Safety first on White Cane Day
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Tom Donahue, the director of the Rutland Regional Chamber of Commerce, uses goggle to impair his vision as the White Cane Awareness Day walk crosses Merchants Row in Rutland on Thursday. VYTO STARINSKAS / RUTLAND HERALD |
Toolbox
By STEPHANIE M. PETERS STAFF WRITER - Published: October 16, 2009
In the past year, Darlene Manning's had three near-misses with Rutland city motorists as she's tried to cross downtown streets.
One car turning from Court Street onto Center Street even knocked out of Manning's hand the thin, long white cane she uses to help feel her way around.
Manning, whose fast-progressing glaucoma has reduced her vision to what she describes as a 4-inch window, is legally blind.
"I have some sight," Manning said Thursday. "I can't imagine what its like for a totally blind person to try to get around here."
Frank Melendy knows all too well.
He's lived on Allen Street for three years, and would love to be able to cross Main Street. He still never has.
"It took me a while when I first moved there to even go out because I was so nervous about crossing," said Melendy, who lost his vision at age 10.
Conditions and consideration for the visually impaired are improving, both say, but more still needs to be done.
That's what Thursday – White Cane Safety Day – was all about. While stopping to acknowledge the independence and strength symbolized in the cane, a tool blind and visually impaired people have used as a travel guide for more than 70 years, the community also hopes to heightening awareness for what the cane means. Despite its lengthy history, many people in the mainstream community still do not recognize it as an indicator of a blind or visually impaired person, according to Terry Stapleton, a rehabilitation counselor for the Vermont Division of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
A state-sponsored event at the Asa Bloomer Building on Thursday afternoon featured an experiential walk, complete with white canes and goggles that obscure a person's vision, for members of the public, from the state office building, to City Hall and back. It was followed by a question-and-answer reception in the state office building's atrium.
It was the second annual event. Next year, Stapleton said the state is already planning to highlight other facets of everyday life for people with vision impairments – including technology and seeing-eye dogs. They also hope to spread the message of the penalties motorists can face for not yielding to the blind – such as four points on their licenses and $200 fines.
"I'm really happy we're doing this," said Josh Trabor of Wallingford, who attended the event with his wife, Rose, and his golden retriever, Casey, who for the past three years has served as his seeing-eye dog.
"I hope that everyone gets the chance to see what it's like to be blind," he said. "You never know, it might happen to you one day."
stephanie.peters@rutlandherald.com
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