Newton man among those to receive governor’s Lifesaving Awards
|
| Gov. Chester J. Culver (left) presents Brian Schwenker with a Governor’s Lifesaving Award while 2009 State Fair Queen Caine Westergard and State Patrol Colonel Patrick J. Hoye look on. (Submitted Photo ) |
DES MOINES — Gov. Chet Culver honored 17 citizen heroes — including a Newton man — at the Iowa State Fair during the annual presentation of the Governor’s Lifesaving Awards.
“One of the most rewarding acts as governor is to celebrate the actions of Iowans whose quick thinking and self-sacrifice helped save a life,” Culver said. “These are truly Iowans who deserve to be honored.”
Among those being recognized with a Governor’s Lifesaving Award was Brian Schwenker of Newton for his assistance to a woman following a motor vehicle accident. On March 30, Cathy Freestone’s vehicle was struck by a semi that traveled into her lane on Interstate 80. Her vehicle became wedged in the duals of the semi and was dragged down the road until the vehicle dislodged. After the vehicles separated, Freestone’s vehicle left the roadway and rolled several times before coming to rest upside-down.
Schwenker was also traveling on Interstate 80 and quickly assisted Freestone. She was disoriented, injured and unaware her vehicle was on fire. Freestone was physically unable to free herself from her seatbelt, and Schwenker forced open the severely damaged door and crawled partly into the vehicle to hold Freestone up while searching blindly for the seatbelt release. Upon release, Freestone lay on the roof of her vehicle, still dazed. With the help of a by-stander, Schwenker moved her from the rapidly spreading fire. Within four minutes, the flames were between 6 and 8 feet tall, and the front of the vehicle was completely engulfed. Shortly thereafter, fire rescue and law enforcement arrived on scene.
The Governor’s Lifesaving Award Program was implemented in the 1970s to recognize Iowans who have performed a courageous act in an attempt to save someone’s life or who have unselfishly assisted in an emergency situation.
The Governor’s Lifesaving Award Program includes the following categories:
• Lifesaving with Valor — awarded to those individuals who, at the risk of their own life, attempted to save that of another person.
• Lifesaving — awarded to those individuals who have attempted to save the life of another individual without placing their own life in jeopardy during the rescue.
• Meritorious — awarded to those individuals in recognition of outstanding and unselfish service rendered in a time of distress.
• Outstanding — presented to persons who have performed a courageous act in an attempt to save an individual who was in danger of losing his or her life or to individuals who unselfishly rendered service in a time of emergency.
The Governor’s Lifesaving Awards Program is administered by the Iowa Department of Public Safety, and selected by a committee within the department. Nominations for the award, can be completed online at www.dps.state.ia.us/commis/pib/Awards/lifesavingawards.shtml.
Othe recipients of the Governor’s Lifesaving Award for 2009 include the following:
• Larry Williams of Wyoming received the Meritorious Service Award for his actions in aiding Jeanne Schnepp in August 2009. While fishing from a raft in the Wapsipinicon River, Schnepp became trapped near a steep embankment and on the far end of the 40-foot wide river. Williams found Schnepp after she had been trapped for five days, during which time she had been exposed to constant sun, two thunderstorms, bugs and fluctuation in night and day temperatures in just a tank top and shorts.
• Steve Schultz of Marengo received the Lifesaving Award for his actions in aiding four individuals in November 2009 after their boat capsized while they were duck hunting at the Coralville Reservoir. They were unable to upright their overturned vessel and were without lifevests. Two of the victims, Kurt Kruger and Eric Otte, swam for shore, but after nearly two hours of swimming, they made little progress and soon began to tire. Schultz arrived and heard faint cries for help. Using a spotlight, Stephen was able to illuminate the area enough to locate and hoist Kruger and Otte into his boat. The two remaining hunters, Kevin McCafferty and Wyatt Jans were located atop their overturned boat and rescued.
• Randy Stalder of Washington received the Lifesaving Award for his efforts in assisting Amanda Vittetoe in August 2009. Vittetoe had arrived at her contract grower’s nursery sites to assist with receiving pigs. With the trailer and chute in place to unload pigs, she noticed a gap between the two and sought a mat to bridge the difference. As she made her way around the chute, Vittetoe was unaware of the manure basin’s location and fell in. She tried frantically to push herself upwards to catch her breath but was unable to grab the edge of the pit due to the depth of the eight-foot basin. After several attempts to gain footing from the bottom, Stalder, the livestock trailer driver, who was out of sight during the incident, saw Vittetoe’s fingertips come through the surface and was able to latch onto her shirt and pull her out of the pit.
• Brad Lawson of Madrid received the Lifesaving Award for his assistance to Suzanne Nauman on Aug. 15, 2009.Brad and Heidi Lawson and their family were grilling at the marina on Lake Red Rock when they heard a splash and went to investigate. Suzanne Nauman, Heidi’s sister, was cleaning up when she suffered a seizure and fell into the lake. Lawson jumped in the water, which was about nine feet deep, and located Nauman. The Lawsons attempted to place her on the swim platform but were unsuccessful. Brad Lawson was able to hold her head above water long enough for help to arrive.
• Andrew Schroeder of Sheffield received the Lifesaving Award for his efforts in rescuing James Emhoff on April 5. Emhoff was loading manure into a spreader when he noticed a piece of plastic blocking the front bucket. He raised the arms of the loader, then the safety bars, releasing the hydraulics before climbing down to remove the obstruction. Within seconds, the bucket came down flat onto Emhoff’s back, pinning him underneath and leaving him unable to breathe. Schroeder crawled through manure underneath Emhoff in order to raise the belly bar in the cab. Once free, Emhoff was still having trouble breathing and 911 was called. Schroeder provided EMTs on scene with Emhoff’s vital medial history and synopsis of the event.
• Jason Weismann of Richfield, Minn., received the Lifesaving Award for his assistance to Jamie Handlos on July 14. At approximately 7 p.m., Weismann observed a car merging into the middle lane of westbound Interstate 80 near the Second Ave exit in Des Moines. The vehicle collided with the passenger side of a semi, pushing the semi into a Chevy Trailblazer driven by Handlos. Handlos’ vehicle then became pinned between the Jersey barrier and semi. Upon impact, both vehicles caught fire. Handlos and her unborn baby were barricaded inside. Weismann exited his vehicle and observed a hole in the rear window that was filled with smoke and flames. After some convincing, Handlos crawled to the back of the vehicle. Weismann began to pull her through the rear window when she became stuck. An unknown female nurse came over and helped Weismann with the final pull. Weismann and the unknown nurse then carried Handlos to safety.
• Levi Powell of Wellman, received the Lifesaving with Valor Award, and Drew Powell of Wellman, Jordan Brokaw of Kalona and Cory Kanagy of Wellman received Meritorious Service Awards for their actions on Feb. 28. The Washington County Communications Center had received a phone call reference a safe that was discovered on the English River. Washington County Deputy Hamilton arrived on scene and was met by callers Levi Powell, Brokaw, Kanagy and Drew Powell. Levi Powell, being the lightest of the group, accompanied Deputy Hamilton to the middle of the river to check the strength of the ice. While Deputy Hamilton was walking around the safe taking photographs, he encountered a weak spot in the ice and he fell through. He completely submerged but was able to resurface. He attempted to pull himself out of the hole, but the sides continued to give way. Deputy Hamilton submerged a second time. When he resurfaced, Powell pulled him out of the water. Drew Powell and Brokaw had gone to retrieve their vehicle while Kanagy stayed with the spot-light and dialed 911.
• Tony Gerdom and Bryan Ford Jr., both of Knoxville, received the Lifesaving with Valor Awards for their assistance to Kathleen VanSteenWyk on Dec. 7, 2009. VanSteenWyk had lost control of her vehicle due to icy road conditions, and the vehicle entered a pond, where it began to submerge. Shortly after the incident, Gerdom and Ford observed a vehicle in the pond and rushed to assist. The cold water had frozen the locks and windows on the van, trapping VanSteenWyk. Gerdom was supplied a tire iron and a rope to tie around himself from a worker at a nearby facility. After several unsuccessful attempts to break the front passenger window, he busted through the back window and coached VanSteenWyk towards him. Ford pulled them to shore and assisted them into the awaiting rescue unit. Within seconds of reaching shore, VanSteenWyk’s vehicle was completely submerged.
• John Hudgens Jr. of Pomeroy received the Lifesaving with Valor Award for efforts in assisting Bob Schossow following an explosion on March 9. Schossow had gone into his craft shop to light an LP heater. A short while later, he smelled raw gas and reached down to shut it off. The heater flared up and before he could respond appropriately, it exploded. The sides of the shop bowed out, the loft fell atop him. Hudgens, who was Schossow’s neighbor, awoke and dialed 911 after seeing the fire. Hudgens then saw something burning come out the door. Hudgens rushed to his aid. Although virtually unhurt, Schossow was adamant that he could contain the fire, but Hudgens urged him away and rolled away from the heat, all the while constantly hearing a popping sound behind them.They were able to crawl to Schossow’s enclosed carport. John pulled sheets of plywood to form a barricade in case the additional seven tanks blew. John suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning and frost bite to his feet. Schossow suffered from burns on his arms, face and hands.
• Robert Dearmore of Muscatine, Schlaan Murray of Davenport and Vontrice Jones of Geneseo, Ill., received Lifesaving with Valor Awards for their assistance to Edward Nesbit on Dec. 4, 2009. Nesbit was walleye fishing on the Mississippi River when his boat started to sink, forcing him into the freezing water. As Nesbit entered the water, he was able to grab a portable flotation device and used the bow of his boat to stay afloat in the frigid waters. Nesbit was in the Mississippi River between eight and 15 minutes before a nearby fisherman heard his cries. Jones and Murray were fishing the opposite side of the river when they noticed Nesbit and his boat bobbing up and down in the water. They alerted Dearmore, a lone fisherman who was within the immediate area of Nesbit. Dearmore was able to get close enough to Nesbit but was unable to remove him from the freezing waters alone. After the Jones boat arrived, Schlaan wrapped his legs around a pedestal seat and hung overboard, pulling Nesbit aboard with him. Dearmore provided him with some dry clothes while transporting him back shore where medical assistance was waiting.
