Meet this year's 'Real Hero' nominees
| Saturday, Jan 30 2010 04:46 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Jan 30 2010 04:51 PM
REAL HERO NOMINEES
Outstanding Adult Role Model
1. Sue Anderson
2. Jim Laurent
3. Michael Lightner
4. Gregg Gunner
5. Carla Pearson
6. Eric Smith
7. Sandy Morris
8. Larry F. Barret
9. Darla Stolte
10. Frank Lopez IV
11. Shannon Grove
12. Dave Packer
13. Terry Bowe
14. Lana Jolley and Whitney Thompson
15. Larry Hallum
16. Douglas A. Kelley
17. Flo Crabtree
18. Jim Scott and Robin Mangarin
19. Carolyn L. Johnson
20. Kimberly King
21. Manual Angel
22. Linda MacLeod
23. Dr. Cliff Van Kopp
24. Gwen Klingeberg
25. Darrell K. Freeman
26. William R. Dolan
27. Pastor Robin Robinson
28. Michael Gambill
29. Karen Goh
30. Richard Connick
31. Kevin Keyes
32. Salvador Arias
33. Kristie Esquivel
34. Dr. Michael Keese
35. Belinda Singleton
36. Christopher M. Leone
Outstanding Youth Role Model
1. Martin Barrios
2. Daniel Duarte
3. Cecil Howell Jr.
4. Oksana Sween
5. Matthew Hiatt
6. Nikki Lawson
7. Jerome Capili
Educator
1. Susan Lonsinger
2. Mike Anderson
3. Sarah Moreland
4. Elisa Carrol
5. Louis Yuen
6. Dr. Helia Corral
7. Louis Yuen
8. Steve Landers
9. Lisa Kane
Firefighter
1. Scott Smith
Law Enforcement
1. Officer Nathan Anderberg
2. Officer Aaron Stringer
3. Officer Isaac Aleman
4. Kern County Sheriff's Office - 5 Rescue
5. Mark Francisco
Medical Professional
1. Vipul R. Dev, M.D.
Heroic Act
1. Jarred Kinnaird
2. Nick Travis
3. Stuart Witt
4. Jesus Saldana
5. Essa Hall
6. Lusien Whitman
7. Brock Bivens
8. Erik-Ty Torres
9. Rudy Castro
10. Ansermio "A.J." Estrada
11. Andy Castaneda
12. James Metzger
13. Joshua Gonzalez
14. Krista Van De Flier
Military
1. Larry Ybanez
2. Robert Coe
3. Bradley Adams
4. Rouben Meraz
Volunteer Group
1. Kern County Fire Department Honor Guard
2. Preferred Family Care
3. The Associated Veteran's of Bakersfield Memorial Honor Guard
4. Wounded Heroes Fund
5. Laurelglen Bible Church
6. Frontier High Sp. Education Department
Fallen Heroes
1. Major Jason E. George
2. Army Sgt. Josh Soto
Images
Four of the eighty-three nominees for the American Red Cross- Kern Chapter Real Heroes awards, Jarred Kinnaird, lfrom eft to right, Dr. Vip Dev, Martin Barrios III and Fire Engineer Scott Smith stand together for a portrait in The Californian photo studio on Friday afternoon.
How do you rescue a seriously injured man hanging from an 80-foot palm tree?
On a beautiful October afternoon in Bakersfield, paramedic Scott Smith was asking himself that very question.
The man, a tree trimmer by trade, had spikes on his boots and a rope harness to help him scale the trunks of towering palms.
But this time, something went terribly wrong. The frond ball near the top of the tree broke partially free and fell against the tree trimmer's torso, leaving his pelvis against the trunk and literally bending his upper body backward at nearly a 90-degree angle.
The man, whose name was not released, could hardly speak when the Bakersfield Fire Department paramedic reached him by truck ladder. The man was held in place by only his climbing spikes and a rope that was wrapped around the tree.
"There's no specific training for a situation like this," Smith said. "This was one of those times when you just have to adapt and overcome."
As he stood at the top of the ladder, Smith determined the man was in critical condition, barely able to breathe due to the weight of the tree ball pressing against his body.
"As he began to tear the fronds away to reach the patient, the entire frond ball gave way" and fell to the ground exposing the injured man, wrote Battalion Chief Garth Milam, who witnessed the incident.
Now without the weight of the fronds pressing the man backward against the rope, he began to fall.
"At that point he was not spiked in," Smith recalled. "He's hanging free and beginning to slip down."
Ignoring the great risk to his own safety, Smith reached out and grabbed hold of the man's belt, Milam said. Had Smith not taken hold of the man, he would have fallen to the ground.
But now Smith had nowhere to go. The man could not be lowered down the ladder. So he held him. And held him some more until a ladder truck with a platform arrived. The patient was "packaged" and safely lowered to the ground for transport to the hospital.
But for more than 20 minutes the man's life had been held in Smith's outstretched hand.
By the time he was back on the ground, Smith was drenched in sweat. He was drained both physically and emotionally.
"I had visualized him falling," he remembered Friday. "It was honestly the most emotional call I've ever been on."
For a time, there were questions. Had Smith undertaken too much personal risk? Had he acted outside of safety protocol?
"It was a nightmarish situation," Milam acknowledged. "Scott knew this man could die."
In the end, it was determined that Smith had acted appropriately. In fact, Milam said, he had acted in the finest tradition of the Bakersfield Fire Department.
"Now and then, you find yourself in a situation where you just do what you have to do," Milam said. "Scott did what he had to do."
That's exactly why Smith and dozens of other Kern County residents have been nominated for the American Red Cross-Kern Chapter's Real Heroes awards for 2010. The individuals and organizations -- 83 in all -- were nominated for heroic acts, but also for the everyday kind of heroism that makes great teachers, adult role models and student leaders. All of the acts of courage, leadership or selflessness had to have occurred in 2009.
In February, a selection committee will meet to take on the difficult job of whittling down the number of honorees to just one or two per category. But Red Cross officials know that all of the nominees are winners in their own right, whether they are selected or not.
On March 5, the Real Heroes award winners will be announced to the public, and on April 8, a luncheon will be held in their honor at the Petroleum Club in Bakersfield.
Lorraine Castro, the outgoing chief executive at the Kern Chapter, said the annual awards help area residents understand that Kern County is rich with individuals who go above and beyond, even under sometimes difficult and trying circumstances.
"We hear so much about bad people doing bad things," Castro said. "This annual event gives us the chance to promote positive role models in our community and to recognize those unsung heroes who deserve our thanks.
ONE HERO. MANY HEROES
Although we can't tell the story of all 83 nominees, their names are included here. They are police officers, educators, health care professionals, teenagers, military veterans and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
They also include:
Martin Barrios III, a 15-year-old Highland High School sophomore who last year kicked open the door of a burning home in his neighborhood and led three young children to safety: "He deserves special recognition for this selfless act," Highland High English teacher Teresa Johns said in nominating Martin.
Jarred Kinnaird, 25, who in November noticed an SUV stuck on the railroad tracks behind the Union Avenue Goodwill center: Kinnaird knew from experience that several trains pass by on those tracks each day, so he called 911 and let the dispatcher know the situation. Later when he heard a train approaching, he called again and the dispatcher was able to patch in to the train operator, who was able to stop the oncoming train before it struck the SUV. Kinnaird played down his actions, saying he only did what he expected others would do in his place.
Dr. Vipul R. Dev, a Bakersfield plastic surgeon, who went above and beyond to help a local man who didn't have the resources to pay for much-needed surgery: Lee Lyle, the man who nominated Dev, had been involved in a terrible motorcycle accident.
"I suffered swelling of the brain and had to have part of my skull removed," Lyle wrote in his nomination of Dev. The piece of his skull had been stored in his abdominal area until it was time to replace it. In the meantime, Lyle had lost his medical coverage and was having trouble getting new coverage. When a woman on Dev's staff heard about the man's plight, she approached Dr. Dev to ask if he could do something.
"Here's the problem," she said. "He doesn't have any money." Dev happily waived his fees to help Lyle get his life back. But he also credited Bakersfield Memorial Hospital for providing an operating room and a recovery room at no cost. An anesthesiologist also donated his time during the procedure, Dev said. According to Lyle, Dr. Dev deserves to be recognized, not only for this one act of altruism, but for procedures he donates to needy patients on a regular basis. "He gave my life back to me," Lyle said.
