The chapter newsletter for December 2003:

Calendar:

Thursday, December 11, Holiday Pot Luck Instead of our regular monthly speakers meeting, We will have our Holiday Pot Luck Dinner and silent auction on Thursday, December 11, at St Albert the Great School (Same place as last year) 1395 Girard Ave. 40222 (See map at end) Please let our social committee know what you plan to bring. Contact Hazel or TTD 502-241-9165 for questions and info.

. Saturday, December 27, Informal Dinner at Piccadilly’s Tentatively, we plan to have our monthly informal dinner at Piccadilly’s on Hurstbourne Lane at Shelbyville Rd. on the fourth Saturday, December 27 at 2:00 pm Because this is so close to Christmas, please watch our web-site and Derbytown Group E-mails for updates. You may want to contact one of the officers to confirm the dinner before going.

January 13, 2004, Monthly Speaker’s Meeting Our regular monthly speaker’s meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 13, at 6:30. From 6:30 to 6:45, we will conduct business and make announcements. At 6:45, Louise Wisdom will bring her dog Ruston and two “Puppy Raisers” who will explain the process of obtaining a “Hearing Dog” or becoming a “Puppy Raiser” for the Hearing Dog Program.

ASL Practice Group Some time during the third week in January, Robbie Deddens and Linda Freiberger will begin our informal sign language practice group. Robby is working hard to obtain a facility and coordinate a time and day. Watch our web-site for more information.

Captioned Movies:

Louisville: Showcase Cinemas Stonybrook will show "Intolerable Cruelty" on December 2 and 3 at 1:35 p.m. and 6:25 p.m. both days.

Lexington: Regal Cinemas Hamburg Pavilion will show "The Rundown" on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 3:50 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. both days. Regal will show "Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat" on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 (times not yet available).

Thanks:

A special thanks goes to Judy Rogers and her crew for their hard work on our yard sale. At this time, the yard sale and our Holiday Potluck Silent Auction are our primary sources of income. Judy has taken the responsibility of collecting items and holding the sale. We do appreciate her hard work and that of her team.

Hearing Aid Complaints:

Penny Allen is a community member of the Washington State Board of Hearing & Speech. She tells us that each state has such a board, and it's the business of this board to oversee licensure of dispensers and audiologists (and possibly speech/language pathologists) and to take care of any complaints and to take disciplinary action if needed. The complaints can range from fraud to misconduct, to problems with hearing aids (mostly involving not honoring returns when they're within the trial period). Ultimately any complaints sent elsewhere will go to this board anyway. Here's a link that gives a listing of each state's board and who to contact ( http://www.ncsb.net/index.htm ). Our board also has a website that posts a consumer protection document and the process for filing a complaint.

Kentucky Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology
E-mail -JenniferL.Franklin@mail.state.ky.us
Web Address - audiology board Kentucky

Indiana Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology Board
E-mail - hpb5@hpb.state.in.us
Web Address - audiology board Indiana

Mary Lee has created a link on our web-sites to these boards.

Jayne McRae: Kentucky Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing


(Jayne is SHHH’s representative to KCDHH)
KCDHH Meeting November 14. The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing held its quarterly meeting November 14 at the Galt House in Louisville.

In her remarks, Director Dr. Bobbie Beth Scoggins indicated that the State Fair booth was a big success and would be repeated again next year. She also said that SHHH would have a bigger display with more visible information.

We were informed that the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act .. HR 943 .. was introduced in the US House of Representatives on February 26, 2003. Rep. Ryun of Kansas and Rep. Payne, Rep. Walsh and Rep. McCarthy of New York introduced the bill which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

If you have a computer, go to the site HR 943 and enter HR 943 into the box. This will allow you to read the full text of the bill. The purpose of this bill will be to allow $500.00 tax credit per qualified hearing aid.

This is great news and long overdue. We all need to contact our Representatives to let them know how strongly we feel about this bill. Ed, Paula, Mary Lee and I will do our best to keep you informed about the progress.

After the Commission meeting there was a workshop presented by State Senators Dan Kelly and Tom Buford. It was a question and answer session about how to effectively talk to your Legislators. It was very interesting and informative.,

Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act:

Representative Runyon et al need your help (see above). If you want a tax credit to assist with the purchase of your hearing aids, you need to let your Representative and Senators know now ( a hand written letter is best).

Perhaps we should approach KCDHH and our state representatives as well. Runyon’s bill is a Federal Act. Why not have the same credit on our state income tax?

If we mean what we say, then at least forty letters should be written in the next week. Our reps. need to know that we have hearing issues and we vote.

From the President:

In general we have 40 to 50 people who are associated with Derbytown SHHH. Yet, we seldom have more than 10 or 15 members who attend our meetings. I believe that this should be expected because many have heard our speakers before, don’t like the downtown location, don’t like to drive at night or have trouble juggling family and job etc. with the meeting times. Nevertheless, if we want to assist other HOH/Deaf people, if we want to advocate for our selves and others, we need to demonstrate a stronger chapter with a larger membership base.

I have, therefore, established these as the personal goals of my presidency:

1. To increase the number and frequency of activities. A few activities will be convenient and appeal to some while others do not. Our reactivating the ASL group is an example. There are those who have decided to learn at least some sign as a safety net to total hearing loss. They may choose to attend this activity but not attend the Speaker’s Meeting There are other possible activities. I need your suggestions. Please talk to me. What do you want to do?

2. To develop out reach and increase membership. I want to present programs similar to our November Speaker’s meeting throughout the community. My hope is to present at least five similar programs in the next year. I need church groups, PTA’s and other organizations to co-sponsor this project. Do you know an organization which could benefit from our program?

3. To encourage and train other speakers and mentors. As a part of the Hearing Assistive Technology training I attended in Chicago, I agreed to do this, to pass the knowledge on. Are you interested in learning more about hearing assistive technology so that you can pass it on?

4. To develop a budget for Derbytown. In order to use national’s tax free status and number, they require that we submit at least a rudimentary budget. Expenditures and Income is necessary if we want to reach out with brochures, programs, and fair activities. A Draft Budget needs to be available for our March meeting.

I need to hear from you. Is this what you want me to do? Are my goals and your goals one and the same. If not, as your president, I need to change mine to match yours. I would truly like to receive 30 e-mails saying yes or no that is not what I want our president to do. I would like a few that would say “I am willing to do… or I would like…. Talk to me.

MAY THE PEACE THAT WAS MEANT TO BE,
DWELL IN YOUR HEART AND WITH YOUR FAMILY.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
--Ed Schickle

---