OLIVIA GARCIA: Foundation honors outstanding officers, 99-year-old citizen volunteer
| Sunday, Jun 13 2010 02:43 PM
Last Updated Sunday, Jun 13 2010 02:43 PM
Alice was only 11 years old, the age of my son, when her life flashed before her eyes. Last year, the Los Angeles girl was with family and friends and inner tubing along the Kern River when she fell off and was pinned under rocks.
Family pulled Alice to a nearby rock surrounded by the swift waters and soon discovered she was unconscious and not breathing, according to news reports. The family said she'd been submerged under water for several minutes. The Kern County Sheriff's Department received the call and alerted Rescue Helicopter Air 5.
Chief Pilot Berto Penaloza and his team, deputies Tim Caughron and Jason Nelson responded and worked as one to rescue her. Alice, who was wearing a vest at the time of the near drowning incident, would be transported to a nearby hospital but spend the next months, recovering from a coma, brain injury and undergoing intense therapy.
She had to learn to walk, talk and eat again. She has come a long way and on Friday, Alice and her family made her appearance in Bakersfield where her heroes, Penaloza, Caughron and Nelson, received recognition during the Officer of the Year Awards dinner at the Stockdale Country Club.
"Without these guys, without the aircraft, she wouldn't be here," Sheriff Donny Youngblood told more than 300 attendees after showcasing a video that captured moments of the rescue.
The ceremony, which was organized by the nonprofit Kern County Law Enforcement Foundation, honored about 20 individuals, including officers, volunteers and businesses.
Ninety-nine-year-old Louis Kerker received the Public Service Award for his longtime volunteer citizen patrol service.
Many of the awards highlighted the risks and triumphs of local officers as they protect our communities.
"They run into danger" whenever duty calls, said Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Williamson as he recognized officers Aaron Stringer and Isaac Aleman. "They put their lives on the line."
BPD Officer Brent Stratton, who works the gang unit and is on the SWAT team, was among those receiving the Exceptional Officer of the Year Award.
He could be described as an action hero, but "he isn't a glory hound. He doesn't go where the action is. He goes where the work is," said Assistant Police Chief Lyle Martin, who also thanked Stratton's wife, April and their four children, for supporting his dedication and hours. "He is true team player. He's humble."
Other honorees were: Bobby Sellers; Kelly Woodhouse; Gregg and Tamara Sturges; Wes Bradford; Janelle Carrera; Kenny Hagerman; Greg Herrington; Michael Weber; Herman Caldas; and Darren Wonderly.
GRAND GRAD: Many grads are thankful for one person or another who helped them reach their milestone. Such is the case with Benjamin Neal.
Benjamin recently graduated from Centennial High School. It was major goal for the severely developmentally disabled student. Benjamin suffers from autism and other real significant delays. He has a reading level of a second.
Despite his challenges, Benjamin strived to take regular classes. According to his mom, Diane Simpson, Centennial has a program where regular students become "peer tutors" to students who are part of the severely development disabled program at Centennial. They are assigned to a student for one of their periods and tutor them on a variety of subjects.
The program has prompted some of the students to go into special education teaching.
For Benjamin, it helped him reach his goal of graduating and preparing for his next step: the ABLE (Adult Based Living Experiences) Program. ABLE is a four-year program of the Kern High School District designed to provide severely developmentally disabled adults (ages 18-22) in Kern County with independent living and vocational skills.
"Our son, Benjamin, recently attended a special graduation ceremony and received a Certificate of Completion, along with 12 of his classmates from the SDD (severely developmentally disabled) program at Centennial High School," Simpson wrote. "Several of his classmates will be progressing to the ABLE program, which will provide them with social and vocational skills to allow them to be independent, contributing members of the community to the extent their disabilities allow."
Best of luck, Benjamin.
These are her opinions, not necessarily The Californian's.
