Real Heroes honored for acts of courage
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
THE 15th ANNUAL Real Heroes Breakfast was held April 5 and a number of county residents were recognized for their courage, kindness and unselfish character. Pictured are, from left, front row: Holden Bernier with his dog, Ruger, Olivia Tardie, Hillary Albert and Christopher Daigle. Back row: Taylor Willey, Kent Smith, Jack Reed, Richard Wark, Matt McPherson, Jeff Leighton, Stephanie Beaulieu and Fred Parsons. Proceeds from the Real Heroes Breakfast, which was attended by nearly 220 people, will benefit the local Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
FOUR INDIVIDUALS were presented with Extra Mile Awards at the recent Real Heroes Breakfast for ensuring the mission of the American Red Cross is met. Recipients were, from left: Martin Puckett, Jim Stacey, Jason Parent and Troy Haney.
PRESQUE ISLE — We all forget some of the things we were taught in school, but one lesson that Hillary Albert learned as a Presque Isle High School freshman helped save a woman’s life.
Last July while working at Rosella’s, Albert used the Heimlich maneuver on a customer who was choking on her food.
“I heard a loud gasp and at first my co-workers and I thought she was sneezing, but then we second-guessed ourselves,” said Albert, 19. “I said, ‘We should go check on that,’ and then I realized she was choking.
“The woman was in shock and was panicking. She was an older woman and I didn’t want to break her ribs, so I felt to make sure I would hit the area correctly and after one thrust, the food came out,” she said. “My Dad has a problem with acid and his throat closes up, so I had some experience with someone turning blue and the need to remain calm. I took health my freshman year of high school and there’s a first aid component to it, as well. I had hoped I would never have needed to use that training, but it turns out I did.”
Currently a student at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, Albert’s selfless act of courage has earned her the title of “Real Hero.”
The 15th annual Real Heroes Breakfast was held April 5 at Northern Maine Community College. Hosted by the American Red Cross—Pine Tree Chapter, WAGM-TV 8/FOX 8, Cary Medical Center, The Aroostook Medical Center and NMCC, the concept for the Real Heroes Breakfast has grown out of a desire to develop an event that is closely related to the mission of the American Red Cross — teaching people how to save lives.
“The Red Cross provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies,” said Joyce Knorr, Aroostook County branch manager of the American Red Cross—Pine Tree Chapter. “This is done through the simple, yet powerful process of one person putting his/her needs aside to help another. Across the nation, over one million Red Cross volunteers do this each day.
“What better way to celebrate this spirit of humanitarianism than by honoring those individuals who have shown courage, kindness, and unselfish character by their act of heroism in Aroostook County,” she said.
Albert said she’s glad she learned basic first aid, especially since none of her co-workers knew how to use the Heimlich maneuver.
“First aid is something everyone should know because you never know when you’ll need it,” she said. “It’s humbling to be thought of as a hero, but I think I was just in the right spot at the right time. I just hope somebody else would do the same thing for me.”
Eleven-year-old Olivia Tardie of Ashland helped prevent her grandparents’ home from being destroyed by fire one Saturday last August.
Don and Sharon Everett had just purchased a new gas cook stove and microwave. The stove was installed the day before, but they had decided to install the microwave themselves. Sharon had lit a candle and placed it on the counter; it was a beautiful afternoon and there was a nice breeze. The Everetts were in and out, back and forth between the kitchen and the garage where the microwave was, trying to figure out how to mount the brackets for the microwave. The instructions for mounting were on the bar/counter along with the weekend paper and other items. Tardie, who was spending the night, came out into the garage holding the instructions to the microwave and asked if they were important. They were hardly readable because they were burnt. When her grandmother asked what had happened, Tardie told her she had just come in from taking their new puppy outside and smelled smoke.
When she came into the kitchen, she saw the bar/counter was on fire. Tardie had gone to the sink and grabbed a big dish of water and worked on putting out the fire. Apparently the breeze blew the instruction manual and paper over the lit candle. Tardie remained calm and instead of yelling for help or panicking, she had the wits to extinguish the blaze.
“I knew it would be a waste of time to holler for help,” said the sixth-grader, “and I didn’t want the fire to get any bigger, so I just went to get water.”
While the kitchen wasn’t heavily damaged, Tardie said “there were ashes and water all over the place.”
“It wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” she said.
Tardie knew what to do thanks to learning fire prevention tips at school.
“Ever since I was in kindergarten we’ve had classes where a lady would come in and teach us about danger, fires and things like that,” she said. “I knew what to do.
“It’s kind of cool to be considered a hero because no one else in my grade has done this before,” said Tardie. “It’s exciting.”
Others recognized as 2013 Real Heroes were:
• Stephanie Beaulieu, Matt McPherson and Jeff Leighton of Fort Fairfield, and Fred Parsons of Presque Isle.
One evening last spring, when Beaulieu was eating supper at her Fort Fairfield home, she heard the dispatchers at the Houlton Regional Communications Center calling out first responders in Fort Fairfield to a home just one mile away. She realized that a nearby fire was occupying first responders, so she drove to the home. She convinced a young child to unlock the door and heard a woman screaming for help.
Beaulieu ran upstairs where she found a woman who had already delivered one baby and was in labor with a second. A newborn baby girl was lying on a bathmat on the floor. Beaulieu went in to help, when paramedics Parsons, McPherson and Leighton arrived. Parsons saw the newborn baby girl turning blue, struggling to breathe. He stimulated the baby and then Leighton cared for the baby while Parsons, McPherson and Beaulieu worked together to deliver the baby boy. The baby boy was breech, so Parsons guided the others on the delivery. The bathroom was so small they had to crouch in the bathtub while the mother faced them on the floor. This team of responders went above and beyond the call of duty to safely deliver the baby boy and provide immediate emergency care for the babies and the mother.
• Taylor Willey of Presque Isle, Kent Smith of Blaine, Jack Reed of Wade, and Richard Wark of Mapleton.
During northern Maine’s potato harvest last October, a 22-year-old Mars Hill man was nearly choked to death when his clothes got caught in a bin piler machine at a potato house where he was working. Willey was working on the bin piler when the man’s hoodie became caught. Within 30 seconds, Willey had the bin piler turned off and yelled to Reed for help. The two then cut the man’s hoodie off and called 9-1-1. They notified Smith who was working at a nearby potato house to help.
Smith gave the man CPR until Wark, who is the Mapleton Fire chief, arrived to assist. Wark was able to intubate and open up the man’s airway, allowing him to receive more oxygen until the ambulance arrived. Maine State Police Sgt. Josh Haines commended the quick actions of the man’s co-workers for cutting the victim loose from the machine which uses conveyor belts to load potatoes into storage bins or trailer trucks. The bin piler machine pulled the man in, causing “serious asphyxiation type injuries around his neck.” If the man’s co-workers had not responded so quickly, the situation would have been tragic.
• Christopher Daigle of Fort Kent.
Fourteen-year-old Daigle was working a bottle drive for the Fort Kent Community High School soccer team with his mother and stepfather last summer. As they were making the rounds in the Wallagrass area around noontime, he noticed a man lying on the ground just inside a garage beside a lawn tractor and realized the man was not moving. Upon closer investigation, Daigle and his stepfather discovered the victim was unconscious and had apparently been there for some time as his arm was pinned beneath him and felt cold to the touch.
An ambulance was immediately called, but due to the timing of the incident, all local ambulances were responding to other emergency calls. Initially, because of the victim’s position, they thought he might have fallen and suffered a head injury. After talking with neighbors, they discovered the man had diabetes and determined he most likely was suffering from diabetic shock. Daigle had a friend in his class with diabetes and knew what to do. He and his stepfather searched the house and found some juice to give to the man. Daigle fed the victim juice until he finally began to respond. After about an hour of staying with the man, an ambulance crew arrived on the scene and assessed the victim. The man had just finished mowing the lawn and was returning the tractor to the garage when he collapsed. As for the bottle drive, Daigle reported they did not get many bottles, but because of his quick thinking, a life was saved.
• “Ruger” Bernier of Fort Kent.
Ruger is a one-year-old yellow Labrador retriever who lives with his young master and friend who has diabetes and requires extra monitoring. Ruger is a service dog that has been specially trained at Guardian Angels Service Dogs. He has a special nose that can sniff out and tell when his friend’s blood sugar level is getting low and is able to alert his parents. His friend’s activities were restricted because of the frequency of diabetic monitoring. The boy’s parents were especially worried at night that while he was sleeping, he could run into trouble, so Mom and Dad had to wake him up during the night to monitor his blood sugar. North Country Animal Hospital says Ruger is a real hero because he gave back his friend’s independence from the frequent blood sugar monitoring and his parents now have peace of mind and worry less.
Extra Mile Awards were presented to Spud Speedway in Caribou, The Crow’s Next in Presque Isle, and Jason Parent of Caribou for ensuring the mission of the Red Cross is met.
• Spud Speedway has generously supported the American Red Cross in Aroostook County for the past two years by featuring Red Cross Day during one of the prime racing events in the summer season. In addition, the speedway allows Red Cross board members and volunteers to set up a Red Cross booth to sell raffle tickets and provide information to patrons about Red Cross services. Because of this support, Red Cross board members, volunteers and staff have raised nearly $10,000 during the annual Red Cross Racing to Save a Life summer fundraiser.
• When planning their first annual Octoberfest event in 2011, Jim Stacey, general manager of The Crow’s Nest, was seeking a non-profit organization to help raise funds for a good cause. He reached out to the Red Cross, knowing the valuable services provided during a disaster, since he and his family had experienced Red Cross emergency relief support first hand after losing his home to a fire. Channa Stacey and Martin Puckett joined the planning and organized a 10K road race in conjunction with the Octoberfest events. Last fall, the second annual 5K/10K race raised additional funds, adding up to nearly $4,000 for the combined two years. In addition, Jim has supported the Red Cross in many other ways with in-kind support over the past three years which helps to curb many costs for the American Red Cross.
• For 10 years, Parent has worked behind the scenes during the Real Heroes Breakfast. He has helped to orchestrate and plan the heroes breakfast by donating hundreds of hours of his time preparing PowerPoint presentations, displays and synchronizing the entire program. When called upon, Parent is always willing to offer his expertise in public relations, marketing, winning strategy and providing pertinent information that helps the Red Cross meet its mission.
Receiving Bridge Builder awards were NMCC and WAGM.
“For the past 15 years, NMCC and WAGM have been supporting the American Red Cross’ Real Heroes Breakfast. Words cannot express our thanks for this support, so we would like to honor each with a token of our appreciation,” said Knorr. “Without bridges, the best built roads lead nowhere, the most impressive visions remain invisible and the best laid plans fail.
“In life and in work, connection is everything. You have built the bridges, made the connections and have brought us to success in our 15 years of celebrating Real Heroes,” she said. “Thanks to you, we continue to move forward.”
For the 12th time, Rene Cloukey, sports director at WAGM-TV, was the master of ceremonies.
Proceeds from the Real Heroes Breakfast, which was attended by nearly 220 people, will benefit the local Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
