A Publication of the

National Federation of the Blind

of Texas

6909 Rufus Drive

Austin TX 78752-3123

512-323-5444 (in Austin)

Volume 3, Number 1

Summer 1996

• • •

Norma Crosby, Editor

"Changing What it Means to be Blind in Texas"

All subscription requests, address changes, questions, letters to the editor, articles and other correspondence relating to the NFBT News should be addressed to the editor at:

NFBT News

1403 Cheshire Lane

Houston TX 777018-4134.

We will accept correspondence in print, Braille or on cassette.

You will recall that in our last issue I asked our subscribers to send in renewal information in order to help me keep our files updated. A very high percentage of you answered the call, and I want to thank you. Our readers are the best!

I also want to take a moment to welcome our new readers. Hundreds of you subscribed to The News after receiving it for the first time, earlier this year. Many of you sent kind notes of encouragement, and some of you sent very useful information, as well. We are very glad to have you as part of the NFBT News family.

On March 29-31, 1996, the National Federation of the Blind of Texas held its annual convention in Garland, Texas. It was a wonderful event. Of course, we had plenty of opportunity to renew old friendships, but we also took the time necessary to deal with some very important issues which affect the lives of all blind Texans.

On Friday, we held many interesting and informative workshops and committee meetings. There was a large contingent of blind students, and more than a dozen blind diabetics gathered to discuss issues of importance to them. We also discussed ways to make our materials more accessible to Spanish speaking members, and of course, the Resolutions Committee met.

On Saturday We heard from Pat Westbrook, Executive Director of the Texas Commission for the Blind, and we engaged him in a lively discussion concerning rehabilitation. We also had the opportunity to hear from and talk to Ken Miller of the Texas School for the Blind, and of course we demonstrated Newsline® Texas to everyone present.

Many blind Texans and parents of blind children attended our convention for the first time, and I am pleased to say that many of them learned about the convention by reading this publication. It was a privilege to meet all the first timers, and I hope to see all of them at other Federation activities in the future. We told all of you that you were welcome to attend the convention, and we are all very glad that some of you took us up on that offer.

In closing I want to thank our membership for electing me to my second two year term as president of this organization. I hope that I can perform my duties in a way that will make you all proud.

Newsline® Network a Reality in Texas

By Tommy Craig

Just prior to our 1996 convention, Austin became the first city in Texas to go online as a part of the Newsline® Texas Network. Several weeks later, Houston followed, and hundreds of blind people in those two cities are already enjoying the benefits of having Newsline® Network service.

As a reminder, Newsline® Texas is a dialup service, which allows blind people to read several daily newspapers by simply using their touchtone telephones. The service is free of charge to any blind Texan, and at the present time, you can read articles from the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and USA Today. The Houston Chronicle has agreed to join our network, and we anticipate that it will be available in the very near future. We are also working to make the Austin American-Statesman available to network subscribers in the Austin area.

Any blind Texan is eligible to sign up for this program even though we only have service centers available in Houston and Austin at this time. You never know, you might visit one of these cities and want to read the newspaper while you are there, and of course, if you want you can call either center from your home. However, you should keep in mind that if you live outside the service area, you will incur long distance telephone charges.

Another benefit of signing on to the Newsline® Texas Network is that you can use your identification number and security code to log onto any Newsline® Network location around the country. So, if you are visiting a friend in Minneapolis and don't want to miss out on the news while you are there, you can simply dial the Newsline® service center in that area and access the news just as you would at home.

Currently the national Newsline® Network is made up of sites in Baltimore, MD, Minneapolis, MN, Baton Rouge, LA, Houston, TX and Austin, TX. However, we anticipate that many other cities will join the network this year.

Newsline® Texas is a joint effort of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas and the Texas Commission for the Blind. I have been hired to coordinate Newsline® Texas, and you may obtain applications and information by contacting me as follows:

Tommy Craig, Project Coordinator

Newsline® Texas

6909 Rufus Drive

Austin, TX 78752-3123.

Telephone: 512-323-5444.

TO ANAHEIM

By Norma Crosby

Anaheim, California is the site for our 1996 national convention. As usual, we have lots of seminars, meetings and exhibits planned, and there is bound to be something for everyone who is interested in issues relating to blindness.

This year, the Anaheim Hilton is headquarters for the largest meeting of disabled people anywhere in the world. The hotel is located in close proximity to Disneyland, and along with all the interesting program items, there will be opportunities to visit many of the area's attractions.

Convention activities begin on Saturday, June 29, and end on Friday, July 5. What follows is a brief overview of our 1996 convention. This is not intended to be a complete listing of events, but it should give you a feel for what you will be missing if you don't join us, and what you have to look forward to if you do.

On Saturday, June 29, a number of seminars and workshops will take place including: 1). Job Opportunities for the Blind Seminar, 2). "Walking Alone & Marching Together", a seminar presented by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, 3). NFB NET, a workshop designed to familiarize blind computer users with our national BBS, and 4). "An Introduction to the Internet", a seminar sponsored by the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, to be conducted by IBTCB Director Richard Ring,

The National Association of Guide Dog Users will also hold its annual meeting on Saturday, and that evening the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children will sponsor a Family Hospitality, where parents and children can relax and get to know one another, and of course, the National Association

to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) will sponsor its annual Braille-a-Thon.

On Sunday, June 30, registration will begin and the exhibit hall will open for the first time. Both registration and exhibits will remain open throughout the day. A number of meetings are planned for Sunday, as well. They include the Resolutions Committee meeting, the meeting of the National Association of Blind Students and a seminar entitled "A

Guide Dog in Your Life", sponsored by the National Association of Guide Dog Users.

On Monday, July 1, the Board of Directors will meet, and a number of NFB divisions will hold their annual meetings. These include the Blind Merchants Division, the Blind in Computer Science, the Public Employees Division, Blind Industrial Workers of America, the National Association of Blind Lawyers, the National Association of Blind Educators and the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. A large number of committees will also meet on Monday.

Tuesday, July 2, will mark the beginning of our general sessions. The convention as a whole will meet all day Tuesday, half a day on Wednesday, July 3, and all day on Thursday and Friday, July 4 and 5. On Wednesday afternoon there will be an opportunity for conventioneers to participate in a number of fun and exciting tours, and that evening, the National Association of Blind Students will sponsor Monte Carlo Night. Then, on Thursday evening, July 4, we will hold our annual banquet, where we will award more than $85,000 in scholarships to 26 deserving blind students.

The convention will officially end on July 5, but the NFB of California has a treat for those who want to have a little post-convention fun. There will be a ten hour tour of Catalina Island on Saturday, July 6. The cost is $59 for adults and $47 for children up to eleven years of age. This should be a fantastic way to cap off a great convention. So, come join us.

Hotel rates for the convention are $45 for singles, $47 for doubles, $54 for triples and $57 for quads. However, at this writing rooms are scarce. So, to assist those who have not made room reservations, the NFB of California would like for you to contact Jim Willows at 510-846-6086. Mr. Willows can give you any information you need about making room reservations at this point. He can also give you information concerning discount coupons which will allow you to get from either LAX or John Wayne Airport at minimal cost.

We were glad to meet so many of our readers at our State Convention, and we hope to see even more of you at the National Convention.

THE CLASS OF '96

By Norma Crosby

I am pleased to announce that at our 1996 State Convention, the National Federation of the Blind of Texas awarded scholarships to four deserving blind students. Each of them has achieved academic excellence, and they all possess unique qualities which made them perfect candidates to represent our scholarship program as part of the Class of '96.

Jasper Nzedu has just graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Houston. He has impressed us all with his drive to succeed. During his tenure at U of H he managed to complete an astonishing 80 semester hours in one calendar year, and as a result of his hard work and excellent academic skills, he has been accepted into the prestigious Columbia Law School. He will be leaving Texas to enter Columbia in the fall.

Dana Patrick is a high school senior

from Amarillo. This fall Dana will enter West Texas A&M University where she will study social work and education. Dana is a quiet, but independent and determined person. She will be a fine role model for all her students.

Brenda Walburn is a graduate student at Midwestern State University, in Wichita Falls. She plans to become a private counselor, and with her calm patient personality, she is perfectly suited to this vocation. She is not noisy, but she knows what she wants, and she knows how to go about getting it.

Jay Wolf has recently completed several months of training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and he plans to continue his successful academic career at the University of Texas at Arlington beginning this fall. With the skills of blindness he learned at the Louisiana Center and with his self- confidence, Jay is sure to become the successful businessman he wants to be.	NOTE: Since our State Convention, we have learned that both Jay Wolf and Brenda Walburn have been selected as national scholarship winners. The two of them will be honored, along with 24 other winners, at our National Convention in Anaheim, California.

We are including a new feature in this issue of The News. As you can see, it is called "Grab Bag", and the idea of this feature is to provide our readers with helpful tips on how to accomplish all sorts of tasks using alternative techniques. Some of the tips we present will come from professionals who teach

such techniques. Others, we hope, will come from our readers.

So, if you use alternative techniques that you would like to share with others, please, send us detailed information about them. We will present as many of these tips and hints as we can in each edition. With this kind of help we can all become more independent.

To submit items for "Grab Bag", write to: NFBT News, 1403 Cheshire Lane, Houston, TX 77018-4134, Attn: Grab Bag. We will accept correspondence in print, Braille or on cassette. Please include your telephone number in case we have questions.

Our first Grab Bag tip will assist you in labeling canned food and in maintaining a grocery list. We hope you find it helpful.

For many years blind people who use Braille have labeled cans using dymo tape and various other methods, but I have found that thin, flat magnets work very well for this purpose. Many companies use these magnets as advertising giveaways. So, you may be able to obtain some that way, and they are available for purchase from Easier Ways, 1101 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. Their phone number is 410- 659-0232.

These magnets are small enough to put on the top of a can, and it is easy to emboss them with Braille by simply using a slate and stylus.	You can also make up magnetic labels for other items, such as produce, meats, juices, and anything else you buy on a regular basis. Obviously, they won't stick to lettuce or ground beef, but you can put them in a drawer near your refrigerator, and when you use up the item in question, you can grab the appropriate magnetic label and stick it on the fridge. You can also take the magnets off your cans as you use them and do the same. Using this technique you can maintain an accurate grocery list, which you can transcribe onto paper before going to the market. Then, you can simply clear off your refrigerator list, and start all over.

The great thing about this labeling and list making method is that you can reuse the magnets, which is a real time saver.

Zena Pearcy

Austin, TX

THE QUESTION BOX

Q: I am 66 years old and have lost almost all my vision in the last year. I can no longer read or write print, and I

am wondering if I am too old to learn Braille.

A: You are definitely not too old to learn Braille or any other alternative skill, and your life will be much fuller if you do. I have heard the argument made that senior citizens rarely want to learn much Braille, but I have found that most seniors are eager students who don't want their lives to end just because they have become blind, and I certainly believe that more seniors would want to learn Braille if teachers would take the time to inform them of all the uses they can make of it.

For example, Braille index cards can help the blind keep track of addresses and phone numbers, recipes, appointments and telephone messages.

Brailling file folders can make it easier for the blind individual to keep track of his or her important papers, and of cours, Braille books are available to you, if you know how to read

I have also heard professionals and some blind people say that most blind seniors only need to learn beginning Braille. I disagree. If a blind person is only taught beginning Braille, he or she is limited. For example, those who only know beginning Braille can't read books because books are produced in a more advanced format. Virtually no reading matter is available in beginning Braille.

So, if you plan to learn Braille, keep in mind that less is not better. It may take more time and effort to learn grade two Braille, but it will be worth it.

Finally, let me address the issue of speed. No one who is a beginning Braille user is fast at either reading or writing. So, don't give up if you aren't reading 300 words a minute in the first week. For those of you who learned print, you will recall that you couldn't read or write very fast in the beginning, but as time passed and as you practiced you became more proficient. The same thing will happen with Braille.

There are techniques for improving your reading speed, and we plan to introduce you to some of those techniques in the future. In the meantime, you should have lessons as often as possible and practice, practice, practice.

NFB BOOKSHELF

CARE & FEEDING OF THE	LONG WHITE CANE

By Thomas Bickford

This small book leads the blind traveler through the process of deciding to use a cane, deciding which cane to use, and provides instructions about how to use a cane.

Source: National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230, Attn: Materials Center. Or call 410-659-9314.

Cost: Print $1 per copy or $20 per case of 48. Braille $10 per copy. Cassette $4 per copy.

THE WORLD UNDER MY FINGERS: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON BRAILLE

Edited by Barbara Pierce

This book contains personal stories from blind adults who have depended on Braille for much of their lives, as well as from blind adults who were denied the opportunity to learn Braille as children. If you are the parent of a blind child and are considering whether to ask that your child receive Braille training, we hope

that you will read and consider the words of these competent, blind adults.

Source: National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230, Attn: Materials Center. Or call 410-659-9314.

Cost: $1 per copy or $50 a case.

CHARTER MEMBER DIES

Bernice Ruffin, a charter member of the Dallas Progressive Chapter, died on February 24, 1996. Her death came as a result of burns she sustained in early February. Bernice was a beloved member of the Federation, and we all mourn her passing.

WICHITA FALLS CHAPTER LOSES TWO MEMBERS

Our Wichita Falls Chapter has had a particularly tough spring. On April 9 they lost Michelle Holloway, and on April 26 Ruth Hogan also died. Both Michelle and Ruth died as a result of diabetic complications. Our sympathy goes out

to the chapter and to the families of these two fine members.

FEDERATIONIST GETS VENDING LOCATION

In our last issue we neglected to mention that Kenny Gatteys has become the manager of a Randolph-Sheppard vending facility located in the Immigration & Naturalization Service Building in Dallas. Congratulations!

BACK TO WORK

Last year we told you that our treasurer, Manuel Gonzalez, had retired after a long career in education. But, Manuel is just too energetic to sit at home. So, he has taken a job as a vocational rehabilitation counselor with

the Texas Commission for the Blind. We're pleased for Manuel and TCB.

ANOTHER NEW JOB

Joe Shaidnagle, of Houston, has landed himself a job with Universal Computers, in Houston. He works in the company's recruiting department, and is enjoying his work. Joe is a former Lighthouse of Houston employee who was laid off some time ago. He had the

courage to train for another career, and it has paid off. Great job!

...AND ANOTHER

Dale Hamm of Austin was recently hired as a temporary worker for IBM, in Austin. We want to congratulate him on the job, and we'll all keep our fingers crossed that it becomes permanent.

TWO NEW CHAPTERS

The NFB of Texas is proud to announce that we have added two new chapters. They are the National Federation of the Blind Nacogdoches Chapter and the National Federation of the Blind Tyler Chapter. Bruce Brooks was elected president in Nacogdoches, and Robert Brown is the new president in Tyler. Both these chapters are made up of energetic people, and they are both on the move.

TEXAS CHURCH CONFERENCE FOR THE BLIND SET

The Texas Church Conference for the Blind will be held in Waco, on August 2- 4. The conference will take place in Memorial Hall on the campus of Baylor University. Registration will begin at 2:00pm on August 2. The cost for this event, including meals, is $89.00 per person. Checks should be made payable to Baylor University.

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution 96-01

WHEREAS, Newsline® Texas is a dialup service which will allow blind and severely visually impaired Texans to access daily newspapers through the use of a touchtone telephone; and

WHEREAS, this unique project marks a new era in communication for the blind of Texas; and

WHEREAS, the Texas Commission for the Blind has joined the National Federation of the Blind of Texas in an effort to make this much needed service available to blind people in the Houston and Austin areas; and

WHEREAS, without the unwavering support of the staff and board of the Texas Commission for the Blind, this project would not have been possible: Now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, by the National Federation of the Blind of Texas in Convention assembled this thirtieth day of March, 1996, in the city of Garland, Texas, that the Federation commend and applaud the Texas Commission for the Blind for its willingness to step out front and lead the way in mapping the future for the blind, in a partnership with the blind: and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization looks forward to a continued partnership with the Commission in its effort to expand the Newsline® Texas service to all blind Texans.

Resolution 96-02