A
publication of
Utah Council of the Blind
June/July 2019
For the latest news updates call the Utah
Connection 801-299-0670 or 1‑800-273-4569. (You may also leave a message
at the end of the announcement.)
Mail correspondence to: UCB, PO Box 1415,
Bountiful, UT 84011-1415. E-mail us at ucb.board@gmail.com.
The UCB Flier
is available in large print, Braille, audio CD, as a data (Microsoft Word and a
plain text file) CD, and by e-mail. If you would prefer to receive your
newsletter in a different format, please call the Utah Connection or send an
e-mail to ucb.board@gmail.com and let us know.
In This Issue
President’s
Message.................................................................................. 3
Free Patriotic Concert in the Park.............................................................. 4
UCB Annual Business Meeting.................................................................. 4
Call for Nominations................................. 6
Questionnaire for Board
Candidates......... 7
Bylaws Amendments................................ 9
Award Nominations.................................................................................. 10
Poulson Family Scholarships................................................................... 10
2019 Utah State Fair................................................................................ 11
Cab Coupons Reduced............................................................................ 12
UCB Reader Program.............................................................................. 13
A Note from the Audio Producer............................................................... 15
Should We Be a
Lighthouse?................................................................... 17
Voice Dream Scanner.............................................................................. 20
Shopping Tips.......................................................................................... 21
Review of Aira.......................................................................................... 22
General UCB
Information......................................................................... 26
Upcoming
Board Meetings...................... 27
Disclaimer
Articles and announcements included in
this publication are presented for your information and interest. They reflect
the opinions of the respective authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the
UCB.
This month has been a very difficult month for Rick and me. We found out that he has esophageal cancer that has spread. We are not sure yet what the treatment will be. This is a very serious reminder to us of something that I share with my clients as a teacher-trainer. I often tell people that it is very important that you do not become so reliant on the sighted members of your household. It is important that you at least know how to do the everyday things such as paying bills, grocery shopping, cooking, and so on. It has become important to me that I be able to take care of Rick as well as myself. This will give him peace of mind and let him know that no matter what, we will be okay. I have been trying things, such as grocery delivery, taxis and Uber and Lyft. It has been a time of brushing up on things like bill-pay and other independent living skills. We never know when the circumstances in our lives are going to change. It is so important to learn things now and avoid so much panic and add to the stress later. Rick and I do not know what is going to happen with this yet, so we are just taking things day by day.
by Monica Youngdell, Activities Chair
FREE—Utah Voices concert with live band on Friday, July 5, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. Bountiful Park, 400 N 200 W. All are welcome to attend free of charge. More activities coming soon!
The Annual Business Meeting of the Utah Council of the Blind will be held at the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 250 N 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Reservations are required so that we can have enough food for everyone. Please call the Utah Connection or email ucb.board@gmail.com with your name, the names of others in your party, and your telephone number no later than Monday, September 16th. When you make your reservation, please indicate whether or not each person in your party is a member of the UCB, whether you use large print or braille, any dietary restrictions you or a member of your party may have, and if you will need a listening device or any other accommodation.
Membership Verification: In order to vote at the annual business meeting a member's dues for 2019 must be paid no later than September 14, 2019. If you have any questions about your membership status, please contact our Membership Chair, Aunilie Hathaway at (801) 244-5505 or via e-mail at ucb.board@gmail.com.
During this year's annual business meeting, we will be electing the president, secretary, and one 2-year board member. As specified in the UCB Bylaws: " In order to be eligible for election to an officer position a person must have been a member of the organization for not less than one year and served on a committee. In order to be elected to a board position a person must have been a member of the organization for not less than six months.”
“The Nominating Committee shall have responsibility for authoring and publishing a questionnaire for each open position to be completed by every candidate for the position.”
“Any qualified member of the organization wishing to run for a position on the Board of Directors may notify a member of the Committee by submitting the appropriate completed questionnaire.”
Nominating Committee: We are pleased to announce that the Nominating Committee chair for this year is Cordie Weed. Her committee members are Anna Jeffery, Bill Gibson, and Maurice Bowman.
1. Describe your leadership experience.
2. Describe, in detail, the top concerns from the “pain points” for the blind and the deaf-blind along with your solutions.
3. What specifically could you do to help the UCB better serve the needs of their blind and deaf-blind from age 20 to age 100?
4. With the great increase in technology to improve health, safety, and job opportunities, how could you help the UCB generate funds to help the members obtain their desired technology to improve their lives?
5. How do you envision greatly helping the blind and deaf-blind in Utah improve their lives?
6. How will you play a role in
increasing the Utah Council of the Blind membership, with the emphasis on youth
membership?
7. What would you do as an officer in the UCB to help blind organizations and individuals work together?
Anyone who wishes to run for one of the open positions, please send your completed questionnaire to:
Utah Council of the Blind
Nominating Committee
PO Box 1415
Bountiful UT 84011-1415
or by e-mail to:
ucb.board@gmail.com
Your completed questionnaire must be received on or before August 1, 2019 in order to allow time for it to be prepared for printing in the September newsletter. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Cordie at 801-888-3152.
For those who cannot attend the meeting and desire an absentee ballot, please leave your name, telephone number, and address on the Utah Connection or email ucb.board@gmail.com, and a ballot will be mailed to you. The completed ballot must be returned to reach us no later than September 14, 2019 to be included in the voting process.
Proposed Bylaws Amendments must be submitted to:
Utah Council of the Blind
Secretary
PO Box 1415
Bountiful UT 84011-1415
or by e-mail to:
ucb.board@gmail.com
Proposals must be received on or before August 1, 2019 in order for them to be prepared for publication in the September newsletter.
By Cordie Weed
It is that time of the year again that the UCB recognizes those who have given their time generously serving the blind and visually impaired community. The UCB would present awards to these people at the annual business meeting in September. There are three levels of awards offered to those who have served so faithfully. If you have anyone who deserves recognition by serving you or others whom you know, write a paragraph or two about this individual and submit to ucb.board@gmail.com or mail it to PO Box 1415 Bountiful, Utah 84011-1415 no later than August 1, 2019.
By Leslie Gertsch
The UCB has scholarships available for outstanding students seeking higher education. If you are attending a Utah university, college or trade school, or if you know of someone who might be eligible, please contact the Utah Connection 1-800-273-4569 or 801-299-0670 to request an application. All applications and required documentation will be due by September 1st, 2019. They can be mailed, emailed or faxed. However, the transcripts must be mailed to the UCB, PO Box 1415, Bountiful, UT 84011-1415. Students should have a GPA of at least 3.0 to compete. Scholarship funding can be used for tuition, housing, or books. If an individual receives a scholarship, a report is required describing the use of the funds. Scholarships will be presented at the Annual Business Meeting on September 21, 2019.
By Leslie Gertsch
It is nearly time for the Utah State Fair. Once again, the UCB plans to attend with those members who have an interest. For only $1.00 you can get into the State Fair and access all the entertainment and special events provided on that day. For the past three years, the UCB has also been invited to attend the Circus performance which is held on Wednesday the 11th of September. Although the exact days have not been assigned at this time you are encouraged to read the newsletters or the Utah Connection for dates, times and meeting points.
By Leslie Gertsch
It has come the attention of the UCB Board that the cost of cab transportation has become burdensome. In order to make the cab coupons provide a greater amount of transportation without a greater cost to the individual the board has increased the number of coupons a person can purchase monthly to $200.00 worth. Thanks to four generous foundations, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation, R. Harold Burton Foundation, and Marriner S. Eccles Foundation who provide funding for this program; this reduction is possible. The cost of the coupons has been reduced to $3.00 for every $10.00 of coupons. This means the $200 worth of coupons will only cost $65.00 including shipping. Remember that the coupons do not expire and can be used indefinitely. Coupons are used in lieu of money and can be used for tipping. In order to purchase coupons, you may contact Tina Terry at 801-245-9264 to use a credit card or send a check to the UCB for $65.00 to PO Box 1415, Bountiful, UT 84011-1415. Once again, these do not expire. The UCB currently has contracts with cab companies in St. George, Cedar City, Richfield, Provo/Orem, Salt Lake City, Davis County, and Ogden. Find out more at: http://www.utahcounciloftheblind.org/cabcoupon.html
By Leslie Gertsch
Do you have trouble getting your mail read? Is it almost impossible to deal with the volumes of print materials that enter your home? Are there special items that you would like to read, but cannot read the print? The UCB has developed a reader program to help with this problem. If you have someone who will read these materials for you, the UCB can provide a small stipend to reward them for this service. As a member of the UCB you are eligible to purchase reader coupons for up to 10 hours per month for only $20.00. These coupons are for you to give to the reader to be redeemed from the UCB for $5.00 an hour. This means that the reader can receive up to $50 a month for helping you with your mail and other print literature. This provides you the means to give a thank you to those individuals who kindly help by reading. If you are interested in this program, contact the Utah Connection 1-800-273-4569 or 801-299-0670 and leave your name and phone number so we can contact you. These coupons can be purchased by credit card. Find out more at: http://www.utahcounciloftheblind.org/readerprogram.html
By Tom Mitchell
You may have noticed with the May 2019 CD's and cassettes a new voice (or maybe it's an old voice.) I used to read the Utah Courier before it became the UCB flier. I don't have the equipment I used to have, and I haven't done reading like this in 14 years. So, I'm sure you noticed that I sounded kind of ragged and out of practice. Also, my voice is 14 years older and not as good as it was.
But we're in a learning curve, here, and I promise you that your CD's and cassettes will get better. I hope you cassette readers find the audible tones at the beginning of each article useful in case there's something you don't wish to read. And I hope you CD users find separate tracks for each article useful. Vicki Flake, who makes the CD's says they don't make her job any harder, and I certainly hope that true because that's something I don't wish to do.
I learned a good deal in preparing the May issue, which I'm putting into practice with this one, and I hope you will find that this one sounds better, and that you'll be patient with me during this learning process. My goal is to produce the best audible Flier we can, and so I'll be continually trying to improve the product. And we'll do our best to get the cassettes out quickly as well.
And while I'm at it, let me join my voice with our editor, and with our President, Tina. We really could use articles from you folks out there. If you have everyday tips on how to do something around the house or good recipes, please send them into newsletterucb.org. (But not if they include fish. I can't stand fish.) Or maybe you read an interesting book you want to tell us about. You don't have to be a fancy writer, but feel free to send us anything you think might interest someone; even if only one person. We'd all love to hear from you, and I'd like to read whatever you have to say.
Editor’s note: I love fish, so fish recipes are also welcome. We just won’t make Tom eat the prepared dish.
An Opinion by Tom Mitchell
There's a word in the title
I've always hated when used with respect to the blind. That word is
"lighthouse". To me, it has always smacked of pity; pity for the poor
blind people who cannot see, and for whom the absence of light in their lives
must lead a life of total deprivation.
Yet, throughout the United
States, there continues to be a great number for organizations called
Lighthouses, whose purpose has been to assist the blind in obtaining employable
skills, helping them find employment, and assisting those who are newly-blinded
to learn to live independent lives.
For many decades the agency
now called the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DSBVI)
has had those same goals. Yet, there seems to be, to the person not employed
there, little progress in increasing the number of jobs held by blind people,
and no attempt to provide any kind of employment for those who are incapable of
working in normal jobs. At one time we had the Workshop for the Blind, but that
was disbanded a number of years ago for reasons for which I'm not fully
conversant.
In my opinion, DSVBI falls
short in several areas. No longer does it have employment specialists who go
and seek for jobs for blind people. By this I mean specialists who actively go
to whatever factories still exist or to other workplaces where blind people
could be employed. The last one I remembered, seemed to be particularly stuck on
finding telephone jobs. Surely, there are other types of jobs that exist for
which blind people could be trained. But no one is looking.
Also, though DSVBI has its
Business Enterprises division, its sole function seems to be in finding
cafeteria and food stand jobs for the blind. That's all it does. Could it not
be a department that would help blind people start a business other than
cafeterias or stands. Perhaps a marketing or selling type business.
The problem with an agency run by the government is that it has limited funding
governed by whatever a state legislature is willing to spend. If a
lighthouse-type organization existed, granted it would also have to work on a
budget, but if proper fund-raising could be done, more money from outside
sources might — I say again — might be available.
Pipe dream? Perhaps. I
wouldn't know how to start one. But clearly, an organization not run by a state
agency would have more latitude in meeting the needs of its clients in a more
effective manner than the state organization. Perhaps someday, UCB could play a
pivotal role in establishing a lighthouse-type agency.
By Tina Terry
There are several apps available for Android and iPhone that will take pictures of documents and read them aloud. One of the most well-known is the KNFB Reader. It is pricey, but good. My favorite has been an app called Prizmo Go. It is free with in app purchases. The third app that I use is Seeing AI. It is good, but takes longer to process, and you must hold the phone higher above the print to take the picture. There is a new app that came out this month that I am really excited about. It is called the Voice Dream Scanner. It does cost $5.99, but it is the best scanner I have found. I was able to use it to read medical documents in a high stress situation. It worked really well. I have done comparisons between it and the other apps that were previously mentioned, and it proved to be easier to use, more accurate, and easier to save or discard the scans. I have heard about Voice Dream products over the years, and everything has been very positive. I usually try to go with free apps, but after trying the Voice Dream Scanner, I am seriously considering the other apps they have available. Thanks to the Applevis podcasters for turning me on to this. If you would like more information on this app, the ACB is doing a podcast on it as well.
By Tina Terry
I recently had an experience going to Costco and needed customer assistance to shop. It reminded me of several of the tips that we use when shopping. These are things that some of us use all the time, but others may be new, too. Hopefully, they will be helpful to someone. They are always a good reminder.
Be prepared when you shop.
· Create a list if possible, to give to the clerk, or have it so that you can read it to them.
· Be aware ahead of time if there are any coupons that you want to use.
· Organize your list according to aisle.
· Call ahead.
· Try not to shop during peak hours.
· Be patient if they need to help someone else while working with you.
If you have a lot of groceries, you may want to take public transportation to the store and a cab home. You may also want to use a utility cart if you are taking the bus or paratransit both ways.
By Tina Terry
I recently had an experience using Aira and thought it would be interesting to review it for you.
For those of you who do not know, Aira is a service that you can use with either your own smart phone or use glasses that are provided to you. If you use their system, it is a cell phone that plugs into the glasses. The glasses have a camera located about the nose piece. It is only noticeable if you look very closely. When you press the button on the phone, you are connected to an agent. You can have the agent read documents, guide you where you need to go, or help with anything that requires visual assistance for a few minutes.
I love an app called Be My Eyes. It is a free app that uses volunteers to do these things and thought, "Why should I pay for Aira when I can use Be My Eyes for Free?" I used Aira at the convention last year and still ended up getting lost and got disconnected at one point. I was concerned about trying it again. When Rick and I found out we were going to be spending a lot of time at the Huntsman Cancer Center, I was concerned about being able to get around without taking the staff from other patients or Rick when he was doing the treatment. I contacted Aira and they gave me a free month of use to give me a chance to get a little bit of orientation to the building. I tried them this last week while Rick was doing his chemo. I chose the glasses because I wanted my hands free to use the cane and if I needed something from the cafeteria, I felt it would be easier to carry things that way. The first thing that I noticed was a part of the contract that said that if they were guiding me, I must be either using a cane or a guide dog. That made me feel a little more comfortable. The next thing was that they remained silent while I was crossing the street. I still needed to be aware of the traffic patterns and was responsible for my safety.
When I was filling out my profile, they asked how I would like to be directed. I could choose the type of information that would work best for me.
When I actually used the glasses, the agent was able to look several feet in front of me and tell me where the next hallway was and what the signs were saying. They can also pull up the floor plans of the building and use them to help guide me. The agents were very friendly and helpful. They gave me the confidence that I needed during a stressful time.
I had some concerns about people relying too much on Aira and would caution against becoming too dependent on the app. I know I sometimes seem to rely on technology. I do try and use whatever I have available, whether it be low tech or high tech. As things progress with Rick, I will rely on all resources that are available. This is one that could be useful. My main concern is still about the price. It is a great service, but one that many of us would struggle to afford. I have to evaluate and see which plan works best, what tasks would it be better to use Aira and which ones can I use Be My Eyes for. While I adjust to the changes in our lives, I am finding that it is a comfort to have assistance of any type a phone call away. We do not know what kind of emergencies will arise or what errands I will have to run. I am finding that I use a lot of different techniques to get the tasks done. Aira could be very beneficial for us at this time. I am grateful for the services that both Aira and Be My Eyes provide.
Donni Mitchell volunteers in the UCB Office at DSBVI, 250 N 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT, from 12:00 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. If you wish to make a purchase, we recommend you give her a call at 801-520-3766 to be sure she is there when you visit to purchase cab coupons, t-shirts, screwdriver/hammers, 20/20 pens, signature guides, or measuring cups and spoons.
We are always looking for articles,
book reviews, or interesting tidbits of information from our readers or other
interested persons. The deadline for submitting items for publication is the
1st of the month, e.g. the deadline for the December newsletter is November
1st. You may e-mail any articles you wish to submit to newsletterucb@gmail.com or
send Braille or print to UCB Flier, PO Box 1415, Bountiful, UT 84011-1415;
please allow extra time for processing Braille or print.
If you have questions or concerns for any board member or to be placed on the agenda of a board meeting, e-mail ucb.board@gmail.com or leave a message on the Utah Connection, and you will receive a timely reply.
Members are invited and encouraged to
attend meetings of the Board of Directors. These are typically held the fourth
Monday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at DSBVI in Conference Room R (in the north
hallway), except as noted.
·
Monday,
August 26, 2019
·
Monday,
September 23, 2019
·
Monday,
October 28, 2019
·
Monday,
November 25, 2019
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