BUCKEYE BULLETIN

Our first NEWSLINE? service center opened in late 1997. It serves central Ohio with local service in Columbus and a toll-free line serving the 614 and 740 area codes. The Columbus service offers three national newspapers?the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today?and in recent months the Columbus Dispatch has been added as a local paper. Solving the technical problems associated with delivering this last paper has provided us with a real challenge. Only very recently have we been able to make available a significant portion of the daily paper. Technical problems with our efforts to sweep the Dispatch's Web site caused the trouble, but it looks as if the worst is now over and that from now on we will be able to offer callers most of the daily Columbus paper.

NEWSLINE? subscribers in the 614 and 740 area codes should soon receive a ballot if you have not already gotten it. This will enable you to vote for the three national papers you would most like to read during the coming year. In addition to the three now offered in Columbus, you can choose among the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Toronto Globe and Mail, and, just now joining the list, the Wall Street Journal.

The Cleveland service center opened in mid-November last year offering the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the L.A. Times. Recently our efforts to add the Cleveland Plain Dealer have resulted in moderate success. We began offering the paper on Monday, March 1. We are limited to putting up what the paper itself makes available on the Internet. This is not yet all of the paper, and it is, so far at least, a day late, but we can do nothing about this timing problem till the PD makes some staffing changes that will enable it to process the material sooner.

Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the Cleveland experience has been the broad support NEWSLINE? has received throughout the entire blindness community in Cleveland. The American Council of the Blind of Ohio and the Blinded Veterans of America's local group joined with the NFB to express blind people's interest in having independent, daily access to newspapers when and where they want to read them. The Executive Director of the Cleveland Sight Center has also written a letter of support for the program. I don't know when I can recall this much support from the entire blindness community for a single program. It speaks volumes about the importance of information delivery in the minds of blind people, and such unanimity should give a clear message to anyone contemplating financial support of this important program.

Subscribing to NEWSLINE? is not restricted to those in the areas officially served by the two existing NEWSLINE? service centers in Ohio. The rest of us can subscribe to NEWSLINE? and use it by making long-distance telephone calls to reach them. For example, my long-distance carrier offers a five-cents-a-minute rate all day Sunday. That rate makes it extremely reasonable for me to read the paper on Sundays by calling a NEWSLINE? center outside Ohio. My husband buys the Sunday New York Times, and now I can read it as well. Once you are signed up as a NEWSLINE? reader, you can enjoy this service whenever your travels take you to a NEWSLINE? city.

If you would like to subscribe to NEWSLINE?, contact Eric Duffy in Columbus at the NFB of Ohio's toll-free number printed on the front cover of this newsletter or at (614) 262-9378, or Cheryl Fischer in Cleveland at (216) 721-5163. They can send you the proper form for subscribing to the service in their area. Spread the word about this exciting new service, and sign up today.

If you or a friend would like to remember the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio in your will, you can do so by employing the following language:
"I give, devise, and bequeath unto the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, 237 Oak Street, Oberlin, Ohio 44074, an Ohio nonprofit corporation, the sum of $_______(or "________ percent of my net estate" or "The following stocks and bonds:_______) to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind persons."

Readers of the Buckeye Bulletin will recall that last summer we published an article about the future of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) in Ohio. We announced that a consulting firm was then being chosen to conduct a survey of users and nonusers of the service to help assess the effectiveness of the program and ways in which it might be improved.

The consulting firm has now been selected, and its staff is hard at work preparing for the actual survey, which is tentatively scheduled to take place during the second week of April. They hope to conduct about 100 in-depth telephone interviews around Ohio and use the information gathered to prepare their report. The NFB of Ohio has agreed to help them identify both users and non-users who would be willing to be interviewed during that week. Identifying users to call will not be difficult. After all, the two regional libraries have the names and contact information for thousands of borrowers in their files. The real challenge is to identify people who qualify to receive the service but have chosen for whatever reason not to use it or not to use it very much.

If you fall into this group and would be willing to talk to someone about why you do not use the NLS, please contact Eric Duffy at (800) 396-6326 to give him your name and phone number. We will pass these along to the consulting firm.

If you are a borrower and would particularly like to have your views recorded, you may call Eric as well. But remember that volunteering to take part in this survey does not guarantee that you will be called. They are trying to gather the names of twice as many people as they plan to interview simply to make sure that they can find 100 people at home during the week of the survey. Please contact Eric if you would be willing to take part in this effort. And, if you are a non-borrower and willing to help, make an extra effort to volunteer. The Talking Book program serves more blind Ohioans than any other. It is up to us to do everything we can to insure that blind citizens receive the best service possible.

In a letter to Madalyn Koo, President of the Ohio State School for the Blind Alumni Association, Superintendent Lou Mazoli said that he would be "pleased to have the biennial reunion in August of 2000." The alumni gathering that was scheduled for mid June of this year had to be changed because of necessary remodeling of bathrooms to comply with ADA guidelines.

Valerie Tiven, Director of Catering for the Clarion Hotel in Worthington, the site of our 1999 convention, writes as follows: I am writing to advise you that effective January 1, 1999, the Clarion Hotel Worthington will become a smoke-free property. Smoking will be permitted only inside the Generations Pub. We hope this does not cause any inconvenience to those participating in your upcoming event and that you will join us in supporting our efforts to provide our guests a cleaner, healthier environment.

Under date of February 17, 1999, Mrs. K. B. Oatman, Credit Analyst in American Electric Power's Credit and Collection Department, sent an announcement for blind consumers who do business with AEP. She reminds all blind consumers of the option to receive their AEP utility bills in Braille. According to the letter, AEP has been providing this service for a number of years. This is a no-cost service, and the customer will continue to receive a print copy of the bill as well. Customers may access this service by calling (800) 672-2231. Questions about this service may be directed to Mrs. Oatman at (219) 425-2152, or (419) 998-5162.

The National Federation of the Blind of Ohio has recently jumped on to the Information Superhighway. Our Website address is . Although we have only been online a short time, we have already received several e-mail messages from people who have found our page. This is a great public relations tool for us. Please visit our site. We welcome your comments.

In today's busy world of deadlines to meet, planes to catch, e-mail and voice-mail messages to send and receive, one is tempted to say there is no time for anything else. That temptation has certainly come to mind as I have contemplated whether to serve on various advisory councils and committees. I have a wife and two children to whom I am deeply committed. I have a hectic work schedule, and my interest in music often requires me to travel. Of course I am also involved in and committed to the work of the National Federation of the Blind. All of these things combined, however, have not prevented me from serving on advisory bodies dealing with issues of importance to the blind.

It is certainly true that even within the disabled community the blind are a minority. Yet with just cause the National Federation of the Blind is recognized as one of the most powerful and positive forces at work on behalf of people with disabilities. Though there is much still to be done, our work in educating the temporarily able-bodied members of society has begun to pay off. We have failed, however, to educate those with other disabilities about blindness. This failure has become increasingly obvious to me over the last couple of years during my service on various advisory bodies. We have not failed due to a lack of conviction or because our message must be altered. We have failed because we have not made our presence felt.

How many times have you been involved in a meeting and not received materials in Braille or in another accessible format? It is easy to write the organization off and say something like I do not have time for an organization that does not give me information in a format that I can use. But that only deprives the organization of your expertise on blindness. The real solution is to continue to insist that you receive materials in the format you requested and that you receive them in a timely manner.

I have served on the statewide advisory council of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission for almost six years. In the beginning I was skeptical about my ability to make a real difference. However, I have seen some real changes in the way the Advisory Committee for the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired (BSVI) does business. Ultimately I believe this will result in better services for consumers. The Council helped to bring about a stronger consumer choice policy for the agency. I am pleased to have been a part of that change.

I am now serving on the Governor's Council on People with Disabilities. I have enjoyed this experience, and at the same time I have educated others about blindness.

As I have participated in events organized by and for people with disabilities, I have been troubled by a lack of information about blindness. It is almost as though blindness and blind people do not exist. A prime example is Solidarity. This event is organized by people with disabilities. Yet, as I have heard plans for workshops and other activities at the 1999 conference, I have not heard about anything related to blindness. I am not aware of any exhibits, workshops, or anything else specifically for the blind.

What troubles me most is that we are not demanding more. We must put blindness on the agendas of organizations dealing with disability issues. We need to have members of this organization serving on a wide variety of advisory boards and councils. We should have at least one member on local Consumer Advisory Councils for the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission. We should also work to get on the boards of rehabilitation facilities.

For the most part the days of picketing and shutting agencies down are behind us. Most agencies are willing to work with us in partnership and harmony. When they are not, other tactics may need to be employed. It is our responsibility, however, to stand up and be counted. We have the philosophy, and our message is clear. It is up to us to get out there and make a difference.

Now is the time when many advisory bodies are accepting new applications. To request an application for the councils associated with the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission (including the Governor's Council), call (800) 282-4536. We need a voice on the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. For an application, call (800) 766-7426.

The opportunity is ours, and we must seize it. You are an expert on blindness. You bring the training and experience of the National Federation of the Blind to all that you do. Let me say clearly that, unless you are appointed by the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio to do so, you do not represent the organization. However, you can and must establish a presence. You can let the disabled community know that blind people do exist. Articulate your needs in a positive manner. I am calling on you to serve.

Beginning Monday, news stories that appear in the Plain Dealer will be available on Cleveland Newsline?, a newspaper-by-telephone service sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.

The service allows visually impaired people to listen to each day's news stories. The Plain Dealer joins the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, newspapers that have been available by phone since November.

Each day's paper is sent to an electronic archiving service, and speech synthesizers read the electronic version of the story at a computer in Wickliffe. Touch-tone menus allow Newsline? subscribers to select a newspaper and a specific section of the paper. The callers indicate which articles they want to hear, and a computerized voice reads the story. The callers even have a choice of nine voices they can listen to.

"There are already more than 300 Greater Clevelanders using Newsline?," said Cheryl A. Fischer, Cleveland Newsline? coordinator and president of the National Federation of the Blind's chapter in Cuyahoga County. "This is information that visually impaired people have not had access to. We're very excited to be able to access local and national news stories. Information access is a priority for the National Federation of the Blind nationally and locally."

Cleveland Newsline? was established through funding from Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the City of Cleveland, and the Plain Dealer. Additional donations are being sought to continue the service.

Newsline? is provided free to anyone who has a physical disability that makes it difficult or impossible to read a newspaper. Anyone wishing to register for Newsline? or make a donation should call (216) 721-5163.

How often have you read travel articles depicting scenes of riotous colors and graphic descriptions of stars, moon, sky, and the like? Of course it would be ludicrous to campaign for anything different, but for once wouldn't it be great to read a travelogue from a blind guy's perspective? What would it be like to read about the sounds and smells of travel? Well, if you read the November, 1998, issue of the Braille Monitor, you will have such a treat.

Sir John Wilson of England vividly describes what it is like to go about the world enjoying the sound, touch, and smell of various objects. "Around the world" is no idle turn of phrase; Sir John illuminates what it is like to travel as a blind person in such areas as West Africa, Trinidad, Corfu, and New York City. Wilson's love of the unexpected is obvious; he relishes meeting and conquering challenges. He greatly enjoys meeting strangers and learning from them; doubtless he taught them a great deal in return. In several instances some of his methods for coping with particular situations would not be ours. In all cases, however, he demonstrates ingenuity and self-reliance.

I don't want to mention everything in the article entitled "My Halls," for you would find reading the entire article interesting. Besides, there are many other pieces in the November issue worth reading. For instance, there is a very informative article about our own Martha Hays written by Ohio Federationist Jana Schroeder. Martha lived a very interesting life and died quietly shortly before publication of her recollections. Other topics covered in the November issue include thoughts about educating blind children, cooking challenges, adventures in hosting, and new recipes.

To determine whether a eulogy is effective, it should make those who never knew the person wish they had and compel those who were familiar with the one being eulogized to nod and smile in appreciation and recognition. Hopefully, I have been able to convey such feelings with the Braille Monitor of November, 1998. If I have been at all successful and if you have not enjoyed the rewards of reading the Monitor, get busy.

The Braille Monitor is a free publication available in large print and Braille, on cassette, and by e-mail. If you are not receiving the Monitor and would like to subscribe, You shouls write to the National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson St., Baltimore, Maryland 21230. Please indicate that you wouls like to subscribe to the Braille Monitor and be sure to mention the format in which you would like to recieve it. Please provide your complete mailing address and telephone number. The Braille Monitor is an invalubale publication. I strongly encourage you to read it.

In a small classroom at Rio Grande Elementary, thirteen-year-old James Heddy's rosy cheek rests on his shoulder while his fingers feel the Braille numbers in a math book. He reads, "Three-hundred and fifty dollars." He quickly turns to the Perkins Brailler, a typewriter that produces raised text, and presses the combination of corresponding keys for "three, five, zero."

After finishing the math assignment, James moves to the IBM computer station and asks for help in writing a letter to a sick classmate. Paula Saunders, the school reader guide, opens the Duxbury Braille Translator program. Flawlessly James types a note: "Dear Darren, We miss you. What have you been doing?" When he has completed his work, Saunders selects the print option, and James's letter buzzes out of the large machine, producing a Braille version of the document.

Quite a busy morning for this legally blind sixth grader who travels an hour to and from his New Albany home to school each day. But the tasks James completes in one morning would never be possible without the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). The NFB is the largest organization for blind Americans, with more than ten percent of the nation's 500,000 visually impaired in its membership.

The organization dedicates itself to helping the blind help themselves. The motto "Security, Equality, and Opportunity" exemplifies the NFB's fight for equal treatment and respect for all blind people.

Fifteen NFB chapters exist in Ohio. One of the newest is the Southeast chapter, founded in 1994 by Dr. John Smith, a blind professor of speech at Ohio University. After a year of living in Athens, Smith decided to address the issue of blindness. His previous work with the NFB gave him two goals. He felt it was imperative not only for visually impaired residents to have an outlet for communication but also that sighted residents be made aware of blindness and handicap issues.

Smith's role was?and still is?pivotal in the success of the Southeast chapter, says Barbara Pierce, president of the Ohio NFB. "John serves as the nucleus to draw members from across the region," she says. "It was clear he was motivated to help Southeastern Ohioans who had traditionally suffered in this isolated area."

Before the Southeast Ohio chapter existed, those interested in being involved in an NFB chapter would have had to drive to Columbus or farther. Resources such as these provided by the NFB were virtually nonexistent to those in this region.

Both Smith and Pierce were forces that drew one of the Southeast Ohio chapter members to joining the group. Roger Hawk, father of four and grandfather of eight, lost his eyesight gradually beginning at age thirty-three. Twenty-eight years later in 1994, he heard Smith speak on the radio. After the broadcast Hawk called the station and soon met Smith. The two attended a state NFB meeting where Pierce spoke.

"She was in total control and ran things so efficiently that I knew I wanted to get involved with the NFB," Hawk says. Hawk's participation in the NFB has helped him more than he ever imagined. In 1995 he ran for township trustee but was defeated. However, in the next election, with the support of the NFB, Hawk pulled more votes than the two incumbents did. This visually impaired man had been elected to public office, and the NFB backed him every step of the way.

Hawk is one of about twenty members of the National Federation of the Blind of Southeast Ohio. The membership consists of blind and sighted people of all ages from around the region. Smith explains that his primary intention for the group was simply to get members to come to meetings. Some visually impaired adults do not have much contact outside their homes, and Smith says for those members coming to meetings or attending a state or national convention provides unique opportunities.

Ruth Boggs and her fourteen-year-old son Donnie are two members who have realized these opportunities. Both joined the NFB chapter the year it was founded when Donnie was only nine and have learned tremendous amounts about what opportunities exist for the blind. Ruth says that, before getting involved in the NFB, her son had never met another blind person. But after they attended their first meeting and national convention, they understood the endless possibilities.

"You have no idea what it was like to meet doctors, lawyers, and scientists, all who are blind," Ruth says. "Before the NFB I never would have told Donnie what I do today: 'The only thing you can't do is drive a car or fly a plane.' And Donnie insists that in the future even that will be possible."

Ruth now serves as the vice president for the parents division of the NFB of Ohio, and she and Donnie have attended five national conventions, marched in Washington, D.C., and most recently attended a space camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

Donnie now attends the Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB), but he spent his elementary years in a vision class at Rio Grande, with his classmate James. That class, taught by Ann Boyd, now has seven students, grades first through sixth, who all have been impacted by the Southeast Ohio NFB chapter.

In addition to serving as outstanding role models for students, the NFB members donate funds and materials necessary for teaching visually impaired students and their parents to use the latest technology for Brailling and other skills.

Recently the NFB sponsored a workshop led by Boyd, which taught parents how to read Braille and help their visually impaired sons and daughters. The group also serves as a reference point for these parents and educators for any questions or concerns they might have.

While the NFB supports worthwhile endeavors such as this workshop and the equipment used in James's class, it depends primarily on fund-raisers and donations to exist. Chapter members pay dues in order to receive the Buckeye Bulletin, the state newsletter, and the Braille Monitor, the national publication, but these dues do not cover additional expenses.

One annual fund-raising event took place in October, when the group sponsored a Gospel Sing in Pomeroy. There Smith and others performed and accepted donations for the group. The 1998 event was the most successful yet, raising more than $200. Other events the group sponsors include bake sales, raffle tickets, and soliciting for donations.

The Chapter also gets help from the Delta Gamma sorority at Ohio University, which coordinates a philanthropic event each winter. The event enables other campus groups to participate in several swimming and other water races. These teams are sponsored by local businesses and collect individual donations. The money raised is split between the sorority's national Service for Sight foundation and the local NFB chapter.

The NFB is always looking for new opportunities to get its name out and help visually impaired persons. Currently the chapter is working with local optometrists and the Delta Gamma sorority to begin a transportation program for visually impaired people who need to run errands or do grocery shopping. Melanie Snider, a Delta Gamma member who works closely with Smith, says she has seen the effects of the NFB on chapter members. "The Delta Gamma members who attend NFB meetings with me and participate in our fund-raisers to help the group have a new understanding of what it means to be blind and how sighted people can help them," Snider says.

In the four years since its first meeting, the Southeast Ohio chapter has flourished, aiding the visually impaired and sighted residents of the region. The members help themselves by encouraging one another to attend state and local forums and by becoming active citizens. But they also help others.

The NFB has shown kids like James Heddy in the vision class that he can use his computer skills to become the businessman he wants to be. It has helped members like Roger Hawk get elected to public office. It has provided resources for educators like Ann Boyd. And it has inspired parents of the blind like Ruth Boggs to expect no less from their children than the sighted.

Members of the NFB know that being visually impaired is not a handicap. Through the group's efforts they are letting the rest of the world know it too.

Please be sure that the subject line accurately reflects the content of your message. This is especially important if you are sending messages to a mailing list. If you are really going to talk about your dog, then you don't want the subject of your message to be "my favorite screen reader."

If you are sending an attachment, please indicate this. You may do so in the subject line, the body of your message, or both. If I do not know to look for an attachment, I might delete a message without ever seeing the attachment. Don't send an attachment unless it is necessary to do so. You must send an attachment if you want to send a word-processed file, a database file, or a program. Some e-mail programs will not accept attachments at all.

Sign your name at the end of the message. This does not have to be done with a closing such as Sincerely. Just put your name at the end to signify that you have completed the message.

Shirley Hammond is a woman with a mission?to make life easier for disabled children. Her approach is not to coddle them. The words "I can't" are not in her vocabulary, nor will she allow it in the vocabulary of the youngsters she works with as an occupational therapist at Linden McKinley High School, Crenshaw Middle School, and Lathrop School in the Canton City School System.

She knows from where she speaks. Born premature, she was given too much oxygen, which damaged her eyesight. As she got older, her eyes progressively got worse. "If anything could go wrong it did," she said in regard to her eyes.

Her belief, though, is that life goes on and you have to make the best of it. That is one of the reasons she became an occupational therapist for the schools. She wanted to help youngsters in similar situations make the most of their disabilities.

"I have gone through my share of depression, but it doesn't get any easier if you don't try," she said, noting she doesn't ask any more of her kids than they can do. And in the process of helping them succeed, Ms. Hammond offers encouragement and always has plenty of hugs to offer her young charges. "She is wonderful with the kids," said Barb Hughey, multi-handicapped teacher at Crenshaw. "She is just amazing. She always has a project for the kids to work on to help motivate them. Last week we put up the Christmas tree. She made every ornament and decorated it with the kids. She knows what their needs are and tailors their activities to meet those needs."

Cheryl Prysock, an aid in the classroom, agrees. "She is just an unbelievable person," she said. "She always has a craft or a food item for them to design or prepare, and when she comes in here, she works with the kids and does things with them that the normal person couldn't possibly begin to do. She is just really into the kids. It's just absolutely amazing what she can come up with to help them learn while having fun. She is only at Crenshaw one day a week, but the kids look forward to having her here."

While making her way around the classroom, only Ms. Hammond's white cane betrays her disability. She moves about the classroom as well as the other adults. That is not to say the therapist hasn't had her own struggles over the years, though. "I know how difficult living with a disability can be," she said. "I lost my sight totally after my first year of college." That is when she first learned Braille. Patty Blackburn was her teacher.

"She is an admirable young woman," Mrs. Blackburn said. "She sees nothing, but you are scarcely aware she is blind. When she first walked into this apartment (Mrs. Blackburn's), she said 'Oh, you have a big kitchen. She could tell by the sound vibrating off the wall it was a big room."

It wasn't always like that for her. "There was a time I felt sorry for myself," she admitted. "That is normal, but I reached a point when I decided there were a lot of things I really didn't have to deal with, so I let them go."

Among the things she had to deal with included the removal of one eye to glaucoma, her total loss of vision, divorce, trying to go back to school, and raising her daughter Laura alone since the now twenty-one-year-old was four. Following her divorce in May, 1983, her first hurdle was deciding what she was going to do to support herself and her daughter, even though her ex-husband was paying child support. She decided to be an occupational therapist. "I knew I had to go back to school because without a college education I couldn't find much of a job, especially because I was visually impaired," said Ms. Hammond, forty-seven. She went to the Ohio Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired for assistance to go to school, but rather than encourage her desire to become an occupational therapist, she said, "They wanted me to be a vending stand operator. Blind people aren't supposed to be occupational therapists. They told me I needed to learn Braille, gain mobility, and I was going to have to have a reader in school, and they didn't want to do that."

OK. She went to the National Federation of the Blind, filed a suit against the bureau, and won. [Actually, Shirley filed an appeal with the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission. This is a right afforded to all clients who disagree with an action of their Counselor.] She started taking courses at Stark State College of Technology in 1985, graduating from there in 1990. She started working for the schools in 1991. In addition to her work with her youngsters, she volunteers at SARAH Adult Day Care Center, NOVA Behavioral Health, and the Stephen Ministry through First Friends Church.

"My daughter is a big help; she takes me to the store, and balances the checkbook," she said noting that they are not only mother and daughter, but also great friends. "There was a time I didn't even want to get up. I had to work at not being depressed, but I got on with my life. I've learned so much through all this. If I hadn't gone through it, I don't think I could appreciate where I am now. I am more content now than I ever thought possible."

People who use their eyes to receive information about the world are called sighted people or "people who are sighted." Legal "sight" means any visual acuity greater than 20/200 in the better eye with correction or an angle of vision wider than 20 degrees. Sighted people enjoy rich full lives, working, playing, and raising families. They run businesses, hold public office, and teach your children.

Here is the text of the new book's content page:

Even I
by Kenneth Jernigan

To Touch the Untouchable Dream
by Toni and Ed Eames

Children and Chainsaws
by Marc Mauer

A Maid of the Royal Court
by Julie A. Russell

A Debt to a Kid Named George
by Debbie Kent Stein

To Take the Plunge
by Doug Elloit

Is the Baby All Right?
by Bruce A. Gardner

Baking Our Daily Bread
by Barbara Pierce

Mary Pool, President of the Stark County Chapter, reports that the Philomatheon Home has several openings for active blind adults interested in group living. The cost for room, meals, snacks, laundry, and cleaning is $305 a month. Residents must be able to climb stairs independently. For more information, contact the Philomatheon Home at 2800 W. Tuscarawas, Canton, Ohio 44710, (330) 453-9157.

Louise and Tom Anderson (Members at Large) spoke to eighty-four third graders at Robinwood Lane Elementary School and 101 fourth-grade students at West Boulevard Elementary School on Friday, February 5 about blindness and the National Federation of the Blind.Formal, two concerts during the next year, and several smaller events.

We are also sorry to report the death of Carmel Rose Lancione, age seventy-six. She was also a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Mahoning Valley.

Jason Ewell, the primary leader of our student division, writes as follows: I recently ran for the Vice Presidency of the John Carroll Student Union, our organization of student government. Three others ran against me in the primary. I got the second largest number of votes. During the general election, I was victorious, overcoming the deficit and avoiding the threat from a candidate who campaigned for write-in votes. As Vice President I will be in charge of planning for special events that the Student Union sponsors. These include Welcome Back Week, various Homecoming events, the Winter Formal, two concerts during the next year, and several smaller events.

We regret having to report the death on February 14 of Verna Anderson, an energetic member of our Stark County chapter. Verna died of complications following by-pass surgery on February 14. Our deepest sympathy goes to her family and friends. She will be missed in the Stark County Chapter.

Duane Immel, another member of the Stark County Chapter and a leader in blindness circles in Canton, has been diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, his condition is quite serious because of other medical problems. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.