Letters to the Editor

Thanks for the help 

Editor: 

On behalf of the Democratic Party of Valencia County, I would like to express our gratitude to every person who attended our Masquerade Ball fundraiser on Oct. 13.  

We know your time and money are precious and we appreciate your commitment and participation and willingness to dress up and get out and party with other Democrats, young and old. We had a lovely evening of camaraderie and connection! 

We’d also like to thank the generous folks who donated awesome silent auction items. Many thanks to Rev. Melanie Tharnish, Pedro Rael and Lydia Piro, Michael and Lynn Sanchez, Bruce and Rhonda Law, Megan Malcolm Morgan and The Grid Gallery, Pam Cordova and Mike Melendez and everyone else, individuals and businesses that contributed, there are too many to list here, but you all have our appreciation. 

I would also like to thank the executive committee for all their hard work, Dolores Otero Padilla for the amazing cookies, and Linda Guenley for her leadership. We had an enchanted evening and look forward to more fun in the future. 

If you would like to learn more about the DPVC please visit our website at ValenciaDemocrats.org. We have several exciting initiatives we are working on right now and your talents and assistance would go a long way. 

  

Summer Ludwig 

Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Valencia County 

  

  

Grateful to contribute 

Editor: 

As an educator with an extensive background in special education and working with deaf students, it is a priority to make school accessible and inclusive for all my students.  

I started teaching at New Mexico Destinations Career Academy three years ago and appreciate the full language access my deaf and hard of hearing students have.  

All my students have the opportunity to participate in weekly meal planning and cooking classes; while these lessons are normally made accessible to a wide range of different learners, I sometimes needed to pre-record them. One day, I lost the footage of a pre-recorded cooking lesson, and my daughter offered to film a final take for me.  

However, in this attempt, I chose to focus on the visuals of the steps while signing the instructions rather than talking. I ended up with something wonderful: a pre-recorded video that was accessible to all my students, one that had narration, subtitles, and visuals. This was what led to the creation of my cooking channel – Sign & Dine. I make my videos accessible to everyone, making sure visual and audible instructions are clear.  

On top of my videos, I am continuing to strive to better serve my Deaf and hard of hearing students. I participated in a training program this past year for rural interpreters for the deaf, and this coming year I will be an interpreting intern, looking to become a certified interpreter in New Mexico and Colorado.  

I’m so grateful to be able to contribute to a personal community of people that I care very much for, and hope to continue to do so.   

  

Nora Sanford 

Educator at Destinations Career Academy of New Mexico