The Kentucky Deaf School will start its year online

The Kentucky School for Blind and Kentucky School for the Deaf says it will start year online. The Kentucky Department of Education approved the plan which means the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville will begin instruction on August 24. At least the first six weeks of classes will be held online. A decision about the rest of the semester will be decided in October. In a letter to families, Principal Toyah Robey wrote: 

When we are permitted to return to campus, KSD will provide details in advance of our Healthy at School procedures to ensure the safety of our students and staff when on campus. It is critical that all comply with these guidelines to safeguard the health and welfare of everyone. 

Read the full letter here.

How the 1918 influenza pandemic affected the Kentucky School for the Deaf

The 1918 influenza pandemic (also known as The Spanish Flu) killed millions of people including 14,000 people in Kentucky. The Advocate-Messenger takes a look at the effect the outbreak had on the state's school for the deaf here. 

Deaf woman’s social media post goes viral, raises awareness

Kimberly Fugate Kimberly is using a story of something that happened to her at a grocery store to raise awareness about what the Deaf and Hard of Hearing face every day. Her Facebook post recounting that moment has more than 30,000 shares. WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Kentucky has a video report below or read the story here.

KY teacher makes house calls to see Deaf-Blind students

image from WAVE-TV video

A partially blind and deaf teen in Kentucky is getting an education through his home’s glass front door. Helen Keller Center Specialist Corinne Miller comes to his home and communicates through the glass door to 16-year-old Alex Hitzelberger. Watch a video report about their arrangement from WAVE-TV here.

College student makes masks for the deaf

Ashley Lawrence is studying education for the deaf and hard of hearing at Eastern Kentucky University and has come up with a way to help the community during the Coronavirus outbreak. She tells LEX-18:

We're trying different things to for people with cochlear implants and hearing aids if they can't wrap around the ears. We're making some that have around the head and around the neck. For anyone who uses speech reading, lip reading, anybody like that. And people who are profoundly deaf who use ASL as their primary mode of communication. ASL is very big on facial expressions and it is part of the grammar.

Read more here.

Oldest Terp Dies

The woman believed to be the oldest working sign language interpreter in the country has died at the age of 97. Norma Lewis worked with deaf people in the Kentucky court system. Read more about Norma in the Courier-Journal here.

Keyless ignition leads to death of deaf woman

Connie Dotson died after accidentally leaving her car running in the garage while she slept inside her home. This is not the first time this has happened to someone who is deaf with keyless ignition systems. WKYT-TV has a video report from Kentucky (or you can read the story here).

DeaFestival-Kentucky 2018

DeaFestival-Kentucky 2018 will be held this Saturday (Sept. 1) at the Galt House in Louisville. Special guests include Kyle Schulz, the two-time competitor on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior who is deaf, and Broadway and film actor Miles Barbee. There will be more than 50 visual and performing deaf and hard of hearing artists, including rappers, hip-hop musicians, comedians, storytellers and dancers. He will preview his new movie The Silent Natural. It's the story of baseball legend William Hoy who was nicknamed “Dummy” because he was deaf. It's a free event. There's more info here.

Biographical Drama About First Deaf MLB Player Being Filmed

image from promo for film "I See the Crowd Roar"

The story of professional baseball player William “Dummy” Hoy is being shot in Kentucky. Title The Silent Natural is set in the 1880s. The director, David Risotto, already produced a documentary about Hoy. He told WKMS-FM, “I promised the family that I would use deaf actors to portray him and any other deaf role." Read the full story here. Below is a promo for the documentary Risotto made called I see the Crowd Roar.

Boy Gets Implant: Parents get Matching Tattoos

Two Kentucky parents got matching tattoos inked on their heads to look like their two-year-old son’s new cochlear implant. They say they didn't want him to feel different. WAVE-TV has a video report.

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Player ordered off court over Implant

A basketball referee at a Kentucky middle school told a player she would have to leave a game because of her cochlear implant. She stayed off the court until someone showed him the rule book. KFOR-TV has a video report.

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Deaf School Hoops Tourney Results

Kentucky won a basketball tournament for Deaf schools over the weekend. The Kentucky School for the Deaf boys didn't lose a game (3-0) at the Spartan Classic taking place at the Ohio School for the Deaf. Participating teams included Rochester, St. Rita, Ohio, Western Pa, and Kentucky. Read more results here.

Advocating for the Rights of Deaf Inmates

We call it a prison within a prison," says Talila Lewis, who founded EARD (Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf). She is describing the lives of incarcerated deaf and hard of hearing people. "The vast majority of correctional facilities have no ASL interpreters, and it's not unusual for inmates who rely on hearing aids to be denied the devices—or denied batteries to make them work." Read more from Louisville's NPR Station WFPL here.

DeaFestival Louisville

DeaFestival Louisville takes place this Saturday (August 30) at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. There is more information here.

School turns green space into farmland

TThe Kentucky School for the Deaf has broken ground on a 23 acres garden and research center on its campus. The Advocate Messenger says students last worked the land in the 1970s. Plans are to use the corn, potatoes and strawberries in the school's cafeteria and local food banks. Read the full story here.

School Staffer Dedicates life to helping students

Wilton McMillan says, “I’m so passionate. Passionate for how we can get every single deaf and hard of hearing child to be truly bilingual.” The director of outreach for statewide support services at Kentucky School for the Deaf, McMillan tells Kentucky's Advocate Messenger he relishes his role as an encourager. Born deaf but raised by hearing parents, he understands the struggles that can sometimes arise for deaf and hard of hearing children. Read his full profile in the AM here.

Active Shooter Drill at Deaf School

Police officers practiced active shooter training at the Kentucky School for the Deaf yesterday in Danville. Read about how sign language was incorporated into the drill from The Advocate Messenger here.

Reading Buddies

Kentucky School for the Deaf students are “Reading Buddies” to hearing students at an elementary school. Find out more about the program designed to expose the younger students to sign language from the Advocate Messenger.

Creating a new sign language for an entire country

A Kentucky priest is helping linguists create a sign language for the deaf in Cambodia. Louisville's Courier-Journal reports the country has no sign language, no deaf schools and no deaf organizations offering services. Here is a video report about what Charles Dittmeier is doing to make a difference (no captions but you can read the full story here).

Another report on boy from Yemen

Here is a second video report on the boy who traveled from the Middle East to Kentucky to receive a cochlear implant. This one comes from WDRB-TV (captions included). You can watch the first video report here
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WDRB 41 Louisville News