SIGN of the TIMES E-NEWS Deaf Services Commission of Iowa April 2010 ANNOUNCEMENT Happy Retirement Barb! Barb Jones will be retiring from DSCI on April 30th after working here for more than 20 years. It’s been great working with her. She’s a great friend with a beautiful smile and will be missed by everyone! ANNOUNCEMENT If need assistance in filling out the Census form, contact DSCI to make an appointment by either Email: dhr.dsci@iowa.gov or VP 515-598-7326 Stephanie or VP 515-598-7327 Suzy LEGISLATIVE BILL UPDATES HF2202 - This bill was signed on March 22, 2010. It’s an act relating to rights of persons with disabilities. It’s available by going to this website: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Cool-ICE/DisplayBills.htm CALENDAR OF EVENTS 4/9: 6:00 p.m. American Sign Language Social hosted by Deaf Awareness and DMACC located at ALL-Play 615 - 3rd Street, Des Moines. Games, eat and drink. 4/16: 8 a.m.— 5 p.m. Training for Emergency Responders and the Deaf / Hard of Hearing Community hosted by DSCI and held at Quality Inn & Suites Starlite Conference Center, 2601 East 13th Street, Ames, IA. Deadline to register is April 2nd. To sign up contact suzy.mannella@iowa.gov 4/17: 12 p.m. 20th Annual 9 Pins Tourney hosted by Cedar Rapids Association of the Deaf located at May City Bowl, 1648 Trent St., SW, Cedar Rapids. 4/24: Doors Open 4 pm, Dinner at 6 pm Cedarloo Deaf Club 37th Annual Spring Festival located at American Legion Hall, 931—6th Street, Jesup. Come join the social and games, .Come One, Come All.. INFORMATION CapTel Equipment Choices Expand - New CapTel 800i® Available in Iowa The Captioned Telephone (.CapTel.), developed by Ultratec, Inc., allows people with significant hearing loss to read captioned transcriptions of their telephone conversations. Captions are provided by a service that connects to each call. Using advanced voice-recognition technology, a specially-trained operator at the service confidentially revoices everything the other party says to transcribe the captions, allowing the CapTel user to effectively use the phone. The latest addition to the Iowa CapTel family of solutions – the CapTel 800i – uses an existing phone service (either analog or digital) for the voice portion of the call, combined with a high-speed Internet connection to deliver captions on incoming and outgoing calls. .With the revolutionary way this phone delivers captions over the Internet, we are thrilled to add the CapTel 800i to our family of solutions. For some individuals who have not been able to use captioned telephone in the past, the CapTel 800i allows us to deliver the life changing benefits of Hamilton CapTel,. said Anne Girard, director of marketing for Hamilton CapTel. .For individuals with difficulty hearing over the phone, seeing what’s said restores their functional ability to effectively use the phone.. Iowans who are choosing CapTel service can purchase the phone through the current $99 promotion at http://www.relayiowa.com/ia99.pdf or they can apply through TAI and choose the .Captioned Telephone with Internet Option. on the application at http://www.relayiowa.com/tai/Equipmentapplication.pdf. CapTel® is a registered trademark of Ultratec, Inc. Visit DSCI website: www.deafservices.iowa.gov Questions or Comments? Email us: dhr.dsci@iowa.gov INFORMATION Better Hearing and Speech Month Award from Hamilton Relay Hamilton Relay is pleased to announce that two separate recognition awards have been established this year. Hamilton will recognize an individual who is hard of hearing during Better Hearing and Speech Month in May as well as an individual who is deaf during Deaf Awareness Week in September. Both recipients will receive an award for being an outstanding leader within their communities. This year, Deaf Awareness Week falls on the week of September 19–26. Be sure to watch for further information this summer as we will be seeking your assistance in identifying your top candidates. Currently, we look to you to present nominations for an individual who is hard of hearing. Specifically, we would like to honor someone from Iowa and present them with their award during this year’s Better Hearing and Speech Month. We are looking for individuals who have been a strong influence within your state; individuals who demonstrate commitment to enhancing the lives of those around them. Who is the Hard of Hearing person you wish to nominate? Let us know as soon as possible! Please send your nominations to me at the address below. I have attached a Questionnaire form to assist in providing your candidate’s name and contact information, a brief description of who they are and what this person has done that causes you to nominate him/her, and a request to provide two additional references along with their contact information (people we can contact to learn more about your candidate). You may send your nominations by e-mail, fax or regular mail. The deadline for submitting nominations is April 15th. Hamilton Relay looks forward to giving back to the community by celebrating an outstanding Community Leader from Iowa. We look forward to learning more about your top leaders. Thank you for participating in the excitement! To get a copy of the questionnaire, contact Lori Sporrer lori.sporrer@hamiltonrelay.com or call V/TTY 712-653-2440 Visit DSCI website: www.deafservices.iowa.gov Questions or Comments? Email us: dhr.dsci@iowa.gov