Sign Language

Here is the schedule of events for the Lincoln County Heritage Festival this weekend: Friday 9 a.m.: Living history encampment at the Historic L&N Depot; demonstrations include leather craft, soap making, basket weaving, pottery making and rope making. Interpretative contests such as hatchet throwing, knife throwing, rolling pin toss and skillet toss also planned. 1-4 p.m.: Vendor set up, organizations, arts and crafts, and food. 4:30 p.m.: Heritage Queen pageant, Stage 2. 6 p.m.: Opening ceremony and welcome, Judge-Executive Buckwheat Gilbert and Mayor Eddie Carter, Stage 2. 6:30 p.m.: Zoe Speaks, Stage 1. 8 p.m.: Just In Tyme, music, Stage 2. Saturday 8 a.m.: Antique tractors, cars, motorcycles and engines set up and park.

The front lawn of Lees' Hall on the Kentucky School for the Deaf campus was filled with folks from across the state Saturday as families braved the scorching heat to attend the Support Network for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children's "Family Learning Fun Fair. " Adults and children enjoyed entertainment, homemade baked goodies and the chance to win prizes as they visited information sessions designed to help them get along better in the hearing world. The entertainment included a group of 20 youths dressed in yellow T-shirts and jeans dancing and signing to popular music.

Like a celebration at the pitcher's mound after the final out of the World Series, the 11 members of Kentucky School for the Deaf's class of 2005 huddled giddily together as a group one last time Thursday before flinging their mortarboards toward the ceiling of Thomas Hall. They had just received their diplomas and warmed the crowd by signing along with a bass-heavy remix of the Bill Withers' classic "Lean on Me. " Now it was out into the real world. Commencement speaker Timothy Owens, who teaches at Eastern Kentucky University's interpreter training program, cautioned the grads that they will face many new challenges after leaving the insulated life they enjoyed at KSD, where almost everyone knows sign language and the world is geared to deal with their lack of hearing.

When Shanice White first joined the Kentucky School for the Deaf volleyball team as a middle schooler, the upperclassmen worked with her and taught her about sports and more. Now as one of just two seniors, she feels a duty to do the same for her younger teammates. “I first started on the volleyball team when I was in seventh grade, and the girls really tried to help me with teamwork and how to communicate,” White said. “I wasn’t one of the best players on the team, but since the girls really encouraged me I’ve really become a better player.

"Canada, are you out there?" Yes, Canada was "out there," in cyberspace, as the first MegaDeafConference was called to order Wednesday by its hosts at the Kentucky School for the Deaf. Canada was "out there" on the Internet, helping fulfill the idea of longtime KSD staff member Clyde Mohan for a teleconference of 42 schools, colleges, universities and other institutions that educate the deaf. "This is definitely history in the making," said Wilton McMillan, a former assistant superintendent of KSD, now an administrator and consultant on deaf education for the Kentucky Department of Education.

LANCASTER - Garrard County Community Education is offering the following classes: Weight Watchers: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Garrard County Health Department on Farra Drive. There are no special foods to purchase. Lynyelle Duggins is the instructor. Call Brenda Powers at (859) 792-1690 for more information. Spanish classes: 2:45-3:45 p.m. Fridays in the art room at Lancaster Elementary School. The cost is $25 month, and the instructor is Pat Francis. Tae Kwon Do: 2:45-3:45 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Mondays at Lancaster Elementary School gymnasium and 4-5 p.m. at Paint Lick Elementary School; and 2:45-4 p.m. Tuesdays at Camp Dick Robinson Elementary School.

I moved to Danville from Columbus, Ohio, to work at Kentucky School for the Deaf. I remember visiting for my interview, fascinated with how beautiful and well-kept Danville seemed to be. Being in such a small town was a bit of a culture shock. I have worked in four schools prior to KSD: two preschools, a middle school and an elementary school. I am profoundly deaf, and was mainstreamed for most of my life, placed in a regular education setting. The only deaf person in the entire district, I was alienated.

Instant messaging is a great communication tool for all Internet users. Not only does it promote an instant contact method for text chats, it also provides voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) chats and video chats, too. AOL has added a new feature to its IM service to aid the hearing-impaired. The new service, called AIM Relay, will allow AIM users to access telecommunications relay services (TRS) via their AIM client. A quick explanation of how TRS works is that TRS enables the hearing- or speech-impaired to conduct conversations through a TRS operator.

A decade ago Virginia Helm had an appointment with a Danville doctor for a checkup. The doctor had good news. "He said I was in good health and that I might live to be 95, even 100," said Helm, who lives in Danville. As it turned out, her doctor was a good longevity prognosticator: Helm turned an even 100 Sunday. "I still feel healthy," she said. "Oh, I'm a little weaker than I used to be, but I can't complain. Not everybody gets to live as long as I have. " Helm began her life when Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House and has lived under a total of 18 presidents.

I have always said that if I had to choose, God forbid, I'd rather be deaf than blind. There is just something quite terrifying at the very thought of not being able to see. Do you remember the kid's game, "hide and seek?" I guess every kid played it, every kid, that is, except me. The few times I got caught into playing it at some birthday party, I always ended up in tears. Oh, I never cared about winning the game but I was always absolutely terrified not to be able to see! I guess maybe this fierce reaction of mine to handicaps made me be more sensitive to all disabilities, so when I married the first time, my husband's grandmother Sophie became one of my favorite people.