New CEO at World Services

World Services for the Blind Taps Tony Woodell as President, CEO
by Lee Hogan  on Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2014 2:35 pm

Tony O. Woodell, chief operating officer at World Services for the Blind, has received a promotion.

Woodell will assume the role of president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. He succeeds Larry Dickerson, who announced his retirement in March after five years as the nonprofit's top executive.

"I am excited about the opportunity and am honored by this appointment," Woodell said in a news release. "The groundwork provided by those who have served in this capacity before me has laid a strong foundation on which to build. I look forward to working with the staff and board to help our clients achieve sustainable independence."

Woodell joined WSB in 2011. Previously, he worked with the Baptist Health Foundation and Heifer International. A Casper, Wyoming native, Woodell earned his bachelor's at Ouachita Baptist University and completed his graduate studies at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tom Duke, chairman of the nonprofit's board of directors, said Woodell's appointment was a unanimous decision.

"The board is confident in Mr. Woodell's ability to lead World Services for the Blind," he said in the news release. "Like many nonprofits we have experienced and, thankfully, overcome our share of hardships. I expect our future to be bright as we move forward with new ideas and new programs."


Dickerson will stay on staff until July 15 in a consulting capacity during the transition period.

Thanks Johnye for this inspirational post

America's hope
By Kelly Wright
Published June 10, 2014 FoxNews.com

"Life is about perspective. Don't look at what's wrong with your life, think about what's right with your life. -Joel Osteen Far too many of us go through life carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. We wake up with a burden of heaviness, looking ahead at the day with a dim view. In large part, this is due to what we feed into our heart and mind. We have the tendency to drift towards the negative images of life because that's what we see an abundance of in the media. We are constantly bombarded with information about what's wrong with the world.

I believe the American Dream is still very much alive and is still achievable. Consequently we find ourselves overloaded with uncertainty about the future. This often leads to thoughts that we as a nation have fallen and we can't get up. Some of our greatest critics gleefully say that America's best days are behind her. That America is nothing more than a shell of its former glory days as a pinnacle nation. Well, put a check on that negative spirit! I believe the American Dream is still very much alive and is still achievable. Judging by the 55, 000 people who recently jammed the storied Yankee Stadium for America's Night of Hope, I am not alone in my positive thinking. The perpetually smiling Pastor and Motivator Joel Osteen presented the event to inspire people to live their best lives now. He explained to those in attendance and to others watching a world wide broadcast of the event that we need to as scripture says, put on a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Osteen added that we should strive to be thankful and be hopeful. "Everyday is a gift of God. Life is too short to go through life depressed and angry," Osteen says. With that in mind he advises us to change our internal dialogue. Change the negative recording we constantly hear going through our minds; you're no good, you're too fat, you're too this-you're too that. My goodness! We become our own worse enemies by the harmful thoughts and pessimistic attitudes we possess. Osteen says; "You've got enough people against you. Don't add to it by being against yourself. Good point. After all, when we criticize ourselves, we're really criticizing God's creation. We are, as scripture says, fearfully and wonderfully made. We need to stop seeing ourselves as junk and begin to see ourselves as treasures, as a masterpiece created by a master artist. Let everyday be a new beginning. Don't drag yesterday's blues, regrets and baggage into a new day. Don't allow your dreams to be stolen and your hope highjacked. Forgive yourself and others. Stir up your faith, put down your fear and live your best life now. No excuses. Just do it. Good people bring good things to life because of the goodness that's stored in their hearts. America is a good nation of good people who desire to do great things. So we need to enlarge our vision and exercise faith like it's a muscle that needs to be developed. The more we build it up, the greater and stronger it becomes. It's imperative that we understand that we can't have faith if we don't have hope.

 Our days ahead are greater than the days we leave behind. Kelly Wright is a general assignment reporter for Fox News Channel (FNC), based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He is also a co-host on "America's News Headquarters" on Saturdays (1:00-2:00 PM/ET) . Wright previously served as a co-host on "Fox & Friends Weekend.

Walgreens has launched talking prescriptions

Walgreens Now Offers Talking Prescription Labels

Description: Description: Prescription bottles without labelsCongratulations Walgreens! Today the national pharmacy retailer announced that it is providing talking prescription labels free of charge to customers with visual impairments in over 8,000 stores and through mail order.



Walgreens Launches Nationwide Program Offering Talking Prescription Devices for Customers with Visual Impairments

Initiative adds to Walgreens other accessible prescription information services; leadership of blindness organizations praise company’s program

DEERFIELD, Ill., June 3, 2014 — Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG), today announced the launch of a nationwide program offering talking prescription devices to customers with visual impairments. The initiative introduces a new service that complements other accessible prescription information Walgreens currently provides.

Walgreens is the first in the industry to offer this exclusive talking prescription device, called the Talking Pill Reminder, at its retail locations chainwide. The device attaches to prescription containers and will be provided free of charge with prescription medications that Walgreens dispenses to its pharmacy customers who are blind or who have visual impairments. The Talking Pill Reminder can be recorded to speak the information on the customer’s prescription medication label, and also has an audible alarm to remind patients when to take a medication.

The Talking Pill Reminder is available to customers of Walgreens retail pharmacies across the country and through Walgreens prescription mail service. The devices also are available in Walgreens drugstores for purchase for a retail price of $9.99.

Adherence to medication can be critical in treating illness today, and this is an innovation that will help our visually impaired customers correctly identify and take medications as prescribed. As part of our mission to help customers get, stay and live well, we’re proud to have worked closely with other leading organizations to make the Talking Pill Reminder available across all of our more than 8,100 stores nationwide. Jeff Koziel, Walgreens group vice president of pharmacy operations

The initiative is the result of a collaboration between Walgreens, The American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the ACB affiliates in California and Illinois. All partnering organizations praised the Walgreens announcement.

Accessible prescription information is critical to people who are blind, and with today’s announcement, Walgreens assumes a significant leadership role in serving its customers with visual impairments.ACB President Kim Charlson

Illinois Council of the Blind representative Ray Campbell commended Walgreens initiative, saying,

So many of our members and ACB members across the country value Walgreens excellent customer service. The company’s rollout of the Talking Pill Reminder gives them yet another reason to make Walgreens their pharmacy of choice.Ray Campbell, ICB

California Council of the Blind President Donna Pomerantz said,

Standard prescription labels put customers who are blind at risk for mixing up medications or taking them incorrectly. For this reason, Walgreens initiative is a matter of basic safety, and we congratulate the company on its efforts in this important area.Donna Pomerantz, CCB

In addition to providing the Talking Pill Reminder, Walgreens also offers large print patient information sheets to customers who have visual impairments.

Walgreens accessibility initiative will help people with visual impairments who have difficulty or are unable to read a standard prescription medication label.

About Walgreens

As the nation’s largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2013 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to be the first choice in health and daily living for everyone in America, and beyond. Each day, Walgreens provides more than 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,200 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers, provider practices, and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 750 locations throughout the country.

Memory boosters

Your tech gadgets are destroying your memory - here's how to fix it
By Merritt Watts Published June 09, 2014

I can tell you the street address of the house I lived in when I was 8 years old. I can tell you the name of my freshman dorm and exactly how I used to get from there to the local pizza place 10 years ago. But after I'd been living in my most recent apartment for six months, I went to the DMV to renew my driver's license and could not--could not--summon to mind my own zip code. These "senior moments" seem to be happening with alarming frequency for a not-yet-30-year-old, and there might be an unexpected reason for it: According to new research, our high-tech habits--such as reading the news on a laptop, Instagramming every occasion, and IM'ing constantly--could be seriously shortchanging our short-term memory.

Still, permanently tossing aside my iPhone is the only thing I'm less likely to do than remember my BFF's birthday without a little help from Facebook. (Sorry!) But we don't have to totally disconnect to get our synapses to fire correctly--we just have to tweak a few of our tech tendencies.

 The Tech Trap: You Instagram everything. I know, I know: No one has ever seen such a gorgeous waterfall. But there's a reason to stop before you snap: We're less likely to remember something when we take a photo of it, says a 2013 study from Fairfield University. When we take a picture, says Linda Henkel, lead author of the study, we subconsciously count on our camera to capture the moment for us. This could work if we actually used the photos to help strengthen our memories by looking at them later on, says Henkel. Instead, we fill our phones and digital cameras with so many shots that combing through them becomes a nearly impossible task--or we post them on Instagram, gather accolades, then never look back.

The Fix: Take the time to soak in the scene first. And be sure to sort through your photos later. "Before you take a picture, really look at your surroundings and think, What do I want to capture about this? advises Henkel. Making a mindful choice can help you create a more meaningful memory, the kind that's easier for your brain to access later on. A few in-the-moment Instagrams won't cause amnesia, but spend some time organizing your photos into albums on your computer, or feel free to flood your feed with #latergrams: Reviewing and interacting with the photos afterward by cropping and adding filters can improve our recall of the moment. "The photos act as retrieval cues to help your brain conjure up a memory," says Henkel.

 The Tech Trap: While trying to get work done, you're sending GChats, taking calls, and, fine, watching the occasional cat video. When we sit down at a computer, our brains reach the point of information overload a lot sooner than you might think. Most people consider themselves mental multitaskers, but our working memory, which is activated when we're receiving new information, can actually process only three to five items at a given time. "As we approach the limit of our working memory, we become more easily distracted and may start forgetting things," says Erik Fransen, a computer science professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

The Fix: Disconnect during downtime. No, we're not talking about a weeklong meditation retreat. Giving your brain time to process can be as simple as spacing out for a minute or two while you ride the elevator instead of scrolling through Facebook, says Fransen. The existence of smartphones has pretty much deprived our brains of the built-in moments of passive activities in daily life that can help combat absentmindedness. Also, when you have a challenging task, try to work on it alone for half an hour, because it takes at least 10 to 15 minutes to really focus on a demanding activity, says Fransen.

The Shocking Age When Your Cognitive Ability Starts to Drop Off The Tech Trap: You turn to a search engine every time your memory fails. "You know the actor! The one in the Scorsese movie--the one set on Wall Street! . . .John? Jason something? Argh! Yes, it's one of the most frustrating feelings ever, but in this case, the omnipresent search engine you pull up to figure something out may be the reason you can't remember the fact in the first place: According to a study at Columbia University, people are less likely to remember information when they know they can just look it up later, meaning the existence of Internet search engines can actually make us feel more forgetful.

The Fix: Do. Not. Freak. Out. The reality is, we're not more forgetful. We've always depended on external memory sources, but they used to be other people, not search engines (think of your cousin who is a Trivial Pursuit superstar), says lead study author Betsy Sparrow, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University. So, in the case of hitting the Internet, "we're just relying on different things to help us remember," says Sparrow. If you'd rather not lean on a search engine, your best bet is to stay calm. The name you're at a loss for will probably pop into your mind when you clear your head. If that fails, it's likely that you'll be able to think of a few key words to google. And what's the harm in that? (P.S. It's Jonah Hill. You're welcome.)

The Tech Trap: You get your news digitally. It's no wonder you read that great op-ed on the Keystone pipeline but can't remember enough of the details to make cocktail-party conversation: People who read text on-screen have lower levels of reading comprehension than people who read the same material on a printed page, says a study in the International Journal of Educational Research. The Fix: Put the paper back in newspaper. For longer reads and in-depth analysis, reading on paper may help step up comprehension. The fixed layout of the page aids in recall, because your spatial memory kicks in too, so imagining where the information was on the page can help you remember it. When you do scroll, keep it short and sweet: Part of the issue with memory and screen reading is that LCD screens, like those on your computer or your smartphone, emit a fluctuating light that can cause visual fatigue after a while. This creates more processing work for your brain, so it has to work even harder on other comprehension tasks, including storing the correct information in your memory. The tech-friendly loophole? E-readers that use ambient light instead of backlighting. Unlike most tablets or laptops, ambient-light e-readers reduce the cognitive load required to read and free up some of your mental energy for proper processing.

Monday recipes

Subject: Article from Braille Monitor Articles Section 2014 06 01

Recipes
This month's recipes come from North Dakota. Linda's Chicken by Duane Iverson
It is a simple and tasty way to oven fry chicken.
Ingredients: Chicken pieces, as many as desired
Flour
Bisquick
At least one stick of butter
2 eggs
A splash of milk
Parmesan cheese from a shaker,
optional Method:
Prepare a mixture of half flour and half Bisquick. Liberally grease the bottom of a shallow baking pan with butter; I melt at least a quarter pound. Combine eggs and milk and beat with a fork. Dip chicken pieces in milk mixture to moisten the chicken, then roll it in the flour and Bisquick mixture. Arrange chicken in baking dish and bake for one hour at 350 degrees, turning after thirty minutes. I find that adding a liberal amount of parmesan cheese to the flour mixture enhances the breading.

Marvin's Potatoes
by Duane Iverson
Ingredients:
Potatoes, peeled and evenly sliced
1 onion,
sliced Butter
Slices of Velveeta cheese
Method:
I used a Vegematic to slice the potatoes when I first made this dish. The slices should be just a little thicker than a Talking Book cartridge. Layer the potatoes in the bottom of a greased square casserole dish. Dot the potatoes with butter, spread with a layer of thinly sliced onions, then do another layer of potatoes, butter, and onions. Do three layers in all.
 Cook covered at 350 degrees for a little less than an hour. Test with a fork. If the potatoes feel almost done, that is, the fork goes in easily, cover the top with a generous number of Velveeta cheese slices. Put the lid back on the dish, and return it to the oven for about ten more minutes. The cheese will melt and infuse the potatoes. Since the potatoes are in a covered dish, they stay warm for long enough for you to get everything on the table.

Brad Martin's Meatballs
by Duane Iverson
Ingredients:
 1 pound of ground meat
 1 can chicken-and-rice soup
1 can tomato soup
2 eggs
1 small onion
Lots and lots of soda crackers.
 Method:
In a mixing bowl crack two eggs. Break up the ground meat into the bowl. Grate a small onion or part of a large onion into the mixture. Then begin crumbling and adding soda crackers to the mixture until it is sticky but fairly dry, about the consistency of modeling clay.

 Form the meatballs and place in the bottom of a shallow baking pan. The meatballs should be small, no larger than a cherry tomato. I'd say a golf ball is too large, and a grape is too small. Arrange the meatballs in a single layer in the bottom of the pan.

 Now combine the chicken-and-rice and tomato soups in the bowl you just emptied. Mix well with a fork. Then pour the liquid evenly over the meatballs.

Cover with lid or aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees for about an hour. As the meatballs cook, they will absorb much of the liquid from the bottom of the pan. When serving, there will be liquid left that you can spoon over the meatballs.

This dish goes well with Marvin's Potatoes. Happily, you can prepare them beforehand. An hour before supper, mix the soups, pour liquid over the meatballs, and put the dish of potatoes in the oven. You don't have to go back to the kitchen until ten or fifteen minutes before the meatballs are done to put cheese on the potatoes and cook a vegetable.

Sunday, June 8

Good rainy morning everyone,
I hope each of you are having a great weekend. We are having storms again this morning. I awoke to lots of thunder.
School is out so maybe I can get back on track with our blog. Super thanks to Bob and Johnye who keep things going when I am tied up!
I have missed seeing everyone for the past few weeks. It will be good to visit with folks this week.
Tomorrow the Woodland Heights group will take the bus to the library for Overdrive training
Take care and stay dry!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Mo'lasses recipes. My family still grows this and we love it

This piece originally appeared in the May 30, 2014 edition of the The Bowling Green Daily News.

When chef Josh Feathers was growing up in Tennessee, his grandmother always had a jar of sorghum syrup in the cupboard. But he never gave much thought to it, or its significance to Southern culture.

That didn’t happen until he’d grown up, moved away, then returned home to work at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. “My mentor, while we were creating desserts he said, ‘This is one of the main ingredients you need to look at,’” recalls Feathers, now corporate chef at Blackberry Farm. “This is a truly Southern heritage ingredient we want to highlight.”

Today, much of the country — even the South itself — is experiencing a similar delayed appreciation for sorghum.

Sorghum syrup — or “sorghum molasses” as it’s sometimes called — has long been a staple of certain Southern cupboards. Pressed from the tough, grassy stalks of the sweet sorghum plant, then boiled down, it was seen as the province of grandmothers, a stodgy, household ingredient no one paid much mind.

No more. Sorghum syrup and even sorghum grain are being thrust into the limelight by a new generation of chefs in the South and beyond who appreciate its complexities and its provenance.

“Sorghum wasn’t considered a noble ingredient 10 years ago,” says Edward Lee, chef of two Louisville, Kentucky, restaurants and author of the cookbook “Smoke and Pickles.” ”The first thing I get is this very rustic nuttiness, this umami nuttiness, then the grassiness. And then the sweetness unfolds around that. It’s a unique flavor. And it adds a lot of depth to what you’re cooking, more so than honey.”

Lee is not alone. He uses sorghum as a glaze for foie gras and highlights its distinct flavor in sorghum-and-grits ice cream. Feathers calls it “an all-purpose item” that can be drizzled over biscuits, shines up breakfast sausage and enlivens vinaigrettes. Vivian Howard, chef and co-owner of The Chef and the Farmer in Kinston, North Carolina, has deployed sorghum in candied yams. Washington, D.C., chef and restaurateur Jeff Tunks uses sorghum on his “low-and-slow” roast duck. And in Philadelphia, chef Jeremy McMillan of Talula’s Garden combines it with black garlic to glaze carrots.

Demand for sorghum syrup has doubled during the last five years, says James Baier, executive secretary of the National Sweet Sorghum Producers and Processors Association, rising so fast that some of his 300 members have begun running out before the new season starts.

Demand is being driven by the public’s search for alternative sweeteners, Baier says, and also by the light shined on sorghum by chefs, restaurants, even cocktail mixologists. Distillers have begun producing a rum-like product from sorghum, Baier says, and others using it to make whiskey, beer and cocktail bitters. Soy sauce producers have also shown interest, he says.

Sorghum grain also is ambling to center stage on many chefs’ plates. Harvested from a short, stout version of the sorghum plant, the tiny grain has been used as food in Africa for thousands of years, but has been known in the United States mainly as biofuel or animal feed.

Today, the grain is being milled into flour and marketed to the gluten-free and whole-grain markets, and is being used by chefs in soups, stews and salads. Only 2 percent of production currently goes to food, says Tim Lust, chief executive officer of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, which markets the grain, but that figure is growing by 25 percent a year.

Cookbook author Martha Rose Shulman has compared sorghum grain to Israeli couscous, and recommends it as a base for a black-bean stew as well as for a salad with cucumber, avocado and cherry tomato. At the Clifton Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia, chef Tucker Yoder combines the grain and the syrup in a quinoa and sorghum pudding. New York chef Marc Forgione has offered sorghum as a side to items such as arctic char.

“The closest possible thing you can compare it to is a real heirloom farro,” says Forgione, who is working with Lust’s group to cook a three-course sorghum lunch at a June trade show. “It tastes like the ancient grain that it is. It’s got a great bite to it. It’s very earthy. When we do it risotto style — I cook mine al dente anyway — it has a nice chew to it, a full texture.”

So is sorghum the next quinoa? Forgione has one word: Sriracha.

“If someone had told us 10 years ago that this condiment you can’t even pronounce was going to be the number one selling condiment, you wouldn’t have believed it,” he says. “You never know.”

___
BLUEBERRY SORGHUM SPOON BREAD
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (30 minutes active)
Servings: 8
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sorghum syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
3 eggs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups blueberries
In a medium pan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, sorghum syrup and salt. Bring to a boil then, while whisking, pour in the cornmeal in a steady stream. Continue stirring and cooking for 2 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Heat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9-by-9-inch baking pan or a 1 1/2-quart baking dish with baking spray.
Transfer the cornmeal mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Add the eggs, melted butter and baking powder. Beat on medium to combine, then increase speed to high and beat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture is lighter in both color and texture. Fold in the blueberries, then spoon into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Nutrition information per serving: 290 calories; 100 calories from fat (34 percent of total calories); 11 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 90 mg cholesterol; 41 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 7 g protein; 420 mg sodium.

(Recipe from Alison Ladman)

___
SWEET-AND-SPICY DOUBLE SORGHUM SALAD
Sorghum grains resemble couscous and taste like a cross between barley and rice. This hearty grain salad is delicious served over a bed of greens, such as arugula.
Start to finish: 2 hours (30 minutes active)
Servings: 8
2 cups sorghum grains
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
3 tablespoons sorghum syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup chopped golden raisins
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
Hot sauce, to taste

In a medium pan over medium-high heat, combine the sorghum grains and enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Add a generous pinch of salt, then bring to a boil and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the grains are tender. If needed, add water during cooking to maintain the level. Use a mesh strainer to drain, then set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and very tender. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sorghum syrup, lemon juice, vinegar, paprika and cumin. Add the onion mixture, and then stir in the sorghum, raisins and sunflower seeds. Season with additional salt and hot sauce.
Nutrition information per serving: 290 calories; 80 calories from fat (28 percent of total calories); 9 g fat (1.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 52 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 12 g sugar; 7 g protein; 125 mg sodium.

(Recipe from Alison Ladman)

Michele Kayal is co-founder of the website American Food Roots, http://www.americanfoodroots.com/ . Follow her at @AmerFoodRoots More from Michele Kayal