St. George Heroes

The St. George Heroes Event is tomorrow!! Here are the featured Heroes for today, check out their inspirational stories..

Medical Rescue Award: Exhibiting heroic personal efforts to help others beyond the call of duty, Jan Call is the ideal candidate for the Medical Rescue Award.   Jan is a member of the Washington County Sheriff's Search and Rescue who donates many hours as a responder and as an instructor for medical treatment.  She is a Lifeflight nurse working on the new Lifeflight Helicopter recently stationed in southern Utah.  During the disaster in Haiti, Jan with other Search and Rescue members were dispatched to Haiti to help during the disaster.  In one dramatic situation, Jan actually helped a mother give birth on the sidewalk next to the road with no equipment or sterile conditions. In fact, she used a piece of construction twine to tie off the umbilical cord.  She assisted in many surgical procedures including amputations with extremely limited resources.  Jan also was part of a group of volunteers that helped bring the 80 orphans out of Haiti.  All this was done on her time and expense.

First Responders Hero: Officer Darrin Coleman, with the Kanab City Police Department, has over sixteen years of experience in law enforcement.  He serves as the D.A.R.E. instructor teaching fifth grade students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. He is also a volunteer firefighter for Kanab City and an intermediate EMT with the Kane County Ambulance service.  In addition to all that, he serves as the ambulance service training coordinator and is on-call for ambulance duty.  Because of his selfless dedication Officer Coleman has made to the people of Kanab City, as well as Kane County, countless lives have been saved.

Community Good Samaritan Hero: “I did what needed to be done,” was the response from Steve McArthur.  What started as just another quiet day in Kayenta changed in a hurry when an elderly gentleman collapsed outside the local coffee shop.  Steve stopped his truck, bolted to the scene and began CPR immediately on the fallen gentleman.  The swift response was witnessed by many and its impact rippled through the small close knit community. He continued CPR as emergency personnel arrived.  Even though he attributes his quick response to adrenalin, it demonstrates a much deeper commitment of sacrifice that stems from placing others above self.

Workplace/Community Safety Hero Award: For the past 24 years, Karen Orton has worked as an E-911 Emergency Medical Dispatcher for the local ambulance, police, highway patrol, and fire departments in Cedar City. She has taken emergency calls when a young person had collapsed due to heart issues.  This and other examples caused her to step forward.  She wrote a grant proposal and was awarded funds to purchase Automatic External Defibrillators (AED’s), which when used quickly can “shock” the heart, restoring a normal heart rhythm.  "It breaks my heart to have a child die from an undiagnosed heart condition,” Karen stated but now she is literally helping mend hearts and save lives.