June 08--It was one of those days in July when torrents of rain make the high, dry desert of Albuquerque anything but that.
Veteran firefighter Capt. Jason Paiz of the Albuquerque Fire Department was on duty that day when he and his driver got a call about flooding and stranded cars at the First and Central Avenue underpass.
On the way, a driver nearly collided with them as they approached the scene. "The car didn't stop and my driver did a heck of a job. We were advised that two vehicles were stranded and floating at this time. It was just another day at work for us," explains Paiz, 38. "The entire fire department was out on calls."
Near the underpass and not knowing what was in store, Paiz, father of three, strapped on a flotation device and waded into the rising water.
Paiz's work as a firefighter that day has earned him an American Red Cross Real Hero award. He and other Real Heroes in at least 10 categories will be honored at a Red Cross breakfast ceremony June 19 at the University of New Mexico.
It wasn't the cold water or the slick pavement under his feet that concerned Paiz as he approached an eastbound vehicle in the underpass: "It was the contaminants in the water that went through my mind. There could have been anything, even raw sewage."
The driver of the first car worked with him pushing his door open as Paiz pulled. "Even with the weight of the water, we were about to get the door open." Paiz helped the driver back to the city vehicle to dry off.
As Paiz waded back for the eastbound car the water rose to his chest and the four-door sedan was filling with water. It would soon sink, if the driver wasn't extricated, Paiz says.
The driver was braced in the driver's seat with his back on the headrest and his feet on the dash. "He was panicking. I don't know, maybe he didn't know how to swim," Paiz says.
The man couldn't follow instructions to unlock the door, but Paiz realized a back window was halfway down, he says. The driver, a young man in his 20s, was able to maneuver his body to it and Paiz was able to pull him out of the car.
As he came out, Paiz anchored the man around his shoulders in a fireman's carry and moved him to higher ground.
Paiz wasn't finished, because the younger man discovered his wallet was missing. Good thing, too, because Paiz discovered his own wallet floating in the turbid water of the underpass before he fished out the young man's wallet from the still rising waters inside the car.
His shift was far from over as the monsoon rains trapped other vehicles. In two separate calls, some people were stranded in a parking garage near Old Town and another driver needed a three-block push to get out of the water.
Journal photographer Greg Sorber captured the image of Paiz carrying the young man out of the flooded underpass. Paiz welcomed the attention, not so much for himself, but for the whole department. "I was honored to be in it. It was a memorable picture and I'm glad it was captured. It put the Albuquerque Fire Department in a good spotlight. It showed how we serve the community on just another day at work for us."
A giving library
Another Real Hero, Annika Cushnyr, 17, a Girl Scout who lives with her parents in the North Valley, set up a giving library at Sandoval Regional Medical Center. She's honored as a Red Cross Real Hero, but also won a Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts, for her efforts.
When she learned from the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy that 46 percent of New Mexicans were functionally illiterate because they didn't have books at home as children, she took action.
It means they can't read chapter books or even a paragraph," she explains. "I'm passionate about reading."
So far, more than 4,000 books have been donated to the library's dedicated space at the University of New Mexico Sandoval County Regional Medical Center and people have taken more than 800 books home to keep.
She realized that not having enough money to buy books or not having transportation for weekly trips to the library kept books out of the hands of those who needed to read them.
"It had to be somewhere that people already went. I actually went to the hospital and talked with the vice president and discussed how to do it," she says.
As a requirement of a Gold Star award project, it had to be self-sustaining. Although Cushnyr will support the project through her senior year at the Bosque School, she says the community and hospital volunteers are enthusiastic about the library, helping sort, sanitize and store the donated books before loading them onto shelves at the Center.
Cushnyr, who is co-president of a first responders medical team at her school, has also learned that she's accepted to participate in a leadership camp at West Point, where she hopes to attend college. "I want to serve in the military and I want to lead."
Her mother, Karen Cushnyr, a Girl Scout leader for 30 years, says she and her husband are extremely proud of their daughter: "She's a hard worker. She gets straight A's and she works hard to serve her school and her community."
To find out more about the project visit startmylibrary. weebly.com.
Rescuing Labs
Luvin' Labs is the Animal Rescue Real Hero. The Labrador retriever rescue headed by Colleen Wyatt and Marita Harris has found homes for about 1,000 dogs, mostly Labs, since it started in 2010, Wyatt says. They have about 100 volunteers and around 10 people who help daily to keep the rescue running.
Wyatt and Harris created the cyberspace nonprofit from the former Lodestar Dog Ranch.
"This is what I always wanted to do. I have a deep abiding love for Labs. They are loyal and perpetually happy, just awesome," she explains. She's quick to say that if a Lab or Lab-cross has a friend like a Chihuahua or a German shepherd, and they come to Luvin' Labs together for adoption, they find homes for everyone.
Some Labs, a smart and trainable breed who like to have a job, have found their way through a training program for service dogs at a prison in Colorado, she says.
One recent rescue, Newton, a Lab who needed surgery, rescued from a shelter in Las Cruces, is what keeps the heart of Luvin' Labs beating, Wyatt says. One day he seemed fine and the next day he collapsed. After a volunteer relay team of drivers got him to Albuquerque, the vets at Good Shepherd Animal Clinic discovered he was suffering from an immune disorder and also needed hip surgery.
It was touch and go, but Newton pulled through with great care and generous volunteers who raised money for his medical bills.
"Newton is the epitome of who and what we are, from our volunteer reaching out to her grandfather to help us with an emergency transport, our volunteer who dropped her daily life duties to rush to meet him, the amazing folks at the clinic who immediately agreed to care for him for us, the volunteer who fostered and the whole pack of volunteers who helped pay for his medical bills," Wyatt says. "Luvin' Labs is who and what we are because of the people who care about those without voices."
The rest of the winners
Others who will receive Red Cross Real Hero awards:
ROBERT MITCHELL , then with the Albuquerque Police Department, DARRELL LINDSEY of the Bernalillo County Fire Department and JAMES BACA of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority helped to evacuated a dozen people from a burning Northeast Albuquerque apartment complex. Among those rescued was a newborn baby and several pets. Residents nominated the trio, saying they are grateful to be alive.
JULIE DAHL, an English, communications and art teacher at Cibola High School, was a Real Hero when she went above and beyond her job description to write, direct and organize a play for students with special needs. The play raised money so a student and family could afford to buy a specially equipped van for transportation to school. She did another play this year to raise money for the Red Cross.
Her nominator says: "Julie Dahl made a difference in the special needs community in Cibola High School. She has proven that everyone ... can make a difference in the world around them, one play at a time."
SENIOR AIRMAN CODY CHAVEZ, while attending a high school event, intervened and saved a 10-year-old child's life who had turned blue from choking. "Chavez knew immediate medical treatment was necessary and swiftly began to administer the Heimlich maneuver. Chavez's swift and decisive action saved the child's life, his master sergeant David Dingman writes in his nomination.
THE ROWE PATROL CREW AND RICHARD GARCIA are all Real Heroes for their work in the Tres Lagunas Wildfire and its aftermath this past year. Not only did they help fight the wildfire, but they made travel safe and alerted residents as the area flooded after the fire. They provided disaster relief, according to their nominators: "These individuals are very knowledgeable and passionate and apply great detail to their work."
The members of the AIR FORCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS CENTER CONTRACTING DIRECTORATE earned a Real Hero title for volunteer community service, donating hundreds of hours to tutor elementary school students and donating locally grown food to food banks. They also helped build a house for a family through Habitat for Humanity.
CHRIS PLAMAN, BRITTANY GARCIA AND TANYA RUIZ, three UNM medical students, are named Real Heroes for acting immediately to help a neighbor, Justin Schroer, development director for the University of New Mexico Foundation, Cancer Center. Schroer was blasted in a drive-by shooting last year while jogging in his neighborhood. "I didn't think twice," Plaman says about putting his medical training to use in a real-world emergency.
Schroer, who praises his entire medical team for saving his life, remembers the trio in those first, few critical minutes. "I remember they were asking me a lot of questions, trying to keep me alert and alive. I think they played a huge part in saving my life."
The humanitarian efforts of the ALBUQUERQUE AREA FIREFIGHTERS RANDOM ACTS earned them Real Hero awards. Bernalillo County firefighter Steve Vaughan and Albuquerque firefighters Mark Chavez and Mike McKinstry created the community service nonprofit organization in 2008.
Their goal is to perform random acts of kindness, assisting people, who they may find through their work, who may be in difficult circumstances. In six years, the organization has performed 550 random acts of kindness, from clearing a yard for a person with disabilities to buying a home heater for a family without one.
In nominating the group, AFD Fire Chief David Downey says, "This organization has opened my eyes to pure generosity and kindness. They give not to receive recognition and praise, but to genuinely help those who need a hand. They are satisfied with seeing the smiles on the family's faces and sharing the happiness of the moment when the stress of not having groceries or a working stove melts away." Red Cross Real Heroes breakfast
WHEN: June 19. Doors open at 7:15 a.m. and award ceremony begins at 7:45 a.m.
WHERE: University of New Mexico Student Union Ballroom
HOW MUCH: Tickets for the fundraiser are $100. People are encouraged to Be a Hero for a Hero and purchase a ticket for heroes' family members, if they cannot attend. Visit redcross.org/ newmexico or call Kassandra Roybal, 262-6175.
Copyright 2014 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
