Neatly tucked away on the second floor of the North Dakota State Library are two small recording studios. Volunteer announcer Joyce Sauer, a retired nurse, slips in about 10 minutes before she begins her 8:30 a.m. Thursday recording. She collects the newspaper clippings prepared for her and, in a tiny white booth, reads news from the Bismarck Tribune for the next 45 minutes.

Since she started in 2002, Sauer has volunteered nearly 400 hours for those who can’t physically read the paper themselves or have impaired vision.

“It is a very important service. I love reading the newspaper. I do not have a computer. For me, I have to have a paper in my hand. I feel it’s a good service to read for people who are unable to read the news or hold a newspaper,” she said.

The non-profit Dakota Radio Information Service radio reading program was founded in 1982 to provide access to newspapers through closed circuit radio receivers. It first aired in March 1984, and grew from 39 listeners to 295.

The radio service runs from the same office as the state Library Talking Books Program. It is subsidized with $45,000 a year by the Legislature to allow the Talking Books program staff to schedule readers and prepare the three-hour news tapes for broadcast. The non-profit Dakota Radio Information Service board members also seek grants and fundraise to support services and upgrade equipment, said Sue Hammer-Schneider, director of the state Talking Books Program.

Abby Bardell arrives shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday. A library staffer hands her a hot cup of coffee. She jokes about “what a diva I am.” Bardell reads the news features for the next half hour in a separate recording booth 5 feet away from Sauer.

Bardell has volunteered more than 600 hours since 1996 for the Dakota Radio Information Service program.

“It’s just such an easy thing to do. I think a lot of the patrons – their visual impairments give them some isolation, emotionally, physically. A lot them are isolated geographically as well. For them to hear a warm human voice is a really valuable human need,” she said.

Sauer and Bardell are among 61 volunteers reading local newspaper articles, grocery ads and feature columns for the program. The studio equipment is simple. Reel-to-reels record their voices and the segments representing different parts of the state are aired together in three-hour increments on special receivers (radios). These receivers are set to frequencies based on where they live in the state. Dakota Radio Information Service wants to transition to a digital system before the end of the year, Hammer-Schneider said.

Papers read include the Minot Daily News, the Williston Herald, the Dickinson Press, the Jamestown Sun, the Valley CityTimes Record and the Bismarck Tribune.

Williston-Dickinson news and Jamestown-Valley City news are grouped regionally in the recordings. On the east side of the state, listeners hear programming from Minnesota Talking Book Radio system, which airs 24-7. The North Dakota news slots air from 2-5 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. weekdays. Prairie Public Radio is a partner in the project. The Dakota Radio Information Service is also supported by Lions clubs.

Dakota Radio Information Service listeners apply for the service.

“They could have physical conditions like Parkinson’s disease or MS,” Hammer-Schneider said. If it’s a visual problem, it could be temporary – like cataracts – or full vision loss, she said.

Hammer-Schneider said volunteer candidates audition with a script of news articles and words to test them for annunciation, knowledge of words, clarity and voice projection. The stories from the newspapers aren’t edited, but obituaries are, for brevity, she said.

“Sometimes, I get emotional. I have difficulty sometimes reading a sad story, a heartwarming story. It’s a wonderful program. There’s good staff here – very supportive,” Sauer said. “I love to read and I can’t fathom having that taken away. As we age, more and more of our peers have become troubled with vision problems.”

“The purpose is to get information out. We hear so many times that when people lose their eyesight or can’t physically read the newspaper … that they just miss reading the newspaper. This is one way to get the newspaper read to them,” Hammer-Schneider said. “It is all local news.”

Before the Internet, programs like these were the only way people could get local news without people reading them the newspaper, Hammer-Schneider said. Listeners consist of mostly seniors, and the audience keeps steady at around 300 people, she said.

Milta Zimmerman, 88, of Elgin, who suffers from macular degeneration, said she has been a Dakota Radio Information Service listener for at least five years.

“Mondays, I never miss, unless there’s a medical appointment,” Zimmerman said. “I used to get the Tribune, but when my eyes (went bad), I had to stop it. If I get the daily news, I keep up on the world. I like to know what everyone is talking about.”

Her son, Mark, also volunteers for the program, she said.

The Barbadian society has been the benefactor of the service provided by the Lions Club of Barbados Central for the past 32 years.

Under the motto ‘We serve’, the Lions Central Club has been doing precisely that, achieving their goal one individual, charity or community at a time. Through donations, contributions of time and effort, and community outreach, the Lions have been delivering service of the highest standard.

Since last year’s mid-year church service, this Lions Club has expanded their projects and programmes to include the hosting of their annual Language Arts quiz in the schools, sight and visual conservation, providing scholarship and prize awards, organising outreach and youth programmes and conducting life skill training, to name a few.

President, Jocelyn King said at this year’s mid-year service held at St. Barnabas Church that in 2012 the Lions will continue to serve under the theme, ‘Serving with Gratitude’.

In the future as the charitable organisation continues to grow from strength to strength, King pledged that they will seek to work with more members of the society who are underprivileged and less fortunate.

They will also proceed with providing assistance to children who require expensive medical treatment and forge bonds with more organisations such as the Thelma Vaughn Home, HIV/AIDS Food Bank and the Welfare Department, which they have partnered with in the past.

Sharing in the occasion for celebration were members and presidents of the sister Lion Clubs in Barbados. Lions Club of Barbados Central accepts that to serve is their ultimate goal and have plans to expand their reach even more to mitigate and satisfy the growing need which exists in the society.

John Birk and his committee have just released details on this year’s Uniontown Lions sponsored Bus Trips. The first one is scheduled April 21-27 to Nashville Tennessee. Many attractions on the way like: Opryland, Ashville and Charlotte. This is promises to be a great ‘Spring Break’ trip. The second trip for 2012 is scheduled for Niagara Fall Ontario, September 30-October 6, 2012. Many attractions of interest on the way including: Toronto, Lake George, Ottawa, Lake Placid, Maid of the Mist, casinos, CN Tower to name just a few.

Interested? Contact John Birk: 330.699.2333

That’s it for now
King Lion Gary

Dannevirke Lions are determined their 50th anniversary year will be a roaring success.

President Alan Holmes said the club was bucking the trend of dwindling numbers, with a resurgence of interest from people wanting to serve the community.

“We’ve got new Lions, left, right and centre, with a membership of 40 now and still growing,” he said.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a half–dozen new members in the past few months, along with some who have transferred from Wellington.”

But with an expanding membership, Mr Holmes has had to find projects for idle hands.

“I’ve got to come up with more community-orientated work for members now, – projects to keep them all busy – to make sure no one gets bored.”

Already Mr Holmes and his fellow Lions are busy planning for their second-ever Zone 3 Youth Talent Quest.

“This year, we’ve got seven Lions clubs throughout the zone keen to help with this project,” Mr Holmes said.

“I think everyone saw how successful the inaugural event was last year.” Norsewood and Dannevirke clubs will combine their resources, with Lions club members from Woodville, Pahiatua, Tararua, Takapau and Waipawa all on board.

After elimination rounds, the final of the talent quest will be held on May 19 in the Dannevirke Town Hall.

With the Dannevirke club’s ever-expanding membership, Mr Holmes has decided it’s time to really build on success by creating Dannevirke’s own Legoland.

“I contacted the president of the Lions Club in Billund, Denmark, who put me on to Lego executive Eric Maugein and I’ve floated the idea of a Legoland in our Scandinavian neck of the woods,” Mr Holmes said.

“After all, they’ve got them in Europe, the UK and the US, so why not here where we’ve got such strong Scandinavian connections?

“You know Lego is the biggest construction company in the world and also makes more tyres than all the world’s manufacturers, so I think they’d make a great partner for our Fantasy Cave.

“Perhaps they could buy the building the cave occupies.”

While he works on his plans, Mr Holmes has been in touch with Lego’s New Zealand chief executive, Hugh Campbell, to organise a Lego building competition.

“The competition will be open to everyone and, appropriately, entrants will be asked to build Lego lions and submit a photograph,” he said.

“Dannevirke Lions members will then select the 12 best, give them a barrow load of Lego bricks at the Town Hall and let them go for it.

“We could be on to a real winner.”

Members of Lions Clubs International including those from Cornwall, Eastern Ontario and Ottawa area will be heading to South Korea for an important event. This event is the 95th annual convention in Busan, Korea of Lions Clubs International. During the recent visit to Korea, I heard a lot about preparations being made in Korea to welcome Lions from around the world.

This year is going to be a big year for Korea. The World Expo 2012 is also being held in Korea. The international convention is the Lions Clubs International’s premier event for all worldwide members. This convention will begin on June 22 and continue until June 26, 1012.

“Spanning five full days, we have planned for a great and memorable event in a fabulous location,” a member of the Lions Club in Busan said. “This convention will bring together Lions from all over the world to celebrate, fellowship and to learn new fundraising ideas.”

Busan is a port city with its endless emerald sea. It is a paradise for seafood lovers and an exciting destination where visitors can enjoy the vibrant Korean culture all in one spot. Among top attractions in Busan are the marine sports beach of Haeundae, the movie district centered near Busan’s International Film Festival Square, the 1300 year old Buddhist temple Beomeosa, and brilliant night views from the Diamond Bridge.

There are many mineral spas located inside Busan Shinsegae Centum City, the world’s largest department store. Visitors will be able to view and experience traditional Korean wedding ceremonies or the making of kimchi, a well-loved Korean fermented cabbage dish.

Joseph L. Wroblewski, the past international president and chair of the convention, said the international convention offers a once-a-year opportunity to gather together to discuss the important topics of the day that will shape the future of their association as they forge new friendships along the way. “I warmly invite each of you to the 95th Lions Clubs International Convention in Korea’s cultural capital of Busan and look forward to seeing you there,” Wroblewski said.

Closer to home, its program for helping needy people in obtaining prescription eyeglasses plays a low-key role in helping give many the gift of better sight during tough economic times for some.

Individual clubs have their own programs and some are seeing an increase in need as jobless numbers have swelled while other clubs are not.

The Auburn 49er Lions club averaged 18 referrals a year in 2009 and 2010 but that increased to 25 in 2011, said eyeglasses coordinator Kelly Post. This month, there have been seven calls for glasses.

Post said that a number of reasons could be responsible for the increase. Until two years ago, Medi-Cal’s welfare medical program paid for eye exams and glasses. Now it pays for just the eye exams, she said.

Some of the calls could be attributed to an increase in word of mouth among people needing eyeglass assistance. Others are coming because of referrals from groups assisting the poor like Hope, Help and Healing and The Gathering Inn, Post said.

“More people are homeless, more are out of a job,” Post said. “And there are more parolees.”

At the Loomis Lions Club, Vision Assistance Chair

No spike in Loomis

Jack Morris said the group has handled four aid requests since July, with one of the callers finding another way to replace their broken frames.

In Auburn, the Host Lions group had fielded six requests since the end of December – which is depleting the limited amount of referrals that the Lions can send to an optometrist, said eyeglass chairman Dennis Lloyd. The group has the ability to handle about 20 referrals a year, he said.

Dr. Mark Starr, county Health & Human Services deputy director, said Placer has not had an eyeglass program for the needy but will steer them in the direction of the Lions on an informal basis. The county will provide emergency medical eyecare but doesn’t provide eyeware, Starr said.

Lloyd said the number of requests seemed to be linked to an increase in referrals from the county.

“We can handle a limited number of people but we’re not part of the welfare system,” Lloyd said.

Morris said that many Loomis Club members felt a worsening economy and lack of jobs would result in a substantial increase in requests for vision assistance. But there has been no spike in requests. The Loomis Lions normally handle three or four a year, he said.

One of the recent requests had been forwarded by another Lions Club and another by a welfare-related organization, Morris said.

Morris said that different communities have different rates of awareness on the Lions vision program and that could have something to do with a lack of increased demand.

“I think there are many needy persons but I’m thinking they have other ways – paying for them themselves or with insurance, for instance,” Morris said.

He added that the granting of funds for an exam and new glasses – which averaged $190 last year – is not automatic. The club needs to confirm the person’s identification and then move forward on an eye exam. If the optometrist says glasses are required, Morris can authorize the purchase.

“After that, there are no further requirements – they don’t need to come and talk to the club,” Morris said. “But most of them find a way to send us a card.”

The Lions have gained worldwide recognition for their work to improve sight and prevent blindness. That work includes recycling eyeglasses, supporting Lions Eye Banks that provide eye tissue for sight-saving surgeries, and screening the vision of hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The effort goes back to 1925, when Helen Keller called on the Lions organization to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.”

“It’s a very rewarding thing and we Lions are proud of it,” Morris said.

Worried about thin ice? Forget about it, the St. Michael Lions say. There’s a layer about 16 inches thick on Beebe Lake today, and with temperatures at night below freezing, that’s not going anywhere.

“We’re more concerned about a storm,” said Joe Dehmer, a longtime Lion and one of this year’s organizers for the annual St. Michael Lions Ice Fishing Contest. “This is such a family event, we love it when we can have some good weather and get the kids out there.”

The ice fishing tournament, which runs from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, is one of the largest fundraisers for the local Lions Club, which shares Lions International’s mission of service and eye health. Funds raised from this year’s tournament benefit everything from local scholarships (for St. Michael-Albertville High School graduates) to other community service projects.

“It’s really a great group of guys, very talented,” said Jim Pichler, another of this year’s organizers. “They work hard at it. But it’s a lot of fun.”

This year’s ice fishing event promises to be a lot of fun, as well. Pichler said the community support from local businesses has been “amazing,” with prizes from Hardware Hank, Cabela’s, Marketplace and many more.

The St. Michael-Albertville Boy Scouts will be on the lake selling refreshments.

As for Dehmer and Pichler, they’ll be on hand judging fish and making announcements.

“You get the kids running up to you with fish of all sizes, and you want to make each one feel special,” Dehmer said. “It’s pretty fun.”

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids. They are available from Lions members or at the Hardware Hank store in St. Michael. Raffle tickets are $5 each and get anglers a chance to win items like a Vexilar fish finder or a Strike Master gas-powered auger, among other items.

KRWC Radio will be on hand with contests, and a live broadcast as well.

Due to the warm temperatures, participants will not be allowed to park on the lake. The Lions (in their traditional yellow vests with the purple logo) will provide parking instructions and some shuttles to the ice.

Holes will be drilled Friday evening by the Beebe Lake Association, so anglers should be careful when they head out to find their spot.

CANTON: A state official alerted the Stark County Board of Elections in July about flawed ballot language in a Lake Township police levy that was approved in November but successfully challenged in court.

Gretchen Quinn, elections counsel for Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, pinpointed the error in the statement about the cost of the levy that caused Common Pleas Judge John G. Haas to void the election results Wednesday.

“(B)allot language states tax will be levied ‘at a rate not exceeding four and one-half (4.50) mills per dollar of taxable valuation, which amounts to forty-five cents per one thousand dollars in taxable valuation.

“A 4.5 mill levy yields $0.45 per $100, but $4.50 per $1,000,’’ she continued in a handwritten note. “BOE may want to confirm millage with taxing authority.”

The July 27 communication to an election board employee included approved ballot language reflecting the correct cost.

What happened after that is in dispute.

Jeffrey Matthews, deputy director of the county board of elections, said an elections worker said she told township attorney Charles D. Hall III about the problem over the phone.

“That did not happen,” Hall said Monday.

He said township officials first learned of the matter when Uniontown police Chief Harold Britt went to the board of elections to get a list of township voters. The information then was relayed to township Fiscal Officer Ben Sommers on Oct. 13. Sommers then told Hall.

But by then absentee ballots already had been mailed and others had been prepared.

Hall said local elections officials missed the chance to attach the memo from the Secretary of State’s Office on Aug. 25, when Stark elections Director Jeannette Mullane sent the township a notice saying the police levy would be Issue 6 on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The letter, received at the township office Aug. 26, says in part, “You will receive a copy of the ballot language once it is approved by the Ohio Secretary of State.”

“If that attachment had been delivered to the Board of Lake Township Trustees on Aug. 25, the Lake Township Board of Trustees would still have had the opportunity to correct the ballot language,” Hall said.

Matthews acknowledged the mistake in the ballot wording should have been communicated to the township in writing.

“It’s clear there were errors made in procedure, but ultimately what was submitted to the voters matched the resolution that was passed by the township trustees,” Matthews said.

A similar mistake recently occurred in ballot language Hall submitted to the Board of Elections for Perry Township, where he serves as law director.

The resolution to put the issue in the March primary election said the 0.5-mill police renewal levy would cost 50 cents for each $100 of property valuation.

Matthews and Mullane sent a letter to Hall on Dec. 21, telling him, “One-half mill should be five cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation.”

Hall said he fixed the error promptly, as he would have done if notified in a timely manner of the problem in Lake.

Lake Township trustees are appealing to the Ohio Supreme Court the ruling that negated the results of the November police levy vote. The county Board of Elections decided Monday not to join the appeal.

The ballot issue expanded the territory and taxing authority of the former Uniontown Police Department to all parts of Lake Township not served by the Hartville Police Department.

Judge Haas’ order has been stayed by Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione, and Lake Township police cruisers are still patrolling the newly created district.

The local Lions Clubs in District 4-C4 which includes approximately 42 Lions Clubs from San Francisco to Palo Alto have now developed a new program to not only “serve” the public, but now to “protect and serve” the public, as well as the members in our own Lions Clubs, as well.

The new program being implemented is named, “Operation Guardian Angel.” Lions District 4-C4 obtained grants for the purchase of four Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) from both the Sequoia Healthcare District and the Peninsula Health Care District. In addition to the grants, Lions District 4C4 is working with both of these agencies to help provide Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and basic AED training to our Lions volunteers at little to no cost.

During large community events sponsored by various Lions Clubs who work to help raise funding for local charities, schools, homeless programs, etc., what could the Lions Clubs do if a member of the public was to suffer immediate cardiac arrest? Local emergency services do an outstanding job responding to medical emergencies, but minutes and seconds can save lives or even prevent permanent brain damage.

Our new program “Operation Guardian Angel” will now provide the availability in each of the 4 Regions within the Lions District 4-C4, with an AED which will be made mobile and taken to large Lions sponsored community events by a Lions Volunteer trained in the use of CPR and the AED. In the event of a medical emergency, a trained Lions volunteer can, if necessary (and prior to the arrival of emergency services), provide life saving CPR or use the AED to aid the citizen or even a fellow Lions volunteer who might be stricken when volunteering at the event.

District 4-C4 Governor Esther Lee, her District Cabinet officers and every single Lions Club member within San Francisco County, San Mateo County and the city of Palo Alto not only adhere to our Lions organization motto, “We Serve,” but are now taking our service and commitment to our communities a step further to now “Protect and Serve” those who we help and support.”

All of the clubs in Lions District 4-C4 thank both local health care districts for their generosity and sharing our Lions vision to help and protect the citizens in every community we serve in, but also to help protect our Lions volunteers who work so hard serving others in need.

The North Oldham Lions Club is weeks away from finalizing its donation of Belknap Community Park in Goshen to the Oldham County Public Library and Oldham County Parks and Recreation.

Everyone involved envisions the park playing an important role in each group’s future: for the library, it will be the site for the soon-to-be second-largest branch in the county; for the parks department, it will be a new foothold in that part of the county; and for the Lions Club, it will be a place where the community can still gather while the club refocuses on its mission.

Nearby residents likely will see some changes soon to the land, with others following over the next few years.

“We haven’t had, as a county, a park in North Oldham,” said Oldham Judge-Executive David Voegele. “I hope to make a wow statement” with what it will become.

Oldham County Public Library officials, similarly, hope to bring something different to the area.

“We want to do something really spectacular,” said Susan Eubank, library director.

Lions Club involvement

The North Oldham Lions Club announced its plans in July to donate the 25-acre park on U.S. 42 near Ky. 1793 to the library and parks department.

The land was given to the club in 1971 by Edith Mary Clarke Belknap in memory of her deceased husband, William B. Belknap.

But in recent years it had become an “albatross,” said Joyce Fletcher, president of the North Oldham Lions Club. It was expensive for the club to maintain and almost ended the group.

Giving up the land will allow the club “to get out from underneath the financial burden that almost destroyed us a couple of times,” said attorney Galen Clark, the club’s secretary.

The club mulled a few options for the land, including selling or developing it, they said.

Then they were approached by library and parks officials and ultimately decided to give 6 acres to the library and 18 to the parks department.

These uses also complement the Belknaps, who had intended for the land to remain a park and were involved in the county’s first bookmobiles, Fletcher said.

The land is being donated at no cost, but the club has requested that it receive a gift in kind that could be used in its charities, she said.

“We felt this was a really nice marriage,” Fletcher added.

The club, which has about 30 members, will still be able to use the small building on the property for meetings and the park for fundraising.

It also will be able to focus more on its other charities, including the charities for blind and visually impaired people that Lions Clubs typically help.

“This constant fundraising to keep the park open has been a burden to members for years, and we lost members,” Clark said. “We now may get some of these people back.”

New library branch

The land donation will allow the county library to move out of its branch at the nearby Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, Eubank said.

The Goshen branch will go from 3,185 square feet to at least 15,000 square feet, making the branch the second largest in the county, after the main branch in La Grange.

“This fell into our lap, and I just can’t express to the North Oldham Lions what a wonderful gift this is,” Eubank said.

The branch started at Creasey Mahan 32 years ago as a small lending library in a former dairy barn.

“The library just grew in such popularity, and people in that area were asking for so much more that eventually we took over the upstairs as well,” Eubank said.

The branch is not handicapped-accessible. And a few years ago in the midst of the recession, Creasey Mahan asked the library to start paying rent, which it has, she said.

“It’s a charming library, and certainly it’s well-loved,” Eubank said. “But really it has ceased to provide everything that the Goshen/Prospect area needs.”

The new branch likely will be adjacent to U.S. 42 on the park property and will provide a meeting area for that part of the county, she said.

“That is something we desperately need in the Goshen area,” Clark said.

It also will likely have an area for people with visual disabilities in honor of the Lions Clubs’ work in this area. This will include a special bank of computers and several books on tape and in Braille, Eubank said.

The branch also will include lots of light and “some of the newest and more exciting features that libraries are being built with now,” like movable shelves and a self check-out, she said.

The branch likely will cost $5.2 million to $5.4 million. Eubank has applied for a state library construction grant, which also helped officials build the main branch.

But the grants require a state budget appropriation of $2 million next fiscal year and $4 million the following year. Without the grant, Eubank said she doesn’t know if the library can be built.

“There are a lot of people in that area who are really, really excited about this library,” she said.

New county park

Parks officials intend for the park to remain “passive,” meaning that the focus will be on the open space and enjoying nature, such as through bike and walking trails.

But just because it’s passive, that doesn’t mean that changes won’t be made, said Tim Curtis, parks director.

One of the first tasks to tackle with the park, which will be the seventh for the county, will be completing a master plan, identifying possible additions and areas for improvement, he said.

He would like to pave the walking trail and upgrade and add more playground equipment.

“There are a lot of things we can do to spruce it up, really,” he said.

Curtis hopes that the Goshen and Prospect area takes ownership of the park.

“That side of the county has been where we’re mainly lacking” in park land, he said. “It should be a nice asset for the people of the county.”

What’s next

Oldham Fiscal Court unanimously voted Dec. 20 for Voegele to sign the closing documents to transfer of the property to the county.

Fletcher hopes to have the property turned over by the end of January.

Shortly thereafter, residents will likely notice the park being mowed more often, Curtis said. Mowing was a task the Lions Club struggled with completing on a regular basis, Clark said.

The parks department likely will wait until July, when next fiscal year’s budget starts, before making large purchases. But new playground equipment should be added in 2012, Curtis said.

Voegele and Curtis also intend to reach out to the community, asking groups to donate money for equipment, and include plaques, identifying donors, next to each piece.

Building a new library branch will take longer.

At the earliest and if funding is secured, construction could start in spring 2013 with the branch opening by the end of that year, Eubank said.

In the meantime, the Lions Club will identify new local charities to support, Fletcher said.

“We’ll be able to function as a thriving Lions Club and do more charitable giving,” she said. “In order for us to remain viable, it’s really important for us to have the support of the community.”