The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
WHITE CANE SAFETY DAY
Participants walk blindfolded in event hosted by Willoughby Evening Lions Club
Alongside the blind and visually impaired, people were put to the test in Willoughby over the weekend in light of National White Cane Safety Day.
On Oct. 14, the Willoughby Evening Lions Club hosted a white cane walk event in which participants who weren’t blind or visually impaired had the opportunity to walk from the Willoughby Municipal Swimming Pool to downtown Willoughby blindfolded. Roughly 20 people participated in the walk.
“The importance of it is so that people driving pay attention to someone trying to cross the street with a white cane,” said Ron DeCarlo, president of the Willoughby Evening Lions. “They have nothing to alert them that a car might be coming, so we want to make drivers aware. They walk down the street and be very obvious so everybody sees this.”
The last time the Willoughby Evening Lions hosted a white cane walk, nicer weather drew more than 50 walkers.
“This weather kicked us in the butt,” DeCarlo observed. “The last time we did this, it was quite a parade down
the street and it doesn’t look like we’re going to have that today, but more may still show up.”
Regardless of attendance, people will still be exposed to the white cane issue to people driving down the street, DeCarlo said.
“When we get down to the square
(Public Square), we’ll mingle with people,” he said. “White Cane Awareness is national, but we like to keep it local — all of our service projects and fundraising projects, and help people in our own community. That’s our mission.”
To allow people to be more fully
aware of the meaning of the white cane and of the need for motorists to exercise special care for the blind person who carries it, on Oct. 6, 1964, the U.S. Congress approved a resolution authorizing the president to annually issue a proclamation designating Oct. 15 as National White Cane Safety Day.
According to Ohio’s White Cane Law, the driver of every vehicle shall yield the right of way to every blind pedestrian guided by a guide dog, or carrying a cane which is predominantly white or metallic in color, with or without a red tip. Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
Among the participants in the walk was Bonnie Heasley, a 76-year-old Willoughby resident.
“What brought me here today was finding out years ago that I was going blind,” she said. “I had no idea. I got up one morning, got in the car, looked at the gas and I couldn’t see the dashboard. It went downhill from there, so being that I had been an artist, photographer
and bookkeeping for businesses, I could no longer do that.”
Since being blind, Heasley has learned how to survive in the world by “feeling her way through.” In turn, she learned how to set up her house and taught art at the sight center in Cleveland.
“Teaching art to somebody who cannot see — we lose touch on everything,” she said. “That’s tough. We used everything, including clay. At first, people were afraid because they were afraid of being criticized
and afraid of people saying, ‘Why are you doing that?’ Why not? Living is hard enough without a disability.”
Heasley advises to others who are blind or visually impaired that they should not be afraid of the journey.
“We’re alive and enjoying life,” she observed. “We’re outside. We’re not confined to a building because we can’t see. We keep moving. Try hard to not be afraid. Who are you going to see laughing at you? There’s a lot of stuff out there to help. You need to know how to
survive no matter what.”
Also among the participants in the walk was Dylan LeMaster, a 17-yearold Riverside High School student from Leroy.
“I’m visually impaired — almost blind,” he said. “I can barely see stuff. I can see light and some cars, and that’s about it. I have always had bad vision. My left eye can see better. My right eye is just light. Since 4 or 5, my vision has gotten worse since then, but it’s not like having 20/20 vision, waking up the next day to having 20/3,000 or
whatever it is.”
LeMaster said he found out about the walk through work.
“I don’t have a problem walking,” he said. “Push through. You have to do what you can. It’s 2023. We live in a world of electronics, which can help a lot in the classroom. I love electronics, so that helps too. The other thing is transportation because obviously when you’re blind,
getting behind the wheel is not exactly a good idea. I use Laketran. It’s wonderful.”
According to Lions International, white cane laws are on the books of every state in the United States and many other countries, providing blind persons a legal status in traffic. The white cane now universally acknowledges that the bearer is blind.