Vol. 32, No. 3
MARCH 2007
THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE
A publication of Mid-Florida Council of the Blind
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CORRECTION
MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT SHELLEY JUSTICE
NEXT MFCB GENERAL MEETING
MFCB FEBRUARY GENERAL MEETING REVIEW
BOWL-A-THON RIGHT AROUND THE BEND
LIGHTHOUSE CENTRAL FLORIDA'S SIGHT & SOLE WALK
ACCESS LYNX RECERTIFICATION
FCB TECH TALK
FCB E-MAIL DISCUSSION LIST AND VOICE CHAT ROOMS
MFCB ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
CENTRAL FLORIDA ADVOCATES FOR ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY PANEL BEGINNING TO TAKE
SHAPE
SPECIAL PROGRAMS AT OCLS
MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
CORRECTION
The birthday for Pat Spoone was incorrectly listed in the February 2007 issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE as February 3rd. It is actually
on March 15th. Thanks to MFCB Member Leslie Spoone for correcting us on this error.
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MESSAGE FROM MFCB PRESIDENT SHELLEY JUSTICE
Greetings, Members and Friends,
I realize that you will all be reading this after the fact, but I am composing it on Valentine’s Day. Therefore, let me take this opportunity to
wish each of you a very happy Valentine’s Day. Please find the time to tell those who are important to you how much they matter to
you.
The FCB Presidents met via phone conference last evening, February 13th. Plans for Convention are firming up, and we will be
discussing that at the upcoming March General Meeting. We also talked about the Vision Caucus summit, held last week in
Tallahassee. An excellent recording of this summit is available on the FCB website.
This past Monday evening, February 12th, I was privileged to attend a meeting concerning, among other things, pedestrian safety in this
area. I had the honor of meeting Orlando's Mayor, Buddy Dyer. I will speak about this at the March Meeting as well.
I’m looking forward to seeing all of you at the MFCB March General Meeting, so please plan to attend. There is work to be done and fun
to be had, so please come.
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NEXT MFCB GENERAL MEETING
The next General Meeting of MFCB will be at William Booth Tower, 633 Lake Dot Circle, Orlando, FL, 32801, on Saturday, March 3rd,
2007, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. The phone number at William Booth Tower is (407) 843-5533. It is highly recommended that if anyone
uses paratransit, please plan your rides accordingly.
The Guest Speaker for the March General Meeting is going to be Mary Catherine Schwable, one of the newer Members of MFCB. She is
a Nurse and diabetes educator. Her talk will be "Diabetes: Prevention and Treatment."
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MFCB FEBRUARY GENERAL MEETING REVIEW
25 Members and Guests attended the MFCB January General Meeting held on Saturday, February 3rd, at William Booth Tower in
downtown Orlando. After the Pledge of Allegiance, President Shelley Justice asked those in attendance to introduce themselves and
found that a few Members of the NFB-Greater Orlando Chapter were there, and MFCB Members were gracious in their attendance to the
Meeting, as well as those Guests who attended.
After the Secretary's Report for the Annual Holiday Luncheon was read and approved, with one added note that Paulette Gordon has
offered to assist with the Activities Committee, and Treasurer's Report was read and approved, with Jim Lamb that the money donated in
Henry Rotter's name be placed in the Rotter Memorial Scholarship Fund, Shelley announced that Sheila Young will be the chairperson of
the Sunshine Committee. Membership Secretary Jay Bader then told Sheila that she will be receiving the Sunshine version of the MFCB
Members Roster within the next week.
Shelley then opened the floor for Committees to report. For the Transportation Committee, Nicole Hugues told Members in attendance
about the public meeting to take place at Lynx Central Station on February 8th and to let her know if any Member plans to attend.
NFB-Greater Orlando Board Member Chuck Graham then told about the upcoming Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) Quarterly Meeting
which MetroPlan would be involved with.
For the Refreshments Committee, Coordinator Jackie Gideons thanked David and Patti Land for their assistance in January, and Sheila
Young and Leslie Spoone for their help with those for the February General Meeting. Jackie then requested volunteers for refreshments
for the March General Meeting. Leslie offered to bring cookies and drinks, while Craig Marquis said he would bring chips "or something."
Jackie added that she will not be able to attend the March General Meeting, so the key would be given to Leslie for March.
Leslie then announced for the Fundraising Committee that there would be a fundraiser during the February General Meeting. Four boxes
of Valentine's Day candy would be drawn for later in the Meeting, with tickets sold for $1.00 each and four winners chosen. And for the
Membership/Telephone Committee, Jay told Members in attendance that the 2007 MFCB Phone Roster is currently being finished and
should be ready in various formats before and by the March General Meeting.
Old Business focused on plans for MFCB Members who wished to attend the upcoming 2007 FCB Annual Convention in May. Shelley
announced that the charter bus, which originates in Miami, is full. She asked if MFCB should charter a bus on its own or rent a van,
possibly from MV Transportation or Lynx. After Jackie asked about any possibility of a bus originating from Tampa, Shelley said that as
far as she knew the only charter bus for FCB would be that from Miami, and a general review of bus fares from Greyhound round-trip from
Orlando to Tallahassee, Treasurer Dan Spoone made a motion for MFCB to provide a $50.00 travel voucher for any MFCB Member who
wished to attend the 2007 FCB Convention, with the money coming from the AG Edwards Fund. The motion was approved.
For New Business, Sheila told Members that the Carter Family Blind Bowling League was interested in having MFCB form a team as it
did last year to participate in its upcoming Bowl-A-Thon on March 3rd. She made a motion for MFCB to pay $90.00 to have a 6-person
team, which would cover the $15.00-per-person fee for each to bowl. After the motion was approved and a total of 10 Members offered to
participate in the Bowl-A-Thon, Dan said that MFCB would pay for any Member who wants to bowl.
Shelley then said that MFCB Board Meetings are open to whomever wants to call in, whether to listen in or bring a matter to the Board)
She requested that a Board Member be informed beforehand of the specific interest, and those with 3-way calling on their phones would
be able to assist. Shelley then talked about the possibility of MFCB taking only the month of July off and begin to hold a Meeting in
August. She added that it does not necessarily have to be a General Meeting, as chapters such as the one in Tallahassee hold a picnic
late in the Summer. Leslie expressed concern about those Members who take vacations for the Summer. 1st Vice President Jack
Jordan thought that an August Meeting was a good idea, and a motion was then made, which was approved.
Shelley mentioned that there are plenty of FCB Raffle Tickets available. She talked about this fundraiser for the Florida Council of the
Blind and the benefits it offers for MFCB. Leslie has already sold a lot of these Raffle Tickets, so she encouraged Members to pick them
up from Jay after the General Meeting to sell them. Leslie added that it would be helpful for Members to staple and sell these in books
of five.
Jay then talked about the upcoming Southeastern Guide Dogs' Walk-A-Thon on February 24th and how MFCB has donated to those who
have participated in this annual fundraiser. He made a motion that MFCB donate a total of $100.00 to those who will participate this year,
which was approved.
1st Vice President Jack Jordan then introduced the Guest Speaker for the February General Meeting: Adrienne Cantine, who is currently
attending Lighthouse Central Florida. She gave a presentation titled "Dynamics of Domestic Violence: An Overview." Those in
attendance found out about what can be classified as domestic violence, as well as who it can involve and the current laws concerning
it.
The following Door Prizes were awarded after the presentation:
Set of 16 Football Ice Cubes - Lisa Lawson
3 Small Bungee Cords (Red, Gold, Green) - Jack Jordan
6-Inch Folding Shovel - Jackie Gideons
Purple Water Bottle - Craig Marquis
Beeping Keychain with Light - Willie Cooper (Guest at the Meeting)
It was then announced that $21.00 was raised through the February fundraiser of tickets sold for 4 boxes of Valentine's Day Candy. The
winners chosen were Jim Lamb, Chuck Graham, Sheila Young and Shelley Justice.
Congratulations to all the Door Prize and Valentine's Candy Winners!
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BOWL-A-THON RIGHT AROUND THE BEND
As was mentioned in the February 2007 issue of THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE, the Carter Family Blind Bowling League is having their
Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser on Saturday, March 3rd (the day of the next MFCB General Meeting), from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM. It will be held at
Carter Family Bowling, 715 S Dillard St., Winter Garden, FL 34787.
Per the approval of the Members in attendance at the MFCB February General Meeting, there will be a group of 10 MFCB Members that
will have a bowl-off with a group from the NFB-Greater Orlando Chapter. So even if you do not participate, you can check out which local
blindness organization can knock down more pins for the benefit of those who do so more regularly. All proceeds will help this league
be able to have bowlers qualify for the American Blind Bowling Association Tournament being held in Denver, Colorado this Spring.
Please remember to come out and support the Carter Family Blind Bowling League on March 3rd. It will be more fun than you could
imagine! For further information about it or the Carter Family Blind Bowling League in general, please contact Chuck Graham at (407)
654-6199.
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LIGHTHOUSE CENTRAL FLORIDA'S SIGHT & SOLE WALK
Since 1976, Lighthouse Central Florida (formerly the Center for Independence, Technology & Education - CITE) has served adults and
children with low vision and blindness by providing professional rehabilitation and training programs in Orange, Seminole, Osceola,
Lake and Sumter counties. LCF is the sole non-profit provider of comprehensive vision rehabilitation services in the Central Florida area.
For many of those years, MFCB has worked with LCF on many projects and participated in many activities it has planned, and one of
them is the Sight & Sole Walk, an annual fundraiser which benefits LCF.
This year, the Sight & Sole Walk takes place on Saturday, March 31st, at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs. Registration for
the walk opens at 8:00 AM, with the walk itself starting at 9:00 AM. An awards ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM.
The entry fee for the 2007 Sight & Sole Walk is $25.00 and is non-refundable. For additional information, please contact LCF at
(407) 898-2483. MFCB looks forward to having its Members be a part of the Sight & Sole Walk and have it be a successful fundraiser.
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ACCESS LYNX RECERTIFICATION
Access Lynx, the paratransit service serving Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties, is of daily importance to Members of MFCB.
Some have had general success with the service, while others have not been satisfied. MFCB Member Sheila Young wanted to inform
Members about something that often gets overlooked, and that is what can occur when recertifying to continue use of Access Lynx.
Here is Sheila in her own words:
As some of you may know, we, as visually impaired persons who use the Access Lynx system, have to be recertified every two years.
Well, I knew that when I moved to Orlando, but my renewal came up after my two years and I was not notified that it had expired. I called
to schedule a ride and was told that my subscription had expired. I was given a two-week extension and was told an application would
be sent to me in the mail. I think a two week extension is not reasonable, as it takes a few days to receive the application and then
making arrangements to have it filled out and returned to the main office and processed would certainly take more than two weeks.
Anyway, after a few days, the application was received, with instructions that a licensed health person needed to complete the application
and return it to the eligibility office for renewal. I had a licensed person fill out the application and returned it to the Lynx office to be told
that it wasn't filled out correctly, as ADA users don't need to fill out sections A & B, but C & D. Nowhere in the instructions is this
stated, so I was denied my eligibility for riding the system.
Now keep in mind that my vision hasn't changed and I still need to use the system for my transportation needs. Then I was talking with
an experienced rider with the system and was told that I did not need to go through all of what I had gone through, but just needed to take
my photo identification card and go down to the Access Lynx office at the terminal and have them fill out the form and I would be recertified
right then.
Wow! I was so angry and upset with the whole process, as I have been without service for three weeks and I didn't know this fact. So, for
anyone who has their eligibility coming up for renewal, please remember that you do not have to go through all of the steps, just go to the
main station and make them take care of it for you.
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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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CENTRAL FLORIDA ADVOCATES FOR ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY PANEL BEGINNING TO TAKE
SHAPE
After a few meetings, it looks as though the Central Florida Advocates for Accessible Public Rights-of-Way (CFA) is beginning to take
shape. The main issue currently being worked on by CFA is that of Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) in the city of Orlando. Sherri
Brun and Chuck Graham of the National Federation of the Blind-Greater Orlando Chapter (NFB-GOC), along with Dwight Sayer,
representing both NFB-GOC and the Blinded Veterans Association, Walt Willis, who works with the City of Orlando in supporting the
needs of seniors in the area, and MFCB President Shelley Justice, Membership Secretary Jay Bader and Immediate Past President
Rachel Bader are all working together in this panel, which is chaired by Dianne Ketts of Lighthouse Central Florida, to follow through on
making APS a reality at intersections beginning in downtown Orlando and eventually to other intersections in the city and surrounding
areas.
On February 12th, CFA also had the opportunity to chat informally with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer regarding the panel and about those
who are participating. The Mayor was very impressed with the way it was handled and was just as impressed with Rachel's notetaker
she brought to the chat.
CFA is also working on further talks with Orange County Commissioner Mildred Fernandez, who has expressed support of the efforts
made with establishing APS in the Orlando area, Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty, as well as participating in the upcoming
Neighborhood and Community Summit this Spring. And CFA is in the early stages of helping to organize White Cane Day 2007, as the
panel agreed it is never too early to start considering places to hold those activities.
MFCB is encouraged by the efforts of the seniors and blindness organizations working together in CFA. With these meetings taking
place on a monthly basis, there will be much to keep informed about, and that will be done as well as possible in THE MID-FLORIDA
VOICE.
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SPECIAL PROGRAMS AT OCLS
The Orange County Library System (OCLS) will have many worthwhile events during the month of March.
On Thursday, March 22nd, from 10:30 AM to 12 NOON, "Senior Crime Prevention Seminar: Identity Theft" will take place at the South
Creek Branch Library, 1702 Deerfield Blvd., Orlando, FL 32837. Orange County Sheriff Office experts will teach you how to avoid being a
victim of identity theft. Be sure to stop by the Orange County Sheriff Office Help Desk following the program to sign up for a free
emergency cell phone!
Also on Thursday, March 22nd, at 6:30 PM, "Protect Yourself from Identity Theft" will take place at the Winter Garden Branch Library, 805 E.
Plant Street, Winter Garden, FL 34787. Gladys van den Berg of the Orlando Federal Credit Union will share information on protecting
yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft.
"Paws to Read" returns to the following OCLS libraries in March:
Saturday, March 10th, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
North Orange Branch Library, 1211 E. Semoran Blvd., Apopka, FL 32703
Saturday, March 24th, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Orlando Public Library, Children’s Library, 1st Floor
101 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, FL 32801
West Oaks Branch Library
1821 E. Silver Star Rd., Ocoee, FL 34761
Alafaya Branch Library
12000 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, FL 32826
Sign up to practice your reading skills by reading aloud to a lovable, furry listener. Be An Angel Therapy Dogs Ministry presents this
reading program for children with certified therapy dogs. Seating is limited; call today to reserve your spot at (407) 835-7323.
For more information about these events, contact OCLS at (407) 835-7323.
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MEMBERSHIP - from Jay Bader
Notes from Jay: The MFCB Telephone Roster will be available at the March General Meeting in Large Print (at the time this issue goes to
press, it is not certain that the Braille version will be ready by that time but should be available shortly thereafter), with E-mail and
Cassette versions being distributed to those on the respective MID-FLORIDA VOICE mailing lists accordingly.
Please welcome the following NEW MEMBER of MFCB:
JOYCE HILDRETH
c/o Lighthouse Central Florida
215 E. New Hampshire St.
Orlando, FL 32804
(407) 898-2483
And I always accept submissions to THE MID-FLORIDA VOICE. All submissions for the April 2007 issue must arrive by regular mail or
e-mail to me by the 15th of March 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
mfcbinfo@bellsouth.net. Looking forward to seeing many of you at the MFCB General
Meeting in March!
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BIRTHDAY PEOPLE
MARCH
10 - Sarah Brown
14 - Matti Hickson
14 - Marc Letzkus
15 - Pat Spoone
18 - Pat Halferty
22 - Joseph Musil
23 - Arline Graham
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