Lions Club brings vision screening to local schools

Plains Montana Lions Club District 37 completed its countywide school vision screening tests last week.

Lion’s volunteers Whitney Tanner, Marvin Tanner, Margo Tanner and Lions President Steve Spurr were on hand at the Plains school gym to perform vision testing Wednesday morning for each of the elementary students. 

Vision testing at the Plains School District was the last school to be tested in Sanders County. Countywide scanning started Oct. 24 by the Lions Club. The local Lions Club has been giving vision screening tests in the county for over 20 years.

Each year vision screening notifications are sent out to parents by the school. Parents can opt out of the screening if wanted. Parents would be notified by the school districts if any irregularities are found. 

There is no charge for the screening and it is performed by an instrument called Plusoptix which scans for hyperopia, myopia, antimetropia, amblyopia, anisocoric conditions. The instrument, valued at $6,000, can scan children as young as 6 months old. It was donated by Avista, an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy. Photo screening uses the eye's red reflex to estimate a refractive error as well as identify other factors that put a child at risk.

The Lions Club vision screening program is a worldwide effort that has tested over forty-eight million students. The idea to help improve vision testing, was first proposed in 1925 by Helen Keller, who addressed the Lions at their international convention and urged them to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” 

Vision screening numbers performed in Thompson Falls were 148, Dixon had 44 participants, Trout Creek had 36, Noxon had 159, Hot Spring had 16 with Plains having 214. 

In 2021 Plains Lions Club won an award for the most students tested in their prospective size community.

    Plains Teacher Danni Crowe has her eyes tested. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)