Vermont Association of the Deaf

Transcript –

Hi my name is Elena Shapiro treasurer for VTAD. I want to update everyone on what the VTAD board has been doing. We have done a lot. We met every day and discussed different topics and various approaches on what we should do. We wanted to update everyone on what we have done and what we need your help with.

First we wrote a formal letter. That letter was recommended by NAD. We modified it to fit us better. That letter states that an ASL interpreter is required and that the interpreter remains on the TV screen the entire time. The video should not be zooming in and out and taking the interpreter out of the video. We also stated that we require captioning and that the caption must be the right size, not large and covering half the screen. That was our demand in that letter.

That letter – Laura our secretary did upload on the VTAD Facebook page and on our website. You can see the letter for yourself. www.deafvermont.com. That letter has a petition with over 375 signatures. We want to thank everyone for their support in signing the petition. The second item included is the video sequence document. This document was created from different pictures I took during the press conference yesterday. It includes a timeline and covers both WCAX and C-span. WCAX kept zooming the interpreter out of the video. They didn’t show the interpreter fully, and we kept missing the information on the screen. WCAX captioning was in the middle of the screen and it was hard to see the interpreter with the large captioning fonts. It was a frustrating experience. C-span had the interpreter some of the time, zooming in and out but had NO captioning at all.

FOX44 news were awesome. They had the interpreter and captioning on the screen the entire time. VTAD will write a letter thanking them for their support. That letter is available and you can read it for yourself. That letter includes a petition link. That link is not active. We want to preserve privacy for everyone who signed the petition and now broadcast their names and emails. The second link is to the video sequence document. You can see for yourself the pictures that were taken and the comments included.

WCAX showed the video then switched to other news, while C-span ran the video live for the entire conference without switching or leaving to other news. There were some pros and cons with both TV stations.

We sent that letter to the Commissioner Monica Hutt, Governor, WCAX TV, C-Span and the FCC.
WCAX did reach out to us but we have a hard time getting a hold of them. Their voice mail box was full. We have been struggling to get ahold of them, but we did send an email with all the attachments. The letter to the FCC was responded by them quickly asking for more information like the websites that we were watching and what time. So we sent them all the info. The FCC encouraged all the deaf people to send them an email too. The more people that file the complaint, higher the chance that FCC will have a strong case to address those TV stations and Governor’s lack of interpreter availability. This is a requirement for ADA by FCC to ensure that the interpreter is there and captioning is available. We need your help with that.

Now we will post a template “example” of the letter you can use to copy and paste and send emails to those TV stations, Governor’s office and the FCC. We will provide the emails for everyone. If you do not want to email, but prefer to call instead, we will provide a list of phone numbers for them as well.

The VTAD board has email – admin@deafvermont.com and a phone number for us. We will post this on the website. If you have concerns, questions, or want to help, feel free to email or call us. We appreciate your help. What we need from you is to send those emails. The more emails you send to the Governor or FCC, or the TV Stations, the higher the chance they will respond. They will be required to respond because many of you filed a complaint. We need your help with that. Lastly, be SAFE. We will all be fine. Thank you.

This letter was sent to various media outlets/important officials to voice our frustrations/concerns about our recent experience with March 25th press conference held by Governor Phil Scott.

We shared the petition with over 375 signatures – Thank you everyone for your support on this.

We also shared the Video sequence that shows WCAX channel 3 had bad captioning, and didnt show the interpreter on screen, as well as C-Span with no captioning.
View the Video sequence HERE

Vermont Association of the Deaf has decided to cancel our April 11th Spring event due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Please continue to visit our website to stay updated with upcoming announcements regarding COVID- 19.

GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT ANNOUNCES NEW GUIDANCE ON COVID-19 COMMUNITY MITIGATION MEASURES

 All Bars and Restaurants Must Close or Offer Takeout Only

Gatherings are limited to less than 50 people or 50% of occupancy of a facility

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today announced new guidance in response to COVID-19, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. Today’s guidance updates the executive order he issued on March 13, which declared a state of emergency in Vermont.

First, as announced at a press conference Monday morning, new guidance further restricts the size of mass gatherings to the lesser of 50 people or 50% of the occupancy of a facility. This restriction applies to all social, recreational or entertainment activities, such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, theater, gymnasium, fitness center, library or any other confined indoor or confined outdoor space.

The Governor is also ordering the closure of all bars and restaurants statewide. Establishments can continue to offer food takeout and delivery service. This measure is effective beginning 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 17 and is in effect until April 6, though this could be extended.

These changes reflect the growing trend of confirmed coronavirus cases in Vermont, new recommendations from the CDC, social distancing and mitigation efforts recommended by the Vermont Department of Health, and ongoing discussions with neighboring states.

Additional reductions or prohibitions may be implemented or amended as needed.

Additionally, state government agencies and departments are working to transition the state employee workforce to remote work, while also implementing measures to limit person to person transactions in state offices, like the DMV. Those measures will be combined with 90-day extensions in license and registration renewals.

Most individuals affected by COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms but some individuals – especially the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions – are at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness. Through his emergency powers, Governor Scott is implementing additional mitigation strategies to protect those at greatest risk, slow the spread of illness in our communities and minimize the risk to the public.

“I want Vermonters to know we’re continuously evaluating other mitigation steps and we’ll continue to communicate those as they are put into place,” said Governor Scott. “It’s important to remember that in times of crisis we all need to make sacrifices. But Vermonters, and all Americans, have risen to many challenges before, and this time will be no different.”

Details on the specific actions taken are outlined in the Governor’s Executive Order, which is available by clicking here. Addendum 1, reducing gathering size, is available by clicking here and Addendum 2, closing bars and restaurants, is available by clicking here.