The chapter newsletter for May 2005:

Spring Dinner

Our spring dinner will be held Thursday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Mr. Gatti's, 1108 Lyndon Lane, off Westport Rd. and near Herr Lane. Please contact Hazel Tucker (btucker1030@cs.com or 241-9165 TDD) NOW to let her know how many from your household will attend. Mr. Gatti's must know right away so they can assign us a room large enough for our group. We will meet inside and someone will be there to direct you to our party room. The dinner will consist of pizza, pasta, salad bar, and soft drinks, as much as you want. If you are a senior citizen, the cost will be $4.95 plus tax. Others will pay $5.95 plus tax, drink included. If we have as many as 50, we will get a 15% rebate, which will be added to the funds for our State Fair booth. Go to Derbytown's web site www.derbytownshhh.org for a map to Mr. Gatti's. Please note that we will not have our regular speaker's meeting in May. In June, we will resume our regular second Tuesday speaker's meeting at St. Leonard's Elementary School. —Hazel Tucker

Nominations Committee

It is time to begin thinking about who our new officers will be. Our president will soon start asking for members to serve on a Nominations Committee. Please help if you are asked. Please understand that our by-laws require that officers be members of SHHH National. No officer may serve more than two years (one term) in any office. In order to vote for our new officers, you must be a member of SHHH National and your membership ID must be recorded with Melanie Magruder, who keeps this record for our group. —Ed Schickel

Treasurer's Report

Our balance as of April 26 is $2,174.19. —Bob Stuckey

FCC Considers Removing "In-Store" Testing Requirement

Call for Action
The wireless industry is asking the FCC to remove the requirement for in-store testing of mobile phones with hearing aids before purchase. This would be very problematic for hearing aid users as it means they would have to purchase the phone, sign a contract only to get the phone home and find out it causes interference. Then they would have to go through the hassle of returning the phone and canceling the contract. In-store testing is not burdensome to the store as they can simply put in a SIM card and let you try the phone. Our members have done this both in company-owned stores and Radio Shack. Please call the FCC and express the significance of required in-store testing. Call Paul Markey at 202-418-2006 or Julius Knapp at 202-418-2470. —From SHHH e-news April 29, 2005

CapTel

The TTY Distribution Program recently distributed 79 CapTels, along with other items, and there is no waiting list at this point. If you want a CapTel and haven't already applied for one, call the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at 1-800-372-2907 V/TTY to request an application. —Bob Stuckey

Louisville CI

We have a new group that has started up recently! It is for people who have cochlear implants. In the past few years quite a few of our members have gotten implants and needed a way to get together and share experiences and practice listening in different situations. LouCI meets once a month now - having had two meetings so far - alternating between meetings and dinners. We have acquired some new people also who are not members of Derbytown or SHHH. There was a national group called CIAI (Cochlear Implant Association, Inc.) that was absorbed by SHHH about a year ago. Our former Northern KY chapter leader, LouAnn Whelchel, started a CIAI group up there. It is alive and well at this time! There are now so many SHHHers nationally with implants that it made sense for the groups to merge. Any CI who would like to join should contact Mary Lee or 502-722-1325) for details. ---Mary Lee

Nation Convention

SHHH National Convention, June 30-July 3, 2005 SHHH is extending its early registration rate to May 13. Treat yourself to a great time in the nation's capital, get together with old friends and learn something new at the 2005 SHHH Convention. There's still time to sign up for tours of DC (starting at just $35) and for the Association Banquet. You can register online at SHHH Convention or fill out the form that was included with your latest issue of "Hearing Loss" and mail it to 2005 SHHH Convention, 7910 Woodmont Ave. #1200, Bethesda MD 20814 or fax it to 301/913-9413.

Captioned Movies

I have good news for advocates of rear window captioning! Both Showcase Cinema Stonybrook and Showcase Cinema de Lux 16 (Preston Crossing) have installed a rear window system and it is now in operation. Each location has one auditorium equipped with this technology. Because films are rotated in and out of the equipped theaters, you will have to contact the theater (after 11 a.m.) for film titles and times. Call Stonybrook at (502) 499-6658 and Preston Crossing at (502) 961-9700. You will reach a manager directly at these numbers, not a recording. You can also give them your email address; the manager I spoke to said she was getting together an email list. She said they are giving their rear-window captioned movie listings to the "Courier-Journal," but the C-J has been uncooperative about listing them in their Show Clock, saying only that they will list them if they have space. This week they didn't list any! Showcase has had the same problem with getting the C-J to list open captioned films.

For an explanation of how rear-window captioning works, go to RWC films. The advantage of rear-window captioning over open captions is that you will have a wider choice of films to see and you can see them at a time convenient to you. Only the person using the rear-window equipment can see the captions. This is an advantage for those whose family members or friends will not accompany them to an open captioned movie because they are annoyed by the captions. On the down side, those who have seen a rear-window captioned movie say the captions are not as good as open captions. The manager I spoke to at Stonybrook said they are willing to continue showing open-captioned movies (about one a month). No open captioned movie is currently scheduled, but the manager expects to have one scheduled in early June.

(Webmaster's note - Mel posted this next info on the rear window captioning a day later and it's important, so I've included it here---

The rear-window captioned (RWC) films are listed on the Showcase Cinemas Web site. I apologize for not including that info in the newsletter yesterday. When I talked to the manager several days ago, that info wasn't on the web site, but she said it would be. I made a note to myself to check the web site again before I sent out the newsletter yesterday, but I was in a hurry and just plain forgot.

For those who don't know how to find show times on the Showcase Cinemas web site: Go to Derbytown

My server, MSN, lets us customize our home page. I bet some other servers do that, too. I have fixed mine so the movie listings for each day appear on my home page whenever I connect to the Internet. Easy, huh? ---Melanie Magruder

Accessible Arts

May 21 Music Theatre of Louisville will present a captioned and sign-interpreted performance of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at 1:30 p.m. at Iroquois Amphitheater, which is located in Iroquois Park near the intersection of New Cut Rd. and Kenwood Dr. To buy tickets, call Ticketmaster at (502) 361-3100, log onto ticketmaster.com or visit any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets may also be purchased by visiting the Broadway in Louisville office at 611 West Main Street or at the Iroquois Amphitheater box office (beginning May 11). When you buy your tickets, you must specify that you need captioning or sign interpretation.

June 4 PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville will present a captioned performance of "Les Miserables" at 8 p.m. in Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, 501 W. Main St. For tickets, call the Access Hotline at 502-562-0111, 502-562-0140 TTY; the Kentucky Center Ticket Service at 502-584-7777, 502-562-0730 TTY; or the toll free line at 1-800-775-7777. Be sure to mention that you need captions.

The K Card program is designed to allow people with disabilities to purchase tickets to selected performances at a low price in order to determine which type of performances they can enjoy despite their disability. The performances are mostly ballet, orchestra concerts, and children's plays. These performances are not captioned or sign interpreted but some of our members, particularly those with cochlear implants, may be able to understand/enjoy them. Tickets must be purchased at the Kentucky Center box office (inside at the counter), and you must have your K Card with you when you make your purchase. Each K Card holder may purchase two tickets to each performance (and the person who accompanies you does not have to be hard of hearing or deaf). To get your K Card or to determine the times for the following performances, email Stacy Ridgway or call the Access Hotline 502-562-0111 (V) or 502-562-0140 (TTY). The following are upcoming Kentucky Center performances for which you can use your K Card to obtain $5 tickets:
May 12 The Louisville Orchestra will present a Coffee Concert featuring Lee Luvisi. May 14 The Louisville Orchestra will present a Classic Concert featuring Lee Luvisi.

What SHHH is doing for you!

From the Desk of Brenda Battat, Director of Public Policy and States Development

We need you to join or renew your membership