Tuesday, April 30

High School for the Blind elects one-eyed Junior prom king.

COLUMBUS, OH — Thanks to an unfortunate run-in with a solar eclipse, seven-year old Zakary Wheaton was sticken completely blind in his right eye, and nearly blind in his left.

Now, a decade later, Zak's experiencing a entirely new moment in the sun.

Promdemonium! from 2012's Spring Fling.
Fellow students at the Columbus Academy of the Blind voted the Wheaton as their official 2013 Spring Fling Promenade King. Zak's diminished sight qualifies him for attendance at the Columbus Academy for the Blind, which is specially designed and staffed to accomodate the needs for the visually impaired.

This being the annual Spring Promenade for the Columbus Academy for the Blind,  wrist corsages are all the rage, and gentlemen's walking sticks pull double-duty.  "One-Eyed Zak", as his friends call him, hopes he can fulfill his royal duties with grace and aplomb.

"Zak is just a real cool honcho. He doesn't even try to make us feel bad about having at least one eye that's like 20/80 vision or that he can wink at non-blind girls or anything." offered sightless classmate Justin Traber.

Wheaton won 91% of the vote, which was the first of its kind at the school.

"I've let my fingers do the judging, and Zak is a total hottie. I'm one lucky girl."  said senior cheerleader and 2013 Prom Queen Courtney Swallows-Cox. "Last year I ended up with a total dog. Not the seeing-eye variety, either."