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SPIRIT NEWSLETTER - May 2000

Chairman's Address

Well it's finally spring! Or is it? Mother Nature can't seem to quite make up her mind what to do. Well, the weather will soon be warming up for a few months at least. The weather professionals are again predicting another hot, dry summer. I'll take the hot weather anytime.

It also means that National Access Awareness Week will be coming up the first week in June. This is a good way to let the general public know what the disabled community is really about and how important we really are to society, and that we have rights just like everybody else. Whooa! I'll stop there before I start to sound like I'm ranting and raving.

The summer recreation program will start gearing up soon, so it's time to start thinking about what great activities people want to get involved with. It also means that new volunteers are always welcome to help out with any of our programs.

And speaking of volunteers, I'd like to send out my personal thanks to all of our volunteers at K-W Access-Ability for their tireless work with the organization.

Now as my final remark for this newsletter, I would also like to thank all of those involved in putting this quarterly effort together and all of you who have contributed articles, poems, editorials, and comments.

Thank you,

Randy Barrett

Executive Director's Address

April 9 - 15 was Volunteer Appreciation Week and I would like to express on behalf of our members and staff our deep appreciation for the support and dedication our volunteers give to this agency. Thank you!

There is still no news on our future location. The date for demolition of the south end of the Mall has been moved back to November, so we still have some time to make our decision. As things stand at the moment, we still have the option of relocating within the existing Mall, or we may move to some other location if we are able to find something suitable. Our Board of Directors continues to work on this and we will keep you informed of any decisions made so stay tuned.

May 29 - June 3 is again National Access Awareness Week. While this is no longer an officially sanctioned week, we believe that it is a tradition worth preserving. It is a time to assess the progress which has been made in our community in the areas of accessibility. Again this year we will be hosting a number of events during the course of this week. Not all the details are finalized as of this moment, so if you have some ideas on how to celebrate this week, please contact me ASAP.

We are still awaiting news on our Summer Grant proposal. In the meantime we are setting up meetings with those interested in being involved in the planning of the Summer Programme. We will be holding these meetings over 2 or 3 days and are looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can make the first summer programme of the new century, the best yet.

We have been fortunate to receive some funding from the Provincial Government to purchase some new computer equipment. We purchased 3 Pentium III systems from Philip Merner at Useit Technologies, here in Downtown Waterloo. We also purchased Zoomtext Extra and Window Eyes, a state of the art Text Enlarger and a Screen Reading software package. Two of our new systems will be connected to the Internet. We are happy with the systems and software we have purchased and believe that they will give our students an opportunity to experience the most up-to-date offerings of computer technology.

Again this year our agency was challenged to play an exhibition ice hockey game against a team from Conestoga Rovers and Associates. These games have become somewhat of a tradition and have provided us with some exciting hockey memories over the years. Frank Rovers again this year backstopped an inspired rookie squad. One player from the Rovers team got so excited that he flipped his chair over backwards, something this commentator has never seen before. While the Rovers team put up a gallant effort, they were again defeated 5 - 1. In a surprising move, Frank Rovers abandoned his goal in the dying minutes of the game and moved up front, in a desperate attempt to even the score. This move, while not producing a goal, kept the pressure on our team and made for an exciting climax to a most eventful game. We appreciate the support of Frank Rovers and his staff and look forward to meeting them again next season.

Chris Hodnett

Message from your Resource Administration Person

This last year has been quite a challenge, but I must tell you that things are coming together for me. It has also been an eye-opener for me in terms of what this agency has to offer to our community.

We joined the 2000 Spring Food Drive and donated 75 pounds of food. Thanks to all who supported this food drive by making a donation of non-perishable food.

I am looking for poems or short stories you have written which we could use for our newsletter. If you would like to share one with us, please drop it off to me at the front desk.

If you have a change of an address or a new phone number, please let me know for our records.

Many of our rec programmes are slowly winding down so that we can make way for our summer programme. Our recreation volunteers are to be commended for their support and dedication to these programmes. I know that many of you are anticipating our summer programme and I look forward to seeing you again this summer and working with the summer students.

Joyce Baker

P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK Tutor

In our last newsletter, I was about to travel to British Columbia to meet an Internet penpal. I am pleased to report that I did take that trip and everything went very well.

I left on October 9, 1999. My penpal and her husband met me at the airport with a bouquet of flowers! They took me sightseeing and then to my hotel (yes, by this time the flowers were rather wilted but it was the thought that counted). My penpal had scouted around for a hotel with a wheelchair accessible room or suite. She even measured doorways, etc., to make sure my wheelchair would fit! It was not totally wheelchair accessible but it suited my needs very well.

I took my manual wheelchair with me, which made it possible for me to book Airways Transit to get to the airport. I also arranged to rent a power wheelchair during my stay. The power chair was waiting for me at the hotel.

I spent the next 7 days with my friend and her family, touring around Victoria. I also managed to do some sightseeing on my own with the power chair I rented. It gave me a real sense of independence.

Some of the highlights of my trip included "high tea" at The Empress Hotel, a trip to the naval base, and a visit to my friend's house, at the top of a hill. Although I saw some beautiful scenery in B.C., nothing was more beautiful than the incredible view from my friend's house. It was absolutely breath-taking!

Some people might think I spent those 7 days getting to know my penpal but the truth is that we knew each other very well before we ever met. We were already good friends before we met, and I am sure we will be friends for a long time to come.

I will never forget the hospitality my friend and her family showed me while I was there, and all the help my friend gave me in planning my trip. I certainly hope to visit her in B.C. again sometime in the future.

If it hadn't been for the Internet, though, I would never have connected with her, and would probably never have travelled to B.C. by myself. I hope to have more experiences like this in the future.

There may be certain risks involved in using the Internet so it is important to be careful but, as they say, nothing worth having comes without risk. So, if you are not yet "online," give it a try.

Joyce Nieuwesteeg

P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK News

Greetings once again from P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK.

I am pleased to report that P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK recently purchased three new 20 giga-byte Pentium III machines. A byte is a single typed letter or character such as a "w" or a "z". A gigabyte is a billion bytes!

Think of a box of alphabet cereal--our new 20 gigabyte machines are like giant boxes of alphabet cereal with 20 billion bytes. Considered another way, that's storage space for 4 billion words, or 16 million typed pages. If each word were a $1,000 bill, that would make a stack of $1,000 bills four times as tall as the CN tower!

Of course no one could type 20 billion words. However, machines of this size are typical for today's computers, and we now have the space to offer a full compliment of programs, applications, and utilities, as well as a variety of operating systems such as DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows 2000.

No longer will we have to keep shuffling programs between machines. Furthermore, these computers operate at lightning speeds, permitting a full range of multimedia as well as Internet audio and video.

Two of our new machines are especially outfitted for users who are blind, with accessible screen and Internet reading software including ZoomText Xtra and Window Eyes. Dennis Henderson, who has been on board now for a number of months, readying loaner PC's for those on our waiting list, helped set up and configure these machines during our regular closure week.

Future closure weeks in P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK during the year 2000:

June 26-30

September 25-29

December 18-22

The beginning of the year is always a busy time, as P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK prepares a wide range of statistical data for our benefactors, the United Way, and the Ministry of Community and Social Services. After much deliberation P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK is now well on the way to completing an interactive data-base that will allow us to quickly and efficiently generate a much wider cross section of statistical and demographic information than we ever could before.

The P.H.I.R.S.T. Link programme has in the past generated revenue through training contracts. We continue to do so by providing full-day computer work station assessments for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (W.S.I.B.). P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK is also now an authorized in-home trainer for Frontier Computers of Toronto.

We continue to rely heavily on the efforts of qualified volunteers. Recently, volunteers who might not otherwise get to know one another, were treated to a "Buda Boom Buda Bing" dinner and social time during Volunteer Appreciation week, at East Side Mario's. Some of us even managed to pick up a bit of Italian!

We are happy to continue to provide telephone technical support and trouble-shooting to computer users. However, if at all possible, we ask that you please confine your trouble shooting calls to the first and last hour of the business day. We want to give the students in attendance first priority.

Finally, be sure to check out this issue's Computer Corner. It contains a number of quick fixes and troubleshooting tips for your wayward PC. Have a wonderful summer. Best wishes always,

Ronald B. Fleming
P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK Manager

COMPUTER CORNER: A Cornucopia of Quick Computer Cures

Sometimes your Personal Computer can seem to have a personality of its own; a schizophrenic one at that! Here are some quick fixes for-some common problems you might be experiencing--

1. Accidentally typing over top of words? Press Insert to turn off Type-Over.
  • 2. cd\ not taking you to the C:\> prompt? Make sure you are using the \ by the backspace key for cd\.
  • 3. Mouse and keyboard plugged in, but not working? Turn your computer off and back on.
  • 4. An unwanted box popping up on your Windows screen? Press the Esc key twice.
  • 5. Getting a "write protected" error message when trying to save a file? Slide the tiny plastic tab in the disk's corner into position, and put your disk in the drive.
  • 6. Getting a "Non-System Disk" error on StartUp? Pop your disk out of the drive and press spacebar.
  • 7. Unwanted highlighting appearing? Press the Esc key twice.
  • 8. Can't get the @ symbol even though Caps Lock is on? Make sure you use the Shift key.
  • 9. Small lowercase letters even though you're using Shift? Press your Caps Lock key to turn off Caps Lock.
  • 10. Numbers not working on the Numeric Key pad? Press the Num Lock key.
  • 11. Delete key not working? Maybe you want backspace; and vice- versa.
  • 12. Can't type or use your mouse? Hold Down CTRL and ALT and press Delete.
  • 13. Can't get ? symbol even though Caps Lock is on? Make sure you use the Shift key.
  • 14. Everything being typed in capital letters? Press Caps Lock to turn off Capitals.
  • 15. Ctrl key not working? Maybe you want the Alt key; or vice- versa. And remember, if everything else fails, make sure the machine is plugged in. I've forgotten to check the plug too. But only once.

    Ronald B. Fleming
    P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK Manager

    K-W Access-Ability Executive Positions of the Board of Directors for 1999 - 2000

    Randy Barrett - President

    Edward Faruzel - Vice President

    Brad Lund - Treasurer

    Brad Ullner - Secretary

    Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo is proud to offer the Mariposa Scholarship valued at up to $24,000. This amount, over four years, will equal the cost of tuition and compulsory fees for your entire degree. You may qualify if you can demonstrate... b>And you are... For more information please call: (519) 884-0710 ext. 4254

    DesignAbility

    Do you or someone you know, need a specialized device to assist in daily living? Does there seem to be no commercially-available product that will meet your unique needs?

    Ontario March of Dimes' DesignAbility technically-skilled volunteers may be able to help. Projects have ranged from page turners to handwriting aids, designing and creating a whole new device from scratch, or tinkering with an existing one to make it more useful.

    Your request for a unique device will be assessed, and if selected, you will be linked up with a volunteer who will work directly with you to find a solution.

    You are welcome to contact K-W Access-Ability at 885-6640 for more information. Request forms are also available.

    MOVING ON

    Award Winning Show About People With Disabilities!

    Moving On: Independence, Access, Self-expression

    Sundays @ 12:00 p.m.

    on CBC Television

    Phone: (416) 205-2366

    E-mail: movingon@cbc.ca

    Who's News

    Christmas Party

    Our Christmas Party was held December 1, 1999 in the Viewing Lounge at the Kitchener Auditorium. It was a great turnout; 120 people attended. Thanks to Project Lift, everyone arrived both safely and in time.

    The tables were set up beautifully. When everyone had settled in into their seats, we had the honour of having Lorraine Drew- Brook say grace. Our meal was catered by Kennedy's and we were served a generous portion of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy with salad as our appetizer. For dessert, there was an assortment of pies to choose from. The entertainment for the evening was the band "Sundog", featuring Stephen Gillies and family. As the music filled the air, some of us were brave enough to venture out onto the dance floor. Others felt more comfortable chatting at their own table or mingling with others.

    Chris Hodnett presented the "CORENE HAMILL SPIRIT AWARD" to this year's recipients, Melissa Kropf and Ronald Grant. Unfortunately, Melissa was unable to attend the Christmas party this year.

    Everyone seemed to have a good time. Many people commented afterwards on how much they enjoyed themselves and how good the meal was. If anyone has any suggestions about what we can do to make next year even better, please give us a call.

    ZEHRS TAPE REPORT

    You have contributed $253,000.00 in Zehrs tapes and our agency will receive $561.00. Our thanks goes out to all who have supported us and to Joyce Nieuwesteeg for spending many hours coming up with our total.

    Please keep those Zehrs tapes coming!

    Income Tax Clinics

    In March, our agency once again co-sponsored a Tax Clinic with the Waterloo Wellington Chartered Accountants Association. We are pleased to announce that 107 tax returns were completed. A heartfelt thanks to Bonnie Gay Rees, Dubravka Metikos and Brad Ullner for their assistance and for ensuring that the clinics ran smoothly.

    THANKS! K-W Access-Ability Volunteers (1999-2000)

    We would like to thank these very special volunteers who contributed to our organization this last year. Administration

    Anne Burke

    Julie Steffler

    Recreation

    Sarah Bedford

    Shawna Bourke

    Tanya Boxall

    Kelly Elliott

    Aaron Hockey

    Kerry Longmore

    Amy MacArthur

    Mindi Mokren

    Kristin Phillips

    P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK

    Kay Biefer

    Laura Fiorilla

    Zanne Kent

    Shelley Miller

    Anne Reilly

    Martin Ritchie

    Ina Smit

    Brad Ullner

    In Memoriam

    It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the death of Melissa Kropf on Thursday May 4, 2000.

    Melissa became involved with K-W Access-Ability in September of 1997, and was active in the Bowling Group, as well as being an avid swimmer. Melissa had a great passion for crafts. Her creative work was often displayed at our craft sales. She was also an active participant in our Summer Programme, especially appreciating the fellowship of the barbeques and the Variety Show.

    Melissa was a gifted writer, often using poetry to express her feelings. She also submitted and had published a number of articles on disability issues in the Kitchener Record.

    In spite of the adversity she faced, Melissa maintained a positive outlook on life and this past December received the Corene Hamill "SPIRIT" Award. Her sense of humour and joy for life will be missed immensely and she will remain in our hearts.

    Video Library

    Guess what? Our Video Library has been expanded recently. We have quite a selection to choose from and the videos are loan out free of charge. You will find everything from romance, adventure, action-filled movies to children's videos. Please feel free to drop in and browse through our collection.

    Thanks C.R.A.

    Many thanks go out to Frank Rovers and all the people at Conestoga Rovers & Associates who made this years wheelchair hockey game a success. Your generous donation is greatly appreciated, and will go a long way to promoting wheelchair ice hockey, not only in the K-W area, but hopefully around the world!

    The score was not indicative of how good the game actually was. This was one of the best CRA teams in the history of our matches. Unfortunately, they ran into a KWAA team who were up for the challenge. Frank was his usual stellar self in the CRA goal, however, the TSN Turning Point came half way through the second period, when a CRA defense man who felt the need to score, made a beautiful end to end rush and neatly tucked the ball into the net (OF HIS OWN TEAM!!). Tough break Frank!!

    The party afterwards was excellent as usual. We all had a great time. THANKS AGAIN CRA!!

    KWAA Hockey team

    Upcoming Events

    K-W Access-Ability and the Ontario March of Dimes present a Spring tune-up for wheelchairs

    Our Annual Spring Wheelchair Clinic will be held on Monday, May 29th from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Waterloo Town Square. Shoppers Home Health Care staff will perform maintenance inspections and minor adjustments on wheelchairs and scooters. Funding consultations for repairs and new devices will be given by Ontario March of Dimes staff. To make an appointment or for more information, please call Joyce Baker at 885-6640.

    INDEPENDENT LIVING AWARDS 2000

    ...acknowledging the positive changes towards greater independence for persons with disabilities

    Wednesday, May 17, 2000 Country Hill Community Centre, 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm, hosted by The Independent Living Centre, of Waterloo Region, R.S.V.P. at 894-8350 by May 10


    11th Annual People in Motion 2000

    Over 120 exhibits on transportation, mobility, design, rehabilitation, home health care products, accessible travel, leisure activities, technical aids, employment information, corporate services and government programs.FREE ADMISSION

    Fully Accessible Building

    Attendant Services Available

    First Aid On-sight

    Complimentary Show Guide

    Food and Beverage Area

    Ample Parking

    Queen Elizabeth Building

    Exhibition Place, Toronto

    Friday June 2nd 10 am - 8 pm

    Saturday June 3rd 10 am - 5 pm

    The jobsMarket For Persons With disABILITIES for Waterloo/ Wellington will be coming to the Waterloo Recreation Complex on Thursday, June 15th. This employment fair will bring more than 40 employers from various industries to actively recruit on site for over 500 positions.

    Access Boom

    Able Sail Conestoga in partnership with the Ontario Sailing Association will be offering a new program this summer at Connestoga Lake.

    The Access Boom program is run by the Ontario Sailing Association. The program uses four boats specially designed for those with limited abilities. The Program will be run from July 10th to 14th.

    For more information please call Liz Baker at 744-2853.

    FOR SALE Ricon Lift Model R30A

    7 years old

    $2000.00 or best offer

    for more information

    call Murray at (519) 573-6118

    Mennonite Foundation of Canada: YOUTH MEMORIAL FUND

    The fund was created by the parents of four young men (Barry Freeman, Bryan Martin, T. Scott Wideman and Michael Wilson) who lost their lives in a tragic hayride accident at a youth event.

    The fund was established to benefit one or more young persons annually, who have physical disabilities or medically generated expenses relating to an accident or to a long-term physical condition and where rehabilitation and/or special equipment requirements would create financial hardship.

    Eligibility: Application will be received by Mennonite Foundation of Canada up to September 30 of each year. Grants will be awarded by the end of November of the same year.

    If interested, an application is available at K-W Access-Ability. Call Joyce Baker at 885-6640.

    I am Canadian

    You have undoubtedly heard or seen the Molsons "My name is Joe and I am Canadian" commercial. Now I don't know about you, but I find this a biting commentary on the decline of our nation. Like many, at first I was caught up in the power of the presentation, but after an initial surge of nationalism and upon reflection, I felt overcome by a great sense of loss.

    I have always been proud to be a Canadian, but these days, I feel as if it is all slipping away. It is not unusual for us to measure ourselves against the United States, and "I am Canadian" does that, but any feelings of national pride which we might experience from this, are based upon hollow comparisons and draw our attention away from the true state of affairs in Canada.

    In the past, Canadians were quietly proud, not needing to proclaim our differences with the United States, just glad to be living here. We knew we lived in a country which placed a high value on meeting the needs of all our citizens and where "we are our brother's keeper." I am afraid that country is slipping away before our eyes.

    Sadly, it is no longer the case that everyone in Canada has a place to live, or that everyone in Canada has enough food to eat, or that there is medical care available for everyone in Canada, when they need it.

    Instead, we are left to find solace in the fact that we have a Prime Minister, not a President, and that we speak English and French, not American, that Canada is the second largest land mass, the first nation of hockey and the best part of North America, at least for the time being!

    K-W ACCESS-ABILITY

    Waterloo Town Square

    Lower Level

    75 King Street South

    Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1P2

    519-885-6640 VOICE

    519-885-4526 TTY

    519-885-4526 FAX

    kwaa@kwa.on.ca

    HOURS: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 9-5, Wednesday 9-9

    STAFF

    Executive Director - Chris Hodnett

    Bookkeeper - Wayne Kaiser

    Resource Administration Person - Joyce Baker

    P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK Manager - Ronald Fleming

    P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK Tutor - Joyce Nieuwesteeg

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