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                                THE
                           Braille Forum
                 Vol. XXXIII September 1994 No. 3









































                           Published By
                 The American Council of the Blind

                      PROMOTING INDEPENDENCE
              AND EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY

                   LeRoy F. Saunders, President

           Oral O. Miller, J.D., National Representative

                        Nolan Crabb, Editor
               Sharon Lovering, Editorial Assistant

                         National Office:
                        1155 15th St., N.W.
                             Suite 720
                       Washington, DC 20005
                          [phone]
                       Fax:  [phone]


THE BRAILLE FORUM is available in braille, large type, half-speed
four-track cassette tape and MS-DOS computer disk.  Subscription
requests, address changes, and items intended for publication
should be sent to:  Nolan Crabb, THE BRAILLE FORUM, 1155 15th St.,
N.W., Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005.

Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions, which are tax
deductible, may be sent to Brian Charlson, Treasurer, 1155 15th
St., N.W., Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005.

You may wish to remember a relative or friend by sharing in the
continuing work of the American Council of the Blind.  The ACB
National Office has available printed cards to acknowledge to loved
ones contributions made in memory of deceased persons.

Anyone wishing to remember the American Council of the Blind in
his/her Last Will and Testament may do so by including a special
paragraph for that purpose.  If your wishes are complex, you may
contact the ACB National Office.

For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the
"Washington Connection" toll-free at [phone], 6 p.m. to
midnight eastern time Monday through Friday.  Washington, D.C.,
residents only call 331-2876.

Copyright 1994
                   American Council of the Blind

                         TABLE OF CONTENTS

President's Message, by LeRoy F. Saunders
News Briefs From The ACB National Office, by Oral O. Miller
D.C. Area Blind Commemorate Subway Deaths, by Sandra Pickett ACB
Honors 1994 Award Winners
Position Available: Director Of Governmental Affairs
Looking Forward to Greensboro In 1995, by John A. Horst
Book Review: If You Love Old New York, This Book's For You, by
Sharon Lovering
American Council of the Blind Awards Scholarships To 20
Outstanding Blind Students, by Jessica L. Beach
Unsolicited Earnings And Benefits Estimates From Social Security,
by Glenn Plunkett
Legal Access: Memo To EEOC: Open Up A McDonald's And Learn To Jog!,
by Charles D. Goldman
Priority Resolutions For 1994
Here And There, by Elizabeth M. Lennon
Summary of ACB 1994 Resolutions
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
by LeRoy F. Saunders
    Have you stopped to think about how many changes have taken
place in this country in the last five years?  There are many and
they are affecting all of us.  In fact it is a whole new world.
 Who would have thought that it would become necessary for our
largest corporations like IBM, Xerox, General Motors, and many
others to lay off numerous people in order to stay competitive in
their sales of products?  Who would have thought that the federal
government would have a reduction in its work force?  Who would
have thought that many state and city governments would have to
reduce their budgets for lack of revenue and in turn reduce
benefits to their constituency?  Who would have thought that many
employers would start using temporary help rather than full-time
employees?
    All these changes are primarily the result of a lack of money
and a lack of discipline on the part of politicians and managers in
general.  The other side of this equation is a lack of
accountability on the part of many who refuse to accept
responsibility for their own well-being and who are therefore
unconcerned about the quality and manner of their performance in
whatever type of work they do.
    I am sure you are wondering why I am bringing all this up.  I
mention this because the whole new world does and will affect all
of us in this country whether we are disabled or not.  Indeed, it
already is affecting us.  The attitude of many people is very
rapidly changing and their concerns for disabled people are not
what they once were.
    This attitude is beginning to be evident in dealing with
Congress as well as on state and local levels.  When you talk to
members of Congress about increasing the budget for programs for
the disabled, they ask whose program should be cut to provide this
increase.  In fact there is a big effort being made by
Congress to cut many programs in order to reduce the federal
deficit or to finance new programs the president is trying to get
Congress to pass.
    The federal government's concern to change the way it
purchases and how much it can save on the cost of those purchases
could affect how the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act is used in the
future. Any changes could result in lost jobs for disabled people
in workshops.
    The downsizing of the federal government will inevitably result
in the downsizing of some vending facilities in government
buildings.  It could change the way that the Randolph-Sheppard Act
is being used.
    As far as business is concerned it is interested in using the
least amount of full-time employees to get the most done.  That
means employers will increasingly turn to the use of temporary
help, either by having people work part-time or contracting with
temporary agencies.  This of course allows the employer to save
money on fringe benefits.  Also when work becomes slack it is much
easier to let temporary people go.  This trend toward
temporary services could dramatically affect the employment
picture for blind and disabled people.
    Again, you may wonder why I bring all this up?  Well, the main
reason is ACB too must be part of this whole new world.  The way
ACB carries out it services to its membership may need to change in
order to be a force in this whole new world and
effectively meet the needs of its membership.
    As I write this article I am getting ready to attend a
meeting of the Long-Range Planning Committee.  We will be
discussing how ACB functions today and how this will fit in with
the whole new world as we see it today.  We'll attempt to
visualize the future to the degree that we can.  Committee
members have done much research, and many people have been
contacted for their input.  I hope after this we can finalize our
reports.
    Changes for disabled people, I think, are much harder to make
in many ways than they are for non-disabled people.  Changes for us
can mean investing much more effort and time as compared to others.
But we must make whatever changes are necessary or we will be left
out of the mainstream, and that we cannot afford.

                              Caption
ACB President LeRoy Saunders addresses the convention.
NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE ACB NATIONAL OFFICE
by Oral O. Miller, National Representative
    Since the ACB national convention is such a major part of the
schedule in July of each year, some people assume incorrectly that
little else of importance to ACB members takes place then.  In
reality, the ACB staff members who took part in the 1994 national
convention, which was the largest in the history of ACB, really
"hit the ground running" on their return to Washington.  Some of
the issues and topics which demanded immediate attention included
health care reform, reauthorization of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, further development of the national
information infrastructure or "information superhighway,"
detectable warnings and free matter for the blind.
    The thrust of many decisions made at the recent ACB national
convention regarding detectable warnings emphasized that
uncooperative transit agencies such as the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority "just don't get it" when it comes to
understanding the need for meaningful detectable warnings along
platform edges.  For that reason several dozen members of ACB
affiliates from the Washington metropolitan area conducted a
peaceful but very visible rally one Sunday afternoon outside the
main Metro Center in downtown Washington.  One of the purposes of
the rally was to memorialize the three blind people who had been
killed after falling from Metro or commuter rail platforms in the
Washington area.  Each attendee laid a flower beneath a wreath in
memory of the three people and many others who had fallen, perhaps
been injured but not killed, over the years.  WMATA, while refusing
to comply with ADA regulations issued by the Federal Transit
Administration, has insisted unconvincingly that the granite strip
which runs along each Metro platform edge is a suitable warning.
That insistence and WMATA's obsessive attachment to its beautiful
granite edge led to frequent chants that "granite is for
gravestones."  I am sorry to report that another national
organization of blind people sided with WMATA a day or so later
when that agency again insisted, among other things, that federally
mandated detectable warnings along its platform edges are not
necessary and, in fact, would be dangerous.
    Among the international guests who visited the ACB national
office recently were Ms. Joan Thompson, a member of the staff of
the South African National Council for the Blind, Pretoria, South
Africa, and Mr. Pecharat Techavachara, president of the Foundation
for the Employment Promotion of the Blind, Bangkok, Thailand.  It
was, indeed, enjoyable and informative to share information with
Ms. Thompson and Mr. Techavachara.  During the national convention
in Chicago it was our pleasure to meet other members of the
delegation from South Africa who were in this country attending the
convention of the National Organization on Albinism and
Hypopigmentation.
    There is not enough space in this article to describe all of
the activities that occurred in Washington during the last week of
July in celebration of the fourth anniversary of the signing of the
Americans with Disabilities Act.  Those activities, incidentally,
had to be dovetailed in with many historic events surrounding the
termination of hostilities in the Middle East between the nations
of Israel and Jordan.  One of the kickoff ADA events was a very
well-attended press conference conducted by Attorney General Janet
Reno to celebrate the signing of the ADA and to publicize the
release of a series of TV public service announcements intended to
educate the public regarding the ADA.  The ACB director of
governmental affairs and I gladly endorsed the release of the
announcements, but had to point out that we thought they would have
been better and more useful to blind and visually impaired people
if the toll-free telephone number of the Justice Department (for
the receipt of questions and complaints) had been announced audibly
rather than displayed visually only.  However, the climax of the
week's activities took place when thousands of disabled and non-
disabled citizens gathered by invitation on the South Lawn of the
White House at a festive rally to celebrate the fourth anniversary
of the signing of the historic ADA.  Dozens of ACB members from
throughout the United States were in attendance and ACB's director
of governmental affairs, Paul Schroeder, was among the small group
of dignitaries who were individually introduced as they came onto
the stage shared by President and Mrs. Clinton and Vice President
and Mrs. Gore.  The American Council of the Blind was the only
blindness organization so recognized.
    During his remarks to the assembled throng on the South Lawn of
the White House on July 27, 1994, Vice President Gore, while
speculating that the gathering that day was the largest one ever
held on the White House grounds, said, among other things, "How do
we measure the full effects of victories: one, in the courtroom?
We may not measure them fully, but we feel them and they are there.
Those victories set precedents that will guide us for generations.
The only real mystery is why they took us so long.  How could we
ever have excluded a blind person from jury duty?  ...  Here in the
White House when we communicate with people on the Internet and
have a forum, the person who runs the White House forum is both
deaf and blind."  During his remarks, President Clinton said, among
other things, "We do not have a person to waste, and that is why we
are here today to rededicate ourselves to an America where every
man, woman and child can reach the fullest of their God-given
potential.  ...  The Americans with Disabilities Act stands for
what is best in our heritage -- empowering Americans to build
better lives for themselves.  In that tradition I pledge as your
president to see that this act is fully implemented and
aggressively enforced in our schools, our workplaces, in government
and in public places for the benefit of all persons with
disabilities -- blind and visually impaired, deaf and hard of
hearing, persons with mental retardation, persons with mental
illness, persons who are mobility impaired, all people who have
problems that can be overcome.  We must move from exclusion to
inclusion, from dependence to independence, from paternalism to
empowerment.  ...  The people who fought for the Americans with
Disabilities Act originally had health care reform in the act and
it had to be dropped because they knew this bill would be delayed
for years if it had to deal with the difficult and complicated and
politically explosive issue of health care reform.  ...  We must
say we do not care about politics.  There are Democrats and
Republicans in this audience and independents in this audience;
there are people here today who voted for all three people who ran
for president the last time.  I do not give a rip what your
politics are, but I do want you to have health care."  Following
the ceremonies at the White House, it was our pleasure to host
several dozen of the ACB members who were present for an informal
luncheon at the ACB national office.
    I am pleased to welcome Mr. Daniel Derechin to the ACB national
office staff as our legislative assistant.  Daniel, a 1993 graduate
of Franklin and Marshall University, majored in anthropology and
prior to joining the ACB staff was employed as a legal assistant by
an outstanding Washington law firm.
    It is, indeed, with regret that I announce the resignation of
ACB's director of governmental affairs, Paul W. Schroeder, who will
be leaving in a few weeks to accept a position as National
Consultant for Technology and Telecommunications with the American
Foundation for the Blind in Chicago.  It is almost impossible to
describe how much Paul will be missed because of his energy,
analytical skills, outstanding communication abilities, impressive
strategizing capabilities, sense of humor (especially as a fan of
the Buffalo Bills) and cooperation as a team player.  It is almost
an understatement to say that we wish him well as he moves on to
the next stage of his impressive career.
                             Captions
    ACB National Representative Oral O. Miller stands at a
microphone.    Paul Schroeder answers questions posed by conventioners --Photo
by M. Christine Torrington.
            D.C. AREA BLIND COMMEMORATE SUBWAY DEATHS
                         by Sandra Pickett
    Gentle, angry people recently voiced their feelings of outrage
and sorrow while remembering friends who died or were injured as a
result of falls from subway platforms.  ACB members from
Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland gathered around a
wreath of commemoration on a Sunday afternoon in late July at
Metro's Metro Center station.  Participants focused on the lives
that could have been saved, if there had been detectable warnings.
They sang such songs as "We Are Gentle, Angry People" and "We Are
Singing for Our Lives," they read poems, and they chanted and
cried.
    "It is a life-or-death struggle," said Pamela Shaw, vice
president of the National Capital Area Chapter of the ACB of
Maryland.
    Regulations implementing the landmark Americans with
Disabilities Act required that detectable warnings be installed in
all key transit stations along edges of platforms by July 26, 1994.
Such warnings aid the safety of all passengers, including blind and
visually impaired people, because they can be easily seen by
individuals with limited vision, felt underfoot or readily detected
by a long white cane.
    Transit authorities in most major metropolitan areas are well
on their way to completing the installation of these critical safety-
 and independence-enhancing warnings.  Recently the U.S. Department
of Transportation granted the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit
Authority an extension of up to two years to conduct research and
install detectable warnings in key stations.  The Washington Metro
Area Transit Authority, to date, has refused to install detectable
warnings which comply with ADA regulations.
    Shaw, who is also a member of the ACB board of directors, says
there have been weekly meetings since the announcement of WMATA's
deadline extension to organize a plan to educate the public,
legislators and other blind people about detectable warnings.   "We
need to rededicate ourselves and channel our anger to work toward
something positive," said Charles Hodge, ACB first vice president
and president of the Old Dominion Council of the Blind, one of
ACB's Virginia affiliates.
    Placed near the wreath with red, white and blue carnations were
a broken cane and a detectable warning tile symbolizing those
individuals nationwide who have fallen to their deaths from transit
platforms.  Countless others have fallen and been injured.  "It
could have been any of us," said Shaw.  The most recent injury was
on July 22, 1994 in Philadelphia, Pa.
    "There is a sense of commitment -- to persevere even more,"
said ACB board member Pat Beattie.  "Our work is important.  We
need to educate the politicians, transit officials and other blind
people that detectable warnings are safer."
                             Captions
     Pam Shaw holds a bunch of flowers to lay down near the wreath.
-- Photos by Sandra Pickett
     Paul Schroeder speaks into a bullhorn and Pam Shaw speaks
along with him as they and others protest the lack of detectable
warnings on Metrorail platforms.
     This wreath, the flowers beneath it, the broken white cane and
tile of detectable warning placed near the flowers commemorated the
deaths of several blind and visually impaired people in falls from
subway platforms.
                   ACB HONORS 1994 AWARD WINNERS

    The American Council of the Blind named the recipients of four
awards during the July 3 opening ceremonies of the 33rd Annual
National Convention in Chicago.
    Carl R. Augusto, president and CEO of the American Foundation
for the Blind, was named the 1994 recipient of ACB's George Card
Award.  "These facts don't represent everything there is to know
about this man," said Sharon Keeran, a member of the awards
committee who read biographical information about Augusto as she
presented the awards.
    "What a thrill," Augusto said.  "I met George Card, and I know
a little about him.  I know that he stood up for what he believed,
and he took a leadership role in this organization during difficult
times.  So to receive an honor in his name is really a thrill.  I
treasure this most of all because it comes from what I believe are
my true peers.  ACB's partnership with the American Foundation for
the Blind means a great deal to me professionally.  But perhaps
much more than that, the friendships I've gained with so many of
you in the audience have meant a great deal to me personally."
The Robert S. Bray Award was presented to Stephen Dwornik, a former
NASA employee, and a member of the Public Outreach Solar System
Exploration Working Group.  With urging from Dwornik, the group
decided to develop a solar system chart which provides large print
and braille information about the planets and their orbital planes.
Keeran said Dwornik's map includes a comparison chart which
compares the planets to common objects to which blind and partially
sighted people could relate.  The sun, for example, is compared to
a doorway.  Using that standard, the earth would then be the size
of an aspirin tablet.  The map also includes
information about the planets' distances from the sun and the
number of satellites each planet has.
    With help from Joe Wiedel, a renowned tactile map maker at the
University of Maryland, and with financial backing from the Ball
Aerospace Company, Dwornik and the public outreach group produced
the first 200 maps.  In the future, Dwornik plans to include taped
information to accompany the braille map.  Additionally, he plans
to introduce "sound buttons" which would allow the map user to
touch the map in various places and hear digitized information
about the planets.  According to Keeran, no federal funding was
used to produce the maps.
    Dwornik said his immigrant mother had encouraged him to pay
America back in some way for what it had given him.  "I thought my
service in World War II did that," he said, "until I met the
members of the American Council of the Blind."
     Coincidentally, the day on which the award was presented was
Dwornik's 68th birthday.  Upon learning that, the convention
spontaneously broke into song, singing "Happy Birthday."
    Dwornik provided a history of the project and talked about its
future, including relief globes of the planets.  "The wonders of
planetary exploration will literally be at your fingertips," he
said.  "We can take you on a trip down a Martian Grand Canyon that
stretches the distance from Los Angeles to New York City up to the
top of the largest volcano in the solar system, to the back side of
the moon, ... you haven't heard the end of POSSE yet; we're just
getting cranked up."
    Billie Jean Hill presented the Ned E. Freeman Excellence in
Writing Award and the Vernon Henley Media Award.  She began with a
brief explanation of the activities of the board of publications.
The 1994 recipient of the Ned E. Freeman Excellence in Writing
Award is Mary Jane Owen, a Washington, D.C., writer and frequent
contributor to "The Braille Forum."  She was recognized for her
story "I'll Fake It Till We Make It, But How Long Will it Take?" in
the May 1993 issue.  "Braille Forum" Editor Nolan Crabb accepted
the award in Owen's behalf.  "It is time we stop feeling we have to
keep our need for data access in the closet," Owen wrote in a
prepared statement.  "Data access must become as much a national
priority as physical access.  ... Too many of us are trying to
reach our goals and fulfill our potential while traveling on muddy
back-country roads while our sighted colleagues are finding the
entry ramps onto the information highways.  In offering this
recognition, ... ACB reiterates we need innovative and creative
strategies and technologies and we need them now."
    Hill indicated that Kathy Nimmer and Stan Greenberg submitted
contributions deserving of honorable mention for the Freeman Award.
   Deborah Kendrick is the 1994 recipient of the Vernon Henley
Media Award for her book "Jobs to be Proud Of."  The book was
commissioned by the American Foundation for the Blind.
    Kendrick said she is fortunate enough to love her work.  "I
think that's something all of us deserve," she said, "to have a job
we love."  She recalled her own experiences with Henley and her
time as a member of the board of publications.  "When Billie Jean
came up with the idea, and the rest of us on the BOP worked to
develop this award, I never dreamed that I would someday be
receiving it.  Thank you for this award and for allowing me to be
among you."
    Hill said the American Foundation for the Blind's recently
introduced public service campaign, a hotel training video
submitted by ACB member Cheryl Duke of Virginia, and a series of
brochures submitted by Guide Dog Users, Inc., an ACB affiliate,
were submissions worth mentioning.
                             Captions
Carl Augusto
     POSSE paid the ACB national office a visit in May.  Pictured
are, left to right, Joe Boyce, Steve Dwornik, Oral Miller, Nolan
Crabb, Joe Wiedel, Sue Brand and Jesse Moore.  Nolan and Sue hold
up the map of the solar system.
     Mary Jane Owen
                        POSITION AVAILABLE:
                Director of Governmental Affairs,
                   American Council of the Blind
    The American Council of the Blind is looking for an individual
with a background in legislative/advocacy/civil rights work for a
non-profit organization, preferably dealing with disability
concerns.
    Well-developed writing and verbal skills are essential.
Primary responsibilities include: promoting and developing American
Council of the Blind programs involving governmental action;
advocating changes in existing law; conveying the position of the
Council on pending legislative and administrative proposals;
maintaining cooperative relationships with other organizations
which have similar objectives; providing advice and technical
assistance to affiliates and to blind individuals; keeping the
membership informed about legislative developments; recommending
actions to be taken and policies to be adopted by the Council; and
performing other related work as assigned.  A reasonable amount of
travel is required.
    Applicants should have a general familiarity with the public
interest community and a commitment to progressive social and
economic reform.
    Minimum qualifications:  Two years experience, J.D. optional.
   Send resumes, including salary history and requirements, by Nov.
1, 1994 to:  Oral O. Miller, National Representative, American
Council of the Blind, 1155 15th St. NW, Suite 720, Washington, D.C.
20005.

               LOOKING FORWARD TO GREENSBORO IN 1995
             by John A. Horst, Convention Coordinator

    The 1995 convention of the American Council of the Blind will
take place in Greensboro, N.C.  The dates are Saturday, July 1
through Saturday, July 8.  We will meet at the Holiday Inn Four
Seasons, Joseph S. Koury Convention Center.  This is one large
facility where once again all convention functions will occur in
one hotel.  Several smaller hotels less than one mile away will be
used for overflow sleeping rooms.  There will be shuttle service
available for convenient transportation.  Sleeping room rates will
be $47 per night single through quad.  Reservations can be made now
by calling [phone].  The hotel address is 3121 High Point
Road, Greensboro, NC 27407.  All room reservations including those
at overflow hotels will be handled by the Holiday Inn Four Seasons.
   After the rush and commercialism of Chicago, you will welcome
the southern hospitality of North Carolina.  Greensboro is the
third largest city in the state with a population of close to
200,000.  It is located in the center of the state and is a part of
the Piedmont Triad which includes the cities of High Point and
Winston-Salem.  The first settlers to move into this area were
German, Quakers of Welsh and English descent, and Scotch-Irish
mostly from the northern colonies.  In 1771, the area was the site
of a pivotal Revolutionary War battle when Gen. Nathaniel Greene
made a stand against British troops.  Although the Americans lost
the battle, this encounter seriously weakened the British forces
and they later surrendered at Yorktown.  In 1807, the citizens of
the area voted to establish a central government, and Greensboro
was founded and named after its patriot commander Nathaniel Greene.
The new town grew and prospered and it wasn't long until it became
a center of education and economic opportunities -- which it is
today.
    Greensboro is located just off interstates 85 and 40.  The
Holiday Inn Four Seasons offers free shuttle service from the Triad
International Airport 10 miles away.  Airlines that provide service
to this airport include American, Continental, Delta, United, and
USAir.  Greensboro can also be reached by Amtrak and Greyhound-
Trailways bus service.
    Plan now to attend an exciting and challenging convention in
1995.  There will be a variety of things to do, and it's not too
early to start planning now.

IF YOU LOVE OLD NEW YORK, THIS BOOK'S FOR YOU
by Sharon Lovering
    If you often reminisce about the New York that used to be, take
a glance through David D. Carroll's "New York: A Feast of
Memories."  It will take you back to the days when "street person"
meant an organ grinder and his monkey, when New York was more
innocent than today.
    Carroll, who is blind, moved from South Carolina to New York in
the 1920s.  He lived and worked there until the mid-1960s.  His
tone and style of writing in this book are, I believe, reflections
of the tone and style of those times: the first line rhymes with
the second, and other such things.  The arrangement and selection
of words shows the times as well.
    His "Prelude" states: "You mean my olden, golden New York -- /
Provider of the unobtainable,/ Lurer to the unattainable?/  A cask
of memories you uncork:."  His wife, Billy Price Carroll, is the
book's illustrator.  She has a pen-and-ink sketch of the Statue of
Liberty next to the "Prelude," and 15 more in various places
throughout the book.
    Carroll's book begins with his memories, from "Broadway shows,
Fulton markets" to the "Romantic Staten Island Ferry."  He
continues with such poems as "When Mortal Stars Cease to Shine,"
"When Honesty and Quality Were the Golden Policy," "When Ladies
Whoop for Single Bed," and "King Barnum and Some Royal Georges."
In "When Honesty and Quality Were the Golden Policy," he writes
that the world could take a few hints from "John Wanamaker,
Franklin Simon" and others: "... winners never lowered standards/
Despite the tempting money swirl."
    He also reviews the time when dancing the Charleston was
popular, wartime songs were often heard, and the stock market
crashed in "Dance, Song and Chance."  "Will that time ever come
again?/  The answer ever is:/ If conscience goes, will there be
sin?/  Does folly flourish without men?"
    One of the more interesting poems is "Ponder the Imponderable."
In it, Carroll tells readers that if they move to New York, they
should not expect to know the city in a few years' time, nor should
they kick what they know of it off "by going home somewhere."  He
advises readers to reflect on this thought: "To learn New York
within a lifetime's spin/ Is to biograph Methuselah/ On a single
weekend."
    Carroll's book is full of interesting reminiscences about New
York, from wartime memories to getting a bank loan, the first women
to do such things as swim the English Channel and fly solo, the
Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Lindbergh story, Grand
Central Station, views of the city and its people from above, the
"Normandie," and other such things.  It's a book about the size of
a 5 1/4-inch floppy disk, just right for reading on a bus, plane,
train, subway or car.  The poems are good, and the art goes well
with them.  I won't spoil the book for you by telling you more
about it -- you'll have to check it out for yourselves.
    "New York: A Feast of Memories," published by Skyward
Publishing, is available in print for $17.50 in the United States,
($19.95 U.S. dollars in Canada).  A cassette tape was in progress
as of April.  To order, call 1-800-247-6553, extension 101B.

        AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS
                 TO 20 OUTSTANDING BLIND STUDENTS
                        by Jessica L. Beach
    CHICAGO--At its 33rd annual national convention at the Palmer
House Hilton Hotel in Chicago, the American Council of the Blind,
with the participation of U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), awarded
its 1994 scholarships to 20 outstanding blind students from
throughout the country.  The awards were given to students in
academic and professional curricula at the undergraduate and
graduate levels.  Hundreds of qualified blind and visually impaired
students applied for these honors.  Seventeen of the winners and
other students were able to attend the convention in Chicago with
the assistance of a grant to the American Council of the Blind by
the Regional Bell Telephone Companies.  The winners were honored by
Sen. Simon on Thursday, July 7 during the convention's plenary
program.  "What a marvelous thing you are doing," Simon said during
the presentation, "in providing these scholarships and providing
role models for everyone."
    The Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship winners in the graduate
category are Rebecca Rupp, of Cleghorn, Iowa and Behnaz Soulati of
Iowa City, Iowa.  Rupp will attend Mankato State University in
Mankato, Minn., where she will study community counseling.  Soulati
is pursuing an M.A. in French literature at the University of Iowa
in Iowa City.
    The Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship winners in the
undergraduate category are Frank Lopez of Yucca Valley, Calif.,
Lori Miller of Warsaw, Ind., and Shawn Mayo of Peoria, Ill.  Lopez
is seeking his B.A. in vocational education at California State
University-San Bernardino.  Miller is a business major at the
University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind.  Mayo is earning her
B.S. in psychology at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
    The Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship winners in the freshman
category are Ashish Anand of Staten Island, N.Y., Anna Schneider of
Seattle, Wash., and Keith Wessel of Urbana, Ill.  Anand will attend
New York University in New York, N.Y., where he will study
biochemistry.  Schneider will be studying genetics at the
University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.  Wessel will be studying
computer science at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Ill.
The recipient of the Dr. Mae Davidow Memorial Scholarship is
Patricia Davis of Ashland, Ky., who is working toward her B.S. in
psychology at Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky.
    The Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Arie
Farnam of Somerville, Ore.  Farnam is seeking a B.A. in Slavic
languages at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.
    The TeleSensory Corporation Scholarship, being administered by
ACB for the eighth year, was awarded to Daniel Simpson of
Lansdowne, Pa., who will be working towards his M.A. in English
literature from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
   The William Corey Memorial Scholarship was presented to Brian
McCall of Yeadon, Pa., who is aspiring to earn a law degree at the
University of Pennsylvania.
    For the fourth year, ACB is presenting three scholarships
funded by National Industries for the Blind.  These scholarships
were awarded to Michelle Ferritto of Ventura, Calif., Robin
Smithtro of Camarillo, Calif., and Scott Meyers of Greenfield, Wis.
Ferritto is a student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
studying business administration.  Smithtro is pursuing her B.S. in
business economics at Willamette University in Salem, Ore.  Meyers
is a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee,
Wis., where he is studying business management systems.
    For the first year, ACB is proud to present five newly
established scholarships.  The Kellie Cannon Memorial Scholarship,
funded by Visually Impaired Data Processors International, was
awarded to Qiong Du of Media, Pa.  Du is a computer science major
at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa.  The Xerox Imaging
Systems Scholarship, funded by Xerox Imaging Systems, was awarded
to Tonia Valletta of Nokesville, Va.  Valletta is seeking her B.A.
in religion at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
The Central Virginia Council of the Blind Scholarship, funded by
the Central Virginia Council of the Blind, was awarded to Jun Yin
of Fairfax, Va.  Yin is a student of Mary Washington College in
Fredericksburg, Va. studying business administration.  The Arnold
Ostwald Memorial Science Scholarship funded by a foundation
established by the late Arnold Ostwald, a blind lawyer, was awarded
to Timothy Cordes of Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Cordes is aspiring to earn
a B.S. in biology at Notre Dame University in Notre Dame, Ind.  The
John Hebner Memorial Scholarship funded by the family of the late
John Hebner, a founding member of ACB, was awarded to Dawn
Flewwellin of Aberdeen, S.D.  Flewwellin is seeking a B.S. in
rehabilitation at Northern State University while working full-time
as a cafeteria manager.
    In addition to the above scholarship recipients, Kimberly
Morrow, who was awarded the Scholarship in Memory of Anne Pekar in
1992, continues to receive the funds from that scholarship.
Morrow, of Overland Park, Kan., is earning an M.A. in German from
the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
    Applications for the 1995 ACB scholarships will be available in
the late fall of 1994.  For more information, contact the national
office at 1-800-424-8666 between 3 and 5:30 p.m. Eastern time
weekdays.

            UNSOLICITED EARNINGS AND BENEFIT ESTIMATES
                       FROM SOCIAL SECURITY
                         by Glenn Plunkett
    You may have received or may receive a statement of your
earnings and an estimate of your possible future benefits from
Social Security without having requested it.  SSA is required by
law to do this and is beginning a test program.  SSA is sending a
Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement to approximately
600,000 randomly selected persons between the ages of 25 and 64 who
are not currently receiving Social Security benefits.  It is doing
the test mailing to get ready for the required mailings beginning
in 1995.  During the test mailing, SSA is sending an additional
16,000 statements with a questionnaire requesting the recipient's
reactions to receiving the statement without having asked for it.
   SSA says that the purpose of the test is to gauge the resources
needed to manage future earning and benefit estimate mailing
workloads and to obtain early public reaction to the statements.
Next year, in accordance with provisions in the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1989, SSA will begin mailing earnings and
benefit estimate statements to approximately 6.7 million people who
are age 60 and older and who are not receiving Social Security
benefits based on their own earnings record.  In each year from
1996 through 1999, SSA will send statements to individuals as they
reach age 60.
    Beginning in fiscal year 2000, about 123 million people between
the ages of 25 and 64 -- the majority of the American work force --
will receive an earnings and benefit estimate statement from SSA
every year.  To make implementation of the huge workload easier,
SSA is considering phasing in the mailing statements to younger
workers from 1996 to 1999.  The project is part of a major effort
to help people age 25 or older -- not just those nearing retirement
-- understand their financial investment in and potential benefits
from the Social Security system.
    The statements will show earnings for all work in jobs covered
under Social Security from 1937 through 1992.  Reported earnings
and the estimated taxes paid on those earnings are listed.  People
receiving the statements are encouraged to review the information
carefully and report any missing or incorrect earnings.  The
estimates of retirement, disability and survivors benefits that may
be payable as shown on the statement are based on the individual's
date of birth and work history.
    If you are unable to read your statement because of vision
loss, you should advise the Social Security Administration of that
fact and request a statement in an alternative  medium.

LEGAL ACCESS:
MEMO TO EEOC: OPEN UP A MCDONALD'S AND LEARN TO JOG!
by Charles D. Goldman, Esq.
(Reprinted with permission from "Horizons," September 1994.)
The White House celebration of the fourth anniversary of the
Americans with Disabilities Act was a major "do," as my southern
friends say.  However, did you notice that one key agency was not
mentioned and was not on the platform?  Did anyone notice that the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was absent in toto?
    If the Clinton administration is serious about the Americans
with Disabilities Act, how could it totally disregard the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission?  Whether or not you like what
EEOC does and whether you like the current/former officials
personally, in political reality, on an institutional basis, EEOC
must play a vital role if the Americans with Disabilities Act is to
be fully and fairly administered.  It's basic: EEOC has lead
responsibility under Title I, Employment.
    The Clinton administration sent the wrong message by not
including EEOC in its remarks and on the podium.  If there was room
on the platform for the Secretary of Education, the Attorney
General, and their key subordinates, surely there was a place for
someone from EEOC.
    If health care is important to employees who are to share its
cost, as the administration was rallying the troops to support,
then some mention also should have been made of the litigation the
EEOC is pursuing to end discriminatory health care benefits.
Fighting health plans which discriminate against persons who are
HIV-positive is one of the few discernible initiatives the
administration has taken for persons concerned about AIDS.
    Don't get me wrong.  I like Attorney General Reno, Assistant
Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval Patrick, and Secretary of
Education Riley.  Judy Heumann, Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, has deep, strong ties to the
community of persons with disabilities.  But this was an ADA
anniversary, not a rally for the Department of Education.
    EEOC has more than 30,000 charges (complaints) under the ADA,
which is at least 20,000 more than the Department of Justice.  The
local Washington, D.C. office of EEOC is also overwhelmed with
work.  It has more than 100 complaints of civil rights violations
(including ADA) per investigator and, at times, per force of the
size of its budget, operates more like a M*A*S*H* unit than a
federal agency.
    This administration has made clear that no agency is going to
get any increase in funding, a point the president reiterated when
he spoke.  In practical terms, that means the backlog at EEOC is
not going to be addressed and will only get worse as complaints
continue to be filed as they must under the law.
    The president has named a new chairperson of EEOC.  An
autographed copy of "Horizons" to the first person (not an EEOC
employee) who can correctly identify the new chair.  This
appointment came more than a year after taking office.  That too is
appalling.
    When the new chairperson is sworn in, let me suggest a two-
pronged, short-term agenda:
    First: Open a McDonald's on the first floor, moving the one
from 17th and H streets NW.  You'll be the closest McDonald's to
the White House.  Your ground floor entrance is accessible so
you're off to a good start.  When you begin serving, include
information about EEOC on all trays and with all takeout orders.
Make sure the information is also available in accessible formats
and that you have qualified interpreters on duty, too.
    President Clinton's appetite for fast food, especially
McDonald's, is well-known.  This way, when President Clinton has a
yen or goes jogging, he can trot up the street to your store.  Once
you get the customer in your store, you sell him on your program.
As Molly Ivins writes from Texas, that's good "bidness."  From the
way this administration has treated EEOC so far, this may be the
only way this president ever gets near the agency.
    Second: Learn to jog!  If you can, try and jog with Clinton.
He might even remember you after the swearing-in ceremony.  It's
the perfect time to lobby for your budget.
    If you can't run with Clinton, try jogging with the Gores.
Vice President Gore and his entire family run in the Race for the
Cure!, the national fundraising 5k race/walk to fight breast
cancer.  Mrs. Gore was particularly effective in her remarks at the
ADA celebration (as was Mrs. Clinton).  The vice president has been
known to tell the president to get with the program.
    Jogging with Vice President Gore could well have long-term
benefits.  At the rate President Clinton is going, he is fast
alienating many voters who expected more from him on these issues.
At this writing President Clinton cannot count on their support in
1996.  Jogging with Al Gore could well be jogging with the next
Democrat who is elected president -- even if it is in the year
2000!
    "Hello, McDonald's.  I'd like to order an EEOC burger to go,
large fries and a Diet Coke."

                   PRIORITY RESOLUTIONS FOR 1994

    (Editor's note: The resolutions shown below are those deemed
top priority by the board of directors for national office staff
action.  They are presented in their entirety.)

                         Resolution 94-01

           REQUESTING ADDITIONAL STAFFING, TRAINING AND
             IMPROVEMENTS IN CLAIMS PROCESSING FOR THE
                   SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

    WHEREAS, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is taking an
unusually long period of time to determine initial eligibility for
disability benefits and to resolve appeals from adverse decisions;
and

    WHEREAS, such delays work hardships on blind applicants and
beneficiaries; and

    WHEREAS, social security district office staff display a lack
of knowledge about rules and regulations applicable to blind
applicants and beneficiaries; and

    WHEREAS, social security district office staff reflect a lack
of sensitivity to the needs of blind applicants and beneficiaries;
and

    WHEREAS, staffing for the social security offices has been
drastically reduced over the preceding years and will probably be
reduced further;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, this 8th day of
July, 1994, that this organization ask Congress to remove budgetary
restrictions on the administrative funds for the Social Security
Administration (which are paid from the Social Security Trust
Funds), and approve a significant increase in staffing for the
Social Security Administration; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization urges the Social
Security Administration to increase staffing and training to
immediately reduce the current backlog and to ensure that
applications for disability benefits be acted upon within 90 days
from date of application; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization suggests the
following changes in law to ensure that decisions are made by the
Social Security Administration in a timely manner:

    1. if eligibility determinations are not made within 90 days,
the applicant be put in payment status, and the payments made while
a final decision is pending not be recoverable by the Social
Security Administration;

    2. appeals of adverse decisions be resolved within 30 days of
the filing date for requests for reconsideration, and 90 days for
appeals to an administrative law judge; and

    3. if reconsideration and administrative law judge decisions
are not resolved within the suggested time frames, the
applicant/beneficiary be paid until a final decision is reached at
the appeals council level, without such payments being subject to
recovery.

Adopted.

Patricia Price, Secretary

                         Resolution 94-04

              ENFORCEMENT OF FREE MATTER REGULATIONS

    WHEREAS, the free matter mailing requirement has afforded
persons who are blind or visually impaired opportunities to access
large amounts of information; and

    WHEREAS, without this requirement these information access
opportunities would be lost; and

    WHEREAS, the United States Postal Service has issued
regulations which clearly indicate what types of materials can and
cannot be mailed using the free matter mailing policy; and

    WHEREAS, United States Postal Service employees in various
parts of the United States have misinterpreted these regulations in
an arbitrary and capricious manner; and

    WHEREAS, ACB has documented cases of such misinterpretation of
these regulations and abuse of authority by local postal officials;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, this 9th day of
July, 1994, that a letter be sent to the United States Postmaster
General, Marvin Runyon, asking that regulations governing the free
matter mailing requirement be interpreted and enforced fairly and
equitably throughout the entire nation; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that along with this letter, ACB
provide Postmaster General Runyon with documentation of cases where
Free Matter regulations have been misinterpreted; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution and
enclosed documentation be sent to the appropriate Congressional
committees charged with overseeing the activities of the United
States Postal Service.

Adopted.


Patricia Price, Secretary

                         Resolution 94-11

                       SUPPORT FOR H.R. 794

    WHEREAS, census data, national polls and other studies have
documented that citizens with disabilities are severely
disadvantaged socially, vocationally, economically and
educationally; and

    WHEREAS, individuals with disabilities have faced many of the
same discriminatory obstacles in developing small businesses as
have groups previously recognized as "socially and economically
disadvantaged" under the Small Business Act; and

    WHEREAS, the nation's proper goals regarding individuals with
disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full
participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for
such individuals; and

    WHEREAS, these goals can be advanced by providing the maximum
practicable opportunities for the growth and development of small
business concerns owned and controlled by individuals with
disabilities; and

    WHEREAS, H.R. 794, the "Americans with Disabilities Business
Development Act of 1993," would eliminate insofar as possible,
discrimination against individuals with disabilities in obtaining
capital and other production assistance; and

    WHEREAS, this bill will amend the Small Business Act by
providing a means by which to declare persons with disabilities to
be "socially disadvantaged individuals;"

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, this 9th day of
July, 1994, that this organization supports passage of H.R. 794 and
directs its officers and staff to take all appropriate action to
achieve this end; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization instructs those
working to implement the passage of this bill to seek to assure
that the definition of disabilities incorporated into this bill is
equivalent to the definitions in the Americans with Disabilities
Act and in the regulations implementing Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Adopted.

Patricia Price, Secretary

                         Resolution 94-12

                    ACCESS TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES

    WHEREAS, the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA),
which is scheduled to be reauthorized by Congress next year,
provides public libraries with federal funds for projects or
construction; and

    WHEREAS, individuals who are blind or visually impaired have a
right to fully enjoy and use their local public libraries; and

    WHEREAS, libraries are likely to become one of the centerpieces
of the new information infrastructure; and

    WHEREAS, several steps could be taken to expand collections,
ensure access to information and otherwise encourage use of
libraries by individuals who are blind or visually impaired;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, this 8th day of
July, 1994, that this organization urge Congress to amend the
Library Services and Construction Act as follows in order to ensure
that the needs of library users who are blind or visually impaired
are addressed:

    1. establish standards which ensure that new information
technology (from Internet hookups and collection databases to the
equipment necessary to use these services) is accessible to and
usable by individuals with a variety of disabling conditions;

    2. encourage the development of collections which include a
variety of resources and media, including audio recordings, large
print material, and described videos;

    3. foster the provision of information about library and
community services to the public through both analog (telephone)
and digital (electronic) means;

    4. direct that persons with disabilities, including individuals
with visual impairments, be included on library advisory
committees;

    5. ensure that the availability of public transportation is
considered in determining a site for the construction or expansion
of a public library;

    6. develop innovative outreach programs whose express purpose
is to encourage participation in the services and activities of
public libraries by people with disabilities; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent
to Congressional oversight committees for libraries, the President
of the American Library Association, the National Commission on
Libraries and Information Science, and other entities deemed
appropriate.

Adopted.

Patricia Price, Secretary

                         Resolution 94-13

          STRENGTHEN ALA STANDARDS FOR NETWORK LIBRARIES

    WHEREAS, the American Library Association is currently engaged
in rewriting the standards that govern service provided by network
libraries and by the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped (NLSBPH); and

    WHEREAS, blind and visually impaired people will be
substantially affected by the standards adopted that govern the way
service is provided at network libraries and through NLSBPH; and

    WHEREAS, the working group that is preparing these standards is
currently seeking comments concerning the second draft of these
standards prior to their final rewriting and proposed adoption by
the spring of 1995;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, the 9th day of
July, 1994, that this organization strongly urges the inclusion of
the following elements within the standards:

    1. a clear and unequivocal requirement that each network
library establish an advisory committee of its users which is
representative as to geography, ethnicity, gender and disability;

    2. clear service standards that set time limits within the
library that will govern how quickly applications for service,
requests for books or other consumer-related service standards can
be expected to be processed;

    3. clear and forward-looking technological standards that will
require libraries to work toward making on-line catalog functions
and access to the information highway elements intrinsic to their
future growth and accessible to all users; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the officers, Directors and staff
of this organization join with their affiliate, Library Users of
America, in seeking to assure that these elements be included in
the standards; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent
to the committee currently at work on setting these standards.

Adopted.

Patricia Price, Secretary

                         Resolution 94-14

     RECOMMENDING A NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY INITIATIVE

    WHEREAS, it is generally recognized that a major disadvantage
faced by blind and visually impaired people is the absence of
available, accessible transportation; and

    WHEREAS, as a result, legislation, regulations and
appropriations relating to public transportation are of paramount
importance to blind and visually impaired people; and

    WHEREAS, increased levels of public transportation may result
in significantly expanding opportunities for employment for people
who are blind or visually impaired; and

    WHEREAS, the regulations implementing the transportation
provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act are sometimes
limiting rather than increasing access to transportation for people
who are blind and visually impaired; and

    WHEREAS, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
will be reauthorized in 1997 with hearings beginning as early as
1996;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, this 8th day of
July, 1994, that this organization requests the president and the
board of directors to create and implement a transportation
initiative whose objective will be to:

    1. develop specific legislative outcomes toward which the
American Council of the Blind's membership will work as regards
amendments to existing laws and regulations or the introduction of
new legislation as needed;

    2. Provide the board and membership of ACB with an
implementation strategy that can be used to work towards the
legislative outcomes recommended; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the president shall use whatever
methods are seen fit to implement this resolution, but shall
include progress toward this end as a part of his presidential
report at the 1995 convention of this organization in Greensboro,
North Carolina.

Adopted.

Patricia Price, Secretary

                         Resolution 94-15

              URGES BANA TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION
                    ABOUT UNIFIED BRAILLE CODE

    WHEREAS, work on the Unified Braille Code (UBC) is continuing
with a time table that would lead to its completion in just three
years; and

    WHEREAS, the members of the Braille Revival League and the
American Council of the Blind are vitally interested in steps now
being taken toward the eventual release of a final version of this
code;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, this 9th day of
July, 1994, that the Braille Revival League and the ACB strongly
urge BANA to take the following actions:

    1. since no samples have as yet been released of either the
math or the computer code, that such samples be made widely
available within sixty days;

    2. that information on the progress of the committee charged
with developing this code be made available to periodicals of major
consumer organizations of blind people at least each quarter
starting immediately; and

    3. that BANA seriously consider the release of new literary
braille samples to reflect changes that have taken place over the
last year in the projected Unified Braille Code; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution be forwarded to
BANA immediately.

Adopted.

Patricia Price, Secretary

                         Resolution 94-20

                INSTALLATION OF DETECTABLE WARNINGS
                 BY WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA
                        TRANSIT AUTHORITY

    WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind believes that
installation of materials easily detectable underfoot, by cane or
with low vision -- through the use of contrast in texture, color,
resilience or sound on cane contact -- can greatly enhance the
safety of blind or visually impaired persons by warning that they
are approaching a dangerous drop-off or a hazardous vehicular way;
and

    WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a
final rule requiring installation of such detectable warnings on
rail transit platforms in key stations; and

    WHEREAS, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) has stated that it considers the design of its rail
platforms, which include a flat granite strip and flashing lights
along the platform edge, to be unique and safe; and

    WHEREAS, WMATA also expressed unsubstantiated concern that the
detectable warning surface required by the Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines may constitute a hazard
for passengers using wheelchairs or other mobility aids, and cited
these concerns among the bases for requesting an extension of at
least one year in order to conduct research to resolve concerns to
WMATA's satisfaction; and

    WHEREAS, WMATA has offered representatives of ACB an
opportunity for input into the design of this proposed research,
and a promise to install the material selected for detectable
warnings on platforms in all stations, not just key stations;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the
Blind in convention assembled at Chicago, Illinois, this 9th day of
July, 1994, that this organization emphasize to WMATA that it
include detectable warning material in its research which meets all
requirements of the ADAAG, including contrasts in texture, color,
resiliency or sound on cane contact, and agree to install an ADA-
compliant surface if this surface continues to prove to be the most
detectable by persons who are blind or visually impaired as well as
safe for other passengers; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization call upon WMATA
to agree to present a comprehensive plan no later than January 26,
1995 for prompt installation of effective detectable warnings in
all stations within its rail system; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization urge the
Department of Transportation to continue to vigorously seek
compliance by all transit rail systems in installing detectable
warnings; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be
forwarded to the general manager of WMATA, the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Transportation and any other appropriate public
official and members of Congress.

Adopted.

Patricia Price, Secretary

                           HERE & THERE
                      by Elizabeth M. Lennon
    The announcement of new products and services in this column
should not be considered an endorsement of those products and
services by the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected
officials.  Products and services are listed free of charge for the
benefit of our readers.  "The Braille Forum" cannot be responsible
for the reliability of products or services mentioned.
HORIZONS MOVED
    Horizons for the Blind has moved to 16A Meadowdale Center,
Carpentersville, IL 60110.  Its new phone number is [phone].

89 TO WIN
    The winner of the U.S. Blind Golfers Association's National
Championship is Pat Browne, with two scores of 89.  This win made
his 17th national championship title.
    The World Golf Tournament for the Blind & Visually Impaired
will be held in late October 1994 in Perth, Australia.  It will be
an open 54-hole gross and net score event inclusive of B1, B2 and
B3 eyesight categories.  Green fees and accommodations will be
covered by the Western Australian Blind Golf Association.
FUN AT DEEP CREEK LAKE
    Target Inc. offers a year-round program at the Lodge at Sawmill
Hollow, a 10-bedroom, seven-bathroom facility on Deep Creek Lake in
western Maryland.  The fall schedule is as follows: Oct. 7-9, folk
festival weekend, includes a trip to the Springs, Pa. Folk
Festival, $190; autumn glory weekend, Oct. 14-16, $190; Halloween
weekend, Oct. 28-30, bring your costume, $180; turkeyfest weekend
Nov. 11-13, includes baking pumpkin and apple pies from scratch,
$190; Christmas crafts weekend, Dec. 2-4, includes ornaments,
centerpieces and cookies (bring your favorite recipe), $180.
Prices include all meals, lodging, 24-hour supervision,
transportation within Garrett County, and admission to events.
Transportation from other areas is available for an additional fee.
Sign up for space.  Call [phone] or [phone].
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
    The National Association for Parents of the Visually Impaired
has received a grant from the Delta Gamma Foundation to support its
scholarship program.  It now has three additional grants available
for 1994.  There are two $500 awards for teachers in a program
leading to a degree or certification in the vision field, and one
$500 award for a graduate student continuing college study.
Applications for either award may be obtained from the NAPVI
office, P.O. Box 317, Watertown, MA 02272-0317.  Completed
applications must be received by October 15.  General requirements
include membership (individual or family) in NAPVI and enrollment
in a college or teacher training program.  Applicants must also
submit a personal statement, college transcript and letter of
recommendation.  Students applying for the graduate scholarship
must also submit a statement from a vocational rehabilitation
specialist, teacher of the visually impaired, or physician, that is
proof of visual impairment.  NAPVI board members, their families,
and previous award winners are not eligible.  For more information,
call the NAPVI office at [phone].
NOD SEEKS CITIES
    The National Organization on Disability is seeking nominees for
its National Community Awards.  A grand prize of $10,000 will go to
the winning community; separate cash awards of $3,500, $2,500 and
$1,500 will be given for first, second and third place winners,
respectively, in two categories: communities with populations over
50,000 and communities with populations less than 50,000.
Guidelines for entering the competition are available from NOD, 910
16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, or by fax at [phone].
Entries must be postmarked by Oct. 31, 1994.  Winners will be
announced in December.
PLAYBACK CATALOGS
    Seven revised four-track tone-indexed merchandise catalogs are
now available from Playback Marketing.  They include: 1) jewelry,
trinket boxes and personal items; 2) household items; 3)
collectibles -- bells, music boxes, and large and miniature
figurines; 4) audio and accessories, tools and items for the car;
5) toys; 6) Christmas, and 7) a general catalog of more than 25
categories, some of which are drawn from the other tapes.  Each
tape costs $1; the set of seven costs $6.  Write in any format to
Playback Marketing, 1308 Evergreen Ave., Goldsboro, NC 27530; phone
[phone].
ACCESS BY GRAPHICS
    The Graphic Artists Guild Foundation has developed 12 graphic
symbols for use in ads, newsletters, program brochures, membership
forms, floor plans and other material.  The symbols and
accompanying text were reviewed by more than 15 organizations
representing people with various disabilities, and were developed
in consultation with the design community to achieve clarity and
standardization.  The National Endowment for the Arts distributed
500 sets of symbols free.  Copying is permitted; selling is not.
The symbols are available on IBM or Macintosh disks and on slicks,
and may be ordered from the Graphic Artists Guild Foundation for
$12.95 plus $3.50 shipping and handling.  New York residents must
add 8.25 percent sales tax.  Send orders to: Graphic Artists Guild
Foundation, 11 West 20th St., 8th floor, New York, NY 10011-3704;
fax [phone].
ADA INFO
    Several federal agencies and other organizations provide
information about the Americans with Disabilities Act and informal
guidance in understanding it and complying with it.  The list of
agencies, their phone numbers and some additional information
follows.
    Technical assistance:
    Department of Justice, titles II and III.  [phone]; in
Washington, D.C., [phone].  TDD-[phone]; in
Washington, D.C., [phone].
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Title I.  ADA
documents, [phone], TDD-[phone]; ADA questions, (800)
669-4000 (for TDD, use relay service).  Department of
Transportation, titles II and III.  ADA documents and general
questions, [phone], TDD-[phone]; legal questions,
[phone], TDD-[phone]; complaints and enforcement,
[phone], TDD-[phone]; public transportation in
general, [phone].
    National Easter Seal Society "Project Action," [phone],
TDD-[phone].
    Federal Communications Commission, Title IV.  ADA documents and
general questions, [phone], TDD-[phone]; legal
questions, [phone], TDD-[phone]; complaints and
enforcement, [phone], TDD-[phone].
    Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, ADA
Accessibility Guidelines.  ADA documents and questions, (800) 872-
2253, TDD-[phone]; within Washington, D.C., [phone],
TDD-[phone].
    National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research,
titles I, II and III.  ADA technical assistance nationwide, (800)
949-4232.
    President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities, job accommodations.  Job Accommodation Network, (800)
526-7234; within West Virginia, [phone]; ADA Work Line,
[phone].
    Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, all titles of the
ADA.  ADA technical assistance, [phone].
    The Arc, assistance in English and Spanish on accommodating
people with mental retardation.  Phone [phone]; TDD-(800)
855-1155.
    The Foundation on Employment and Disability, assistance in
Spanish, Korean, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Cantonese
Chinese, Tagalog, Hindi, Arabic, Armenian, Russian and Dine.  Phone
[phone]; TDD-[phone].
    National Council on Disability; [phone], TDD (202) 272-
2074.
    Other federal laws:
    Internal Revenue Service, information on tax code provisions.
Tax code information, [phone]; TDD-[phone].  To order
publication 907, [phone]; TDD [phone].  Within
Washington, D.C., [phone]; TDD-use relay service.
    Department of Housing and Urban Development, technical
assistance concerning the accessibility standards that apply to
residential facilities under the Fair Housing Act Amendments.
[phone]; TDD-[phone].
    Department of Transportation, technical assistance concerning
air transportation accessibility standards under the Air Carrier
Access Act.  ACAA technical assistance, [phone]; TDD-use
relay service.  Complaints and enforcement, [phone]; TDD-
[phone].
    Federal Communications Commission, technical assistance
concerning telephone accessibility standards under the Hearing Aid
Compatibility Act.  [phone]; TDD- [phone].
    Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs, technical assistance concerning accessibility standards
that apply to federal contractors.  Section 503 of the
Rehabilitation Act, [phone]; TDD, [phone].
READ IT ON YOUR OWN
    If you've ever experienced the frustration of buying a packaged
food product, taking it home and finding a sighted person to read
you the directions, General Foods USA has a solution for you.  It
offers package directions in one braille booklet, called "Product
Packaging Directions."  The book includes directions for Tang,
Kool-Aid, Jell-O, Shake 'n Bake, Stove Top, and other products.
Everyone who orders this $10 booklet will receive an assortment of
General Foods coupons.  To order, contact National Braille Press,
88 St. Stephen St., Boston, MA 02115; [phone].
NTN AVAILABLE ALL WEEK
    Narrative Television Network enables blind and visually
impaired Americans to watch TV and understand what they can't see.
NTN adds the voice of a narrator to the existing program
soundtrack.  Launched in 1988, it has grown to include more than
1,000 broadcast and cable affiliates, reaching 25 million homes in
North America.  Programming consists of a talk/interview show,
followed by a narrated movie.  It is available in the United States
on Nostalgia Television, and in Canada on the Family Channel.
  On June 1, NTN programming became available in Mexico,
Venezuela, a number of Caribbean countries, and New Zealand.  For
more information, contact Jim Stovall at [phone].
MITSUBISHI GRANTS
    The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation announced its first
set of 1994 grant recipients.  They are: Creative Adaptations for
Learning, Great Neck, N.Y., received $25,000 for the development of
tactile pre-reading materials to prepare young visually impaired
people for braille literacy; National Lekotek Center, Evanston,
Ill., received $18,000 to establish a model summer computer camp
for children ages 4 to 12, and a continuation grant of $45,000 was
awarded to United Cerebral Palsy Association, to be used to add
five new communities to the "Tech Tots" program, which assists
children at home and in school with the use of advanced technology
and instruction.
MIDI NEWSLETTER
    A new publication about MIDI -- musical instrument digital
interface -- is scheduled for publication this fall.  It will offer
information to professional musicians and brand-new users, and
include such features as telephone interviews with manufacturers
and a question-and-answer forum.  This newsletter is the product of
a users' group formed under Friends-in-Art.  The newsletter is
available by paid subscription on cassette and disk.  Submissions
are welcome.  Contact editor Jay Williams at 74 Belcher St., San
Francisco, CA 94114.  For subscriptions, contact Michael Mandel at
400 W. 43rd St. #20-L, New York, NY 10036.  When you write, relate
your experiences with MIDI and describe what kinds of articles
would be most helpful to you.
NEW MAGAZINE
    The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners has
received a grant from Paws With A Cause to publish a consumer-
oriented quarterly newsletter for people who use guide, service or
hearing dogs.  Subscriptions are available in print, tape and
braille.  Indicate which type of dog you have.  Submissions are
welcome.  For more information, contact Joan Froling, Editor, at
P.O. Box 1326, Sterling Heights, MI 48311.
NTN HONORED
    Narrative Television Network received special recognition at
the International Film and Video Festival for "Creative Excellence
in Recognition of Outstanding Audio Visual Productions," for its
work in adding the voice of a narrator to existing TV and movie
programs.  This recognition is one of the world's highest honors in
audio-visual competition.
OUR SPECIAL
    "Our Special" is a magazine devoted to women's issues, edited
by and for blind women.  It's published by National Braille Press,
and contains information on career issues, fashion, parenting,
cooking, crafts, maternity, dating, health, etc.  For more
information, call or write to National Braille Press, 88 St.
Stephen St., Boston, MA 02115; phone [phone].
RP CONFERENCE
    Visions: 1994, the biennial national conference hosted by the
Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation Fighting Blindness, will be held
Nov. 18-20, 1994, at the San Francisco Hilton Hotel and Towers.
Individuals, families and friends affected by retinal degenerative
diseases, including RP, macular degeneration and Usher syndrome,
are invited to attend.  For more information, contact the
foundation at [phone].
HIKE AT OTTER CREEK
    Are you interested in hiking?  Joyce Rogers of Cincinnati
organizes walks in the park and hikes for blind and visually
impaired people as part of the Cincinnati chapter's activities.
She and six others went on an overnight hike in Otter Creek Park
near Louisville, Ky.  The next hike was planned for Aug. 25, up
Mount Le Conte, near Gatlinburg, Tenn.  If any of you are
interested in sharing your hiking or walking experiences, write to
Joyce in print, braille, disk or tape, at 1121 Morado Dr.,
Cincinnati, OH 45238.
MUSIC REVIEW
    "The Heritage Music Review," a monthly guide to early rock,
blues, classic country, folk and traditional jazz, along with a
performance calendar for the Seattle area, is now available on two-
track audio cassette.  Send checks or money orders for $15 payable
to Heritage Music Review, c/o Doug Bright, 4217 Fremont Ave. N #5,
Seattle, WA 98103; phone [phone].  Send correspondence in
braille, cassette or print (no handwritten correspondence, please).
Canadian orders must be sent in U.S. postal or bank money orders
only.
TALKING WATCH
    The Talking Watch 6645 is available in both English and Spanish
from Etcetera Gifts.  A female voice announces the time at the
touch of a button.  Turning a mode dial allows the user to hear the
setting for hours, minutes and alarm functions.  Returning the dial
to normal keeps the watch from being reset.  It has a round shape
with large LCD readout, and comes with a long-life battery and a
one-year warranty.  To order, send check or money order for $9.99
plus $2.95 shipping and handling to Etcetera Gifts, 961 47th St.,
Brooklyn, NY 11219.  Visa and MasterCard are accepted.
WORLD SERIES GAME
    If you're going through professional baseball withdrawals, you
might take solace in the World Series Baseball Game and Information
System.  It's now available for use on IBM and compatible computers
with screen readers and synthesizers.  It includes two baseball
games, 83 teams, four ancillary programs and six information
programs.  Updates are released after each season, including the
two pennant winners and improvements.  The system costs $15;
updates cost $5.  For more information, contact Harry
Hollingsworth, 692 S. Sheraton Dr., Akron, OH 44319; (216) 644-
2421.
NEED BRAILLE?
    Adapt to Dot, a braille consultant and technical writing
service, transcribes printed material into braille.  Its projects
include utility bills, bank statements, and similar products.  It
does brailling for individuals as well.  Fees are negotiable.  For
more information, call [phone], or write Adapt to Dot, 2709
Napoleon, Indianapolis, IN 46203.
ARKENSTONE CATALOG
    Arkenstone, Inc., has a new, updated catalog called "Shared
Visions," which describes Arkenstone's product line and includes
information about a new category of orientation tools.  If you
would like a new catalog, call Arkenstone at 1-800-444-4443.
Braille and audio tape versions are available.
    Arkenstone also has available a system called First Reader that
allows individuals with visual disabilities to obtain a complete
reading system for under $1,400 or components to add to their
existing products.  Products available include: the complete First
Reader, which is a PC, voice synthesizer, screen access program and
Arkenstone Reader with reconditioned scanner and hardware, for
$1,375; the First Reader with the above configuration and a new HP
IIp scanner, $1,875; Arkenstone Reader with reconditioned scanner,
$500; Arkenstone HOT Reader with reconditioned scanner, $700;
Arkenstone Reader with new HP IIp scanner, $1,000; and Arkenstone
HOT Reader with new HP IIp scanner, $1,200.  There is a limited
number of systems available.   Arkenstone provides a 30-day, money-
back guarantee and one-year warranty for units purchased.  For more
information, call Arkenstone at the number above.
WGBH WINS APOLLO
photo here
    Descriptive Video Service of Boston, Mass., recently received
the American Optometric Association's 1994 Apollo Award, given in
recognition of DVS's distinguished service to the visual welfare of
others.  DVS is a nationwide service providing blind and visually
impaired people with video description.  Pictured here is ACB
member Laura Oftedahl, DVS's development manager, accepting the
award from Dr. Daniel Houghton Jr., the AOA's president.
BEATLES FAN CLUB
    This one's for all you Beatles fans out there.  Penny Frazier
wants you to know there's a new fan club, called The Come Together
Beatles Fan Club.  Dues are $10 yearly.  For more fan club
information, write to the club at P.O. Box 1793, Lakeside, CA
92040.  Also, she would like to know how fan club members would
feel about getting the club newsletter on cassette.  The response
rate will determine whether this will happen.  Send tape or braille
letters to Penny Frazier, 16031 Pioneer Blvd., Apt. F6, Norwalk, CA
90650.  Include a self-addressed mailer if you want your tape
returned.
NOW AVAILABLE ...
    Seedlings Braille Books for Children's 1995 catalog is now
available.  There are 32 new books in it, including print-and-
braille books with sound buttons to push for preschoolers, print-
and-braille easy readers like "Nate the Great and the Sticky Case,"
and award-winning fiction for older children, such as "Maniac
Magee" by Jerry Spinelli.  To receive a free catalog, or for more
information, call [phone], or write to Seedlings, P.O. Box
2395, Livonia, MI 48151-0395.
WORDPERFECT
    Arts Computer Products has the best seller WordPerfect 5.1
tutorial on four two-track tapes.  Regularly $55, it now costs $25
including shipping charges.  To order, send your name, address and
payment to Arts Computer Products, P.O. Box 604, Cambridge, MA
02140, [phone].
KMART CATALOG
    On July 1, Kmart launched its first "Home Health Care" catalog
featuring 300 products at more than 1,660 Kmart pharmacies
nationwide.  Items include daily living aids, kitchen and dining
devices, leisure and recreation, wheelchair accessories and
mobility assists.  Pick one up at your local Kmart store.
SKI FOR LIGHT
    The 20th annual international Ski for Light week will be held
Sunday, Feb. 5, 1995 through Sunday, Feb. 12, 1995 at The Inn at
Silver Creek, Granby, Co.  You need not possess supreme athletic
prowess to enjoy a week of outdoor fun and socializing with other
blind and visually impaired people from throughout the nation.  No
knowledge of skiing is required.
    The total cost of the week, about $550, includes
double-occupancy room, board, ground transportation to and from
Denver International Airport and a small registration fee.  Ski for
Light provides use of cross-country skis, boots and poles to first-
timers who do not have equipment.  The application deadline is
November 1.  For more information, contact Larry Showalter, SFL
Applications, 206 Vista Dr., Gahanna, OH 43230; [phone].
                           Caption
     Laura Oftedahl
                  SUMMARY OF ACB 1994 RESOLUTIONS
    Here is a brief summary of the content of the resolutions
passed at the 1994 annual convention of the American Council of the
Blind.  It is through the process of writing, debating and finally
approving resolutions that ACB policy is established by its members
in a democratic convention.
     Resolutions 94-03 and 94-24 were defeated by the membership.
Resolutions 94-07 and 94-22 were ruled to be out of order.
Resolution 94-23 was referred to the Visually Impaired Data
Processors International.  Resolutions 94-30 and 94-31 express
thanks to the host affiliates, the convention hotel and the
volunteers who assisted with the convention.
     Resolution 94-01 requests Congress to increase staffing and
training and to improve claims processing within the Social
Security Administration.  The resolution notes that applicants for
disability benefits from SSA face long delays in eligibility
determination, and office staff who often lack sufficient knowledge
about SSA programs.  ACB calls upon Congress to loosen restrictions
on SSA to allow more staff to be hired.  In addition, time limits
should be set for the determination of eligibility and the
consideration of appeals.  Since this resolution was deemed to be
a priority, it is reprinted in this issue.
    Resolution 94-02 concerns dog guides in Randolph-Sheppard
vending facilities.  Vendors and trainees in the Randolph-Sheppard
program using dog guides have pointed to program policies and
procedures which have resulted in situations where dog guides were
not allowed in vending facilities.  The resolution calls for these
practices to be stopped immediately, and commits ACB to work with
its affiliate, Guide Dog Users Inc., to bring about modification of
these federal policy guidelines and their interpretation to ensure
compliance with state and federal laws.
    Resolution 94-04 concerns the widely reported incidents of
misinterpretation of regulations which guarantee the mailing of
certain items as free matter for the blind.  ACB is directed to
continue its efforts to ensure that U.S. Postmaster General Marvin
Runyon fairly and equitably enforces the regulations governing the
free matter mailing requirement.
    In resolution 94-05 ACB continues its long tradition of
forceful advocacy on behalf of information in accessible formats:
braille, large print, cassette tape and computer disk.  In this
resolution ACB calls upon the IRS to, among other things, make all
filing forms, including every type of return and schedule,
available in braille, large print, cassette tape and computer
diskette formats.  The resolution also asks the IRS to make
selected brochures which provide general filing information to
taxpayers available in these accessible formats.  The IRS will be
expected to process all such requests within time periods
comparable to the time it takes to process requests from the
general public.
    Three resolutions passed at the 1994 convention dealt with
detectable warnings.  Resolution 94-06 expressed the organization's
outrage at the abuse of federal authority by the Architectural and
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the Department of Justice
and the Department of Transportation in acting to postpone for
three years, rather than 18 months, the implementation of the ADA
regulatory requirement for detectable warnings.  The action came
despite a lack of evidence to support the alleged concerns about
the safety of detectable warnings for people who use wheelchairs or
who have other mobility impairments.  The resolution calls upon the
federal agencies to complete research on the use of and need for
detectable warnings in environments other than rail transit and act
immediately to address the safety and access needs of blind
pedestrians by requiring installation of a standardized detectable
surface where pedestrian walkways cross hazardous vehicular traffic
ways, at reflecting pools and at stairs.
    In resolution 94-08 the organization expresses support for the
concept of combining fax technology, volunteer or employed staff
and the standard voice telephone to bring about the availability of
rapid response time reading services for blind or visually impaired
individuals.
    Resolution 94-09 calls for standardized phone listings for ADA-
required paratransit services.  It is often hard for
individuals who are new to communities or who are visiting cities
to find the number for the paratransit (or demand-responsive)
service.  This resolution urges the Department of Transportation to
require all providers of paratransit to list their telephone
numbers under the information heading "ADA Paratransit," along with
any other listing they may choose to use.
    The subject of resolution 94-10 is commendation to congressmen
John Dingell (D-Mich.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Jack Fields (R-
Texas) and Jim Slattery (D-Kan.) for their efforts to ensure the
accessibility of the National Information Infrastructure for people
who are blind or visually impaired.  The resolution particularly
commends their work which resulted in the passage of legislation by
the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 3626 and H.R. 3636, which
included landmark language requiring telecommunications equipment
and networks to be accessible to and usable by individuals with
disabilities and which also embraced the potential inclusion of
video description in television programming.
    In resolution 94-11, the council expresses its support for
passage of legislation designed to open up small business
opportunities for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
The legislation, H.R. 794, known as the "Americans with
Disabilities Business Development Act of 1993," would provide a
means by which individuals with disabilities can be made eligible
for small business loans.
    Enjoyment of, and access to, public libraries is the subject of
resolution 94-12.  It notes that many steps could be taken by
libraries to foster use and enjoyment by blind and visually
impaired patrons.  This resolution addresses local, public
libraries, not the NLS program, and it is reprinted elsewhere as
one of the priorities for action.
    Resolution 94-13 concerns the standards for NLS network
libraries which are currently being revised by the American Library
Association.  The resolution provides input to the working group
that is preparing these standards and it is also reprinted in this
issue.
    The membership turned again to transportation in resolution
94-14.  It calls upon ACB to create a transportation initiative to
develop specific legislative or other solutions to increase
transportation options and opportunities for people who are blind
or visually impaired.  The complete text of the resolution is
reprinted under the article on priorities.
    Resolution 94-15 asks the Braille Authority of North America to
take steps to make samples and information about the current
efforts to revise the Unified Braille Code available.  This
resolution is also considered a priority, particularly because it
should be considered by BANA so quickly.  It is reprinted
elsewhere.
    Responding to the possibilities created by legislation to
promote the "information superhighway," the ACB membership approved
resolution 94-16 which addresses video description.  It urges
Congress to require that new television programming be accompanied
by video description and to encourage the inclusion of video
description in existing programs when feasible.
    Resolution 94-17 responds to forces at work which could result
in the consolidation of National Industries for the Blind (which
oversees employment opportunities for blind persons under the
Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act) with another larger organization concerned
with all other people with disabilities under that program.  ACB is
now on record as opposing that consolidation.
    Two resolutions concerned various threats to consumer choice
under the Rehabilitation Act.  In resolution 94-18 the organization
expresses its vehement disagreement with interpretations by federal
officials that rehabilitation agencies providing services to blind
persons cannot receive federal assistance because these agencies
are not "integrated."  Specifically, this resolution states, "This
organization rejects and opposes interpretations of the
Rehabilitation Act -- or policy guidance based on that act -- which
emphasize integration without equal regard to consumer choice, the
value of specialized services and the unique needs of persons who
are blind or visually impaired."
    Resolution 94-19 concerns the subject of the pending
reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(known as IDEA).  This resolution calls for this legislation, which
ensures special education services, to be amended significantly to
ensure that blind children receive the education and services they
need.  Specifically, the resolution calls for choice among
educational placements based on the unique needs of the child
allowing the provision of alternative placement options which
include the regular classroom with supports, special classes,
resource rooms and residential schools.  The resolution also calls
for an assurance that braille will be taught and provided to all
children for whom it is appropriate.  Other specific
recommendations include enhanced availability and accessibility of
technology, ensure the provision of orientation and mobility
services and daily living skills, ensure that federal funds
continue to support training of personnel to provide specialized
instruction and services to blind and visually impaired persons and
require the use of video description in educational and other
videos produced with federal funds and enhance other means of
making multimedia material more accessible to individuals who are
blind or visually impaired.  Finally, ACB affiliates are urged to
work with parents, students, and state and local education agencies
to monitor and improve educational opportunities and services
provided to persons who are blind or visually impaired.
    Resolution 94-20 is the second of three resolutions concerning
detectable warnings.  It calls upon the transit system in
Washington, D.C. to complete research quickly and prepare to ensure
the safety of passengers.  The resolution is reprinted in the
article on priorities.
    In resolution 94-21, the council asks the American Blind
Golfers Association to extend its services and adapt its program to
include persons with low vision.
    Resolution 94-25 reflects ACB's long-standing opposition to
consolidation of job training funds used to provide rehabilitation
and employment opportunities for individuals who are blind or
visually impaired.  The resolution specifically opposes
legislation, which may be considered next year, calling for
consolidation of vocational rehabilitation funds with other federal
job training programs.  ACB's special interest affiliate, the
Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America, is responsible for bringing
this resolution forward and is committed to working to protect the
Randolph-Sheppard program.
    The second resolution concerning vocational rehabilitation and
the importance of choice of services is resolution 94-26.  The
resolution opposes attacks on consumers' rights to choose
employment settings, including workshops.  It points out that while
integration is an important part of the Rehabilitation Act, an
individual's ability to become integrated into the community is
dependent on employment, and that many jobs in workshops are high-
profile positions which enable individuals to have substantial
interaction with the general public.
    The third resolution concerning detectable warnings, resolution
94-27, urges the Department of Transportation to require the
installation of detectable warnings along passenger transit tracks
which are level in pedestrian areas.  Many cities have light rail
systems where the tracks are level with streets or pedestrian
plazas and these tracks are difficult to detect, thereby making
them a hazard.
    The Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America led ACB in passing
resolution 94-28 which expresses thanks to the National Council of
State Agencies for the Blind for its meritorious work toward
improvement of the blind vending programs across the nation.
Resolution 94-29 reaffirms ACB'S support for Recording for the
Blind Inc.'s request for federal funding of $4.5 million.  The
resolution points out that the additional $1 million is needed to
continue in its mission provide taped texts for blind and severely
visually impaired students as well as to produce other
electronically based texts and engage in other advanced projects.

ACB BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sue Ammeter, Seattle, WA
Ardis Bazyn, Cedar Rapids, IA
Patricia Beattie, Arlington, VA
Christopher Gray, San Jose, CA
John Horst, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Jean Mann, Guilderland, NY
Kristal Platt, Omaha, NE
M.J. Schmitt, Berwyn, IL
Pamela Shaw, Silver Spring, MD
Otis Stephens, Ph.D., Knoxville, TN
Richard Villa, Bedford, TX

BOARD OF PUBLICATIONS

Billie Jean Hill, Chairperson, Alexandria, VA
Kim Charlson, Watertown, MA
Thomas Mitchell, North Salt Lake City, UT
Mitch Pomerantz, Los Angeles, CA
Edward Potter, Goldsboro, NC
Ex Officio: Laura Oftedahl, Watertown, MA

ACB OFFICERS

PRESIDENT                              SECRETARY
LEROY SAUNDERS                  PATRICIA PRICE
2118 N.W. 21st ST.                     5707 BROCKTON DRIVE #302
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73107                INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46220


FIRST VICE PRESIDENT                   TREASURER
CHARLES S.P. HODGE                     BRIAN CHARLSON
1131 S. FOREST DR.                     57 GRANDVIEW AVENUE
ARLINGTON, VA 22204                    WATERTOWN, MA 02172

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT                  CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
STEPHEN SPEICHER                ELIZABETH M. LENNON
825 M ST., SUITE 216
LINCOLN, NE 68508