2011 OSSA Annual Conference Featured Article The Oregon State Sheriffs' Association held its' annual conference at the Bend Riverhouse Hotel and Convention Center the week of December 5th with over 175 Sheriffs and law enforcement professionals attending along with 75 vendors. Election of officers was held and Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton was elected President, Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers was elected Vice-President and Gilliam County Sheriff Gary Bettencourt was elected Secretary for the upcoming year. At the conference, updates were given on OSSA committees and presentations by the Oregon Department of Justice, Association of Oregon Counties, Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, Oregon State Police, Oregon Association Chiefs of Police, US Attorney's Office, Oregon Marine Board, Homeland Security, as well as many others. Dr. Kimberly Alyn provided training on "Rising to Real Leadership". An avid supporter of life-long learning, Dr. Alyn has her bachelor's degree in business management, her master's degree in organizational management and her Ph.D. in organizational management with a specialty in leadership. A highlight of the conference is always the awards banquet. This year OSSA is proud to present the following awards: The Life Saving Award is given to an individual who performs an active, distinctive successful saving of a life of another person. There must have been a strong possibility the person would have died if the action had not been taken. Donlee Robinson, Charlie Grove, Charles Spencer and Markus Grove, citizens of Jackson County, saved the life of Richard Maynard, who on July 15, 2011, went in the water near the Gold Hill Beach Park, attempting to swim to two logs. Donlee Robinson and Charlie Grove were dredging a short distance down river when they heard the commotion. They saw Maynard floating toward them face down in the river. Robinson and Grove were able to pull Maynard from the river at which time he wasn't breathing. They performed CPR and successfully revived Maynard. In the meantime, Charles Spencer saw what was happening and moved to an elevated position to phone 911. Spencer then guided emergency response crews to the victim's location as they arrived. Without a doubt, without the efforts of Robinson, Grove and Spencer, this emergency would have had a much different conclusion. Their clear thinking in a stressful situation, knowledge of CPR, and willingness to help their fellow man are commended. John Haight, citizen of Jackson County, saved the life of his neighbor, Leonard Worbel, who on June 29th, 2011, was floating unconscious, downstream in the Rogue River. Mr. Haight had been cutting grass on his tractor. As he finished up and put the tractor away, he heard what he thought was a person swimming in the river several houses upstream from his residence. He saw a man attempting to swim and quickly give up, roll over face down, and then started floating downstream, not moving. Recognizing that the victim was his neighbor, he yelled for his nephew to call 911 and ran down the steep bank to his small dock. Disregarding his own personal safety, knowing the river was running fast (5-7 MPH) and was very cold (51 degrees), Mr. Haight jumped into the river fully clothed and swam downstream to catch the now floating Mr. Worbel. Mr. Haight swam to where he thought Mr. Worbel should be but could not find him. Searching the water, he saw a light blue bubble sinking out of sight into the depths of the river. Diving, he grabbed the light blue shirt of Mr. Worbel and brought him to the surface. Mr. Haight then swam and drug the now lifeless body of Mr. Worbel to the bank and pushed him up into a pile of blackberries and broken concrete. Mr. Worbel was blue in the face, had lock jaw, was not breathing and had no heartbeat. Mr. Haight pushed Mr. Worbel as far out of the water as possible, pried his mouth open and started performing CPR. Medical personnel arrived at the scene and took over the care of Mr. Worbel. He was floated downstream in a raft by Fire District #3 to a suitable dock and then transported to the Three Rivers Hospital for treatment. Unquestionably, Mr. Haight saved the life of his neighbor, Mr. Worbel. His clear thinking in a stressful situation, knowledge of CPR and willingness to help his fellow man are commended. Sergeant Russ George, Columbia County Sheriff's Office, and Officer Ronald Larson, Rainier Police Department saved the life of two men on May 10th, 2011, after their canoe capsized near Prescott Beach on the Columbia River. Columbia 911 Dispatched received a call from residents in Prescott who said they heard screams for help coming from the river. With no deputies on duty at the time, Sgt George was called in from home to attempt the rescue. He obtained the help of Officer Larson and the two launched a Sheriff's boat from Rainier. Less than half an hour after receiving the call, Sgt George and Office Larson hauled two semi-conscious men from the river. Both men were suffering from hypothermia and were nearly unconscious. Paramedics at the scene estimated that only a few minutes more in the cold water and the two men would have lost consciousness completely. Night had already fallen, making the location of the two men and their overturned canoe very difficult. "You saved us," one of the men said, as they were pulled from the water. "This is a case of quick action by our deputy who was off-duty when he got the call and a team effort with our dispatch center, the Rainier Police Department and the Columbia River Fire and Rescue," said Columbia County Sheriff Jeff Dickerson. "Thanks to an agreement with Columbia River Fire, we have a boat stored in the Rainier area that allowed us to get on the water quickly. It was the difference between life and death for these two men." Danny Cone, Malheur County citizen for saving the life of Mr. Pablo Hernandez on February 24th, 2011, who was the victim of a house fire. Mr. Cone was travelling to his shop for work and noticed the roof of Mr. Hernandez's small, wood framed home was completely engulfed. Mr. Cone immediately yelled at a nearby neighbor to call 911 and made his way to the front door. He began banging on the door but received no response. Mr. Cone was able to get through the front door and found Mr. Hernandez sleeping on his couch. He was able to awaken Mr. Hernandez and physically helped him out of the house. Mr. Cone's disregard for his own safety most likely saved the life of Mr. Hernandez. Curry County Sheriff John Bishop and Robert Bumguardner, Curry County resident for saving the life of a swimmer on September 2nd, 2011. Sheriff Bishop was notified of a capsized boat and drowning at Blossom Bar on the Rogue River. Blossom Bar is located in a remote section of the wild and scenic Rogue River, about 50 miles east of Gold Beach, only accessible by boat or hiking trail. Sheriff Bishop drove to Foster Bar, just above Agness, Oregon, where he waited to be picked up by Marine Deputy Ted Heath, to continue the rest of the way by boat to Blossom Bar. While at Foster Bar, Sheriff Bishop noticed a man floating down the rapids in the river above him. It was obvious the man was in distress, unable to make it to the shore and starting to go under water. Sheriff Bishop got the attention of a boat owned and operated by Robert Bumguardner, who tried to get close to the swimmer in distress who was not wearing a life jacket. The distressed swimmer was unable to hold onto the boat so Sheriff Bishop went into the swift water up to his chest and was able to grab onto the man. With the help of Mr. Bumguardner, they got the swimmer back to shore. The swimmer was too weak to stand but refused medical assistance. It was discovered that the man who's life was saved by Sheriff Bishop, had tried to swim across the river at his camp about 1-and-1/2 miles up river. Even though Sheriff Bishop would say that he didn't do anything that anybody else wouldn't have done and that it is part of his job, with the help of Robert Bumguardner, they clearly saved this swimmer's life due their heroic and immediate actions. Deputy Curt Kessler, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office for saving the life of Ray Andrews who had collapsed and was in full cardiac arrest. On April 21st, 2011, Deputy Kessler was off duty and attending a youth lacrosse game at Ackerman Middle School in Canby, Oregon. He was there to watch the son of his girlfriend play lacrosse. Also in attendance was Ray Andrews, the father of Deputy Kessler's girlfriend. The father mentioned that he was going to walk back to the car away from the lacrosse game. A short time later, Deputy Kessler and his girlfriend looked toward the parking lot and noticed that Ray Andrews had collapsed onto the ground. Deputy Kessler ran to the aid of Mr. Andrews and not finding a pulse, he began CPR. Before arrival of the Canby Fire Rescue, Deputy Kessler was able to reestablish Ray Andrews' heartbeat. Mr. Andrews was transported to the hospital and after a brief stay, made a full recovery. Due to the fast application of CPR, Deputy Curt Kessler saved the life of Ray Andrews. Deputy Kessler's actions brought great credit to the Clackamas County Sheriff and the Oregon State Sheriffs. The Meritorious Service Award is given for conspicuous service, over a period of years, to the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association. Mr. John Powell has served as OSSA's lobbyist since 2003. His wealth of knowledge and history of the legislative process is unmatched by other lobbyists. John is extremely well respected within the walls of the Capitol, and as such, when he speaks on issues of concern to the Oregon Sheriffs, others listen. His voice has been influential in getting good public safety legislation passed, and bad pieces defeated. While we respect John's decision to scale back his clients and think more seriously about retirement, we will sincerely miss working closely with him during future legislative sessions. John's commitment to, and hard work on behalf of, the Sheriffs of Oregon is worthy of recognition in the form of an OSSA Meritorious Service Award. President's Awards President's awards are given in appreciation of outstanding service to the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association. Washington County Sheriff's Office Jail Commander K. Marie Tyler Clatsop County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Paul Williams Jackson County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Pat Rowland Marion County Chief Civil Deputy Brian Wallace Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton Debbie Spinden Clatsop County Chief Deputy Paul Williams Curry County Sheriff John Bishop Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers Benton County Sheriff Diana Simpson Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe Civil Command Council Awards Civil Manager of the Year Chief Civil Deputy Brian Wallace, Marion County Sheriff's Office Civil Deputy of the Year Civil Deputy Mitch Gibson, Jackson County Sheriff's Office Outstanding Civil Volunteer of the Year Retired Sheriff Darrell Hill, Wasco County The Barb Perry Award for Civil Support Staff of the Year Civil Technician Jinnie Willard, Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Enforcement Command Council Awards Commander of the Year Chief Deputy Paul Williams, Clatsop County Sheriff's Office Supervisor of the Year Lieutenant Clay Stephens, Benton County Sheriff's Office Deputy of the Year Detective Brad Verboort. Washington County Sheriff's Office Volunteer of the Year Sergeant Greg Hodgen, Umatilla County Sheriff's Office Jail Command Council Awards Jail Commander of the Year Captain Mike Alexander, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Outstanding Supervisor of the Year Sergeant Jonathan Mathews, Inverness Jail Admin Sergeant, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Outstanding Deputy of the Year Deputy Jon Alfano, Training Unit, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Pastor Darrel Wiltrout, Jackson County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Advisory Council Awards SAR Coordinator/Manager of the Year Staff Sergeant Joe Larsen, Linn County Sheriff's Office Chris Galiszewski, Baker County Sheriff's Office SAR Volunteer of the Year Courtney Keller, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office SAR Deputy of the Year Senior Deputy Anthony Hackman, Malheur County Sheriff's Office SAR Program of the Year Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Program