Vol. 31, No. 10
DECEMBER 2006

THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE
A publication of Mid-Florida Council of the Blind


TABLE OF CONTENTS
MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT RACHEL BADER
NEXT MFCB MEETING - ANNUAL HOLIDAY LUNCHEON
MFCB NOVEMBER GENERAL MEETING REVIEW
NEWLY-FORMED PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT ACCESS PANEL BEGINS WORK
WHITE CANE LAW ENFORCEMENT OR LACK OF IT
FCB TECH TALK
FCB E-MAIL DISCUSSION LIST AND VOICE CHAT ROOMS
MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
SPECIAL PROGRAMS AT OCLS
MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
BIRTHDAY PEOPLE


MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT RACHEL BADER

Hello to all MFCB Members and Friends. This will be my last President's Message as at the November General Meeting we've elected the new MFCB Officers who will serve in the coming year. Beginning with the January 2007 issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE, the MFCB President's Message will come from our newly-elected President, Shelley Justice.

I would like to congratulate the new incoming Officers and those continuing with their service on being elected. I have every confidence that these individuals in this next year will endeavor to lead our organization in a direction which will continue focus on our mission and goals for the future.

I have very much enjoyed serving as MFCB President these last four years and am proud of what we as an organization have been able to accomplish. In my new role of Immediate Past President, I look forward to assisting the new Officers in any way I can to accomplish MFCB's goals.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the MFCB Officers who have very ably served with me the past four years. All of you have done a great job and I could not have effectively done my job as President without you.

I wish all of you the very best for this Holiday season and will either see you at our MFCB Annual Holiday Luncheon on December 2nd or at our January General Meeting.


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NEXT MFCB MEETING - ANNUAL HOLIDAY LUNCHEON

The next Meeting of MFCB will be the Annual Holiday Luncheon, which this year will be held at Olive Garden, 3675 East Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL, 32803, on Saturday, December 2nd, 2006, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. It is located on the east end of Orlando Fashion Square, east of Maguire Blvd and before you reach Herndon Avenue. The phone number at Olive Garden is (407) 896-0498. It is highly recommended that if anyone uses paratransit, please plan your rides accordingly.

This is the time MFCB Members and their guests celebrate the Holidays every year, with a collection being done for a Love Offering, the recipients of which will be announced at the Luncheon. Calls will be made by the Membership/Telephone Committee to find out who will be attending and how many they would like to bring with them, as reservations will be made in advance of the Luncheon.

We hope many Members, especially those who usually are unable to attend General Meetings, will join us for this fun event with MFCB.


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MFCB NOVEMBER GENERAL MEETING REVIEW

27 Members and Guests attended the MFCB November General Meeting held on Saturday, November 11th, at William Booth Tower in downtown Orlando. President Rachel Bader welcomed Members in attendance and led the Pledge of Allegiance. She then announced that the situation regarding problems with the Print version of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE was being looked into, as a new printer for the newsletter is being considered.

After the Secretary's Report was approved to not be read and simply recorded, and the Treasurer's Report was read and approved, Rachel opened the floor for Committees to report. Patti Land reported for the Activities Committee that the MFCB Annual Holiday Luncheon will be on Saturday, December 2nd, at the Olive Garden on East Colonial Drive in Orlando Fashion Square, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. A head count would be needed for Leslie Spoone to make the reservation, so the Membership/Telephone Committee will be calling Members to see who would plan on attending and whether or not they would bring any guests to the Luncheon.

For the Membership/Telephone Committee, Membership Secretary Jay Bader reminded Members that the Annual MFCB Membership Drive is in its final few days and that renewals are being accepted and can be paid after the General Meeting, with dues being $12.00. The membership deadline is November 15th. He added that a report on how many Members MFCB has for 2007 will be reported no later than the January 2007 issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE. For the Transportation Committee, Nicole Hugues reported that she, Matt Roberts and Lisa Lawson met with Lisa Darnell of LYNX at Lynx Central Station concerning the entering and leaving of buses and the associated crossings for each of the bays. Matt added about why the meeting took place and after that meeting, he had walked through the station and noticed that additional speakers have now been installed on the poles near each bay. Matt also said that he has copies of the Lynx fixed-route bay assignments and told Members to let him know if they would like a copy of them.

Then it was time to hold Elections for MFCB Officers for 2007. Rachel announced each office and who the Nominating Committee recommended for that office. Here are the results of the Elections, with each Officer voted in by acclimation:

President - Shelley Justice
1st Vice President - Jack Jordan
2nd Vice President - Bill Freeman
Recording Secretary - Larry Turnbull
Treasurer - Dan Spoone
Membership Secretary - Jay Bader

Rachel then thanked everyone for the past 4 years of serving as MFCB President. She said lots of great people have worked with her and she will keep working as Immediate Past President.

With no Old Business to discuss, Rachel began New Business with an announcement. As a result of the White Cane Safety Events in October, a panel is being formed concerning traffic issues, with Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) being included. On the state level, the Florida Council of the Blind (FCB) is getting involved in the creation of a Florida Pedestrian Safety Law. Rachel added that Orange County Commissioner Mildred Fernandez is interested in this effort. The first meeting of this panel would take place on Monday, November 20th, at Lighthouse Central Florida, with Dianne Ketts of LCF being involved.

Rachel has been made aware that 15 APSs are being considered in the city of Orlando. She told Members to call her with the intersections they are interested in including for installation.

Jim Lamb said that he knows of a regional planning council that MFCB may be interested in being part of. Rachel told Jim to send information to her for consideration.

Matt then talked about the difficulties of crossing the intersection of 17-92 and Lake Mary Boulevard in Seminole County, even before APS would be considered. He told of 4 bad experiences with police regarding crossing in that area in the past 6 months. Rachel said those complaints would be heard but stressed to allow the panel to get its feet off the ground in at least Orlando before it branches out further but urged, along with Jay, that MFCB Members make efforts in their local areas regarding improvement of pedestrian safety.

Matt also recommended that Members read the article in a recent issue of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) newsletter, The Braille Forum, regarding a voter-verifiable paper trail as it is important to the future of accessible voting. Rachel said she, for one, will be reading it. She then talked about accessible voting in Florida, the experiences of which have been very positive with little difficulties other than some situations in Volusia County.

Rachel again thanked Members for allowing her to serve 4 years as President of Mid-Florida Council of the Blind. Immediate Past President Leslie Spoone then gave her compliments on that service, which drew much applause.

After the Business part of the General Meeting adjourned, and before Members and Guests enjoyed pizza and drinks, the following Door Prizes were awarded:

Box of American-made Cherry Chocolates - Bill Freeman
Basting Set - Craig Marquis
2 Small Blue Baskets - Elizabeth Bouyer
Manicure Set - David Land
Christmas Ball Shaker Ornament - Arline Graham
Can Opener - Larry Turnbull
Cinnamon-scented Candle - Chuck Graham
20/20 Marking Pen - Patti Land
Lamb Christmas Ornament - Scott Larson

Congratulations to all the Door Prize Winners!

Refreshments Committee Coordinator Jackie Gideons then thanked Elizabeth Bouyer for the drinks and Nicole Hugues for plates to enjoy the pizza with.


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NEWLY-FORMED PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT ACCESS PANEL BEGINS WORK

For many decades, the blind and visually-impaired in Central Florida, as well as many others who are senior citizens or disabled, have had difficulties when traveling the area streets and roads. MFCB has been offered the opportunity to take part in a panel that will become an important part of the process to improve accessibility on those paths. This panel, which has yet to be given an official name, had its first meeting on Monday, November 20th, 2006, at Lighthouse Central Florida, and is beginning to form the groundwork for the issues it will deal with in the many months to follow, especially in 2007.

For this first panel meeting, the group consisted of Dwight Sayer, who represented both the Blinded Veterans Association and National Federation of the Blind-Greater Orlando Chapter; Sherri Brun, also from NFB-GOC; Jay Bader, representing MFCB; Dianne Ketts from LCF; Chuck Graham, who participates in both NFB-GOC and MFCB, but was part of the panel as a transportation advocate; Kirk Harmon, who has played a role in bringing together seniors and the blind and visually-impaired when it comes to dealing with local legislators; and Joe Canzoneri, who works for the Orange County Sherriff's office and is part of TRIAD, a three-way commitment among the law enforcement, senior citizens and agencies serving them in a community.

After each of the participants introduced themselves and talked a little about what they bring to the panel, discussion began as to who would chair the panel, with everyone deciding that Dianne Ketts should be the Chair, and Sherri Brun to be Secretary, with no other positions to be created. When it came to choosing a name for this panel, as well as a Mission Statement, the panel decided that due to the importance of the issues at hand and the work this panel would be taking on, those were both tabled and will be reviewed at the next meeting of the panel.

Dianne Ketts mentioned "Now the time is right to get organized and move forward. It is up to all of you (those involved in the panel) to keep it moving." Dwight Sayer added that we "need to co-mingle" with those involved in the area of public accessibility, especially when it comes to using public transportation and street crossings with traffic and walk signals.

This panel has much work ahead of it. MFCB looks forward to being part of this work and this organization is ready to follow what is outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the need to make public rights-of-way more accessible, not only to those who are blind and visually-impaired but also to all disabled in our area.


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WHITE CANE LAW ENFORCEMENT OR LACK OF IT

Awareness of the White Cane Law is usually made to the public in annual events in mid-October. However, people need to be aware of those pedestrian safety laws that affect the blind and visually-impaired daily. The following was posted on the listserv for the Florida Council of the Blind (FCB) from Sila Miller, who has Low Vision and lives in Tallahassee. She is also chair of the FCB Convention Committee.

This was posted for her husband, Robert Miller, who is blind and is currently 1st Vice President of FCB. What is told is a tale none of us ever want to have repeated:

As many of you have probably heard, I (Robert, Sila's husband) was hit by a car yesterday morning (November 20th, 2006) around 10:00 AM. I was crossing Village Square and Killearn Center Boulevard on my way home from Publix which is about 3 blocks from my house.

There is an audible crossing signal at this intersection which has been in place for approximately 8 months. I pushed the button and when the audible signal started I proceeded to cross the street. The driver was making a right-hand turn as she was looking left. The first thing she said when she got out of the car after striking me was "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. The light was red, I was looking for cars coming from the left and didn't even see you."

When the car hit me, it threw me up on the hood and then out into the roadway. Harley (guide dog for Robert) saw the car and jumped backwards and the car struck me in the left knee.

It took approximately 20 minutes for the police department to arrive at the scene. There were 2 witnesses who stayed until the police officer came. As I was standing there, talking to TPD officer Eric Halvorsen, all the witnesses told him that I had the right of way and had pressed the button to activate the audible signal.

While the driver of the vehicle who is the wife of Steve Ellis, a sports reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat went to her car to get her driver's license and insurance information, I asked the officer if he was aware of the White Cane Law. He asked me if I had one. I then explained to him what the law says and indicated to him that I wanted the driver charged for violation of the White Cane Law.

After giving their information to the police officer, all the witnesses left. The officer gave me a business card with a handwritten case number, driver's information and his name, and then told me I was free to go. About 30 minutes after I got home, I received a call from Officer Halvorsen who informed me that he was going to resend the ticket he had issued to Ms. Ellis because a witness told him that he saw me push the wrong button for the audible crossing and that he was also going to include the witnesses' statement for insurance purposes. Of course, I assumed he meant so Ms. Ellis' insurance company would not be liable. Remember, as I said earlier, the driver stated the light was red, that she was looking left and that she was at fault.

As you can imagine, I went off! Basically what I was being told was that I am a stupid blind person who didn't know which button to push though I have been using the intersection since the audible signal was installed. On more than one occasion, the traffic engineers who were working at that intersection during its installation showed me which buttons were for which street crossings. The officer further informed me that when I left to go home, he saw me push the wrong button. When I asked him if I had crossed against the traffic, he said no.

I then proceeded to contact both the Mayor and Chief of Police's offices as it was pretty apparent after talking to the officer on the phone that the blame was going to be placed on me, though the law doesn't mention anything about audible crossing signals or exempt a driver because a pedestrian may push the wrong button. Apparently the officer had a change of heart after researching the statute and talking with me. The citation for violation of the White Cane Safety Law originally issued has not been rescinded after all. As far as we can tell, this will be the first time anyone has been issued a citation for violation of the White Cane law here in Florida.

After involving both the offices of Internal Affairs and the Chief of Police with the City of Tallahassee, I have secured a commitment from Officer Ralph Hernandez that his department will join forces with TCB (Tallahassee Council of the Blind) next October to heighten awareness and enforce the White Cane Law. Violators who stop in crosswalks will be ticketed as well. I pledge to do all I can to insure they follow through with this commitment.

In closing I would just like to say that I, as well as others, reached out to several media contacts but no one was willing to report this story. Everyone be aware and take care. Watch out for yourselves because 90 percent of those driving won't and the law enforcement personnel charged with protecting citizens and upholding the law sure don't. Harley Dog is fine and reacted just as he should have. He doesn't seem to be traumatized while I on the other hand am and now have a fractured tibia. However, I am thankful that this wasn't any worse than it was and for all the outpouring of kindness and concern for us.

Again, be careful out there.


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FCB TECH TALK

Florida Council of the Blind (FCB) invites all Members throughout the state of Florida to participate in Tech Talk, a monthly get-together for anyone who needs help with their computer and respective applications. John Richards, FCB 2nd Vice President and Chair of the FCB Technology Committee, who organized this voice chat, says, "Please take advantage of this free tech support session. Have you paid for tech support lately? If so, then you're aware of the cost."

Tech Talk takes place on the first Monday night of every month at 8 PM. To be a part of Tech Talk, grab a headset and microphone and head to the FCB General Chat Room at the following link: http://www.fcb.org/FCBGenRSigIn.htm. From there, just sign in and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

There are some Members of MFCB that are part of the FCB Technology Committee and they may even be able to help you. So if you need help with your computer, join in on Tech Talk. And keep the change in your pocket.


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FCB E-MAIL DISCUSSION LIST AND VOICE CHAT ROOMS

Florida Council of the Blind (FCB) is proud to have its members throughout the state participate in a couple of ways on the Internet. The FCB E-mail Discussion List is a way for members, locally and statewide, to express themselves freely on a variety of issues. These can range from those on a local level to issues on a state or even national platform.

MFCB encourages all Members with E-mail and Internet access to sign up and participate in the various discussions as well as maybe even starting a few. To sign up for the FCB E-mail Discussion List, and for more information about the List, go to the FCB website at http://www.fcb.org and go to the link for "FCB E-mail Discussion List Information and Instructions."

And FCB has 2 voice chat rooms for members of the organization. One of these is for General chat, the other is for the FCB Board and its respective committees to meet. Everyone is invited to sit in on these chats, especially to participate with those in the General chat room.

For more information about these FCB chat rooms, especially if you want to know how you can join in on the chats, click on the link "Voice Chat for FCB" at http://www.fcb.org.


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MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

Mid-Florida Council of the Blind has a presence on the World Wide Web. Through the Florida Council of the Blind website, http://www.fcb.org, there is information available on the Internet about MFCB, especially the MFCB By-Laws, as well as current and past issues of the MFCB Newsletter, both in the previous name of MUMBLES and the newer name of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE. MFCB is proud to have people find out what is going on with our organization in this global manner.

To specifically get to the MFCB section of the FCB website, go to http://www.fcb.org/mfcb.htm. Feedback is strongly encouraged as to the accessibility and content of the website, so if you have any questions or suggestions, E-mail webmaster@fcb.org. With your suggestions, changes can be made that better what we have on the Web.


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SPECIAL PROGRAMS AT OCLS

The Orange County Library System (OCLS) will have many interesting events during the month of December.

"Bells are Ringing!" will be an event at the following OCLS libraries in December:

Saturday, December 2nd, 2:00 PM
West Oaks Branch
1821 E. Silver Star Rd.
Ocoee, FL 34761

Saturday, December 9th, 2:00 PM
Winter Garden Branch
805 E. Plant Street
Winter Garden, FL 34787

Tuesday, December 19th, 7:00 PM
South Creek Branch
1702 Deerfield Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32837

Handbell soloist Marie Loeffler is coming to the Library! Join her for a musical and visual treat as Loeffler performs both classical music and holiday favorites. Plus, learn about the history of handbells during this interactive performance.

On Wednesday, December 6th, at 3 PM, "Wanna Write?" will take place at the Southwest Branch Library, 7255 Della Dr., Orlando, FL 32819. Want to write a book but don’t know where to start? Join published author and Central Florida Romance Writers member Louise Gouge and learn the process of writing a book. Reservations required, so please call (407) 835-7481 to reserve your spot!

On Tuesday, December 19th, from 10:30 AM to 12 NOON, "Financial Savvy for Seniors: Preparing for Emergencies" will take place at the North Orange Branch Library, 1211 E. Semoran Blvd., Apopka, FL 32703. Seniors, be prepared for emergencies! Put all of your ducks in a row so that if an emergency occurs, your family, friends or caregiver will know where to find your medical and financial information.

For more information about these events, contact OCLS at (407) 835-7323.


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MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader

Notes from Jay: The Annual MFCB Membership Drive has ended and the deadline for memberships and renewals of November 15th has passed. As this issue goes to press, the final membership numbers are being calculated so it, and the accompanying check, can be reported to the Membership Secretary of the Florida Council of the Blind (FCB). The final MFCB Membership number will be printed in the January 2007 issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE.

Thanks to all of you who joined MFCB or decided to renew their memberships. It is greatly appreciated. And also a sincere thanks for those who attended the November General Meeting and voted me by acclimation to continue serving as Membership Secretary for the Mid-Florida Council of the Blind.

Please welcome the following NEW MEMBER of MFCB:
KIRK HARMON
1031 Lenmore Court
Orlando, FL 32812
(407) 380-3371

And I always accept submissions to THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE. All submissions for the January 2007 issue must arrive by regular mail or e-mail to me by the 15th of December as it will be prepared shortly after that. You will be properly credited with the submission.

If you have any further questions, please call me at (407) 658-2479 or e-mail at mfcbinfo@bellsouth.net. Looking forward to seeing many of you at the MFCB Annual Holiday Luncheon in December, and Happy Holidays!


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BIRTHDAY PEOPLE

DECEMBER

9 - John Wimberly
13 - Leslie Spoone
18 - Kathy Allen
21 - Richard Dreyer
25 - Patti Land



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