I am sure you have heard about the tentative DMH (Department of Mental Health)

Lawsuit Settlement. The good news is finally here! I am so very happy that I

wonder if this is a dream. We have dreamed, and prayed, worked so hard and

waited for so long. Now, MoAD and its attorneys fought and achieved a broad

settlement agreement with DMH. The hearing will be on May 7th at which time

the Judge will make a final decision regarding the approval of the settlement. You

can read the entire tentative settlement agreement on the Missouri Department of

Mental Health website (http://dmh.mo.gov/deafsvcs/index.htm)

The "Current Issues" is now updated on the MoAD website

(www.moadshowme.org). Please review these important issues and take action.

Use the link to contact your district Representative and Senator. They need to hear

from you!

Also, the Business Session Minutes of the Biennial Conference is now available

on our website. Click on "Business Session" from the tab of "Inside MoAD." I

hope you enjoy reading the minutes and learning what the MoAD Conference is

about. As always, we love your feedback.

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) will have its 51th Biennial

Conference at the Louisville Regency Hyatt and the Kentucky International

Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky on July 3-7, 2012. The DeaFestival

Kentucky will be merged in partnership with NAD Conference on Saturday, July

7th. Hope to see you all there! Please contact the KCDHH (Kentucky Commission

on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) for all questions about DeaFestival Kentucky.

Wishing you joy and lots of fun in this beautiful Spring season!

Ella Eakins

President’s Notes By Ella Eakins

ShowShow--Me NewsletterMe Newsletter Volume 3, Issue 1Volume 3, Issue 1

Spring 2012Spring 2012

Inside this

issue:

Legislative

Updates

2

Miss Deaf

Missouri

Ambassador's

Updates

6

MoAD 43rd

Biennial

Conference

Flyer

8

Membership

Recruitment

9

Greater Ozarks

Chapter

10

Warsaw Deaf

Picnic

12

75th Annual

Marshall Deaf

Picnic

13

Alone we can do so

little; together we

can do so much.

- Helen Keller

2

Board of Directors

Ella Eakins

President

Tony Nitko

1st Vice President

Debra Galindo-Salazar

2nd Vice President

William Walker

Secretary

Jennifer Rivera

Treasurer

Sue Burdick

Representative

Greater Ozarks Chapter

Nina Wilson

Representative

Greater St. Louis Chapter

Meredith Hill

Representative

Jackson County

Chapter

Manuel Galindo-Salazar

Representative

State Fair Chapter

Thomas Green

Representative

Youth Programs

Karen Lister

State Director

Miss Deaf Missouri

Ambassador Program

Bob Crowell

Webmaster

Jennifer Rivera

Show-Me

Newsletter Editor

Current Issues Impacting Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Community

Missouri Association of the Deaf strives to monitor and educate its members on

current legislative issues in Missouri that may have significant impact of the

lives of deaf and hard of hearing people. To learn more about each legislative

action, please read below for the resolution and bills:

1) HCR 42: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children's Bill of Rights

2) HB 1704: Insurance Coverage for Newborn Hearing Aid Devices

3) HB 1361: Increase Broadband in Rural

4) HB 1219 and SB 572: Workplace and Employment Discrimination

Contact Your Legislators Today!

Legislators at the Capitol in Jefferson City would like to hear from you. They

want to know if they should vote in favor of the proposals listed above. MoAD

encourages you to step up, get involved and contact your Legislators (both

Senators and House of Representatives) and share how you feel about the

proposals. You need to show your support if you want to see this proposal pass

or not. To find out who are your Legislators, click here.

http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx

HCR 42: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children's Bill of

Rights

A resolution is being proposed in the House of Representatives that would

impact the lives of deaf and hard of hearing people. It is House Concurrent

Resolution #42 (HCR42), which is better known as Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Children’s Bill of Rights. What is a “resolution”? It is not a bill to change the

law, but serves to clarify a law or policy.

HCR42: the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children’s Bill of Rights is important to

the deaf and hard of hearing community because it impacts the lives of children

with hearing loss. What’s in it? Here are some important parts of the Bill of

Rights:

3

1) Deaf and hard of hearing children are entitled to a communications assessment and language acquisition

assistance throughout their education, beginning at the earliest possible age.

2) Parents of deaf and hard of hearing children must be fully informed of the full spectrum of educational

options and participate in their child’s educational planning.

3) Deaf and hard of hearing children are entitled to teachers, interpreters, and resource personnel who can

communicate effectively with them in their preferred mode of communication.

4) Deaf and hard of hearing children are entitled to receive their education in a place that is best suited to their

needs. This means that when educators must consider each child's needs, such as individual, social,

emotional, and cultural needs, and also the child’s age, degree of hearing loss, academic level, mode of

communication, style of learning, and amount of family support.

5) Also, Deaf and hard of hearing adults should be involved in making these decisions about how best to

educate our deaf children.

There is more in HCR42. Please go online and type in the address or click the link below to read the full

resolution:

http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills121/biltxt/intro/HCR0042I.htm

UPDATE as of Tuesday, April 10, 2012: The House of Representatives voted to adopt this resolution!

HB 1704: Insurance Coverage for Newborn Hearing Aid Devices

MoAD recognizes the frustration of parents and deaf people being able to afford hearing aids. This bill will

require health insurance companies to provide coverage for the initial amplification devices deemed necessary

by a licensed physician or audiologist to treat a newborn who has been screened and assessed for a hearing im-

pairment. Initial amplification devices include, but are not limited to, hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive

listening devices, and hearing assistive technology systems and accessories. Please go online and type in the

address or click the link below to read:

http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills121/biltxt/intro/HB1704I.htm

HB 1361: Increase Broadband in Rural

MoAD is aware that many deaf people in rural areas are frustrated in obtaining high speed Internet in their

areas. They are denied the ability to have video relay service, hence hindering their ability to have access to

communication access. This bill will allow telecommunications companies or rural electrical cooperatives to

attach, maintain and operate their equipment on another’s pole in order to promote, encourage, and facilitate

the deployment of electrical smart grid technologies and broadband communications in rural areas. Please go

online and type in the address or click the link below to read:

http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills121/biltxt/commit/HB1361C.htm

4

HB 1219 and SB 572: Workplace and Employment Discrimination

MoAD has identified two bills - SB 572 in the Senate and HB 1219 in the House of Representatives - that

would have a major impact on the lives of the deaf and hard of hearing people in Missouri. MoAD summaries

these two bills below:

1) The bill will not eliminate the discovery process. Summary judgment does not happen until discovery is

complete. What the law does is requires the deaf person to find some PROOF of actual discrimination based

on deafness - a smoking gun - for example an admission by the employer that deafness was a factor. This

rarely happens. Without such "affirmative" proof, the judge will likely dismiss the case because the employer

can always put forward some self-serving "reason" why they discharged the deaf employee. (Related - See #4)

2) Damages awarded are limited to $50,000 for employers with between 5 and 100 employees, $100,000 for

employers with between 100 and 200 employees, $200,000 for employers with between 200 and 500

employees, or $300,000 for employers with more than 500 employees. First concern here is that this makes it

harder to find lawyers who are willing to take on discrimination cases. Lawyers typically take 1/3 of the award

- $16,500 (out of $50,000), $33,000 (out of $100,000) and so forth. Lawyers would not be interested. Second

concern here, knowing that there's a limited on the awards, companies would be more likely to be less con-

cerned about meeting ADA requirements, thus violating more labor laws.

3) Punitive damages shall not be awarded against the state of Missouri or political subdivisions in MHRA

cases except for in discriminatory housing practices cases. This means that we can not sue the state

government or tax-exempt organizations. The state government usually are the largest employers of disability

people.

4) The contributing factor is the burden of proof must show there are evidence that the act of discrimination

that may appear that the disability, or age, or heritage or gender may be one of several reasons for

discrimination. Motivating Factor is the burden of proof that must show that the disability, age, heritage, or

gender IS the reason for discrimination. Motivating factor is harder to prove. Example for motivating factor, if

you remember the ABC show "What would you do?" where the manager told the deaf applicant, "I won't hire

you because you are deaf" The contributing factor would be taking the application, and then throwing it away

without even thinking about offering the deaf person a chance for an interview.

5) The bill will limit us to only sue the company, we will not be able sue the individual who committed the act

of discrimination and the person will not be held responsible of discrimination if the company is found guilty

of discrimination.

UPDATE: Governor Nixon has vetoed both bills. However, the Senate and House of Representatives could

vote on these bills again to override the Governor’s veto. Keep an eye out on these bills. For more information

on these bills, please go online and type in these addresses or click on the links below.

HB 1219

http://www.house.mo.gov/billsummary.aspx?bill=HB1219&year=2012&code=R

SB572

http://www.senate.mo.gov/12info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=9244

Do Your Part as a Citizen of Missouri! Protect Your Quality of Life!

5

Photo credit: William Walker

6

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful weather that we’ve been having

lately! I would like to share what the Miss Deaf Missouri Ambassador Committee,

along with many wonderful volunteers, have been diligently working on for the

deaf and hard of hearing community in Missouri. As we continue to make plans in

the coming months, we hope our efforts will make it easier to locate and utilize

opportunities available for our deaf and hard of hearing youth. The upcoming

months promise to be eventful, so keep your eyes peeled for future updates that

will not disappoint. As always, please continue to support us as we encourage our

youth to become our leaders of tomorrow for MoAD one day.

As the Miss Deaf Missouri Ambassador, I’ve been working with several of our deaf and hard of hearing

community leaders on how I can become a stronger voice for our youth. Recently, I had the pleasure of mak-

ing an appearance at Deaf Inc’s 3rd Annual Deaf Winterfest in St. Louis on Sat., March 17th. I had a great

time catching up with old friends and meeting new people who are passionate about supporting our deaf

culture and increasing awareness about resources available to people with hearing loss, their families and

friends. When events like this occur, I am always inspired by how we are all able to come together as a

community and celebrate our deaf culture. This is something we can all take pride in.

Finally, I want to encourage you to attend the 51st Biennial NAD Conference! The conference this year runs

from July 3-7 in Louisville, Kentucky, in partnership with the DeaFestival Kentucky. The conference is

especially exciting for me, since Miss Deaf America Ambassador will be crowned on Friday, July 6! This

will mark the end of the Miss Deaf America Ambassador Program, so please come support me, your last

Miss Deaf Missouri Ambassador. You can find out more about my story and the Miss Deaf America

Ambassador program by visiting my website, missdeafmissouri.com, or liking my page on Facebook,

facebook.com/MissDeafMissouri.

Thank you, and see you in Louisville!

Enclosed are the donation

form and sponsorship letter.

Please help donate or

sponsor our Miss Deaf Missouri Ambassador for her trip to NAD Biennial

Conference this July!

7

Chapters of Missouri Association of the Deaf, are

you all up for a statewide competition?

Do you want to win a FREE Appearance of Miss Deaf Missouri

Ambassador in your Town?

HOW????? It is real easy and simple…..

Plan a Fundraising dinner at your Chapter’s choice of restaurant. Pick a date.. Spread the word to your community. Gather friends for

dinner.. Eat and Chit Chat… Sounds Fun and Simple??

Percentage of your dinner will proceeds to Miss Deaf Missouri

Ambassador Program which will pay for her trip to Miss Deaf America

Ambassador Program in Louisville, KY this coming July.

Deadline: June 15th

Any questions, please contact MDMAP State Director, Karen Lister:

sdap@moadshowme.org

SFC ?????

JCC

GSLC GOC

8

43rd Biennial Conference

August 1-4, 2013 Mark your calendar!!

MoAD Conference will be held at: Crown Plaza St. Louis-Clayton

7750 Carondelet Avenue Clayton, MO 63105

August 1st (Thursday) Registration and Social night

at 5pm to 9pm

More information will be posted in

www.moadshowme.org.

If you have any questions,

please contact William Walker at

conferencechair@moadshowme.org

9

Membership Recruitment

MoAD needs YOU to help recruit

more members to help expand our

organization!

Why is it so important to join

MoAD??

Key facts to let the potential

members know why it is so important

to join MoAD:

Help promote awareness of

issues that may impact the Deaf

and Hard of Hearing people’s lives

Help advocate for positive changes among the Deaf and Hard of

Hearing community in Missouri

We need your IDEAS to improve our organization especially for

our future generations (youth)

The more members we have in our organization, the better we

will be able to help meet Deaf and Hard of Hearing people’s needs

in Missouri.

The bigger MoAD gets, the stronger we get! Especially to show

our state government how serious we are about improving Deaf

and Hard of Hearing people’s lives here in Missouri.

Remember Missouri’s state motto? Show Me State! So show us

what you can do to help expand MoAD.

Please contact chairperson of

Membership Recruitment committee Debra Galindo-Salazar at

2vice-president@moadshowme.org to let her know that you are interested to help!

10

Front row (left to right): President Marcia Simpson and Vice President Tim Stewart

Back row (left to right): Treasurer Steve Murphy, Secretary Deadra Stewart, and Representative Sue Burdick

First official meeting for Greater Ozarks Chapter (GOC) was held on Saturday,

January at St. John "Chub" O Reilly Cancer Center in Springfield, Missouri.

Members elected new officers and chapter representative, which are in the

picture below. Congratulations GOC! President Marcia Simpson remarked that

Please check out their Facebook page “Greater Ozarks Chapter” at https://

www.facebook.com/pages/Greater-Ozarks-Chapter-of-

MoAD/308637709166193?ref=ts

President Marcia Simpson remarked how excited she is about this chapter, and

they are all looking forward to see this grow. Keep your eyes peeled on a possible picnic hosted by this

chapter in June.

11

Upcoming Events, Meetings, and Conferences:

April 28, 2012

MoAD Town Hall Meeting / Board of Directors Meeting Where: SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence in Cape Girardeau, MO See flyer on page 5

May 5, 2012 28th Annual Warsaw Deaf Picnic Where: Warsaw, MO Hosted by: State Fair Chapter (see flyer on page 12)

June 9, 2012 Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Day Where: Six Flags in Eurkea, MO Hosted by: Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

July 3 - 7, 2012 51st Biennial National Association of the Deaf Conference Where: Hyatt Regency Louisville and the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, KY Hosted by: National Association of the Deaf

July 14, 2012

75th Annual Marshall Deaf Picnic Where: Marshall, MO Hosted by: State Fair Chapter (see flyer on page 13)

July 14, 2012

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Day Where: Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, MO Hosted by: Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

August 11, 2012 MoAD Board of Directors Meeting Where: Joplin Public Library in Joplin, MO See last page for address and time

September 15-16,

2012 (TENTATIVE) Deaf Awareness Weekend Where: Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO Hosted by: Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

October 12-14, 2012 19th Annual Missouri Interpreters Conference 2012 Where: Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, MO Hosted by: Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

October 13, 2012 Deaf Empowerment Symposium Where: Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, MO Hosted by: Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

12

13

14

More Amazing Historical

Facts! Submitted by Sharlene

Haney

The Olympics were first recorded in 776

B.C., there was only one event — the

200-yard dash.

Chess originated in India, where it was

first played with four players. The

Persians, then Arabs, modified the fine

board game before passing the practice

down to Europe.

Chinese acrobatics were performed at

least as far back as the Han Dynasty,

around 200 B.C.

Central American Mayans developed

their own team sports similar to lacrosse,

football, and soccer.

Ancient Egypt had its own version of the

Olympics, featuring gymnastics, javelin,

running, swimming, and other events.

In 1457, the Scottish parliament

outlawed golf and football (soccer)

because they were dangerous time-

wasting nuisances that detracted from

more important pursuits--like archery.

Native American tribes had many

versions of, and names for, the modern

sport of lacrosse. The Cherokee called it

"Little Brother of War," because it was

good training for combat.

The modern marathon owes its name to

the story of an ancient Greek messenger

who ran nearly 26 miles from the

battlefield of Marathon to Athens, to

proclaim the Greek victory. The story is

almost certainly untrue, but the name

stuck.

Crossword Puzzle

ANSWERS:

15

In light of April being “National Poetry Month”, we should

give recognition to this fine Deaf poet and journalist Laura

Redden Searing.

She was born on February 9, 1839 in Somerset County,

Maryland. Her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri when

she was a child. She lost her hearing at about 11 or 12 years

old due to spinal meningitis. After becoming deaf, Laura

attended and graduated from Missouri School for the Deaf in

1858.

Upon her graduation from Missouri School for the Deaf, she

did not enroll in college. Some certain colleges would

accept her considering her good literary skills and unmarried

status, but there were no colleges that accepted deaf women.

At that time, National Deaf-Mute College (now called

Gallaudet University) did not admit female students (not until

1881). So, instead of going to college, she returned to St. Louis where she took a job as an

editor for the St. Louis Presbyterian. Laura also wrote several poems and articles that appeared

in the St. Louis Republican under the pseudonym name Howard Glyndon. This is because

back then, women were not taken seriously as journalists.

Using her pseudonym name, she published a book of poems called “Idylls of Battle”. Laura

also composed the words to the song “Belle Missouri” which became the war song for the

state. Laura also wrote several articles for various publications such as New York Times and

New York Sun, and some magazines such as Harper. To give you an idea of what one of her

poems is like, below is an excerpt from Idylls of Battle:

IN TIME OF WAR

There are white faces in each sunny street,

And signs of trouble meet us everywhere;

The nation’s pulse hath an unsteady beat,

For scents of battle foul the summer air.

A thrill goes through the city’s busy life,

And then—as when a strong man stints

his breath -

A stillness comes; and each one in his place

Waits for the news of triumph, loss, and

death.

Deaf Poet and Journalist Laura Redden Searing

Laura Redden Searing

Missouri Association of the Deaf

c/o Jennifer Rivera

PO Box 218

Mexico, MO 65265

www.moadshowme.org

3rd Quarter Board of Directors Meeting

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Joplin Public Library 300 S. Main Street Joplin, MO 64801

9:30 AM - 5:30 PM

Everyone is welcome to attend!