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Tuesday September 30, 2014 Edition
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Fiftieth White Cane Safety Awareness Day Celebrates Independence And Raises Awareness


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Tuesday September 30, 2014

By Cookie Steponaitis

White canes are seen as symbols of independence and strength across the globe for people with partial blindness, visual impairment and total blindness, but they also represent much more. As the result of understanding the history of the white cane, Americans recognize the shift in awareness in American culture, the passage of laws in the fifty states and the responsibilities of motorists and citizens across the nation.
    George A. Bonham of Peoria, Illinois witnessed an alarming, heart wrenching and dangerous sight when a man who was blind attempted to cross a street with a black cane that was hardly noticeable by the motorists against the dark color of the pavement. Bonham volunteered to paint the man’s cane white to make it more visible and reported his observations to his local Lions Club, which began making and distributing white canes to people with visual impairment and blindness. The Lions Club International began a worldwide campaign promoting the use of white canes in 1931.
    The use of white canes by the visually impaired gained momentum and support, and the National Federation of the Blind meeting on July 6, 1963 created a resolution asking governors of the fifty states to invoke October 15th as White Cane Safety Day and further challenge each state to increase awareness of the responsibilities of people at crosswalks, intersections and any place where a white cane is in use.
President Lyndon Johnson, upon hearing of the passage of the Congressional resolution, recognized not only the role of the white cane as a way to establish independence for visually impaired people, but praised the blind community for the determination to be self-reliant and remarked to the American people in a presidential proclamation, “The white cane in our society has become one of the symbols of a blind person’s ability to come and go on his own. Its use has promoted courtesy and special consideration to the blind in our streets and highway. To make our people more fully aware of the meaning of the white cane and the of the need for motorists to exercise special care for the blind persons who carry it, Congress, by a joint resolution approved as of October 6, 1964, has authorized the president to proclaim October 15 of each year as White Cane Safety Day.”
    On Wednesday October 15, 2014 the Vermont Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Vermont Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired are sponsoring the Fiftieth Annual Observance of White Cane Safety Awareness Day from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Isley Library. Vermont State Law Title 23 of the Motor Vehicles Code currently lists the duties of all motorists toward blind persons and mandates that any pedestrian attempting to cross with a guide dog, cane or walking stick, white in color or white tipped with red, be given the legal right of way. Failure to yield can result in injury, death and a fine and four points on the motorist’s driving record.
    The public is cordially invited to this annual and important event.
People can RSVP Stacey Carmody, Rutland DBVI at (802) 786-5822 or email [email protected]. White canes are not only a symbol of independence for the visually impaired and blind community, but a matter of law that all motorists and citizens should be aware of.


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