cartridge, or card. A
single card would be capable of holding the digital files for an average NLS
book (approximately 12 hours), having been compressed using the AACPlus
algorithm. The card would be physically larger than a credit card, but smaller
than a cassette, and would be labeled in large print and Braille.
The
Library has been busy preparing for these changes! Karen Keninger has been
actively involved with NLS as a member of the Long-Term
Digital Planning Group keeping
the Library updated on future NLS changes. In March, Tim West joined the IDB
Library staff in a brand new position as a Digital Recording Specialist. With an
electronics background, 17 years in the telecommunications business, a computer
programmer, a recording studio owner for 13 years and a performing musician for
over 30, Tim brought experience in many areas to assist in the migration from
analog to the new digital world. Participating in the Elizabeth
Perowsky volunteer workshop
in April, Tim presented audio demonstrations and recording tips. This summer,
Tim visited about half the volunteer narrators across the state of Iowa in their
homes to see how they do what they do and also to offer some recording advice.
Speaking
of volunteers, for many years now we have had a number of volunteers who record
on cassette machines in their own homes. Thousands of books, magazines, manuals, classroom
instructional materials, etc., have been recorded this way. We really could not
thank these volunteers enough. We
do have good news for them, though.
In
the months ahead, we will start replacing the tired old cassette recorders with
new digital recorders! Our volunteers, who have struggled with cassette
recorders and tapes long enough, will soon be making high-quality digital
recordings with seamless editing – you may never know a mistake was made! For
a time these digital masters will be reproduced onto analog cassettes, until
each patron has their own digital playback machine.
And
the real thriller is our new studio being built right here in our Library! In
May we started designing a new recording studio including a voice-over booth and
a monitor room to meet the high-quality requirements of digital recording.
Because digital is so clean, noises that may go unnoticed in an analog recording
become very obvious in a digital recording. In
general, the ideal studio room for recording voice-overs (narrations) is small,
quiet, and acoustically dead. Quiet means soundproof (that is, free from
exterior sound coming through the walls, ceiling, or floor); acoustically dead
means free of unwanted room sound (reflections, flutter echoes, boxiness, or
other sound coloration) that might adversely affect the recordings. Our studio
is built with 13-inch multilayered walls that float, a floating ceiling and
floating floor, and an acoustically sealed door. The window facing the control
room is custom made with four pieces of laminated glass. One is ½” thick and
the other ¼” thick, so there is a reasonably high amount of sound isolation
between the monitor room and the voice-over booth.
In
September we received a grant from the Wellmark Foundation to help buy the
recording equipment for the studio and to record some much-needed new material
on diabetes.
In
October we started clearing out the area where the studio would be built.
In
November real progress was evident as the floating floor, walls, and ceiling
were being built. Great care goes into the design and construction of an audio
recording studio, because even the smallest crack in a wall, ceiling, or doorway
can let sound into or out of the studio. The
heating, air conditioning and ventilation system (HVAC) is a specially designed
system that can't (or shouldn’t) be heard when it runs! When finished, the
studio will be sonically treated with bass traps, sound absorbers
and fixed diffusers to scatter sound and suppress standing waves. (Translation:
should sound real good in here!)
Recording
an audio book would seem to be uncomplicated compared to recording other audio
projects, right? Actually, it's a creative/technical task not to be taken
lightly! Speech sounds are harmonically and dynamically complicated because of
the way vocals are produced. The
dynamic interaction over time of the chest; lungs; diaphragm; larynx; the oral
cavity, including the tongue, hard and soft palates, the teeth and lips; and the
nasal cavities; create a complex set of variables.
For instance, explosions of air bursting from the mouth, the lips and
tongue can sound wet, and “sss” sounds can over-modulate a track.
Voice-over
artists understand these factors, and the best know how to use them to produce
their own voice character. As professionals, they can be counted on to back off
for louder passages, to suppress hard plosives like P and T, and to stay a
consistent distance and angle from the business end of the microphone.
Nonetheless, for a good quality recording, the engineer/monitor on the other
side of the glass has to have a keen ear, a good technical understanding of how
to capture the voice cleanly and a well-developed sense of how to interact with
the narrator.
Extra
Volunteers Needed! We are looking for people who are good storytellers and who
have a voice that's not too sibilant or too dull. Mouth noises and the like can
be taken care of during editing, even little clicks in the middle of words. But
you've got to start with a narration artist who has a voice that possesses
clarity and a pleasant quality. We're
also looking for volunteers willing to be trained as monitors. If you are interested in being trained as a narrator or
monitor, in a professional-quality facility, please contact the Library at
515-281-1333 or 800-362-2587, or e-mail us at library@blind.state.ia.us.
By Roger
Erpelding
On December 1, we
began vending service at the Sioux City Convention Center. This type of location
is a first for our program. We are counting on success here that will lead to
more vending at other similar locations throughout the state.
On
December 20, a two-year project to totally remodel the Federal Building in
Davenport and turn it into a federal court house will be complete. As a result,
we will begin snack and beverage vending at that location as of this date.
Plans
are still on the drawing board to accept bid proposals from contractors for
construction of a vending building, south bound Missouri Valley rest area. This
should be opening in the spring.
Due
to re-deployment of the Camp Dodge troops to another part of the country, our
dining facility contract ended early on October 14. This was a profitable
experience for all parties, and if Camp Dodge hosts another project, we hope we
have the honor of serving our troops again.
By Randy
Landgrebe
Monster Reads,
the first annual summer reading program for adults at the Iowa Library for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped, will begin Monday, June 12, 2006.
Coinciding with the library’s summer reading programs for children and
teens, Monster Reads will offer adult participants chances to win monthly
prizes, and a Grand Prize for simply checking out and reading from a large group
of specially selected “monster” books from the Iowa Library for the Blind.
Monthly drawings will take place Friday, June 30th and Friday, July 28th.
The Grand Prize will be drawn Monday, July 31, marking the end of the
program. Participants
may read talking books, Braille books, and large print books, or enjoy
descriptive videos to earn points and become eligible for a chance to win the
monthly prizes and the Grand Prize.
Contact Circulation Supervisor, Randy Landgrebe, at 800-362-2587 for more
information about Monster Reads.
Each year the
Department selects an employee of the year, a team of the year, and a leader of
the year from its staff.
"It's a hard choice," says Karen Keninger, Chair of the
Department's Employee Recognition Committee.
"We have so many worthy candidates for these honors."
This
year's Employee of the Year is Jim Swanson.
Jim works in the Library managing cassette books and overseeing the work
of volunteer rewinders.
The
Team of the Year award went to the Project ASSIST team, consisting of
Michael Barber, Laurie Merryman, Shan Sasser, and Linda Trogdon.
Project ASSIST has developed training materials and a distance learning
certification program for blind computer users.
Bruce
Snethen, Deputy Director of the Department, received the Leader of the Year
award. In
part, his nomination reads:
"Bruce is an extraordinary person who has committed himself to the
success of IDB and who shares in our challenges and accomplishments with
enthusiasm. His
leadership is a significant reason for our continued success and our commitment
to on-going improvement.
Finally, and perhaps most important of all, Bruce believes in blind
people, and he believes in our mission.
Day in and day out, he helps all of us remain focused on that mission and
carry it out at every turn."
Jean
Davis, an Independent Living client, won the Chuck Wood Memorial Award from
the Iowa Rehabilitation Association.
Here is her nomination letter, written by Julie Bergeson, her Independent
Living Rehabilitation Teacher.
In December of 2002, Jean underwent surgery. Jean was
expecting to spend the holidays with her family, but did not return home until
March of 2003.
Jean developed a life threatening infection, resulting in kidney and
liver failure and being placed on a respirator. She was in a coma for several
weeks with doctors predicting a grim, one-in-four chance of survival. Further
complications of surgery and recovery left Jean with significant damage to her
optic nerve and legal blindness.
Although Jean and her family were thrilled for
her return home in March, her long road through rehabilitation was just
beginning. Jean
was so ill and weak that she had to learn to walk again.
Jean and her family were somehow able to cope with the physical
limitations, but the blindness was something no one expected.
Jean was extremely angry and depressed regarding
her blindness, believing that her hobbies of reading, cross-stitching and scrap
booking were now things of the past. Jean accepted Independent Living Services
from the Iowa Department for the Blind, but, at first, was not overly eager to
begin.
Jean participated in both home training and group
training opportunities through IDB. She continues to learn the skills of home
management, Braille, using a white cane and leisure time activities. An avid
library borrower, Jean enjoys reading again, only through recorded books. She is
labeling her spices, movies and other household items in Braille.
This summer Jean’s husband, Grover, underwent
knee replacement surgery, leaving Jean without her driver. With white cane in
hand, Jean took public transportation to and from the hospital during his
recovery. Also, she and her granddaughter, Lexie, enjoyed a wonderful trip to
the zoo by taking the bus.
Sewing was also a great interest for Jean, but
after blindness Jean considered selling or giving away her sewing machine.
Through encouragement from her rehabilitation teacher, Jean kept the machine.
She has now completed six beautiful quilts for her grandchildren in
Colorado--each quilt sewn with a different pattern and fabric to match the
children’s interests and personalities.
It is through the group training program that
Jean really shone. Not only did she participate and learn with eager
willingness, but also she has become a quiet leader of this group of
participants. Others look up to her accomplishments, positive attitude and
spirit. Through her leadership and positive peer support, the other participants
are making longer strides in their own rehabilitation.
Jean’s personal achievements include, first and
foremost, continuing to be a wife, mother and grandmother of eight. She and her
husband, Grover, have taken several trips for some much needed vacation. They
continue to walk almost every morning and can be found either at Southridge Mall
or the pond in Pleasant Hill. Jean continues her scrap-booking hobby, filling
pages with her travels, grandchildren and even pages from her training with IDB.
Steve Decker of Dubuque was honored with the
Youth Services Award on Wednesday, October 12, at the Friends of the Iowa
Commission of Persons with Disabilities Awards Banquet.
In Cedar Rapids, on October 27, Dolores Reisinger
was honored during a banquet sponsored by the Citizens for People with
Disabilities. She received two awards: Outstanding Service Award presented by
the Citizens for People with Disabilities and the Star Award presented by
Michael Barber on behalf of Allen Harris and the Iowa Department for the Blind.
Her nomination read, in part:
Blind since birth, she has, for many years, helped blind people with the
acquisition of skills to make them independent in their daily living activities
and has advocated for their full inclusion in the ranks of society.
As a young girl, Dolores
left home and went to a specialized school for blind children, later receiving a
Masters Degree in History in her native country of Brazil. In 1969 she came to
live in the United States of America where she received her teaching certificate
and a Masters Degree in Spanish. She subsequently taught languages at the high
school and college levels in Iowa schools.
In 1976 Dolores went to work
for the Iowa Department for the Blind as a Vocational Rehabilitation Teacher
where she worked with blind persons in an 11 county area for eighteen
years.
After retiring, Dolores began
volunteering her services in the community.
In the last four years, she has
served on the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission, reviewing cases and
educating commissioners on issues affecting the blind. She has inspired many
with her upbeat personality and her outlook that she is 'a person who happens to
be blind' who is overcoming the "inconvenience of being blind."
She has recently led the charge to equip area
restaurants with menus in Braille so blind patrons can have the same independent
dining experience as fully sighted customers, after which she has her sights set
on arranging bowling for the blind in local bowling alleys.
She assists in teaching English as a Second
Language at Kirkwood Community College.
She is a dedicated volunteer for the National
Federation of the Blind, speaking frequently to groups about blindness and about
the Federation's life-enhancing philosophy.
Presently she is helping with a project called
the Imagination Fund, which raises money for the Jernigan Institute, a research
institute on the cutting edge of technology for the blind.
Dolores also discusses with groups the services
available to blind persons through the Iowa Department for the Blind.
We
have just had Brailled the electronic version of a book published by the Iowa
Department of Public Health.
The book is entitled IOWA GUIDE TO KEEPING YOU SAFE - The Simple
Steps You Can Take Now To Be Prepared For A Public Health Emergency.
This
booklet is being made available to the public free of charge with sponsorship by
Hy-Vee, and is available from the Library in Braille and on cassette.
By Barb Weigel
On February 6,
2006, In Touch With Knowledge:
The Educational History of Blind People will open at the University
Museum at the University of Northern Iowa.
The traveling exhibit from the Callahan Museum of the American Printing
House for the Blind offers visitors the opportunity to discover how blind people
learn reading and writing, geography, mathematics, and science.
It not only explores past techniques but also offers information on
current methods, such as a talking globe and the Nemeth code.
The exhibit will close on May 26, 2006.
In
addition to the exhibit, educational presentations will be offered throughout
the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area pertaining to the education of blind people in
Iowa. Iowa
Department for the Blind staff, Joe and Barb Weigel, have been part of the
planning committee for these events.
Several staff and clients of the Iowa Department for the Blind will be
part of these panels.
Topics include health and physical issues, local resources and support
groups, educational options, orientation and mobility, assistive devices, and
more.
For
more information, contact the University Museum at 319-273-2188 or visit their
website at http://www.uni.edu/museum/.
By Mark Edge
Iowa Department
for the Blind staff, along with students of the Orientation Center, will once
again form a walk team to participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation’s (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes.
This annual event held in the downtown Des Moines skywalk system is set
to take place on Saturday, March 4, 2006.
Local JDRF officials are hoping over 7,500 walkers will help the charity
meet its goal of raising $2.1 million in a single day.
Monies raised will aid JDRF to focus on its single goal – accelerating
research progress to cure diabetes and its complications.
One
of those complications, blindness, has spurred the IDB walk team, known as
Raising Cane, to participate in the diabetes walk every year since 1999.
Raising Cane’s team goal this year is to recruit 100 team members who
will raise $15,000.
New to the team this year will be the addition of members from the IDB
Transition and Pathfinder programs.
Both programs will host activities that weekend which will include
joining forces and walking to help find a cure for diabetes.
Anyone
affiliated with the Iowa Department for the Blind, along with their friends and
family members, is welcome to walk with the team at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March
4. Following
the event, walkers are invited to return to IDB and enjoy a delicious lunch
prepared by the Orientation Center students.
To
join the IDB walk team, or to make a donation to the cause, please contact Mark
Edge at (515) 281-1257.
Some assistance with transportation and lodging may be provided on an
individual basis for those coming in from out of town.
For more information about JDRF, visit www.JDRF.org.
We hope to hear from you soon!
The Instructional
Materials Center (IMC) at the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped provided over 1,750 books, worksheets, workbooks and other
educational and vocational materials to Iowa's blind students and workers during
the 2004-2005 school year.
The IMC staff, consisting of librarians Gail Stricker and Carol Eckey,
and their assistant librarian, Deena Cross, search the nation for specific
textbooks in Braille, recorded or electronic formats, to fill the needs of
approximately 200 students from kindergarten through college.
When a book or worksheet is not already available in the format the
student needs, the IMC works with the Library's staff and volunteers in Braille
and tape production to have the materials Brailled or recorded for the students.
Over
40 of this year's students are Braille readers in Iowa's public school system.
The IMC staff work with classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and
Teachers of the Visually Impaired to gather, research and either purchase or
produce the books each child needs for all classes, including math, science,
reading, history, foreign language study, and health.
Winter
is a slower time in the IMC than the frantic months of July and August; when the
rush is on to get all books out for the beginning of the new school year.
All the same, IMC Librarians report with delight that they are already
getting orders for the 2006-2007 school year.
The Florence
Grannis Library Service Award was presented to eight individual postal
employees, and to the entire staff of two Iowa post offices, at 2:00 p.m.,
Friday, November 18, at the Iowa Department for the Blind.
These
awards are a way for Library patrons to say, "thank you," to the
United States Postal Service employees who carry library materials, free of
charge, to every patron’s mailbox.
Library
patrons who saw a dedication that set their postal workers apart and qualified
them for the Florence Grannis Library Service Award nominated the following
eight honorees.
Butch Harrison, Denison; John Husstaling, Des Moines; Ron Richey,
Dubuque; Connie Gamble, Hedrick; Jim Latchum, Hedrick; Portia Figland,
Oskaloosa; Marvel Pearce, Waterloo; and Mark Hanson, West Union.
The two U.S. Post Offices receiving special recognition were West Union
and Hedrick.
Listed below are the 2005 and 2006 amounts for Social
Security Disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Columns in the table follow in this order: Program; 2005 amount; 2006 amount
Social
Security Disability (SSDI) Amounts; 2005; 2006
Benefit
Amount - COLA raise; 2.7%; 4.1%
Medicare
Premium Part B; $78.20; $88.50
Substantial
Gainful Activity (SGA), Non-Blind; $830/mo; $860/mo
Substantial
Gainful Activity (SGA), Blind; $1,380/mo; $1,450/mo
Trial
Work Period (TWP) - trigger; $590/mo;
$620/mo
Supplemental
Security Income (SSI); 2005; 2006
Individual;
$579/mo; $603/mo
Couple;
$869/mo; $904/mo
SSI
Student Exclusion Limits, Monthly Limit; $1,410; $1,460/mo
SSI
Student Exclusion Limits, Annual Limit; $5,670; $5,910
By Susie
Stageberg
I've
been a Reader Advisor in the Library for a couple months now, and I am
thoroughly enjoying getting to know borrowers whose names begin with H through
O, both over the phone and in person. It's great fun to talk about books with
people who enjoy them as much as I do.
Recently I have been getting a lot of calls from people wondering why
they're not receiving their books. With this in mind, I thought it might be
interesting to follow a book from the time it is requested until it reaches the
post office.
Step 1:
The Request
When
you call to request a book (or send in a written list), your Reader Advisor goes
to the computer and opens your "account", which contains all the
information about your library service. If you have given us a book number, we
can enter that into the computer and the rest of the information about the book
will appear. If there are no copies of the book you want on our shelves, the
computer lets us know. If you have asked for a book that is temporarily
unavailable, we can put the book on reserve so it can be sent to you when it
comes back into the Library. If the book is available, we click on a button on
the computer screen labeled "send." Once the book has been
"sent" it will be listed in the computer as having been checked out to
you.
Step 2:
Processing
In the middle of the night, when most of us are asleep, the Library's main
computer searches for and lists all the books that have been checked out during
the day. Early the next morning, before most of the staff comes in, the computer
sends the list of checked-out books to a printer. Cards are printed to go with
each book that has been checked out. You can find these cards on the front of
the box containing your cassette book, or in a sleeve inside the cover of a
Braille or large type book.
Step 3:
The Stacks Team Swings into Action
After all the cards have been printed, the group of employees known to us as the
Stacks Team must retrieve the actual cassette container or volume of Braille or
large type. The card is inserted into the book. Then the book goes to a holding
area to wait for the mail carrier.
Step 4:
"Attention, Library!
The Mail is Here"
Some time between 9 and 10 each morning, the mail carrier arrives. His arrival
is announced to the whole building as the important event it is, and the Stacks
Team brings their wheeled containers full of books to the loading dock at the
back of the building, where they are put into the mail truck and taken to the
post office.
Many people work hard every day to make sure your books keep coming to
you. All of us in the Library want you to be able to read what you want to read
when you want to read it, and we all do our best to meet that goal.
"But
Where Are My Books?"
Sometimes there is a snag in the system. The main computer needs to be repaired.
The mail truck is late arriving. The book you have requested has already been
checked out to someone else. The Post Office is having a busy month and mail is
moving more slowly. Any number of obstacles can get between you and your book.
We do our best to move these obstacles out of the road, but sometimes things
happen that are beyond our control. For example, if the Post Office is having a
busy month, your books may be delayed. In such a situation, we can and do offer
sympathy to a borrower suffering from book withdrawal. Unfortunately, we can't
go to the Post Office and demand that your books be sent immediately, as much
fun as that might be.
You can help us send you the books you want by giving us as much
information as you can about the book you are requesting. If you only have bits
and pieces of information, we can turn ourselves into detectives and, if
possible, track your book down!
Call
your Reader Advisor any time with questions about how your library service
works!
February 7
– Public Hearing on Administrative Rules, at 1:00 p.m. at the Department for
the Blind, 524 4th Street, Des Moines
March 21
– Legislative Breakfast, 7:00-9:00 a.m. in the Legislative Dining Room at the
State Capitol
March 21
– Commission for the Blind meeting at 10:00 a.m. at the Department for the
Blind
Return to Table of Contents
Return to Newsletter page.
WHITE CANE UPDATE is published by the Iowa Department for
the Blind. Please direct questions and suggestions to the Iowa Department for
the Blind, 524 Fourth Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-2364, 515-281-1333.