HAWK TALK
The monthly newsletter of the Blackhawk Chapter,
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
September 1, 2005
Contact Info: Robert Gardner, President
(309) 755-8085
rgardner@revealed.net
Our summer break is over, and Hawk Talk is back. Our swim party and picnic have
passed, and it’s time for a “regular” Blackhawk Chapter meeting. Join your
fellow Federationists at our monthly meeting on Saturday, September 10, 2005.
The meeting will begin at 1:30 PM at our usual meeting place, the South Moline
Township Center located at 637 17th Avenue, East Moline.
Our September meeting will be a time of reunion, a time to talk of our summer
activities, of our family situations, of our NFB adventures. We will discuss the
past national convention, our future NFBI state convention, and the many
business issues we must handle within our chapter. We will be starting our new,
2006 Blackhawk Chapter year, including discussions of our upcoming chapter
elections in October. Read on for more details. Please come, y’all, we have much
to go through after not having a standard meeting for several months.
Need a ride to our chapter meeting? Call Bob or Nancy Gardner at 755-8085 and we
will make arrangements. Please let us know your need by Thursday night before
the meeting so we can coordinate cars and drivers.
To join the Blackhawk Chapter or to renew your membership for the new 2006 year,
bring $2 to the chapter meeting, or mail that amount to: Kathy Kelley, 2107 13th
Street, Moline, IL 61265.
THE SUMMER IN REVIEW
We had 26 people at our June chapter meeting. Kate Mayer from the NFBI Chicago
chapter spoke about her training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and how
to achieve independent travel using the long white cane. She was accompanied by
Brian Johnson, president of the Chicago Chapter. After her talk, Kate and Brian
led Blackhawk Chapter members in an outside training session with the white
cane. The meeting was a huge success, and we look forward to similar meetings in
the future.
Jana Hergert attended Black Hawk College during the summer in the “Bridges”
program. All of our chapter is proud of Jana as she continues to progress toward
her life goals.
The NFB national convention was held the week of July 4th in Louisville,
Kentucky. 61 people attended from Illinois, including 6 from the Blackhawk
Chapter. Blackhawk Chapter officers attending were president, Bob Gardner; vice
president, Lois Montgomery; and board member, Eldon Kaiser. Lori Brown from our
chapter was one of the 30 finalists winning a national scholarship. That was a
proud moment at the banquet when Lori accepted the $3000 NFB Educator of
Tomorrow scholarship.
Chapter member Dolores Zaleski passed away in early July. Our condolences go out
to her family.
Our annual swim party hosted by the Montgomerys was attended by 20+ people on
July 16. The day was stinking hot, an appropriate setting for a swim party.
Besides cooling off in the wonderful pool, we enjoyed pizza and soda.
Our annual August picnic at Millennium Park was attended by 17 people. The day
was cool and drizzling, a welcome change after so much heat this summer. We
enjoyed great food and fellowship. We drew the winning name in the first raffle
of an afghan hand-crocheted by Kathy Kelley. The name of Helen Sales was drawn.
Lois Montgomery had a busy August, visiting our NFB training center, Blind Inc.,
in Minneapolis. She also attended a training seminar at our NFB national center
in Baltimore.
In August, Velma Anderson had a pacemaker inserted. She was at our picnic and
seemed perkier than ever.
Rick Olson had his appendix removed in August. The operation resulted in some
complications, and Rick was in the hospital for about a week.
BIRTHDAY CORNER
August birthdays October birthdays
23rd: Dave Jirele 6th: Joe Boccarossa
28th: Geoffrey Stuart 15th: Eldon Kaiser
31st: Jo Ellen Riordon 21st: Otis Earl Bethard
September birthdays
3rd: Alma Sowers
9th: Bob Gardner
11th: Don Olson
20th: Lois Montgomery
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
October 8: Our regular Blackhawk Chapter meeting. Among other things, we will
hold chapter elections for 2006. The current officers are:
President: Bob Gardner
Vice president: Lois Montgomery
Treasurer: Kathy Kelley
Secretary: Don Carey
Board member: Alfonso Ayew-ew
Board member: Cheri Jirele
Board member: Eldon Kaiser
All chapter members are eligible to become officers, and should consider whether
they are being called to serve. Those interested need to be present and to be
nominated. Anyone wanting to run for an office but cannot attend the meeting
should personally talk to Bob Gardner. Our chapter constitution requires the
president and vice president be blind, and a majority of the officers be blind.
All officer positions are up for election.
November 4-6: NFB of Illinois state convention. The convention this year will
take place at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Rock Island. This will be a
great opportunity for chapter members and others in the Quad-Cities to attend a
state convention. Be sure to save these dates so you can participate. The
Blackhawk Chapter will be the host, and we need a good turnout from our members.
Room reservations for those wanting to stay overnight at the Sheraton can be
made by calling 794-1212. Ask for the special NFBI room rates, and you get a
standard room for $62 a night.
Pre-registration packages will be mailed out shortly. This allows you to
register for the convention for $5, and also avoid the hassle of registering at
the convention. Registering at the door will cost more. The student luncheon on
Saturday will be $15, and the banquet on Saturday night will be $25. Special
speakers will be at both the luncheon and banquet, and no state convention is
complete without attending those events.
Blackhawk Chapter members needing financial assistance to attend the convention
should contact Bob Gardner or Lois Montgomery by September 30. A special
committee within the Chapter will then decide on the amount of assistance to be
given. Note that the Blackhawk Chapter has a policy of not giving full financial
assistance to such events as the state convention. Applicants should plan so
they can contribute to their cost of attending such activities. Also, the
involvement of the applicant in chapter activities and their contributions in
promoting the NFB are considered when financial assistance is requested.
TECH TIPS
Here’s a few extra tidbits for you computer people. These are meant for us
average guys, not the advanced power users. The tips are for JAWS. If you want
the same tips for Window-Eyes, contact me at rgardner@revealed.net.
All About Lists
Lists are just that -- those lists of files and folders, for example, in your
“My Documents” folder or the list of what’s on your “C” drive. Here’s some tips
on the subject.
1. Layout. Folders with names that start with numbers are listed first, followed
by folders with names in alphabetical order. Files then follow, again with names
that start with numbers first, then the rest in alphabetical order.
2. Opening a List. When you open a list, JAWS will usually say, “unselected,”
then say “1 of X,” where X is the number of things in the list. Hit the SPACE
BAR to select that top item in the list, and JAWS will then read the name of the
folder or file.
3. Where am I? As you go down through a list, hit the INSERT-NUM PAD UP ARROW to
hear the number of the file or folder. That key command is just the normal JAWS
“read line” command. Doing that, for example, you might hear, “Mom’s Apple
Pie.doc, 4 of 16.” The “4 of 16” is the info you were looking for.
4. Getting the List in Order. This is the most useful info I can give you on
lists. Sometimes, when you open a list, the names of the files and folders are
arranged in several columns. I find that confusing. I might be on the first
item, down arrow to what I think is the next item, then find out that item is
actually item number 5. The thing to do is pull down the menu bar by hitting
ALT, then hitting “V” for View, then “L” for list. This puts everything in the
list in one single column. Now you can go up and down the list with the UP and
DOWN ARROWS, and everything is in order.
5. Details. Sometimes you want more info about a file or folder. Hit ALT for the
menu bar, “V” for View, then “D” for Details. Now if you hit the “read line”
command (INSERT-NUM PAD UP ARROW), you will hear the size of the file, the type
of file, and the date it was created. After doing this, I usually hit ALT, V,
then L to get back into the List mode.
6. Expanding names. If you have a long file or folder name, JAWS will truncate
it. For example, it might say “Mom’s Apple Pie and . . .” That “. . .” indicates
JAWS isn’t reading the whole name. Here’s the trick. While on the name in the
list, hit CONTROL-NUM PAD PLUS.” Now close the list (ALT-F4), then reopen the
list. The entire name, “Mom’s Apple Pie and Raisin Sauce Recipe.doc” will now be
read.
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