Sierra Services for the Blind Newsletter

May 2025

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"I find that the harder I work the more luck I seem to have." ~ Thomas Jefferson

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Medical Advancement

The Foundation Fighting Blindness has announced that a new treatment for Advanced Wet Macular Degeneration has been approved for Phase III trials.  Presently, treatments using Eylea, Avastin, and Lucenitis require monthly injections.  This new treatment, Ixo-vec, is the latest advancement in gene therapies for ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, (AMD).  One of the main differences is that injections occur one time only and could last for up to 3 years, or possibly a lifetime.  In one recent trial, titled LUNA, using high dose of Ixo-vec showed the treatment burden was reduced by 92 percent.  In another trial, Optic, it was reduced by 80 percent.

The treatment is using an anti-VEGF gene to block proteins called vascular endothelial growth factors which from the growth of unhealthy, leaky blood vessels which leads to retinal cell death and central vision loss.  Though years away before it is no longer simply a research procedure, this announcement is a reminder that the effort to treat the loss of vision is making advancements at a genetic level.  And that things are happening quickly compared to past years.

Artificial Intelligence research has now created a pair of glasses that speaks to you and describes everything in front of you.  Fascinating, but perhaps a little too much information, and when seeing people too much information if it has an opinion.  Especially if they can hear it too.

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"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." ~Albert Einstein

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When comedy was clean

If you are of a certain age, you can remember a man many called the, “Comedian’s Comedian”, because he was the one that made them laugh, and was innovative enough to set a tone for the comedy of his era.  Someone like Will Rogers speak in generalities and would say, “A fool and his money are soon elected.”  Recently one Senator described another member of congress by saying she, “Was the reason they print instructions on a shampoo bottle.” which is more personal.  Henny Youngman, Rodney Dangerfield, George Carlin and Phillis Diller had a shaper and meaner wit about life.  Jonathan Winters was known for his off-the-wall statements, but more for his look at life and seeing the humor in everyday things without cutting people personally.  Here are a few that came from his interesting life:

I knew I was getting old when I bent down to tie my shoe and wondered what else I could do while I was down there.

I have a photographic memory, but I always run out of film.

I once got a standing ovation in a hospital.  They took away my wheelchair.

You ever notice how a dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than it loves itself?  Meanwhile, my cat has been planning my murder for years.

I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.

The older I get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

Keeping your sense of humor is one of the best ways to get through the little troubles of aging.  We have often said that one of the ways to deal with the loss of vision is to see what is funny along the way.  Most of it, like pushing on a door marked pull was funny when we did it before, it still is.  Walking into a room with a busy mind and forgetting why you went to the room, or losing something because you put it somewhere it doesn’t go, we did as kids.  They are also found in the same place, exactly where you put them.  Like Jonathan Winters, poking fun at yourself harms no one.  Age only enhances those things, and in a way, that is funny too.  Especially if it is someone else doing it.

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"Wise men speak because they have something to say, 

fools because they have to say something." ~ Plato

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"No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others."

~ Alfred North Whitehead

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Annual Meeting of the Membership

This year’s Annual Meeting of the Membership will be held on May 8^th at 5:30.  A pasta dinner will be served at 6:00 and will be followed by the formal meeting.  There is no charge for the dinner, it is complements of the agencies staff and management.  The dinner is also a chance for the community and the clients to meet each other on a personal level.

We are one of only very few non-profits in California with a voting membership.  If the Board of Directors wishes to make a change in the organization’s bylaws or the direction of our services it can only do it with the acceptance of the membership. 

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"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the plane takes

off against the wind, not with it." ~ Henry Ford.

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Keeping your estate planning simple

We have often noted that donations that come from an estate have been the backbone of our funding.  It is where most of the larger donations come from.  It is hard for us to ask you to include us in your estate, we would rather you live longer.  That is after all why we do what we do, to increase the quality of our lives despite the loss of vision, and in doing so extend it.  The last thing we wish to do is appear like we are sitting on the fence waiting.  Take care of family first.  We just want to help you understand what is ahead of you.

Administering a Will has not always been a smooth transition for the family and executor to accomplish.  The reason is simply that the donor has left a Will that is complicated and often takes years to resolve.  In many cases, if the person does not have a Will, or there are too many loose ends, and the estate goes into probate and the courts decide which in most cases takes months or even years.  Making a family member responsible for setting up the estate may also create problems as that family member is not a lawyer and does not know the intricacies of managing an estate settlement, much less dealing with governmental issues.  The more you own, the more complicated it becomes.

You also might be surprised at how much you are worth, especially if you own your home.  Often if you give it to your relative, after you see the loan and the tax bill it is impossible to keep the home and it must be sold.  That takes time, and the taxes must be paid along the way.

The best advice we can give is to use a lawyer you know you can trust to write our Will.  At the same time, the more complicated it is the more work they must do to accomplish your wishes, and that also takes funding to accomplish.  Many times, much of this is solved by creating a Trust account in the name of the organization you wish to include.  When you pass there is a tax benefit as the agency already is an owner of the trust.  Be careful though that you don’t lock it up so you can’t use it if you need it.  Other forms of investment have their full value only when their term is done and are not worth face value unless the agency can wait years for them to mature.

We have had estates that were resolved in just a few months, and one that took us over a year to resolve when they gave us the home which required extensive repairs, an estate sale, and the selling of the home.

You also need to consider where the money is going.  Are you giving to large national organizations who mix it with millions of dollars, or to a local organization where it becomes a major part of their funding and who would use it to stimulate the local economy.

One other option is to simply figure out what excess income is beyond your needs to have the life and retirement you wish to have and give it to the organization when they have the opportunity to say thank you.  Your faith in us is as personal as our desire to make your years productive.  It is that personal donation that gives us much of our funding.  A sense of humanity is lost when we are granted the funds on a piece of paper.

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"It is not the years in your life that counts, it is the life in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln

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When Poetry Gets to the Point

Poets by their nature get to the point of what they see.  Often it is Robert Frost walking “A road less traveled” or “Miles to go before he sleeps” while “Stopping by a woods on a snowy evening”.  It can be historical like “The charge of the Light Brigade” going into the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”.  But sometimes it tells us something about ourselves.  Edgar Allan Poe wrote Annabelle Lee for his wife when she died.  No one ever saw it until he died, and they found it on top of everything in his single chest of belongings.  In it he laments that “She was a child, and I was a child, in this kingdom by the sea.  But we loved with the love that was more than love, I and my Annabelle Lee”.

An excellent example of that aspect was written by John Donne and used by Ernest Hemmingway as a book title.  Like most poetry, it speaks of its moment, but for all time.  In this case it was the slow tolling of the church bell in a small community that announced someone had passed.  It was written in 1607, and it resonates to this day.

 

No Man is an Island

No man is an Island, entire of itself.

Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less as well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thy friends or of then own were.

Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind

And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls.

It tolls for thee.

 

It is spring, and the leaves are returning to the trees.  Once more to dance in the wind, and bring shade to warmer days.  Sometimes we just need to remember, there are things more important in life than we are.  Yet, they are who we are, and some things cannot be sold, they must be given.  The loss of vision, especially if it is gradual changes of age with Macular Degeneration, does not change these things.  It only changes how the wind makes the leaves change what we do see and how we feel the sun against our face.  And family and friends are still a part of us even though they may not be with us at any given moment.  Perhaps it is just time to wax poetic and appreciate what we do have.  And once more remember our Annabelle Lee.

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Drivers

Once again, we remind people that we use volunteer drivers, primarily to take clients to medical appointments.  Most are in town, but some go into the valley.  But we also use them for events like the upcoming dinner at Eskaton, or the Avian program where we have clients learning to hear and identify the many birds in the area.  We also transport a larger group to a restaurant to bring clients together within the community when there is a fifth Wednesday in the month, which happens around four times a year.  If you wish in these economic times if the trips are frequent or are one of some distance, we also pay mileage.

We also want to thank those who are driving for us now.  You are most appreciated.  And we appreciate how you have told us how much you enjoy the trips as the clients are such nice people to meet, and show their appreciation for what you are doing for them.

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New Members of the Board of Directors

We have often reported that we need new members on the Board of Directors of Sierra Services for the Blind.  That need is now becoming almost critical as members have left because of health, family, or moving of town.  We are now down to five members.

Board members in the past have come from many sources.  Generally, they are members of a clients family, or the client themselves.  Others are local business owners.  We need both.  Members related to clients, caregivers, and clients are critical as it is the job of the board to serve the best interests of the blind and visually impaired of out common community.  Who better to do it than someone affected by the need.  And, we are also a business, and those that own one understand how to run one.  Some are former professionals who are retired and can bring a different lifetime experience to the table.  Others are members of organizations such as the Lions Club, originally called the Knights of the Blind.

Having a few from each aspect gives a nonprofit a true picture of the community it serves.  Like what happens in our client counseling groups, people from different backgrounds find they have a lot in common, and that commonality that brings common sense and progress to the organization.

The Board of Directors meets once a month, generally on the third Tuesday of each month.  We meet at 5:00 in the evening and are usually done around 6:00.  If members come from work and cannot make it by 5:00, that is adjustable as they set their own time.  Meetings are being held at the office, 546 Searls Ave, Nevada City.

If you are interested or know someone who has the qualities of a Non-profit board member, please contact the office at 530-265-2121.

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"No person was ever honored for what he received.

Honor has been the reward for what he gave.

Calvin Coolidge

 

 

We are looking for volunteer drivers! Interested? Please talk with Melissa,

(530) 265-2121

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New From BARD

Cotton's War DBC13565 By Phil Dunlap. Reading time: 7 hours, 54 minutes. Read by Nelson Goud. A production of Indiana State Library, Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library. Western Stories When Virgil Cruz and his gang kidnap the woman he loves and threaten to kill her if he interferes with their plans, Sheriff Cotton Burke turns to Memphis Jack Stump, the only man he trusts to infiltrate Cruz's gang, for help. Some descriptions of sex, strong language, violence. __oOo__ Smithsonian Magazine, July 2018 __oOo__ The loss of the S.S. Titanic: its story and its lessons DB 91999 By Lawrence Beesley. Reading time 4 hours, 40 minutes. Read by Steven Carpenter. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress. Subjects: Travel Description: The personal record of one of the 705 survivors of the Titanic disaster in 1912. His eyewitness account is augmented by those of other passengers who were spared, contributing to a general report of events and behavior the night the ship sank within three hours of colliding with an iceberg. 1912. BARD is a National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress. __oOo__