Feature TheReview Wednesday, February z, 1890 one 0 White cane is office baton FOCUSING ON TELEVISION is possible for legally blind Richard Spooner, who uses a magnifying screen and binoculars to see the screen. Whife Cane Week, Feb. 4 to 10, stresses the integration of visually impaired people into their communi- Wes by Valorie Lennox The Review “That’s your badge of office,” says Richard Spooner, brandishing a white cane. “It’s an identity cane.” Cars will stop and people will step forward to help when they see the visually impaired Spooner with his cane. “Nothing could be more help- ful. It’s really an identification But the 79-year-old Brentwood resident doesn’t use the white cane — or anything else — as a crutch. He still watches television, although with binoculars and an enlarging screen to make the most of his failing vision, and is involved in local organizations. With his wife Joan as the look- out and Spooner drawing on 36 years’ experience in the navy, the couple still go boating. “She’s the eyes and I provide the expertise. “We try to do everything that we could do before. We don’t give up,” he said. “My wife is the angel in this case. Without her I couldn’t have adapted.” Legally blind due to macular degeneration, Spooner still has some peripheral vision and can see light and shadow. But he cannot read. He cannot drive a car and he cannot ride a bicycle. “You don’t realize the snags one comes up against being blind,” he says. Losing a bar of soap in the bath is a minor mishap for most people. For someone who is blind, the bar is gone — and there’s the danger of slipping on the wet soap. Pouring a glass of water can create a mess, unless the person knows to place a finger on the rim to gauge the amount poured. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind provides workshops and little gadgets designed for the sight impaired, Spooner says. ‘My wife is the angel in this case. Without her | couldn’t have adapfed’ One small gadget fits over the tim of a glass and has electric sensors that beep when touched by liquid. The device is enough to keep a blind person from. overfil- ling or spilling a glass. A powerful lighted magnifier enlarges small areas of print, ena- bling Spooner to look up tele- phone numbers. B.C. Tel also provides special service to visually impaired sub- scribers. CNIB finds much of the equip- ment designed to help visually impaired people and provides it at the lowest possible price. A BOOKSTORE & MORE : 2436 BEACON AVE., SIDNEY, B.C. V8L 1X6 658-2345 TANNERS Monthly Draw Winners NAME PRIZE Service, P.O. Box 1000, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2S6 (FAX line: 381-7454) with” 1. Bill Benwell $100 suggestions for revisions they would like considered by the updated by-law. Sug- 2 S. K. Cheema $20 gestions should be received by February 14, 1990. 3. Mr & Mrs. Yuill $5 4. G. Askin Free 649 Doctor Shaun H.S. Peck 5. Ruby Fever Free 649 6. Mr & Mrs. N. C. Miller Free 649 : : Offi 7. Pamela Brodgesell Free 649 Regional Medical Health Officer 8. D.R. Boyd Free 649 9. G. Askin Free 649 10. Pauline Follows Free 649 The white canes, originally donated by the Lions Club, are free, Spooner says. CNIB seminars and information pamphlets teach people how to cope with lost or deteriorating vision. “It’s like a club and everyone is welcome. I suppose as much as anything it is the moral support they give you. “It comes awfully hard when you find yourself somewhat inhib- ited.” Still, Spooner’s life has not been disrupted as much as he would have thought. His sight started deteriorating three years ago. He and his wife were returning from a trip to the southern United States, towing a trailer, when Spooner pulled off the road and tumed the wheel over to his wife. He realized it was no longer safe for him to drive, “I didn’t give in to it.” Briefly he tried driving a motor scooter, but was forced to give that up as well. Any disability, he feels, is diffi- cult to accept. “Wherever it is or whatever it is, there is nothing worse. There’s nothing unique.” For Spooner — whose life included time in the navy, time operating a mobile home park with his wife, and travels through- out Europe before the couple moved to Brentwood in 1981 — the greatest frustration is his lack of mobility. He keeps up to date with current affairs. From the CNIB service and the local library he gets talk- ing books and Maclean’s maga- zine transcribed on tape. He listens to parliamentary broadcasts, news and business reports. Together, he and his wife write letters supporting the cause of the Association for the Protec- tion of Rural Central Saanich. “We're determined to do a lot for us.” WANNA DRAG, OLD TIMER? The classic battle of the truck builders spans the decades in this driveway on Resthaven Drive, where a late-model Chev sits parked beside a Ford that’s seen better days — days when its neighbor wasnt even a conceptual scrawl on a car designers drafting paper. GEORGE LEE photo ~ FREE UNTIL YOU DO! NO HIDDEN COSTS! Everything you need to lose your first 10 pounds on the Diet Center Program is in- cluded in our “COUNT DOWN SPECIAL” price. We're sure that once you experience the Diet Center Program, you'll want to con- tinue to lose pounds and inches until you are the slim; Offer good for new clients only witha minimum of 20 pounds to Jose according to Diet Center Ideal Weight Charis, Other restrictions may apply. Nol good in conjunction with any other promotion offer. be! Get Serious . . . Call Today! OFFER AVAILABLE AT PARTICIPATING DIET CENTERS Dieta Center: The weight-loss professionals.” CAREGIVERS CAROUSEL A Musical Afternoon Sunday: Feb. 25 2:00 - 3:30 PM. SILVER THREADS IN SIDNEY no admission charge bring your care receipt : Sing-a-long of old favorites * Refreshments HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 6:30 - 5:00 Now Open Saturdays 8:00 am - 11:00 am 9843 SECOND ST. © 1990 Diet Center, Inc. REQUEST FOR INPUT REVISION OF CLEAN AIR BY-LAWS The Capital Kegionai District currently has iwo Smoking Control By-laws. By-law No. 1464 is a by-law to control the public places where people may smoke; and By-law No. 1440 is a by-law to control smoking in the workplace. In order to assist in achieving one of the goals of the Capital Regional District’s Healthy 2000 Initiative, the Task Force for the Reduction of Tobacco Use in the Capital Regional District has recommended the updating of these two by-laws to reflect the public demand for more smoke free environments and to assist in the goais of a “Tobacco Free Capital Regional District by the Year 2000". Community groups or individuals are invited to write to Doctor Shaun HS. Peck, Regional Medical Health Officer, Capital Regional District Community Health OR CONTINUE energetic person you want to fj | t MARINA COURT, SIDNEY [laf )