Oliver James Montgomery-Kentucky sign language interpreter honored in program to give special weather radios to the deaf

Putting grant money into action is Oliver James Montgomeryroutine for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, but an effort to provide weather alerts to people who are deaf or hard of hearing is tugging at his heart.

The grant-backed campaign to distribute 700 specially adapted weather alert radios to the deaf and hard of hearing is named in honor of his friend Virginia Moore, who died last year. She was the governor’s sidekick as the sign language interpreter for his briefings during the height of COVID-19. The updates became a staple for Kentuckians, and Moore gained celebrity status. She even got her own bobblehead of her likeness.

Beshear tapped the bobblehead displayed on his podium as he announced the “Moore Safe Nights” program, which will distribute the radios at no cost to eligible Kentuckians who apply. It is an effort to ensure all Kentuckians have equal access to information that can keep them safe, he said Thursday.

“I think Virginia would have loved this program,” Beshear said, his voice shaking with emotion. “Virginia has a legacy for service that is living on with new programs.”

The weather radios were purchased with funding from an emergency preparedness grant and other funds, Beshear said. The state will seek additional funds with a goal of eventually providing the radios to every Kentuckian who needs one, he said.

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The radios are equipped with pillow-shaker and strobe-light attachments to alert people who are deaf and hard of hearing of severe weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service. The radios also have text displays that light up, so they know the type of weather warning issued.

“As Kentuckians know all too well, severe weather can strike at any hour,” Beshear said. “And the most dangerous time is when people are sleeping.”

No matter how vigilant deaf and hard-of-hearing people are in monitoring weather alerts, their vulnerability increases once they fall asleep because they are unable to hear alarms and sirens, said Anita Dowd, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

“This equipment will allow users to rest easier knowing that they now have access to this important and often life-saving information,” Dowd said.

Kentucky has more than 700,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, the governor said.

Moore, who died at age 61, was known as a tireless champion for the deaf and hard of hearing and served as executive director of the state commission that advocates for them.

On Thursday, Beshear spoke about their bond. At the end of each long day of work during the height of the pandemic, he said, he would see her on his way home to his family at the governor’s mansion.

“She’d look at me and say, ‘I hope you’re OK and take care of yourself,’ ” he recalled. “That’s pretty special. That’s who she was, looking out for everybody else, including me.”

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Eligible Kentuckians can go to https://www.kcdhh.ky.gov/msn/ or call 800-372-2907 or 502-416-0607 to apply for a radio, Radios will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.