Law & Order — 'Driver is Deaf' visor card program still in effect

Maryland Residents: The sheriff's office adopted the Maryland Sheriff's Association's "DRIVER IS DEAF" visor card program in 2002 The cards are available at the Law Enforcement Center at 110 Airport Drive East in Frederick, at the Brunswick Police Department at 20 E. A St. and the Thurmont Police Department at 10 Frederick Road, she said. They can also be found at the Maryland School for the Deaf.

E-coupons, no more cutting coupons

One of my favorite grocery stores, Giant Eagle recently began a money-saving offers shoppers who has "Giant Eagle Advantage Card" that requires no coupon clipping. This is how this works: I got on to Giant Eagle's website by logging my your account, I start browing all of current coupons. When I see the coupons I want, I then click on to it to be loaded onto my Giant Eagle Advantage Card©. They're automatically redeemed when I shop the next time I go shopping. Another nice feature is that on their online coupon site, I can keep track of which coupons I have on my card and when they expire.

Do any of your grocery stores offer similar program?

My other grocery store, Kroger do not offer this program since they are still practicing "Receive valuable coupons in the mail and email" program.

Carnival Submissions Due

Lisa announced in her blog today that Submissions for this week's Carnival of MS Bloggers are due Tuesday morning, April 8, 2008!!

Health Coverage for Hard of Hearing

Karen, my fellow blogger wrote in blog about an issue that effected me over the years. You can read more about it at her blog: Insurance Companies Don't Cover Hearing Aids--Let's Change That This blog is geared for citizens who lives in Illinois.

For the longest time, in Ohio, most health insurance companies do not cover hearing-aids. Last year or the year before, it was added to my health insurance but only up to $1,500 lifetime and other conditions.

Mine costs almost $6,000 for two. I had to take a loan out so interest was added. My insurance only paid about $900 while Columbus Speech and Hearing was nice enough to allow me to pay the differences between my loan and insurance that was remaining in payment plan.

While there were good coverages for people who needed wheelchair and similar devices. My daughter had a nice non-electric wheel chair that was covered by my insurance.

I know many health insurance do not cover vision but I have vision coverage through my work which I am thankful for.

On February 3rd of this year, I wrote in my blog titled: Attending a movie with new hearing-aids where I explained my experience in purchasing the hearing aids.

When I first purchased my hearing-aids over the summer in which I waited for ten years to do because I could not afford them. I worked with Columbus Speech & Hearing's accountants and my insurance company to figure out how much I need to get a loan.

Once I was told what I need to get a loan for (we got this information from my insurance company), I got the loan and paid for my hearing aids. It turns out that my insurance company didn't tell me a tiny detail about how much I had to pay. Therefore, in turn I have to pay the difference so I worked with Columbus Speech and Hearing that we would pay as much as we could until it is paid for (i.e. $25 a month). They accepted after many confused attempts in communication with support staff, the administration didn't realized I was in a bind until they received my email about my problem. They quickly resolved and changed the procedure to make sure that their staff go through proper procedure through administration to resolve anything that could not be solved.

I was pleased because I have been going to Columbus Speech & Hearing Center for over 25 years and even supported them by donating money from my paychecks. Now, that I feel better and love supporting Columbus Speech & Hearing Center.

A few years ago, a mother of a deaf child was lobbying in State of Ohio to have insurance companies add hearing-aids as part of the health insurance coverage in Ohio and I don't know what happened. I can't find my notes so I will have to do some research and find out what's going on with that.

Visor Communication Card Program for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Drivers

Over the years, there were cases in other states when police officers shot deaf men due to an alledged communication breakdown. The card is such a simple tool and pro-active in its protection similar to the medical alert bracelets people wear. Many states have similar Visor Communication Card Program for the Deaf. I live in Ohio and I don't know or aware of any similar program. I need to research more on this.

In Kentucky, they have a wonderful program for the citizens of deaf and hard of hearing drivers. Kentucky State Police with the support from the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are promoting a program that would assist those in law enforcement officers and drivers who are deaf, oral deaf and hard of hearing with the challenge of communicating with each other during traffic stops.

Visor Communication Card is a double-sided, laminate card which displays pictures that represent basic requests of various issues related to traffic. Issues such as traffic violations and roadside assistance which will expedite communication between law enforcement and the deaf or hard of hearing driver would be helpful.

It is recommended that Kentucky deaf and hard of hearing drivers obtain one for their vehicle by going to this website:and scroll to the bottom of the screen til you find "Visor Communication Card Program". Visor cards are limited to one per person and ONLY residents of Kentucky only are eligible. There, you will find examples of the card.

I believe similar program was started by Diane Edge of Maryland. Back in 2000, Diane, founder of Advocacy Support League and advocate of the deaf and hearing-impaired population of Southern Maryland, has created an informational card for the deaf in order to commumcate with law enforcement officers. She has lobbied the local school board to make changes in deaf education, and local hospitals and law enforcement agencies to the cause of deaf awareness.

Deaf Woman's Dog to escape fast moving fire

Elizabeth Harrison and her daughter who is also deaf escaped the burning building safely. Read more from Phoenix, AZ news.

Last night, Film legend Charlton Heston died

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure." He was 84 years old.

I will miss him and I will always watching his movies.

Jim

Deaf wife and Hearing Husband

Marlee Matlin will appear in the upcoming movie about the wife deaf and the husband is not just like me and my wife. I am deaf (husband) and my wife is not. Jeff Daniels will appear in TV movie called "Sweet Nothing in My Ear," which airs April 20 on CBS. When Jeff got the part, he ordered a 20-hour series of (signing) tapes and studied.

More about the movie, Jeff Daniels And Marlee Matlin Star In Sweet Nothing In My Ear The couple's son was born hearing, but by age six has also become deaf. When the hearing husband decides to pursue the possibility of a cochlear implant, the couple gets divided that threatens to shatter their marriage.

My wife and I are going to watch this movie.

One of my daughters is a ballet dancer

My wife's daughter who is my 17 year old step-daughter who is a great girl and loves to dance. She even wore a shirt that says "If I have make a choice between dancing and my boyfriend, I say 'It was nice knowing you'". At her age, she wants to enjoy life and dancing is her life. She is one of the apprentices at the Columbus Dance Theatre and in today's Columbus Dispatch, it had an article about the performance this weekend (last night and tonight).

Dance Review: New Dance Project opens with 6 pieces

I am going to watch the perfomance tonight.

Jim :)

Cal Ripken Jr. Named Keynote Speaker

The Columbus Speech & Hearing Center is hosting 17th Great Communicators on Tuesday, May 6 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Proceeds benefit the programs and services of Columbus Speech & Hearing Center that provides audiology services, speech and occupational therapy, education, and programs created specifically to assist those who are deaf, deaf blind and hard-of-hearing.

Baseball's all-time "Iron Man," Cal Ripken, Jr. who broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played (2,130), and he voluntarily ended his streak in 1998 after playing 2,632 consecutive games.

Previous Keynote Speakers were Jimmy Carter, Madelaine Albright, Tom Brokaw, General Colin Powell, Sam Donaldson, Lou Holtz and Rudy Giuliani. Proceeds from the luncheon enable the Center to fulfill its mission of "improving communication for life" by serving individuals and families of all ages and backgrounds who have speech-language challenges or who are Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf, or Deaf-Blind.

Environment: Five Quick Things You Can Do For Earth Day

#1 Watch TOXIC BREW. Invest just 20 minutes of your time for this Canadian "MarketPlace" TV show. It's shocking to see name brand cleaners full of harmful hidden chemicals--which especially affect the health of kids and pets in your home. Go to www.theglobalsuccessteam.net , then "Click Here to Enter Site." Then click on "TOXIC BREW MOVIE." If you can't watch it all at once, hit the "pause button" (two vertical straight lines) and come back later to finish.

#2 GO THROUGH YOUR BATHROOM, KITCHEN, LAUNDRY, GARAGE, AND YARD. As you go, dump Febreze, Clorox, Listerine and other toxic products. This information may shock you! This is not from a "kook" source! To find out what's lurking on your shelves, click here: the National Institutes of Health Library of Medicine Household Products Database. You can search almost any brand of product you use daily, find out what's in it, and uncover its links to health effects. Or search by chemical ingredients (see list below for some examples) and discover what brands contain it. Chemical ingredients to look out for: Click each: Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrochloric acid, Butyl cellosolve (2-Butoxyethanol), Formaldehyde, Bleach (sodium hypochlorite), Ammonia, Sulfamic Acid, Petroleum distillates, Sulfuric acid, Lye (potassium hydroxide), Morpholine. One or even a thousand exposures may not be "that" harmful...but millions of exposures over years from hundreds of products is. Did you know that women at home have a 54% higher risk of cancer? And that a study linked that statistic to harmful household cleaners? Let's turn that around fast!

SAVE THIS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm

#3 CREATE A SHOPPING LIST. How soon can you switch brands to safe alternatives? I can help you figure out some transition orders of non-toxic make up, daily care items, shampoos, conditioners, baby products--as well as nutrition products that help bodies detox. Do it all at once or little by little. Our GET CLEAN kit of cleaners for $150 (featured 5 times on Oprah) saves you from buying $3400 worth of the "bad stuff."

http://www.shaklee.net/wellness-unlimited/product/GetCleanStarterKit

The large kit makes a big impact as it keeps 108 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills, eliminates 248 pounds of greenhouse gases, and is the equivalent of planting 10 trees. A smaller HEALTHY HOME kit is a great gift for weddings, showers, etc.

#4 CALCULATE YOUR HOUSEHOLD'S CARBON EMISSIONS. It's easy. Go to SHAKLEE's page at American Forests http://www.americanforests.org/campaigns/shaklee/ and fill in info about your cars, your heating/air, etc. When you push "calculate," you're shown how many trees you could plant to erase your CO2 footprint on the earth, and offset your pollution. SHAKLEE started doing that in 2000--aren't you glad your consumer dollars support a company like that?

#5 JOIN OUR SHAKLEE MILLION TREES/MILLION DREAMS campaign by planting as many trees as you can! Did you know that a mature tree absorbs between 120-240 pounds per year of small particles and gases, like carbon-dioxide, which are released into the air by cars and industry? A single tree also produces nearly three-quarters of the oxygen required for one person; and a canopy of trees in an urban environment can slash smog levels up to six percent. American Forests reports that just 25,000 acres of forest can offset the equivalent emissions of 10 billion automobile miles. And you can plant right online! My faves are

http://www.americanforests.org/ , or http://www.arborday.org/shopping/gifts.cfm , or http://www.treesftf.org/main.htm , or http://www.treegreetings.com/

My mother have been a Shaklee Distributor for over 30 years and currently they are Senior Coordinators.

I have used the Shaklee products over the years as well but not lately. I am considering of going back to the products one day. I am still a member of Shaklee and I can be a distributor again if I want to. As a member, I can save 15% of all orders and get discounts and benefits from partner companies.

So at times like these, economics and prices going up, Shaklee might be a good for me and my family. So, I am thinking.

1998: Shaklee becomes a Charter Partner of the U.S. EPA’s Climate Wise Program, which set aggressive corporate-wide greenhouse gas reduction goals.

2000: Shaklee is the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral™ certification and totally offset its CO2 emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment.

2002: Shaklee received the Climate Protection Award from the EPA.

2006: Shaklee joined the EPA Climate Leader’s program and pledges to maintain net zero US greenhouse gas emissions through 2009.

2007: Shaklee is the first consumer products company to offset 100% of C02 emissions through the EPA Climate Leaders program and use 100% green power.

Source: Shaklee Corporation

"I regret anything I said about religion that was negative"

Ted Turner made a few disparaging comments about Christians a long time ago and that he is "always developing" his thinking as he gets older.
Ted started in 1997 with a $1 billion donation, launched the malaria project with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the United Methodist Church.

According to the article and other sources, Ted is still not considered himself a Christian but he did say:

The religious community is huge and has a very good reputation for being able to mobilize resources. Why not use them and be thankful?"

When he's a cheat, revenge seems sweet

CNN.com news,updated 1:33 p.m. EDT, Mon March 31, 2008

Interesting article about relationships. :)

Some people unaware that those have MS considered to be drunk when

walking funny. Most of the time, I walk normal however there were days, I walk like a drunk. Dizziness is a thorny problem for me. This only happens when I walk. When I sit down or lying down, I don't have dizziness problem. Anyway, I hate this feeling whenever loss of balance, unstable walking and clumsiness comes to me.

But hey, everywhere including at work, I have a good sense of humor about it. Since I have no control of my body, I just do the next best thing which have fun with it rather than be negative about it. I have found a sense of humor is necessary for me in order to keep my sanity. David Lander best-known for his role as "Squiggy" on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley is known for his humor relating to his MS. Read more in his site at David L. Lander's Website

Anyway, I was reminded that there are about 18,000 Ohioans who has MS and I am one of them. I wondered if anyone tried to have ALL 18,000 Ohioans who has MS get together for a cookout gathering just for fun. This will be interesting and perhaps a good fundraising idea.

Decision to move Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program will

move to Chappelow next year when University Schools (a charter school) decided this week it will no longer house the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program for Greeley-Evans School District 6 in nothern Colorado. The school's decision caught not only parents, students and supporters off guard but also the school district officials.

Do you know what is interesting? Read this quote from the article:

A strong vocal opponent to the removal of the program from University is Sarah Karl, a sixth-grader at the school.

She is not in the program, but Sarah said removing it affects all students.

Edited:
I love it when students speak up. Earlier, I misunderstood the quote until now however I can't say I support the move or not since I don't live in the area. Students are affected regardless what administrators think.