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Show Emery County Progress Castle Dale, Utah Tuesday August 31, 2004 5A Emery County CENE Justin Harris comes to Em- ery County to express thanks to rescuers. brother-in-law- s, Mike and Dave looking at him. They had driven down to the rescue scene to offer support. his Les Thompson, Ken Eley, Greg Jewkes, Justin Harris, Sgt. Les Wilberg, Sheriff Lamar Guymon, McLayne Potter, Juistm ay9 Thank Yon 6 To Emery County Search and Rescue By PATSY STODDARD, Editor i i. Jeremy and Justin Harris will never forget the events that took place in Emery County on Nov. 2003. The brothers were hiking in the Baptist Draw area of Goblin Valley. Justin fell from an 80 foot repel and broke his leg at approximately 5 p.m. on Fri. Nov. 21. Jeremy left Justin with food and water and began the long hike out of Chute Canyon; he inadvertently took a wrong turn and ended up hiking for 24 hours straight. He arrived at his ear where he used his cell phone to eall for help. The Emery County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue immediately responded to the scene. Justin was reached by rescuers on Sunday evening at approximately 7 p.m. Justin was finally removed from the scene at sunrise on Monday, w hen he wras lifeflighted to Salt Lake. These traumatic events have left a great and lasting impact on the Harris family, they are filled with feelings of gratitude for those who made Justin's rescue possible. Men and women who leave homes and family to venture out into the unknown to save the life of another. These Emery County Search and Rescue members were recently 21-2- 3, honored with the Statewide EMS Service awrard, for their heroic efforts in saving Justin Harris. This awai'd is given annually for outstanding service. They were also honored by the Carbon Emery EMS council and Castleview Hospital for the outstanding rescue of the year. The Harris family in appre ciation for the efforts of the search and rescue team, recently held a barbeque for the rescue team and their families at the Castle Dale park. The Harris family lives in Parowan. voices, was overcome with I had been calling out throughout the day, and there were times when I was uncertain whether I would get out. I never got discouraged and I tried to emotion. 1 Justin said his family re- cently from Los Angeles where he did an in- Tricia and they do McKensee, 9, Taylor, 8, and Madison, 5. I have worked for my wifes fam- of various ily construction business for the last 10 years and situations and what u luckily I had an should do in these Justin recalled the events surrounding his rescue, he described Layne Potter as awesome; He was just like the energizer bunny, he knew exactly what to do. He came down that wall like Spiderman. He also gave me his coat. These guys knew exactly what they were doing. When I first heard their I hae four children and another one on the wav. We hae 14, Skyler, here month. I might not be here. s h o w w Leeza Gibbons from the show did the interview: Justin said they took really good care of them in California and the program should air in about a 1 res-eu- for Lifetime for a television o Tricia. We just kept calling the sheriff's office to see if they had any newrs. Finally when the sheriff's office reported they had made voice contact with Justin, we were so relieved and we knew that everything would be alright. Just knowing he was alive, made all the difference, said Tricia. Justin said, I am doing alright now, the doctors amputated my leg between the knee and ankle. I am about where I hoped I would be, it's been seven ' months since the amputation. I had some goals set for myself. I wanted to continue to coach my sons football team and I w as afraid I wouldnt be able to do that. But, we are starting practices and am going to be there. At first, I wras in a wheelchair and then I got my first leg. I have had to make some adjustments in my life, but it could be worse. If it wasn't for my brother and e the search and workers terview y Sarah Mullaly and Lamont Gordon. un- derstanding boss, think positive thoughts. I would repeat the names of my family and all their birthdays to try and stay coherent. Justin's wife Tricia said when she first got the call that said Justin had broken his leg, she didn't grasp the magnitude of the situation and the remote location of where he had broken his leg and the severity of the injury. But upon learning how many hours he had been in the canyon and the temperatures w hieh hovered around zero, It became a nightmare, said my father-in-la- as I went through the recuperation process these past few months. I am back to w'ork for now. I am just getting part-tim- e used to walking again. I have trouble with uneven surfaces and sometimes I falter. I cant feel up and down, its like having an ankle thats fused and w'ont bend. For now, I am happy just walking across the lawn. Hopefully in the future with a better foot and components, I will be able to go dp from there. I have gradually wreaned myself from the pain Photos by Patsy Stoddard medications and the pain is not too bad. I am looking to join a support group for amputees, said Justin. The Harris family wanted to hear from each of those present and their involvement in the rescue. Les Thompson is the commander of the search and rescue and he started the ball the rescue when he received the eall from the sheriffs roll-ingwi- th office. Sgt. Les Wilberg is the liaison between the sheriffs office and the search and rescue. The night the call came in Sgt. Wilberg just happened to be in dispatch. Sgt. Wilberg remembers that they built fires when they left an area, to signify that the area have been searched. He remembers looking out and seeing 0 fires. Justin remembers how the smoke from those fires sipelled good to him as he lay there waiting to be found. Sgt. Wilberg said it was really cold as they searched that night and how different the country looked as it became daylight. It was really a rough area, said Sgt. Wilberg. Sgt. Wilberg said that EMT Diane Chandler played a key role in the rescue. She was in the bottom of the canyon with Justin and diagnosed the severity of his leg injury, so that LifeFlight stayed on the scene to transport Justin. Justin wras brought up the canyon wall in a Stokes basket. Ken Eley, rescuer, said he was involved with settingup the ropes and helping to pull Justin up. He said he hoped it scared Justin bad enough that he wouldn't do that again. Justins family talked about the long night while waiting for wrord on Justin and his condition. His mother and stepfather, drove down to Price to be nearer to Justin and recalled temperatures over Soldiers Summit that night were below zero. Rescuer Greg Jewkes said he built fires and pulled rope that 20-3- night. Justin recalled when he was in the basket after reaehingthe top of the canyon and he was looking up into a sea of unfamiliar faces he saw the faces of Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said they have never called off a search and they stay with a job until it is done. He commended the search and rescue for doing a job and doing it right. He said two of the posse members went to the power company and borrowed some long ropes needed for the rescue. Sheriff Guymon said he ran into Layne Potter the next day after the rescue and told him they appreciated the work he did and Layne replied, it wasnt so bad. Most of the guys were beat after the rescue, but Layne went ice climbing the next day. They are always there and ready to perform and do what wre ask, said Sheriff Guymon. Since the Harris rescue the search and rescue posse has acquired longer ropes to supplement their equipment. Lamont Gordon said he went down into the canyon with Layne Potter. Layne is an experienced rock and ice climber and had a plan of how to rescue Justin. I didnt realize how long and narrow that canyon w;as. We had to turn the Stokes basket sideways and scoot it to get it out of there. It was exhausting work, said Gordon. McLayne Potter also aided in the rescue. He had been rock climbing with his dad the day the call came in and they were just headed back into town. They turned around and headed back to Chute Canyon. Potter recalled Justin havinga large smile when they finally got to him. He wak so happy to see somebody. Potter said it was cool to ride in the helicopter and hopes to do more of that. Tricia said they think of the rescuers often and include them in their prayers. The impact on me and my kids would of been huge, if Justin had not gotten out alive. We are so grateful you risked your lives to rescue Justin. Justin is an amazing person and we are so glad to see him when he walks in the door from work every day. We are so grateful to Jeremy for walking out to get help, he is an awesome.' - man. Justin concluded the remarks this evening, You are all heroes, to me. Thanks to you guys, I am here today to raise my ehildreri.; Words cannot express the depth of my feeling toward you and w'hat you have done for me and my family. Thank you for what' ; you do. The Harris family also col- lected money for the search and rescue posse in the county and presented it to Sheriff Guymon.; Opportunity of a Lifetime for Conn Wood By CONN WOOD, Guest Writer 1 attended the On Aug. NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) Landmarks of 6, American History workshop for school teachers along with one other Utah teacher, Shalyn Nelson, from Enterprise. The workshop was entitled Remembering Pearl Harbor: History, Memory and Memorial. The resounding words, Aloha and Mahalo" will be two words that I will cherish forever; but most importantly I will cherish the moments of personal reflection on a topic that has become a personal passion of study. I felt honored to be one of the 100 teachers chosen from across the 50 states to attend this workshop. We were told at the dinner reception held at the USS Bowfin Museum that wo were to work a little and shop a lot. In reality, the workshop was a good mix of both. As we entered the USS AriI felt goose run through my whole bumps body. I felt fortunate being able to be on the tour hosted by the zona Memorial, park superintendent, park his- torian and the park education specialist. We w ere all there to learn more about historical landmarks and felt honored to be treated like gold as the red carpet was at our very footsteps. Our group also felt special as all 100 teachers paraded before some 1,000 united tourists waiting for long hours to be taken out to the memorial. One of my memorable experiences was visiting Hickam Officers Club where wre wrere fortunate to have lunch and lis ten to stories of WWII veterans and survivors. We, along with the veterans, felt like celebrities because of the many news crews that attended the luncheon. The most impressive part of the workshop was the guided tour of attack sites on Oahu: Hickam AFB, Ford Island, USS Utah, Wheeler Field, Schofield and Punchbowl. Our tour bus had the privilege of having Daniel Martinez, the USS Memorial Historian, be our guide. This wras an experience that w ords cannot describe. Conn Wood, on the right, visits Pearl Harbor during The( Opportunity of a Lifetime. s |