BUSTIN’ OUT:  N­ow that we’ve turned the corner on two­ ­of the current year’s major fundraisers – the Plant Sale and the Spaghetti­ Dinner – pre­sident Joe Kramer wants us to start rigging the sails for the 2006-07 administrati­on. He established the nominating committee of Pam Cross (chair), Suzie Scholin, Carol and Bob Brockelmeyer and Bob McCoy to produce a slate of officers in the month of June. So . . . when your phone rings and the caller ID comes up as Conroe, Texas, don’t think this is somebody trying to sell or buy a time share. It’ll be a committee member asking for you to give some of your time as a 2006-07 officer or board member. . . . Also, President Joe wants to form a flying squadron of three to four members and visit some neighboring clubs in June. If you can go, hold up your hand at the June 6 lunch meeting. . . . Joe says the four Webster High seniors who won Kiwanis scholarships plan to make a June meeting.

 

MAY’S DAYS: Mother’s Day, Suzie’s birthday and the 10th wedding anniversary for Joe and Donna Kramer were celebrated in the same week. Jessica Kramer’s birthday was one week later. . . . No financial figures yet on the fundraisers, although $1169 had been banked for spaghetti sales. . . . Bob Brockelmeyer says 15 gallons of unused spaghetti sauce are for sale. . . . Secretary Jeanene Mascia called for service hours. The spaghetti workers accounted for at least 70, and Curt Cross worked also for Crisis Nursery. . . . The Webster High Key Club paid  dues to International and got off probation.

 

IN THE WORKS: It’s Camp Wyman cleanup day on June 3. The Webster Groves cabin is one of the structures involved. Call Joe if you can donate some time. . . . Courtney Harsh says the Peanut Days sale will be going down in September. Details to come. . . . The club is trying to put together another progressive BBQ-auction to benefit the administrative fund. Ed Desmond suggested a September picnic at one of Blackburn Park’s pavilions. Ken Maag gave a glowing review of the Webster Park Association’s garage-sidewalk sales on May 5. There were 22 flea markets on the same day, with many families combining as vendors. Ken says he and Betty would donate the use of their home if the Kiwanis wanted to join the sale in May 2007.

 

HEAR YE, HEAR YE! Ken Maag presented an all-encompassing program May 16 on the subject of hearing loss and what can be done about it. The three main elements were hearing aids, cochlear implants and advocacy that can enable a person with hearing loss to be outfitted for free or at very little cost. Before he got started, wife Betty gave us this report on the black eye she was wearing: “It isn’t because Ken hit me. I just fell down in North Carolina.” (The Maags were attending the college graduation of Ken’s niece).

 

Ken says 90 percent of people over 80 have hearing loss. At any age, a simple way to check is to rub your first finger and your thumb about eight inches from your ear. If you  hear nothing, welcome to the club. And the average time is seven years before a person admits hearing loss and goes for help. TV volume – too low or too irritating – is a common complaint of those who can’t hear. It’s easy to hear such sounds at fat, cat and that, but sounds that end in g, f and th are hard to pick up

 

Ken discussed the various styles of hearing aids – such as those cosmetically pleasing, the ITC (in the canal) and ITE (in the ear) aids, and digital aids that employ microchips to amplify areas of hearing loss in the ear.

 

Ken wears aids in both ears. The devices are able to click up or down. His system employs two microphones and a telecoil that picks up vibrations from a telephone. Some public places such as cinemas, the Repertory Theatre and the Imax at the Science Center   offer ALDs, assisted listening devices, that enable hearing-impaired persons to keep up with the dialogue in a movie or a play. At the Des Peres 14, the St. Louis Mills 18, Chesterfield Mall and the West Olive 16, a deaf person can use rear-window captioning to pick up the words. The viewer uses a cup holder in his seat to read script that appears on a screen at the back of the theater.

 

At home, Ken has a CapTel phone system in which a message comes into his receiver and is converted to a text message, which Ken can scroll up or down as he reads it. Oh, sure, there’s some work involved – he must dial a 21-digit number to get things moving. But the result is worth it, Ken says, “because I hear less than 30 percent of what’s said using normal network aids.”

 

Ken is an excellent resource for anyone with hearing loss. He’s done his homework – to the point at which he knows how to get assistance from the state of Missouri in paying for the aids and gadgets. It’s a matter of registering to get free devices from the Missouri Adaptive Telephone Program and finding an audiologist to guide you through the program.

 

One of Ken’s toys is a bedside alarm system called the Sonic Boom, which causes a vigorous shaking of the bed. Ken says he’s never failed to wake up. “And neither do I,” adds Betty.