Reception to welcome Dr. Nancy Benham as new Superintendent at Colorado School for Deaf and Blind.
In a previous blog, we detailed the process by which the new
superintendent of our state residential school for deaf and blind children was
managed. We were pleased to announce that Dr. Nancy Benham was hired to begin
leading the school for the 2019/2020 school year. School has been underway for
a few weeks. Homecoming has already come and gone. And the kiddos are already working
on holiday festivities. On Wednesday evening, September 25th, CSDB
opened the gymnasium for the community to welcome Superintendent Benham. The
Bulldog band played on. Members of the Board of Trustees were on hand. Also, in
attendance was Julie Deden, Executive Director Colorado Center for the Blind,
Brent Batron, Assistant Director of our Center, and Martin Becerra, Director of
CCB Youth Programs.
Colorado Center for the Blind programs making a difference.
Here are three updates from Dan Burke to make you smile. Job
well done CCB!
- As the Blind Coloradoan hits the cybersphere, this week's Seniors in Charge is getting close to wrapping up. Six students from Greeley, Montrose, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, and the Denver area are in their final day of classes. We'll tell more later about their reactions to their training, except to say that this group can be heard laughing longer and louder than any in recent history.
- Monday we'll welcome four VR Counselors from Nevada for a week of professional training. We want to thank our old friend and colleague, Richele Pennock for helping to make this happen. Richele was a counselor and supervisor with Colorado's Blind & Low Vision Services until she and her husband moved to Las Vegas. Now she's a supervisor with Nevada Bureau of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired and wanted her counselors to come for the same training she had received at CCB a number of years ago. We're looking forward to a productive and exciting week with them!
- FAST Goes Scary on Friday evening, October 11! Our Fun Activities and Skills Training (FAST) invites blind youth, their parents and families to celebrate the scary season with us. There will be a scavenger hunt, above-water bobbing for apples, and a lot more, including dinner. Call Martin Becerra-Miranda to RSVP at 303-778-1130, ext. 223, or e-mail him at mbecerra@cocenter.org.
Will we be denied equal access to Denver’s 16th Street Mall? Not if we have anything to say about it.
On the Blind
CO Blog of September 5, 2019, we carried an item about changes being
planned on Denver’s 16th Street Mall. We urge you to read that blog
post and join us at the community meeting to discuss changes which will limit
access to the mall for people with disabilities. The city should know that
NFBCO and our allies will be taking a strong stand on this. We call to your attention
the information about a planned community meeting to be held on October 8th,
5:30-7:00 p.m. Wellington E. Webb Building Room 1.B.6. 201 West Colfax, Denver.
Billed as a meeting with the disabled community “you will learn about the
limited curbs design option that has been selected for the reconstruction of
the mall.” That is what the flier
says. It suggests that these changes are a fait accompli. I guess we shall see.
Join your colleagues listen, learn, and be ready to advocate to ensure that we
can live the lives we want on the 16th Street Mall.
State transportation leaders ask for public input on possible Front Range passenger rail.
We received the following information from Gary Van Dorn. In
addition to being the only blind photographer I know, Gary is an expert and
enthusiast in the area of public transportation. Much of our work with the
Regional Transportation District has been informed and led by Gary’s long hours
of labor.
9News ran a very interesting story on 17 September 2019
concerning rail
on the front range. Plans are underway to operate rail from
Trinidad to Fort Collins; the State of Wyoming has interest as well.
There is also a survey as part of the article.
Live the Life You Want in the Equality State, by KW.
Wyoming is a state of parks, mountains, mining, and people of
the West. Wyoming is known as the Cowboy State. It’s also called the Equality
State. Believing, as we do, in the state of equality we in NFBCO have always
had a relationship with our blind and visually impaired buddies in Wyoming.
Wyoming is a state of a little more than half a million people living in an
area of 97,000 square miles. Much of it is mountainous and rural. It is also
home of a number of national parks, state parks, and monuments. The population
of Colorado is almost 6 million people living within about 104,000 square
miles. Similar size landmass with 10 times the number of people. Although we
have rural communities and great open spaces outside of our front range, it is
nothing like the wide-open spaces of the Equality State. Finding people who are
blind, low vision, and their families can be tricky. Services for people losing
sight, the elderly, and blind kids are not as easy to come by. Finding folks
who can benefit from involvement in the National Federation of the Blind is
like riding a broke down mare over a narrow, rock-strewn trail watching for the
rattlers in the rain. Well, you get the idea. If you’d be interested in helping
with our outreach effort in Wyoming let us know. The convention of the National
Federation of the Blind of Wyoming is Saturday October 19 in Casper, Wyoming at
the Ramkota Hotel.
Dear reader, are you still looking for something to do this Saturday night?
Are there tickets remaining for the wine tasting at Spero’s Winery located at 3316 W. 64th Avenue in Denver? Call our colleague Jon Deden and find out, 303-722-2529. Saturday night, September 28, 6:30 p.m. Tickets, if still available, $50. Cheers!Speed Dating at NFBCO State Convention? Who would have thunk it?
We received the following note from Nate Hecker. Nate is a member
of the Wild West Chapter and an entrepreneur.
On Saturday afternoon, November
2nd, come get
to know members of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado in a fast,
fun, and friendly game of speed dating. Don’t worry! No actual dating is
required!
Speed dating: “an organized
social activity in which people seeking romantic relationships have a series of
short conversations with potential partners in order to determine whether there
is mutual interest.” -www.Dictionary.com.
All I can say is, HMM.
There is a lot for guide dogs and handlers at the Fort Collins State Convention.
Melissa Green, President, says, “join us for the COAGDU Business
Meeting on Saturday afternoon, November 2. We will be making plans for the year
ahead and electing officers. As the month of September, National Guide Dog
Month, draws to a close, we at the Blind CO Blog wonder if the Colorado
affiliate has COADGU, what do they call it in the Washington affiliate?
So much great info to share, thanks for the blog!
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