Muldrow resident earns medal at School for the Blind’s Cane Quest
“Proper cane skills and travel techniques are keys to independence for people who are blind,” Oklahoma School for the Blind Superintendent Rita Echelle said, explaining why OSB hosted the 10th Oklahoma Regional Cane Quest competition in Muskogee.
“Proper cane skills and travel techniques are keys to independence for people who are blind,” Oklahoma School for the Blind Superintendent Rita Echelle said, explaining why OSB hosted the 10th Oklahoma Regional Cane Quest competition in Muskogee.
Muldrow resident Macey Millar, an OSB seventh-grader, won a silver medal at Cane Quest. She earned points and prizes in competition with 36 other cane users from across the state.
Millar’s award in the Explorers category included competitors in grades sixth through ninth.
Contestants in the Scouts category competed on the OSB campus in Muskogee. They were judged on a variety of human guide skills, body and spatial awareness abilities, and safe negotiation of stairs. Scouts earned coins for expertly performed skills. They used the coins to purchase prizes.
Competitors in the Explorers and Trailblazers categories for older students competed in busy downtown Muskogee. They crossed streets and alleys and demonstrated long cane techniques while following recorded directions. They had the opportunity to earn gold, silver and bronze medals.
Certified orientation and mobility specialists and teachers of the visually impaired scored all the contestants.
Cane Quest is a national program of the Braille Institute of America, based in Los Angeles, Calif.
“Cane Quest competitors worked hard and demonstrated competitiveness and skills,” Faye Miller, OSB certified orientation and mobility instructor and Cane Quest regional organizer, said. “Of course, they especially loved winning prizes and medals.”
“Proper cane use is important because Oklahoma law requires drivers to completely stop their vehicles 15 feet away from pedestrians who are visually impaired and identified by their use of white canes with red tips or dog guides,” Echelle said. “People who violate this law are guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to three months or $100 fine or both.”
OSB and Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired are divisions of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services.
