Deafweekly December 19, 2007 Deafweekly Current Issue
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Deafweekly December 19, 2007 deafweekly current issue December 19, 2007 Vol. 4, No. 4 Editor: Tom Willard Deafweekly is an independent news report for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community that is mailed to subscribers every Wednesday and available to read at www.deafweekly.com. Please visit our website to read current and back issues, sign up for a subscription and advertise. Deafweekly is copyrighted 2007 and any unauthorized use, including reprinting of news, is prohibited. Please support our advertisers; they make it possible for you to receive Deafweekly at no charge. ++++ADV+++++ADV+++++ADV++++ Receive VRS Calls Your Way! Use VRS? Get a My IP Relay Number and receive relay calls via your PC, wireless device or even VRS! My IP Relay Number Does It All: Relay calls available through a PC, wireless devices, or VRS Make and receive calls anywhere you are connected Your personal phone number is a local number Want more information? 1) Go to www.ip-vrs.com, and then 2) click on VRS Call Me to watch a video clip about this! One Site for All Your Relay Needs IP-RELAY.com > http://www.ip-relay.com/ IP-VRS > http://www.ip-vrs.com/ MY IP RELAY > http://www.ip-relay.com/myiprelay.html MY IP RELAY NUMBER > http://www.ip-relay.com/myiprelaynumber.html WIRELESS IP-RELAY.com > http://www.ip-relay.com/wireless.html ++++ADV+++++ADV+++++ADV++++ http://www.deafweekly.com/backissues/121907.htm[6/16/2011 9:52:11 AM] Deafweekly December 19, 2007 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NATIONAL +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UNIVERSITY OF N.C. HIRES JANE FERNANDES Jane K. Fernandes, the former Gallaudet University provost whose appointment as president sparked months of protest on campus and around the world, has a new job. Fernandes, an “expert lip reader” who has “successfully navigated the hearing world,” will become the new Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina Asheville on July 1, said a UNCA news release. Fernandes, called an “exceptionally talented and experienced individual" by UNCA Chancellor Anne Ponder, was one of more than 160 applicants for the job in an eight-month process that included a 14-member search committee of faculty, staff, students and administrators. MOBILE HOME FIRE KILLS TWO IN CALIFORNIA Two deaf women were killed in a mobile home fire in Moreno Valley, Calif. around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 2. Yandiri Valencia, 21, and Melissa “Missy” Phoenix, 32, died in a back bedroom where they slept “oblivious to the flames,” said the Los Angeles Times. Valencia’s husband Alex, sleeping in the living room, survived with burns to his feet. Fire officials suspect the blaze started with a candle left burning on a TV and noted that the home was not equipped with smoke alarms. News of the deaths spread quickly at the California School for the Deaf, where both women were former students. “There’s constant tragedy with the deaf that is avoidable,” said a friend, Jeannine De Loye. FLORIDA MAN FOUND DEAD IN GROUP HOME POOL Police are investigating the death of a deaf and blind Florida man who was found in the swimming pool of the group home where he lived. Martin Malloy, 46, was discovered Saturday afternoon at Brighter Living Home Care in Port Charlotte, reported the Herald-Tribune. A staff member had tried to perform CPR on him, said a Charlotte County sheriff’s report. Malloy was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. TOWEL-CLAD MAN TASERED IN OWN LIVING ROOM A deaf Wichita, Kan. man wearing only a towel was Tasered by police responding to a false report of gunshots on November 20. Donnell Williams, 39, entered his living room to find two police officers shouting at him, said The Wichita Eagle. When he would not “comply with their orders,” one of the officers then shot him with the Taser. “I regret that it happened,” said Deputy Police Chief Robert Lee. “At the time of the Tasing they did not have any idea of his hearing condition.” Police organized a meeting with the deaf community, said KWCH, to discuss “opening the lines of communication.” SEX OFFENSE LANDS OHIO MAN IN JAIL A deaf Ohio man was sentenced to nine years in prison December 10 for possessing child pornography and for inappropriate sexual behavior with children. Frederick “Tom” Robbins, 51, was also designated a sexual predator, meaning he will have to register his address with the local sheriff’s office for the rest of his life. Robbins, a teacher’s aide and coach, “sought solace in relationships with children” because his deafness left him with “limited kinds of interactions with adults,” said his attorney, Hal Arenstein. But Judge Ethna Cooper didn’t agree, said The Cincinnati Enquirer. “What you did was inexcusable,” she told Robbins. CALIFORNIA MAN STABBED, GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED http://www.deafweekly.com/backissues/121907.htm[6/16/2011 9:52:11 AM] Deafweekly December 19, 2007 A deaf man was stabbed several times December 6 in Carlsbad, Calif. Joseph Torres, of Oceanside, was looking for a house to complete an eBay purchase when he confronted a small group of men he accused of throwing rocks at his car, reported the North County Times. Torres called police, but before they arrived one man allegedly punched him in the face and stabbed him repeatedly with a four-inch blade. Three gang members were arrested last week and charged with attempted murder, violating a gang injunction and conspiracy. Torres is still recovering in a San Diego hospital. MICHIGAN MAN FOUND INCOMPETENT FOR TRIAL Timothy Joseph Catalano, the deaf Michigan man accused of killing his long-time deaf girlfriend on August 27, has been found incompetent to stand trial. Catalano, 45, was in a Westland courtroom November 8 after undergoing eight weeks of mental competency testing, reported Journal Newspapers. Forensic psychiatrist Thomas Shazer said Catalano had “linguistic and cognitive deficits” that left him unable to fully understand his situation. Catalano, who allegedly confessed to police that he used a rifle to shoot Tammy Susalla, 44, while she slept, was ordered back to a mental health facility for treatment. PSD GETS FIRST DEAF HEAD SINCE LAURENT CLERC Larry S. Taub has been selected to succeed Joseph E. Fischgrund as the 15th Head of School at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, the first deaf person to head the Philadelphia school since the noted French educator Laurent Clerc served as Head Teacher in 1821-22. Taub, currently Superintendent of the Gov. Baxter School for the Deaf in Maine, takes over on July 1. “We are very fortunate to have Dr. Taub join our team,” said PSD Board of Trustees President Jay Basch in a news release. STUDENT REFILES LAWSUIT AFTER SIGNING BAN A deaf New Jersey student who was banned from using sign language on a school bus in 2001 has refiled a lawsuit against Brfanchburg Stony Brook school board and officials. Danica Lesko, who turned 18 in January, has been waiting for justice for seven years, her father, John Lesko, told The Star-Ledger. Danica’s parents contend the ban “set off a chain of events that emotionally traumatized” their daughter and brought in a traumatist who found the youth “mistrustful and defensive.” Said John Lesko: “All we want is to get in front of an impartial jury and be heard.” TOUGHEN LAWS, SAY CRASH VICTIM’S PARENTS The parents of a 14-year-old deaf Minnesota girl who was killed in May when her student transport van crashed into a school bus said at a hearing last month that state law needs to be changed. According to KARE 11, Bill and Karen Berglund told members of the Senate Student Transportation Education Subcommittee that school van drivers need to meet the same rigorous standards as school bus drivers, including drug tests. Noting that van driver Scott Wendt, 30, who also died in the crash, had marijuana in the van and in his system, Karen Berglund said, “We never would have put her in that van, ever.” INTERPRETER TRAINING PROGRAM IN KENTUCKY TO END An interpreter training program that Eastern Kentucky University has operated at the University of Louisville for nearly 20 years is being phased out, reported The Courier-Journal. EKU officials decided to close the program after a review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools found it lacked faculty oversight, putting EKU’s accreditation in jeopardy. About two dozen students now in the program will be allowed to finish, but “we are not going to accept new students into the pipeline,” said EKU Provost Rodney Piercey. ++++ADV+++++ADV+++++ADV++++ http://www.deafweekly.com/backissues/121907.htm[6/16/2011 9:52:11 AM] Deafweekly December 19, 2007 Want to know who called? Just check your e-mail for Video Mail and Missed Calls from Hamilton Relay VRS! 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