*** Story *** Bernardo Howard of Artesia navigated busy intersections, buses, and Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces Wednesday as part of blindness skills training that he is receiving from the New Mexico Commission for the Blind Orientation Center in Alamogordo. The training includes cane travel, braille, home management , personal management, computers and assistive technology, physical education, and industrial arts. ""Many people who lose their sight believe at first that their lives are over and that they are no longer capable of working or performing even simple tasks independently," said Lucy Alexander, director of the Orientation Center. However, those who participate in the Commission for the Blind vocational rehabilitation program soon learn that blind people are normal people who can and should live and function independently." Howard and three other students were accompanied by their cane travel Instructor, Robert Wilkerson, who is certified by the National Blindness Professional Certification Board, as is his colleague Aaron Fallon who was also part of today's group. The students and staff of the Orientation Center will join the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico, the National Federation of the Blind White Sands chapter, and New Mexico State University Alamogordo on October 20 in a walk along White Sands Boulevard to raise awareness of the white cane law. For more information about the Commission for the Blind and the Orientation Center in Alamogordo visit www.cfb.state.nm.us http://www.cfb.state.nm.us . main region end