The UCB Buzz
A publication of
Utah Council of the Blind
September 2023
For the latest news updates, check out the website at utahblind.org
E-mail us at utahblind@gmail.com
For credit card payments, to make reservations, or for other business,
call the business office at 801-245-9264.
Disclaimer
Articles and announcements included in this publication
are presented for your information and interest. They reflect the opinions of
the respective authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the UCB.
In This Issue
The Utah State Fair Day with the UCB
A
Spooktacular Halloween Carnival Fundraiser for all ages.
Accessible
Annual Credit Reports
Choroideremia
Research Foundation Western Regional Patient Meeting!
United
Adds Braille to Airplanes
Book
Reviews – Two for the Price of One
Board
of Directors and Management
2023
Meeting Schedule and Calendar
The Annual Business Meeting of the Utah Council
of the Blind will be held at the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually
Impaired, 250 N 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September
16, 2023. Reservations are required. Please call the business office at 801-245-9264
or email utahblind@gmail.com with your name, the names of others in your party,
and your telephone number, no later than Friday, September 8th, by 5:00 p.m. When
you make your reservation, please indicate whether or not each person in your party
is a member of the UCB, whether each person uses large print or braille, any dietary
restrictions you or a member of your party may have, and if you will need an asl
interpreter, assistive listening device, or any other accommodation.
If you wish to attend and participate in
the meeting by Zoom link, you must register by phone or email as above no later
than Friday, September 8th, by 5:00 p.m. It is important that you give us your
name and the names of any others who will be participating with you. It is also
critical that you give us an email address so that we can send you the link to
join the meeting.
Those wishing to vote by absentee ballot
may request this by phone or email as above. Please be sure to give us a
current address and let us know whether you would like your ballot in large
print or braille. Absentee ballots should be requested no later than September
1, 2023 before 5:00 p.m.
Membership Verification: In order to vote
at the annual business meeting a member's dues for 2023 must be paid no later than
September 8, 2023. If you have any questions about your membership status, please
contact us at (801) 245-9264 or via e-mail at utahblind@gmail.com to check your
status.
Choose from Monday, September 11th, meeting at 5:00 p.m. at the north gate inside the parking lot or Wednesday, September 13th, meeting at 10:00 a.m. at the gate on the northwest part of the fair park near the stadium.
Entrance is $1.00 each for you and your guide. Please bring cash. The UCB must pay for the entire group to enter the fair and then you are free to explore.
Wednesday offers free rides and a carnival show between 10 am-12:00 pm.
Monday has had in the past, buy-one-get-one-free wristbands for the carnival rides.
Please show up with a guide.
Please arrange your own transportation to and from the event.
Hope to see you there.
Any questions please call the office 801-245-9264.
*******
The Utah Council of the
Blind Presents
Saturday, October 14th, 2023
From 12:00 pm-4 pm
Held at the Blind Center at 250 North 1950 West, Salt Lake City
New
Additions this year are Sno Cones, a Jumbo Connect Four, and Ice Cream
Desserts.
Carnival Participation is $10.00 for ages 11 and up, and $8.00 for 10 and younger.
Includes Pizza, Hot Dogs, Chips, Cotton Candy, Sno Cones, Nachos, Chips and Salsa, Caramel Apples, Popcorn, One Ice Cream Dessert (Additional Desserts will be $1.00 each), Hot Chocolate, Punch, and Water.
Games and Activities such as a Bounce House, Bubble Balls, Bingo, Costume Contest, Fishing Pond, Ring Toss, Jumbo Jenga, Jumbo Connect Four, Balloon Animals, Have your Fortune told, Face Painting, Fishing Pond, Find the Skeleton Sensory games, Prizes, Candy and more.
While Supplies Last.
You may prepay for the Carnival by calling the UCB Office at 801-245-9264 or pay at the door cash/check/credit card. Reservations are appreciated.
Sponsors:
Little Caesar’s, Costco, Smith’s, and generous donations from individuals.
By Mindi Larsen
Mark your calendars for our annual Holiday
Celebration. It will be on December 2, 2023, from 11:00-2:00. The cost will be
$8 per person. This year’s theme is “Winter Wonderland”. We will have a delicious
holiday dinner, as well as prizes, a photo area, singing and a boutique. We
will also have a Santa for children ages 11 and younger. So, please bring your
children and grandchildren. We will need to know their names, their ages, and
if they are boys or girls. We would like to have the children’s information by
November 20, 2023. Please call the UCB office at 801-245-9264 to make payments.
Let them know how many people will be coming with you, and if you are bringing children.
Payments for the dinner must be made by November 26.
Also, the
boutique will be open before and after the Holiday Celebration. The boutique
hours will be from 9am-11am and from 1:30pm-2:30pm. Bring cash and a bag to
take your purchases home with you.
Christmas is just around the corner and the UCB will have a boutique at the Holiday Luncheon party. There will be items for everyone. Vendors are welcome to rent a table for just $5.00. The boutique will be open from 9 am-11 am before the Holiday Luncheon Party and also from 1:30-2:30 pm. There will be volunteers to help describe items of interest. Items from holiday decor, household goods, unique gifts, clothing, games and toys, UCB T-shirts, baked goods, and more. Vendors, please call the office at 801-245-9264 to reserve your table.
News Release from American Council of the Blind July 13. 2023
The nation’s three major consumer credit reporting companies today reaffirmed their commitment to provide access to important credit information for people who are blind or have low vision. The initiative, crafted with the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and several blind consumers, will help protect the credit information of individuals who cannot read a standard print credit report.
Under the plan announced today, Equifax (NYSE: EFX), Experian (EXPN.L), and TransUnion will make online credit reports and related information accessible through their jointly operated website, AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the official site to help consumers obtain free credit reports.
“Access to accessible credit information through Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will allow people with visual impairments to independently monitor and review their credit reports. These are critical tools for avoiding identity theft and protecting the privacy of our financial information,” said Dan Spoone, ACB Interim Executive Director.
“By creating AnnualCreditReport.com, Equifax and the other two nationwide credit reporting companies gave consumers easy access to their credit information and this latest initiative is yet another example of how, as an industry, we are extending this access to consumers with visual impairments,” said Dann Adams, President, Equifax U.S. Consumer Information Solutions.
“Experian has a long history of providing quality credit products and services to consumers and we were excited by the opportunity to improve access for consumers with visual impairments to these important tools,” said Kerry Williams, group president, Credit Services & Decision Analytics, Experian Americas.
“TransUnion is very pleased to be a part of this important effort that will help empower visually impaired consumers to manage their own credit health,” said Mark Marinko, president of Consumer Services at TransUnion.
This initiative includes a renewed commitment to provide credit reports in braille, large print, and audio formats, and to design online credit reports and related web pages in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, issued by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The guidelines help ensure that websites are accessible to people with visual disabilities.
The credit reporting agencies first worked with ACB over 15 years ago, when free credit reports were first rolled out in the United States on annualcreditreport.com and 1-877-322-8228.
“We appreciate the three credit reporting agencies and their collaboration over many years and the Structured Negotiation process that brought us to today’s \ announcement,” said Deb Cook Lewis, ACB President.
Come be a part of the CRF’s CHM Patient & Family meeting in Salt Lake City, UT! It’s a day filled with information, fun and hanging around with your fellow CHM Family members… all free! Featured speakers include Dr. Paul Bernstein from Moran Eye Center, and Dr. Jess Thompson, Research Committee Chair of the Choroideremia Research Foundation, plus members of the CHM Family. Research updates, avenues to support, resources and information; it’s all to be found here! Lunch is provided. Register today and we’ll see you in September!
Date: Saturday, September 30
Start: 9:30 am
Place:
Moran Eye Center
Mario Capecchi Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84132
Register:
Please call Cory MacDonald
800-210-0233, ext. 1
or email him at corymacdonald@curechm.org
United Airlines announced Thursday that it is the first U.S. airline to add Braille to its aircraft cabin interiors. The airline has about a dozen planes outfitted with Braille already, and plans to add Braille to its entire mainline fleet of more than 900 planes by 2026. The Braille will help blind and visually impaired people identify row numbers and seat assignments, and will be located in the lavatory as well. Read the full press release at https://acb.org/United-Airlines-braille.
By Tom Mitchell
I have two books that I’d like to tell you about which
I found very interesting. The first is A brief history of timekeeping: the science of marking time, from
Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks /
DB113502
Orzel,
Chad. Don’t let this title scare you because, while the title may sound rather
formidable, it’s not. It’s just what it says it is, a history of time-keeping
devices, which means a history of all the different types of
clocks, sundials, hour-glasses, water clocks, and other devices that people
have used down through the ages. It even talks about how the sunrises and
sunsets, as well as moon phases and other astronomical phenomena have served as
time-keeping devices, and can thus be used as ticks of a clock. And it points
out that time-keeping is not always an exact science, as time is also decided
by social conventions of a particular time; for example daylight savings time.
There are portions of the book that were hard to follow
for me; for example the discussions of physical phenomena like the speed of
light versus mass, how cesium clocks work, etc., but maybe some of you will
understand that, and enjoy it. I suggest that you listen to the parts you don’t
understand anyway, because maybe later on, you may find information somewhere
else that will make those portions clearer to you.
It's a commercial audio book and is much better-read than
some of the commercial books that we get. I found the discussions on time zones
and daylight-saving time particularly interesting. It’s not easy to read in one
sitting, but is worth the time it takes to read.
Now for the next book. It’s a book that falls into my
favorite hobby: old-time radio shows. This is not a book in the literary sense
of the work, but NLS calls it a book, and so I think it fits.
Richard Diamond, private detective volume
1 / DB112536
Hollywood 360, is a collection of old-time radio shows featuring Richard Diamond, of course. The Publisher’s note says, in part: "Created by Blake Edwards, Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC Radio in 1949, starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on the radio. Diamond was a lighthearted, New York–based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionaire girlfriend, Helen Asher. Its theme, "Leave it to Love," was whistled by Powell at the beginning of each episode.” In my opinion, Diamond is not one of the smartest detectives around. I don’t know why, but he has a habit of entering into unknown apartments or rooms, finding no one there, and then getting knocked out by someone he never sees. And then wonders why that happened. His constant ribbing of Lieutenant Walt Levinson and Sergeant Otis, who’s even dumber than Diamond, makes for some occasional hilarious banter. There are about a dozen stories in this collection, each one reproduced with excellent sound.
My only gripe with the book is that NLS should have used level 1 markers to separate each stories. I don’t know why they didn’t, because I’m fairly sure that the original publisher, Blackstone Audio, did have markers between the tracks on the original CDs. This would have made it easier to select a particular story if you want to. Oh, by the way, if there are any Richard Diamond fans reading this who know his shows, you’ll find his version of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” in this collection—Brooklyn style, of course.
So, for those of you who are old-time radio fans, this is a must. And for those of you who aren’t old-time radio fans, this will introduce you to some find entertaining stories. You’ll love it.
Here’s another recipe courtesy of Donni Mitchell from Jim Reed’s cooking class.
1 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
2 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)
1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, plus more for pan and brushing on dough
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups (about 450g) unbleached all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for hands and surface
sprinkle of cornmeal for dusting the pan
Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.
Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 5 minutes (for a visual, watch me do it in the video above). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger – if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray– just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly for 5-10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker’s peels dusted with cornmeal.
Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings.
Top and bake the pizza: Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator. Reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 3 months.
The UCB Buzz is available in large print, Braille, audio CD, and by e-mail. If you would prefer to receive your newsletter in a different format, please call the UCB business office at 801-245-9264 or send an e-mail to utahblind@gmail.com and let us know.
We are always looking for articles, book reviews, or interesting tidbits of information from our readers or other interested persons. You may e-mail any articles you wish to submit to tommit60@gmail.com; send Braille, print, or audio to UCB Buzz, PO Box 1415, Bountiful, UT 84011-1415. Please allow extra time for processing Braille, print, or audio.
Anna Jeffery, President, Skills Development Program Supervisor
Donni Mitchell, Vice President, Ceramics Board Liaison
Jeana Nielsen, Secretary
Vicki Flake, Treasurer
Sandy Ruconich, Director, Executive Director
Monica Youngdell, Director
Sandy England, Director, Awards Committee Chair
Kira Larkin, Director, Braille Committee Chair, Ceramics Class Liaison
Shelly Hendricksen, Director, Scholarship Committee Chair
Cindi Vega, Director, Election Committee Chair
Dennie Clark, Director, Skills Development Program Assistant Supervisor
Mindi Larson, Director, Holiday Celebration Committee Chair
Kate Balzly, Chief Operating Officer
Aunilie Hathaway, Membership Committee Chair
Tom Mitchell, Publications Committee Chair
Matt Barnhill, Adaptive Technology Committee Chair
JD Seely, Community Projects Chair
Members are invited and encouraged to attend meetings of the Board of Directors. Meetings will typically be held the first Thursday of each month at 4:45 p.m. via Zoom. To be placed on the agenda or attend a meeting, e-mail utahblind@gmail.com or call 801-245-9264.
Friday, September 1, 2023, 5:00 p.m. – deadline for absentee ballot requests
Thursday, September 7, 2023, 4:45 p.m. – Board Meeting
Friday, September 8, 2023, 5:00 p.m. – deadline for Annual Business Meeting reservations and payment of 2023 dues for voting privileges
Monday, September 11, 2023, 5:00 pm, North gate inside Fairpark parking lot – Utah State Fair
Wednesday, September 13, 2023, 10:00 am, Northwest gate near Fairpark stadium – Utah State Fair
Saturday, September 16, 2023, 10:00 a.m. – Annual Business Meeting at DSBVI
Thursday, October 5, 2023, 4:45 p.m. – Board Meeting
Saturday, October 7, 2023, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. – Budget and Training Meeting, Zoom (by invitation only)
Saturday, October 14, 2023, 12:00-4:00 pm – Halloween Party at DSBVI
Thursday, November 2, 2023, 4:45 p.m. – Board Meeting
Saturday, December 2, 2023, time TBD – Holiday Celebration at DSBVI – watch for updates
Saturday, April 13, 2024, tentative new date for Statewide Training Conference – watch for updates
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