The PCB ADVOCATE SUMMER 2007 ADDITION

The PCB ADVOCATE is a quarterly news publication of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind. It is available in large print, braille, cassette, disk, and by email.

Please send change of address and other matters to the PCB office, 931 N Front St., Harrisburg, PA. 17102, or call 717-920-9999, or 1-877-617-7407. FAX 717-920-9988. Email address: pcb1@paonline.com Web site: pcb1.org

June M Horst, Editor

John A Horst, Ass't Editor

Send articles to: ADVOCATE, PCB Office, 931 N Front St., Harrisburg, PA. 17102. Email pcb1@paonline.com Articles can also be sent directly to the Editor at: jjkhor95@epix.net

MISSION

To promote independence and opportunities for people with vision impairments.

VISION

To continue to be recognized as the leading advocacy organization for people with vision impairments in Pennsylvania. The aim of all of our efforts is to encourage and assist people in achieving their potential as valued members of society. PCB assistance, advocacy, and encouragement will be carried out in such areas as, but not limited to, all aspects of accessibility, transportation, education, and employment.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Articles in this publication reflect the views of the individual writers. They do not necessarily represent the views and policy of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind.

CONTRIBUTIONS: Contributions are tax deductible, and are always much needed. They can be sent to Anthony Evancic, Treasurer, at the PCB office address, at 931 N Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17102.

If you wish to remember a relative or friend by sharing in the Council's work, the PCB office will acknowledge contributions made by loved ones in memory of deceased persons. Anyone wishing to remember the PA Council of the Blind in his/her Last Will and Testament, may do so by including a paragraph for this purpose. If your wishes are complex, you may contact the PCB office.

SUBMITTING ARTICLES: If you wish to submit articles for consideration in the ADVOCATE, please do so. Deadlines for submission are:

March 1 June 1

September 1 December 1

You may send them in any format, either to the PCB office, or email them to: jjkhor95@epix.net. Your input is always welcome.

From the Editors: This Summer issue of the ADVOCATE updates the activities, functions, and critical concerns of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind. Major contributions to this issue have been made by committee chairs and chapter presidents, keeping in mind the due date for articles. We would like to hear from more chapter members as to what you are doing and what the issues are that you discuss at your meetings. Are you using the PCB Reports' tapes? Do you hear them broadcast on your local radio reading service? Do you know the day and time of these broadcasts?

The submission date for articles for the Fall edition of the ADVOCATE is September 1, 2007.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

President's Report 7

From the Director's Desk 8

Committee Reports:

Awards 10

Employment 12

Fundraising 15

Your Trash, PCB's Treasure 19

Membership 20

Transportation 23

Transportation Resolution 26

Chapter News:

Beaver County 27

Capitol Cities 28

Clearfield-Jefferson County 29

Regional Meetings Reports:

Central 30

Northeast 33

Southeast 39

Southwest 43

Northwest 47

State News:

Braille Awareness Day At the Capitol 47

Get Ready to Read, and More 54

PCB's First Annual Sidewalk Sale 61

PCBer's at National Convention 62

Proposed State Legislation 63

Newsline Report 64

National News:

Personnel Notes from ACB Office 64

ACB National Convention - 2007 66

The Talking Book Program 69

Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide

For People with Disabilities 71

UN Treaty Up-Date 71

New Bosewave Music System 72

Seven Steps to Stagnation 73

Board of Directors 74

Chapter Presidents 74

Membership Application 75

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

By George Holliday

Members of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind continue to work with several advocacy issues. In order to achieve advocacy goals, PCB needs the participation of all members. For example, how many of you have some difficulty in determining the currency denomination when a cashier gives you change? I think we have all run into this problem one time or another. If 180 other countries have accessible currency, why can't ours? You can assist by signing the petition at www.petitiononline.com

or by calling the state office at 717-920-9999 or toll free at 877-617-7407, and give them your name to be added to the petition.

Also, you can contact a member in your chapter and ask him or her to add your name to the petition. We can accomplish more with numbers.

Did everyone vote in the past year? If you did, we would like to have comments on your experience. If you did not, voting machines are now accessible, in case you haven't heard. You can now vote with assurance of casting your ballot without assistance!

In conclusion, several strides are being accomplished in making our lives less stressful through accessibility. Let's work together in achieving these goals.

FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK

By John A Horst

As we move into summer, activity at the PCB office has not slowed down. Rhonda Hanafi, our very able office assistant, keeps coming up with new ideas to reduce operating costs, and to make the office operation more efficient.

We have recently changed our telephone service to a lower cost operation, which was no small task. As most of you know, this necessitated a change in the toll free number for PCB. That new number is: 877-617-7407. The local number (717-920-9999) and the Fax number (717-920-9988) has not changed.

The five regional meetings that took place around the state are now completed, thanks to the chapters who planned and hosted them. See reports of these meetings in this ADVOCATE. The PCB committees are continuing to function, and are developing new projects, such as considering a college intern to assist with advocacy work, chapters assembling resource information for daily use, and a power point presentation on PCB.

Advocacy issues that require our attention and action at present are: dedicated funding for mass transportation, expanding the shared ride program to cover the whole state, continued voting issues, and most recently and very importantly, adequate funding for the National Library Service to move to a digital operation for blind people.

On August 11, we are planning a fund raiser for PCB. Those of you who attended one of the regional meetings, heard about the sidewalk sale to take place on that date. See article in this issue of the ADVOCATE about this sale and how you can participate.

PCB is making a difference in the blind community and in the lives of vision impaired people. There is much to be done and we need to keep at it. For those of you who are on committees, we want to encourage you to attend every meeting. For all chapter members, attend your chapter meetings faithfully and be an enthusiastic supporter of what your chapter is doing.

Plan now to attend the state convention on November 2-4. You need to know about the changes to take place in the talking book program. As Mae Davidow used to say, "We are all going to work hard and accomplish much."

We hope every one has a great summer. See you at the convention in November.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

AWARDS COMMITTEE

George Holliday, Chair

Once again it is time for the membership of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind to think about submitting nominees for the PCB Distinguished Service Award and the PCB Honorary Award. Names for nomination should be submitted no later than September 15, to the PCB office or George Holliday at the addresses listed below.

Accompanying the nomination should be a letter listing why the individual should be considered, and a brief bio on the nominee. At that time, the Awards committee will discuss the list of nominations, based on the criteria for that particular award. Once the committee makes its decision, the state office will be notified and the plaques will be ordered. The awards will be presented during the state convention and conference in Bethlehem in November.

The following is the criteria for the PCB Distinguished Service Award:

1. The recipient must be blind or visually impaired.

2. The recipient must be a resident of Pennsylvania.

3. The committee may not make prejudicial selections of award recipients based on age, nationality, race, religion, creed, or sex of an individual.

4. The recipient must have demonstrated a

satisfactory adjustment to his/her disability.

5. The recipient must be acknowledged by the "blind community" for having performed outstanding service(s) for the blind.

6. The recipient must, through example and effort, have represented to the community at large, the capabilities and respectability of blind and visually impaired persons.

The following is the criteria for the PCB Honorary Award:

1. This award may be given to an individual, with or without sight, who has performed meritorious service to the blind or for the blind community.

2. This award may be made either in memory of a person, or to a person now living.

This gives you plenty of time to start discussing the awards. The committee appreciates your participation in this process. If there are any additional questions or comments, contact George Holliday.

Please send nominations to one of the following:

George S Holliday

Email: george.holliday1@verizon.net

Telephone: 215-748-3556

PA Council of the Blind

931 N Front Street

Harrisburg, PA 17102

Email: pcb1@paonline.com

EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE

Carla Hayes, Chair

18 Steps to Prepare for a Job

At a recent PCB Employment seminar, Dr. Karen Wolffe, who is employed at the American Foundation for the Blind as Director of Professional Development and CareerConnect, suggested the following 18 steps that a job seeker who is blind or visually impaired should take when preparing for a job. These suggestions sound like good advice to me.

1. Define on paper the career you want and typical jobs of this type.

2. Establish a written plan to acquire this job. Learn in advance the skills you will need.

3. Set a time line in your written plan. Establish short-term and long-term goals. Then decide on a date by which each goal will be completed.

4. Tell other people who care about you what you are doing. These people can hold you accountable for accomplishing your goals and be your conscience.

5. Once you have written out a plan, do it. (What good is a written plan unless it is executed?)

6. Network with those who can help you.

7. Research the job market for the type of work you have chosen. This will help you set more realistic goals.

8. Ask employers for whom you want to work for job descriptions so that you can work your application with works they want to hear.

9. Line up in advance drivers, readers, and any other helpers you will need.

10. Apply, interview, apply, interview, apply, interview, until you get a job. Don't get discouraged.

11. Cheat: Make copies of applications so you don't have to reword your responses to the same questions every time. Use your responses to application questions to create personal data sheets which can help you with future applications.

12. Treat every interview as if it were the best thing to ever happen to you. Use good skills, treat the interviewer with respect, etc.

13. Be pro-active. Don't ask others to do things for you that you can do yourself; only use others for things you cannot do independently. Remember, employers hire competent people, not needy ones.

14. Treat everyone you meet as a potential member of your network and treat him or her accordingly. Make conversation, discover things about the other person's common interests, and be polite. Remember: every person you meet could be a job lead.

15. Initiate social and vocational interactions often and let people know what specific work you are seeking.

16. Look at your job search as a full-time job. Spend no less than 40 hours a week looking for work. Dr. Wolffe conducted a survey of 350 visually impaired job seekers in Canada, and found that most of these people were only looking for work an average of 1 hour a week. ( Could this be one of the reasons that so many people who are blind or visually impaired are either unemployed or underemployed?)

17. Do your homework. You need to know in advance what a company does and will want from you. For example, don't go into Long John Silver's for an interview and talk about Happy Meals.

18. Use all available resources. One of the most valuable employment-related resources of the American Foundation of the Blind's CareerConnect. Their web site is www.afbcareerconnect.org

It is accessible, free and easy to navigate. It has been redesigned to be audience focused for job seekers, employers, rehabilitation specialists, etc. The site features resume builders and personal date sheets which can both be edited. The web site can also be used to locate mentors, successfully employed blind and visually impaired people willing to answer questions about their work. Visually impaired job seekers can correspond with these mentors via confidential email.

The toll free number for CareerConnect is 1-888-824-2184.

Wouldn't you agree that Dr. Karen Wolffe's suggestions for job seekers are practical and down-to-earth? I will be sharing more of her advice from the Employment Seminar in future columns.

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE

George Holliday, Chair

Monthly Monetary Fund:

Let's all thank the PCB Board of Directors and those members who contributed to the Monthly Monetary Fund during 2006. Last year was successful, but let's all work together in making this a banner year.

The Pennsylvania Council of the Blind needs funds to support our many programs that help all of us. Each issue of the ADVOCATE requires several dollars to create, publish, and distribute to our members and others who share interests in blindness issues. Funds are also needed to pay the salaries of the staff and rent on the office space and related utility bills. Our staff is busy working for our rights, for new programs that will be in our best interest, working to maintain existing laws and programs that benefit blind people, to expand the use of audible traffic signals, to increase the use of audio description for TV and movies, working to increase our employment opportunities, and for many other issues and programs.

The Monthly Monetary Donation is a way for each of us to support our organization financially with whatever amount we can afford on a monthly basis. We can contribute a minimum of $1 a month, or give a flat yearly donation. It makes no difference if you enroll for $1 per month, $25 per month, or more. Everyone's contribution is valued equally! Some members can afford more or less than others, and we certainly realize and respect that. All we are asking is that you help fund your organization.

For further information and/or a form, contact the PCB office at: 717-920-9999 or toll free at: 877-617-7407.

2007 Event of fun for everyone!

The Fundraising Committee of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind once again will be hosting an auction during the 72^nd annual state convention and conference in Bethlehem to benefit PCB. Items for the auction will be on exhibit Friday afternoon, November 2 and on Saturday, November 3, with the winners being announced prior to the banquet.

You will be able to purchase an envelope of fifteen tickets, numbered the same, at a donation of $5.00. When purchasing the tickets, your name will be noted next to the designated number on a master copy. When you find an item of interest, you will place one or more tickets in the basket designated for that item. You can purchase as many envelopes as you would like.

Now, this is where we need your assistance in making this auction another success. We are asking members, friends, chapters, businesses, vendors and organizations to donate items for the auction. For example, here are some items we are looking for: gift certificates that can be used throughout the state, discriptive videos, music CD's, baskets of cheer, assistive technology, including hardware and software, radios, and more. If you think you have something someone would like, or if you are not sure and have additional questions, please contact one of the following:

Janet Facemyer

610-647-3365

email: efacem@comcast.net

Bonnie Newland

412-487-4995

email: bnewland1@verizon.net

I would personally like to thank you in advance on behalf of the Fundraising Committee, with your assistance, in making this project a huge success.

George S Holliday, Chairperson

Fundraising Committee

215-748-3556

email: george.holliday1@verizon.net

YOUR TRASH: PCB'S TREASURE

By Susan Lichtenfels

The birds are chirping, the flowers are peaking through the softening soil, and the sweet smell of nature is in the air. Like nature's many wondrous creatures, we too like to use this time of year to renew and reorganize our lives. Yes, it's time to don the hard hat and begin de-cluttering those bulging closets. Put off the manicure one more week and get to sorting through those overflowing drawers and overcrowded shelves. Of course, the biggest challenge will be figuring out what to do with everything you have thrown onto the "give-away" pile. Surely, PCB can help you with this problem.

Do you have music CDs that you haven't listened to in five years? Have you mastered the accessible computer game you purchased two years ago? Is there a movie video you've already watched a dozen times? Are you done with those audio books you received at the holidays? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, perhaps you will consider donating these unwanted items to PCB for its Used Media Sale. You could also ask your friends and family members if they have any of these items to donate.

So, grab one of those boxes you just emptied and toss in all of those unwanted media items. If you can, label each item in Braille so others will have an easier time reviewing the selection. Please be sure the media is both complete and in working order. Send the package "Free Matter for the Blind" to the PCB office at 931 N Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102.

The media sale will take place at the 2007 statewide convention in Bethlehem. Additional details regarding the hours and specific location will be published in the Fall edition of the ADVOCATE. Volunteers are needed to man the table at the convention. If you would like to volunteer for this activity or need additional information about the type of media we are collecting, please contact Sue Lichtenfels at 412-429-1727 or email susan@lichtenfels.us

Thank you for helping to make this year's Used Media Sale a great success.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Sandy Marsiglia, Chair

PCB Lifetime Memberships: There are many ways we can show our support and loyalty for any organization. We can give our time by serving on committees. We can offer leadership talents by chairing committees or serving on boards. We can give financial support by helping with fundraisers, or by making donations.

PCB has initiated a Lifetime Membership status as one way a member can make a significant contribution and help to pave the way for a stable future for our organization.

We want to recognize three PCB members who have become the first to be PCB Lifetime members. John Horst was the first Lifetime member, a gift from his wife, June. Anne Porter and George Holliday have also stepped forward to make this important statement of their loyalty to PCB.

The cost of a Lifetime Membership is $1,000. You may pay this in installments of $200 per year over a period of five years. Some PCB members have chosen to do this and are working on that goal.

$200 a year represents less than $17 per month. Can you spare that amount per month? PCB would be happy to receive your installments in monthly payments.

Any individual or chapter may provide a Life Membership in memory or, or in honor of a PCB member. Can you think of someone for whom you would like to make this gesture?

If you feel that a Lifetime Membership is beyond your grasp, won't you consider a smaller Monthly Monetary donation? Any amount that you could contribute would be most gratefully received. Thank you.

RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:

If you have not yet paid your 2007 dues of $8.00 ($5.00 for ACB and $3.00 for PCB), please do so immediately! It will soon be time to collect dues for 2008.

Whether you are a member-at-large or a member of a chapter, it is important that you renew your membership each year in a timely way. All chapters should begin collecting dues for 2008 in September 2007. Dues for 2008 are expected in the PCB office no later than January 15, 2008. Members-at-large also are asked to send their dues to the PCB office no later than January 15. This schedule is important because PCB needs to prepare its membership list and send the appropriate dues to ACB by March. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Chapters can assist the office in getting renewals by having in place a system to remind members of their dues. You might send letters or post cards, or you might make a friendly phone call. These reminders could be made in November or December, so that dues will come in on time.

Annual dues for membership in PCB are $10.00 beginning in 2008, which includes membership in ACB. Members-at-large should send a check for $10.00 to the PCB office at: 931 N Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17102. Chapter members should pay their dues to the treasurer of their chapter.

Again, due dates for annual dues are important in order for PCB and ACB to accurately report membership statistics in a timely way. In addition, having the dues come in when expected helps the offices to run more smoothly, as we meet budgeted expenses. Please give us your faithful support in providing us your annual dues in accordance with the schedule provided. Thank you from the PCB Membership Committee.

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

Joe Perry, Chair

It's hard to believe that Memorial Day is behind us

and summer is already upon us.

I'm sorry to say that the problem of dedicated funding for mass transit is still directly in front of us. There is one bill in the senate (SB631), which addresses mass transit and shared ride for senior citizens of non-urban areas only--nothing for persons with disabilities. I receive legislative updates almost on a daily basis through the State Independent Living Council, (SILC), and from what I can gather, there is nothing more being proposed by the legislature for dedicated funding for mass transit overall. A resolution developed by the PCB Transportation committee, with help of the Governmental Affairs committee has been sent to pertinent legislators. You will find a copy of this resolution following this article. A list of pertinent committee members of the legislature with their telephone numbers and addresses is being prepared by the PCB office to be sent out to chapter presidents and various committee members, so that a campaign can be mounted for dedicated funding for mass transit and shared ride for persons with disabilities. There is not much time for the state budget to be enacted by the legislature, so it is very important that we all get behind this action and contact as many legislators as possible. Please make it very personal if you can.

There are two pieces of legislation HB70 and SB790, having to do with shared ride for the disabled specifically. Both bills provide for an appropriation toward funding the program statewide. There are 16 counties which are currently not covered by the program. Montgomery and Bucks counties will begin providing shared ride as of June 1, 2007. Let us hope that statewide coverage will result as part of the next approved state budget.

On the local level, efforts continue to try to improve existing audible pedestrian signals or have new ones installed in Allegheny county, York county, Dauphin county, Monroe county, and Philadelphia. If you or your chapter are working toward this goal and I have not included your efforts, please let me know.

Finally, there appears to be some concern among legislators that the use of placards and license plates for the disabled is being abused. There is a bill in the Transportation committee (HB498), the aim of which is to remedy this matter. However, in the process, there is wording in the legislation which would eliminate blind persons and those with no arms from this benefit. If you have strong feelings against this provision, please contact your representative. In the meantime, we will try to keep you posted about this and other pertinent legislation.

If you have any questions about the information in this report, you may contact me at: 4753 Brian Road, Mechanicsburg, Pa. My telephone number is: 717-761-1920; my email address is: joleperry@verizon.net

TRANSPORTATION RESOLUTION:

WHEREAS, transportation is a salient factor in an individual's expression of independence;

WHEREAS, without it such things as health care, good housing, employment, shopping tours, and social and recreational activities become inaccessible, thus resulting in the loss of independence;

WHEREAS, the visually impaired and other persons with disabilities which result in their ability to drive themselves, must rely on a form of public transportation; and

WHEREAS, the existence of reliable and safe public transportation throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is threatened due to lack of dedicated funding; therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind, in consort with other organizations of the disabled, herein set forth our intentions to make known to those legislators on the Transportation and Appropriations Committees, as well as our local legislators, the immediate need for adequate dedicated funding for mass transit, as well as funding for PWD shared ride funding;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we make known what a hardship it will be for all of us if public transportation should be drastically curtailed or discontinued completely.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we recommend that the Governor's proposal of levying a tax on gross oil profits and privatizing the turnpike be timely acted upon and adopted, or mandate that the legislature introduce and adopt an alternative plan before the end of the fiscal year.

CHAPTER NEWS

Beaver County Chapter: New officers have been chosen for our chapter, effective April 10, 2007. They are as follows: President - Ken Sheets; Vice President - Candi Fitzsimmons; Treasurer - Bernard A Joyce; Corresponding Secretary - Lynn Mester; Recording Secretary - Mary Nye. Congratulations to each of you.

Capitol Cities Chapter: On Saturday, April 21, 2007, Harry S Long, husband of Cathy Long (PCB Board Secretary), passed away after a long fight with illness. A celebration of his life was held at 11 am on April 26 at Church of Later Day Saints in Mechanicsburg, of which he was an active member.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Kidney Foundation of Central PA, Olde Liberty Square, Suite 101, Harrisburg, PA 17109 or to PA Council of the Blind, 931 N Front St., Harrisburg, PA, 17102.

Ellie Paules, a long-time member of PCB and a former member of Capitol Cities chapter, has moved to Connecticut to be near her son, Hal, and his family.

Capital Cities chapter has been busy in the past year. We have held several fund raisers that may give some ideas to other chapters.

Our first fund raiser was a candy sale of Wolfgang candies. We did pretty well with that.

The next one was a bake sale. The first sale was quite successful; the second was even a bigger success. We had a large number of members who baked delicious goods. We held it at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has two grants for which you can apply: 1. A community grant--a onetime grant at a sum they determine; 2. Matching funds--a grant that matches the amount of your fund raising event (for us it was a bake sale held on their premises). It is possible to apply for one or both grants. It has proven very successful for us.

The 3^rd fund raiser was a coffee sale that will be all year round. It is a restaurant-quality dark roaster coffee.

The 4^th and final fund raiser we will hold is a sub sale, with delivery date being on a meeting night. We are trying to raise enough money to assist as many members as we can to attend State and Regional conventions. -- Georganna Caddy, Fund Raising Chairman

Clearfield-Jefferson County Chapter: The Clearfield-Jefferson County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind meets every month on the third Saturday of the month.

We just celebrated our first anniversary (cheers) and met at Luigi's Restaurant for lunch, as this was the location of our first meeting. We recently participated in a health fair, held by one of the local businesses and will also be participating in the DuBois Community Days. We have ordered bracelets to sell, which have "C/J Co. PCB" and also have Braille engraved on them.

We have also continued to work with other groups to obtain auditory street crossing signals for both DuBois and Clearfield. Success has been achieved in DuBois. On May 19^th the DuBois City Council heard numerous spokesmen from different groups express their concerns regarding the need for such signals at two specific crossings. At the May 14^th meeting, the Mayor announced that auditory signals have been approved by PennDot for four intersections in DuBois, and that signals will also be retimed to allow people more time to cross the streets. Additionally, approval for a handicapped parking space has been approved at the DuBois Post Office. We feel enthusiastic about these approvals, and will continue to add our voice to others in trying to make our communities safer, more convenient, and more aware of those with special needs in our area. -- Jackie Wissinger

REGIONAL MEETINGS

Central: The Central Regional conference was held in Mifflintown on April 28, 2007 at the Family House Restaurant, 11 am - 3 PM, hosted by Carl Shoemaker chapter. The emcee for the meeting opening was led by Gerald Chapman, a local member of the Lion's Club, who conducted the opening prayer and flag salute. Geraldine Zeigler, presid