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NATIONAL
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Chicago, IL
JUDGE: CLASS-ACTION STATUS ALLOWED IN DEAF INMATES' LAWSUIT
Attorneys who brought a 2011 complaint alleging the Illinois Department of Corrections violated the constitutional rights of deaf inmates said Monday that the case is proceeding after a federal judge granted class-action status to the lawsuit. The complaint alleges deaf and partially deaf prisoners have limited access to sign language interpreters, hearing aids and other accommodations at Illinois prisons. The result, attorneys say, is exclusion and isolation because the prisoners can’t communicate, effectively leaving them to miss religious services, hearings, court-mandated classes, doctors’ visits and, sometimes, emergency evacuations. / The Associated Press
Lewis County, WA
DISCRIMINATION ALLEGED BY DEAF INMATE AT LEWIS COUNTY JAIL
A deaf inmate at the Lewis County Jail is reporting through his mother and attorney that he has not been allowed regular access to a TTY device — a telephone that allows deaf people to communicate through written messages — and has therefore not been able to have regular contact with his family or attorney. “I know he messed up and he’s just like everyone else that is in there,” said inmate James W. McMillion’s mother, Gail Goodwin. “He has a handicap. They need to make an exception for that … Everyone else gets to use the phone every night.” / The Chronicle
Rome, GA
FLOYD MEDICAL CENTER TO ADDRESS DEAF PATIENT CONCERNS
Floyd Medical Center has agreed to take steps to improve communication with the deaf community as part of a federal settlement. The agreement comes after complaints were filed against the hospital, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. FMC also agreed to pay $75,000 to the complainants. The U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated an investigation after receiving three complaints alleging that FMC violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and communication services. / Rome News-Tribune
Salem, OR
SALEM HEALTH, COMPANY REUNITE AFTER DEAF PATIENTS COMPLAIN
After struggling for more than a year to provide timely, live ASL support for deaf patients, Salem Health and Anderson Interpreting Service have re-established business ties. Anderson Interpreting was Salem Health's exclusive ASL provider for decades, until Salem Health terminated the contract in May 2014. It signed contracts with other vendors, but complaints from deaf patients began piling up. The allegations included hospital staff refusing to call for live interpreters, live interpreters not being available for hours, medical staffers' over-reliance on video relay interpreting and interpreters who were unqualified for medical settings. / Statesman Journal
Frederick, MD
SMOOTH START TO THE YEAR FOR MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
A laptop won’t save a bad teacher, Maryland School for the Deaf Principal Kevin Strachan said. But a good instructor can teach children in a treehouse. That mentality carries over into how Strachan guides his school — concentrating on hiring good staff and focusing on academic challenges for the students, he said. / The Frederick News-Post
Sacramento, CA
LEGISLATION SUPPORTING DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING CHILDREN SIGNED BY GOVERNOR
Governor Brown has signed Senate Bill 210 authored by Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton). The bill passed through the Legislature with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 210, which is co-sponsored by the California Association of the Deaf and the California Coalition of Options Schools, requires the California Department of Education to select benchmarks for tracking the progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in language and literacy development. / Sierra Sun Times
Newport Beach, CA
RESTAURANT INSTALLS TRANSLATION SERVICE FOR DEAF CUSTOMERS
A Newport Beach restaurant has taken the hassle out of ordering pizza for deaf customers, making it as easy as pie. Now, Pizza Bar is the very first restaurant in the country to install the translation service. It allows people who are deaf or who have hearing loss to communicate with restaurant staff using sign language. "It's more friendly; I'm impressed. I'm so curious why they wanted to set it up here," said deaf customer Janine Bulgin. / abc7.com
See Also NEWPORT RESTAURANT FIRST TO BECOME CERTIFIED AS DEAF-FRIENDLY / Los Angeles Times
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INTERNATIONAL
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Hamilton, ON, Canada
COLLEGE STUDENT COMFORTS A DEAF MAN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY
A college student named Godfrey Cuotto was riding a bus in Hamilton, Ontario when a man asked him for a handshake while sitting next to each other on the crowded, loud ride home. Cuotto shook the man's hand, and when the man — whose name is Robert — didn't let go after the handshake, the 22-year-old student began to think he was being pranked. But after a minute, Godfrey realized the man was deaf, and had cerebral palsy, and he was simply overwhelmed by the bus ride. / PerezHilton.com
Oxford, England
LEARNING SIGN LANGUAGE IN NEW PUSH TO SUPPORT THE DEAF
Neighbors were given a helping hand to communicate with deaf people at an interactive workshop to learn sign language. Charity Deaf Direct invited people to the course on Thursday to learn how to communicate better with people living with hearing difficulties. The workshop, at the Donnington Community Centre in Townsend Square, not only taught people some basic sign language skills, but also how to support people with hearing difficulties. / Oxford Mail
South Wales, UK
INSPIRING DEAF ROLE MODEL IN RUNNING FOR TOP AWARD
Kate Galloway may have been born profoundly deaf, but that has not stopped her from helping others overcome the problems caused by the condition. Now the Pontlliw mother-of-one is in the running for a top national award to reflect all the good work she has done. The 37-year-old, who manages the South Wales outreach team on behalf of Action on Hearing Loss, Care & Support Cymru, joined the organization as a support worker in 2005 and worked her way up the ranks to become a service manager. / South Wales Evening Post
Limerick, Ireland
VIDEO OF DEAF COUPLE'S WEDDING IN LIMERICK IS VIRAL HIT
The wedding of Tara Long, 26, from Kileely in Limerick, and Timmy Doona, from Killorglin in Kerry, who are both deaf, left the congregation in tears of joy in St John’s Cathedral in Limerick on Saturday last. A video of part of the ceremony – where the bride surprised her husband-to-be with a special song performed in sign language – has been posted online by Tara’s brother and has now counted more than 6,000 views to date on YouTube. / Limerick Leader
Derry, Ireland
DURKAN BACKS CAMPAIGN FOR EQUAL ACCESS TO TV FOR DEAF & BLIND PEOPLE
SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has supported a new campaign to stop deaf and blind people in Derry and throughout the North being excluded from on-demand TV content. Mr Durkan has given his backing to the Subtitle It! campaign by charity ‘Action on Hearing Loss’ which is calling for new legislation to be introduced that will mean people with sight and hearing loss are able to watch fully accessible video-on-demand services with subtitles, signing and audio description. / Derry Journal
Australia
MAN JAILED OVER ATTACK ON DEAF WOMAN
A man who was linked to the disappearance of Corryn Rayney during her husband’s murder trial has been jailed for 18 months over a “sustained and merciless” attack on a deaf woman. Ivan Geoffrey Eades, 50, repeatedly punched the profoundly deaf woman to the head and stomach in a secluded part of a Wilson home in June last year. District Court Judge Allan Fenbury said the pair used to drink together and Eades took it upon himself to physically assault the woman over a grievance. / The West Australian
Australia
DEAF MAN MISSING IN KAKADU FOUND DEAD
A deaf man missing for more than a week in the Kakadu National Park has been found dead following an extensive search. Allan Nadjamerrek, 28, was travelling with two others from Pine Creek to Gunbalanya when their vehicle broke down on the Kakadu Highway on October 3. They stayed the night at the Jim Jim Ranger station, police say. Mr Nadjamerrek went for a walk that night and had not been seen since. Superintendent Craig Barrett said his body was found 26km from the ranger station on Monday morning. / Herald Sun
Victoria, Australia
BELMONT MUM GETS HEARING AID TATTOO IN TRIBUTE OF DEAF DAUGHTER
Stacey Barnard wishes her daughter could hear the world like she can. “I would give up my hearing for her, unfortunately I can’t do that,” the Belmont mum said. Georgia, 7, has had hearing aids since she was 11-weeks-old — they’ve been pulled out, buried in sandpits, lost in paddocks and dropped in toilets ever since. “She just doesn’t want to look different to other people,” Ms Barnard said. / Geelong Advertiser
New Zealand
DEAF FOUNDATION CALLS FOR TV CAPTIONS
The Foundation for the Deaf is calling for more television programs to provide the option of captions. Just under a quarter of new programs on free-to-air television have captions available as a choice, and they are available for news broadcasts only between midday and 11pm. The foundation's chief executive, Louise Carroll, said countries such as the United States and Australia had legislation ensuring continuous captioning on all free-to-air channels. She said the captioning in New Zealand was some of the best in the world, but there was just not enough of it. / Radio New Zealand News
New Delhi, India
DEAF GAMES: DENIED PARTICIPATION, SHE CAME BACK WITH BRONZE
She won a bronze in the 8th Asia Pacific Deaf Games held in Taiwan but participating in the event was not an easy task for 19-year-old Parul Gupta. Her father, Avinash Gupta, said though his daughter’s name had been sent to the officials, she was removed from the list made by the All India Sports Council for Deaf. Avinash said they got to know that her name was not included after they landed in Taiwan for the games which were held from October 3 to 11. He said the council officials told them they were not able to pay the accreditation fee due to a shortage of funds and asked them to return home. / Hindustan Times
Ghana
SCHOOL FOR DEAF IN CRISIS
The Mampong Senior High Technical School, Ghana’s only secondary school for the deaf, is in serious distress due to neglect by the state to resource it to function efficiently. Information gathered by Weekend Finder indicates that the situation at the school has become dire to the extent that the institution is unable to sometimes feed its students. Sometimes, the school, through the Parent Teacher Association, has had to raise foodstuff from the community to feed the students. / GhanaWeb
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LIFE & LEISURE
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La Mirada, CA
CLUB INCREASES DEAF AWARENESS
From film screenings to expos in Los Angeles, the Biola ASL club hopes to create a higher level of deaf awareness on campus and in the surrounding area. Senior sociology major Adriana Vasquez serves as club president and originally joined the club because of her background with the Deaf community — her brother is deaf and has two cochlear implants. She started taking classes with her family to learn how to sign and continued learning at Biola. / Biola University
New York, NY
CAN DINING OUT MAKE YOU DEAF?
Now ear this: Excruciatingly loud restaurants jeopardize not only your sanity, but your hearing as well. Lest you sneer at the pun, leading otolaryngologists — better known as ear, nose and throat specialists — warn that dining at the city’s noisy restaurants can lead to hearing loss. It’s not just clubby “scene” restaurants that are dangerously loud. Doctors say anything over 85 decibels — a noise level equivalent to a car or motorcycle passing 30 feet away — can do real damage over time. / New York Post
Madison, WI
DEAF UNITY HOSTS FUNDRAISER TO SUPPORT DEAF VICTIMS
Deaf Unity invites the Madison area community to attend their annual fall fundraising event on Saturday, October 10, 2015 to support Deaf victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. This year’s theme is “One Community, One Voice.” The event features a keynote address by Tara Holcomb from DeafHope, an advocacy organization in California’s Bay Area for Deaf victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. / Madison.com
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WORKING WORLD
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Western Springs, IL
DEAF PLASMA TECHNICIAN'S ADA ACCOMMODATION CASE REVIVED
Recall the deaf applicant for a lifeguard position who was the subject of our post here. Most memorable there was the comment by the employer’s doctor to the applicant and his mom that “[h]e’s deaf. He can’t be a lifeguard.” The court there resuscitated the lifeguard’s ADA claim. Now comes a deaf applicant for a plasma center technician position. The plaintiff had requested that the employer add “visual or vibrating alerts to the plasmapheresis machines” so that she could see the alarms and to install call buttons so that donors could call her. The employer had denied those requests. / The National Law Review
Ann Arbor, MI
DEAF PIONEER'S PARENTS DEMONSTRATED THE VALUE OF ASSERTING ONE'S SELF
Their four-year-old son was deaf. It was before mainstreaming. Dr. Philip Zazove's parents were both family physicians. They thought his success in life would be limited if he was enrolled in a deaf school, as many recommended. His education and socialization would suffer. So they insisted that normal schools accept him. Their son was up for the challenge. He had already learned to read lips, went to class like his peers and prevailed. / The University Record
Rochester, NY
RIT/NTID EARNS NSF GRANT FOR SIGN-LANGUAGE RESEARCH
Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf has been awarded a $77,465 grant from the National Science Foundation that will improve mentorship opportunities for deaf students interested in conducting sign-language research. The award also will pay for American Sign Language/English interpreting services for five deaf students who will participate in the International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language in January in Melbourne, Australia. / RIT
Washington, DC
GALLAUDET U. ANNOUNCES NEW PRESIDENT
Gallaudet University trustees said Friday they have chosen a foundation executive from Minnesota with expertise in community programs to become the next president of the nation’s premier college for the deaf and heard of hearing. Roberta “Bobbi” Cordano, vice president of programs for the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in St. Paul, will take over in January as the 11th president of the school in Northeast Washington founded during the Civil War. / The Washington Post
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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New York, NY
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SIGN A SONG
The hottest ticket on Broadway this fall for a show that doesn’t involve rapping patriots is a revival of Spring Awakening. The musical about teenagers discovering their sexuality in a repressed 19th-century Germany closed just six years ago, but a new production by Deaf West feels wholly different. The songs are all there, but everything in the show is also made accessible to a deaf audience — all the dialogue is either signed or appears on superscript, and somehow this only adds to the enjoyment. / Slate Magazine
See Also 'SPRING AWAKENING' ON BROADWAY: 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CHOREOGRAPHING FOR DEAF ACTORS / The Hollywood Reporter
Internet
IS 'ANTM' CYCLE 22 DEAF MODEL NYLE DIMARCO GAY?
A fan took to Twitter on Sept. 25 to inform Lacey Rogers and "Switched at Birth" actor Nyle DiMarco that they are his favorite "America's Next Top Model" cycle 22 finalists and to ask the latter about his sexual preference since he has many gay fans. DiMarco replied to the tweet simply by saying that he is "fluid." Along with his reply is a link to an Everyday Feminism article that explains how fluid sexuality fits into the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. / Yibada
Jackson Heights, NY
FAMOUS DEAF POETS AND STORYTELLERS GATHER TO PERFORM
Renowned Deaf poets and storytellers from across the United States are converging Oct. 16-17 to perform their works at the Lexington School for the Deaf. Deaf literary legends, including Patrick Graybill, Mario Hernandez, Ella Mae Lentz and Ben Bahan, will join younger artists, such as Colin Analco, Douglas Ridloff, Rose Ann Goodman, Casandra Simmons, Ian Sanborn and Ben Jarashow. All works will be performed in ASL with vocal interpreters provided. / Marketwired
New York, NY
'DOCTOR WHO' WRITER TALKS CREATING DEAF CHARACTERS ON TV
In a season packed with two-part episodes, Doctor Who just concluded a notable one. Thriller “Under the Lake”/ “Before the Flood” sent the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) to an underwater mining facility run by the no-nonsense Cass, played by deaf actress Sophie Stone. At New York Comic Con on Saturday, writer Toby Whithouse (Being Human) told EW that he’s been “delighted” by fans’ response to both Stone and her character. / EW.com
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SPORTS
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Albuquerque, NM
DEL NORTE FOOTBALL PLAYER OVERCOMING DISABILITY
Mccormick Harry is 6-foot-5 and weighs more than 250 pounds. He's Del Norte High School's biggest football player. "He starts on the defensive line for us," said head coach Bruce Binkley. "He has a huge role for us. He does a great job and he's a big time player." But Harry experiences the game much differently than his teammates. "I label myself as deaf," said Harry. "I was born deaf." / KOAT
Darien, IL
DEAF PROGRAM AT HINSDALE SOUTH ATTRACTS HORNETS' LINEBACKER
Sometime after his junior year at Lemont, Gregory Schmidt approached his father about transferring high schools. Schmidt wanted to attend Hinsdale South and as a result the Hornets gained a football player. Schmidt fits right in at Hinsdale South. He is at least the fourth deaf player to play for the Hornets in coach Mike Barry's five seasons. With the assistance of the school's deaf/hard of hearing program, Schmidt has received the support to communicate with his teammates by having a sign language interpreter on the sideline. / Pioneer Press
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EMPLOYMENT
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You can advertise your job openings here for just $20 a week (up to 100 words, 10 cents each add'l word). To place your ad, send the announcement to mail@deafweekly.com.
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Company: ZVRS
Position: Account Manager
Locations: Check our job posting on website!
Summary: The Account Manager, reporting to the Sales Manager, will be expected to work closely with customers within their assigned area. The Account Manager will also assist the customer with product installation and train on our features and services. After installation, the Account Manager will focus on customer retention. The Account Manager will also provide follow-up training, continued education and introduction of ZVRS’ features and services, both current and new whenever scheduled, requested or necessary. The Account Manager may also be asked to represent ZVRS at presentations, workshops and tradeshows. Apply at: jobs@zvrs.com
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Rochester Institute of Technology
Coordinator - Sunshine Too
Your friend has found job(s) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) that you might find interesting. Located in Upstate New York, Rochester is a metropolitan area that provides a world class quality of life.
Rochester Institute of Technology is a privately endowed, coeducational university with nine colleges emphasizing career education and experiential learning. The RIT student body consists of approximately 14,750 undergraduate and 2,900 graduate students. Enrolled students represent all 50 states and more than 100 countries.
RIT offers degree programs ranging from AS to PhD in over 80 disciplines from fine arts to business to computing and engineering to sign language and liberal arts, to name a few.
To apply: http://apptrkr.com/674134
To view these or any of our jobs, please visit our Career site at http://careers.rit.edu
View details 1969BR - Coordinator - Sunshine Too
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Come Work With The Best!
Northeast Arc has full and part-time positions, working with adult individuals who are deaf, available in Lynn, Salem, Swampscott and Beverly, MA. You'll be working with deaf individuals using various communication skills including gestural, written and Signed English. Do you know ASL? If so, I'd like to speak with you about our direct care positions. We offer an excellent benefits package, paid trainings and the support you will need to become a successful part of our experienced, long-term team of professionals. For additional information or to send your resume, please email Kathy Tracy Ktracy@ne-arc.org.
Compensation: $12 for per diem shifts and $14 for PT/FT shifts.
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A Division of Salisbury Behavioral Health