BLOGS

World reporter Rick Steigmeyer recently wrote a touching story about the opening of an office by Lilac Services for the Blind that will support and training for visually impaired individuals in our midst.

It's rare to see someone walking with a cane in our valley, so many of us probably assume that blindness isn't much of an issue in our area, but office manager Carolyn Sibert told me that as many as 2,000 people have significant impairment in Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties. I found that number to be astounding.

There are two aspects to Steigmeyer's story that I found particularly intriguing. I wanted to learn more about Sibert's journey and I was intrigued by the fact that virtually everything in the office at 4 Kittitas Street was donated.

Sibert's not only the office manager but has also has learned to live with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that progressively narrows the field of vision for those who have it.

She had enough sight to drive and work until 10 years ago, when she crashed her car into a lamp post in a parking lot in the Seattle area and she and her husband decided her vision had deteriorated to the point where she needed to quit driving.

She went through the stages of grief for the loss of her vision and, for a time, relied on her husband to get around. But then she attended a school for the blind and rediscovered her independence. She travels with confidence on her own, although she had to get over her reticence to use a cane. She used to hate standing out in a crowd but now views it as a way to help people understand that she has vision issues.

In opening the office, she hopes to help people understand that "just because you're losing your vision, your life is not at an end." She's living proof of that.

Sibert's passionate and confident advocacy for those have vision issues is infectious and people in this community have fallen all over themselves to help.

Garry Sparks of the Floor Factory, who owns the building at 4 Kittitas St. where the office is located bent over backwards to help make it affordable. The Community Foundation of North Central Washington and our local Lions Club gave $5,000 each to support the effort.

The volunteer and donation effort got a huge boost when the local unions got involved. Gil Walsh at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was inspired by the project and encouraged members to donate their time to retrofit the building. Other unions followed suit, including the Northwest Carpenters Union and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters.

Marson and Marson Lumber Co. and Sunshine Lumber Co. provided lumber, and two dozen other organizations and individuals donated time, money or products. Between donations and volunteers, virtually all of the improvements were contributed. The office has technology and services to help those with visual impairment lead productive and satisfying lives.

"We couldn't have done it without them," said Sibert, who grew up in Wenatchee but lived and worked for more than two decades in the Seattle area before returning home a few years ago. "It gives me a good feeling to know that a new business can come into town and the community is willing to support it."

It's impressive that the visually impaired individuals will no longer be out of sight, out of mind in our valley. The effort to make this office a reality is one more example of the kind of community spirit that exists here. The official opening of the office is set for Monday, Jan. 23.

Here's the original story by Steigmeyer

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