The good guys thread

[cassiesmom]

Source: Chicago Tribune

A dog rescued in Texas but lost at Midway Airport after slipping from her harness has been found safe and is on her way to a new home in Wisconsin.

"We are just so happy," said Lauren Kelliher, vice president of Illinois Doberman Rescue Plus, which helped coordinate the dog's travel to Elkhorn, Wis.

A woman found Madison in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side Tuesday night, then spotted a flier about the missing Doberman when she went to the grocery store this morning, Kelliher said. The woman left a message in Spanish around 10:30 a.m., Kelliher said.

Kelliher and other volunteers started scrambling to find someone to translate the message, but the woman soon called back. She told them, in English, that she had found Madison in her neighborhood near 38th and Spaulding, cold and hungry, and coaxed the dog into her garage.

Madison was inside the woman's house, wrapped in blankets, as a volunteer went to pick her up and the woman who originally planned to take her to Wisconsin prepared to begin their delayed journey to Wisconsin. The dog bore a distinctive scar that matched Madison's, according to Larissa Gavin, a volunteer who rescued Madison.

Gavin said she had been driving around a neighborhood in Houston on Jan. 5 with the founder of a rescue group, stopping to offer food to dogs and talking to people about bringing their dogs in during the cold weather, when they happened upon three unleashed puppies.

The two found the puppies' mother, Madison, nearby, and three days later were able to take custody of the dogs and take them to to a veterinarian for examination. One of the puppies had a broken femur, and Madison showed signs of having been injured, Gavin said.

After they sent out word about the dogs, a home was found for Madison in Wisconsin, while her puppies were placed with a puppy rescue shelter in Houston, Gavin said.

Madison arrived at Midway Friday and was picked up by a Chicago paramedic who volunteers for a Doberman rescue group and was going to drive the dog to Wisconsin, Gavin said. Madison somehow slipped out of her harness near 53rd Street and Central Avenue, Gavin said.

Volunteers then combed the area, with the last sighting of Madison Saturday night near 38th Street and Spaulding Avenue, as "a bunch of volunteers descended on the area," Kelliher said. But "we hadn't heard anything since."

[kuhio98]

Richford woman helps feed power crews

RICHFORD, Vt. - When Tracey Hemond was told the workers restoring power from last weekend's ice storm may go without food on Christmas, she did not hesitate to head to the grocery store, and then back to her kitchen to cook.

"I got a phone call around 11 o'clock yesterday morning from a VEC worker saying that there was no place for all the linemen and tree trimmers to go have Christmas dinner," Hemond said.

Hemond's husband is one of the line workers out in the cold working to get folks in the area back in the warm. He was injured on the job seven years ago, and the Vermont Electric Co-op was there in his time of need. Tracey Hemond is more than happy to return the favor.

"Breakfast yesterday morning, and made lunches. Then I guess we started cooking around noon for Christmas dinner," she said.

Mike and Tracey not only prepared these meals for the line workers, but they paid for it out of their own pocket-- close to $3,000, and that doesn't include a possible meal for Thursday night.

"If they're still working then yes, we'll be having dinner tonight," Tracey Hemond said.

For lunch on Boxing Day, she got more than 31 pounds of cold cuts to feed close to 100 mouths.

"Very generous to open their house, especially during Christmastime, to allow us to enter their house and put on a meal for everyone. They've been very generous. They're great people," said Vic Carter of VEC.

The line workers from both in and out of state are working 18 hour days to get power restored.

"For us, it feels good because we had so much help seven years ago. So, it feels good to give back," Tracey Hemond explained.

Giving back to those pitching in to restore power.

Hemond prepared 140 bagged lunches, including a sandwich, chips and a cookie, in less than two hours with help from family and friends.

[kuhio98]

Antioch Police say Target employee helped find abducted girl

ANTIOCH, Calif. — Antioch Police are praising a Target Store employee in Pittsburg for helping bring a child's kidnapping ordeal to an end.

“When I first spotted him in the store, I thought he was going to shoplift,” said 22-year-old Roxanna Ramirez.

Ramirez had no way of knowing the stranger she was watching, 43-year-old David Douglas, would later become the prime suspect in the armed abduction of a seven year old girl in Antioch.

What Ramirez noticed, was a shopper behaving suspiciously.

“He had a backpack, and he was picking things up and putting them down in the men's department,” recalled Ramirez.

As a loss prevention specialist, it's her job to monitor unusual behavior, so she followed Douglas for a time, even asking him is he needed help. He said no.

Then, she went to her office and watched him on surveillance cameras.

“He was fidgeting around, acting really weird, abnormal. I don't know, it just didn't make me feel comfortable,” Ramirez elaborated.

After he left the store, she continued to watch him remotely as he went to his car, and rifled through his backpack, occasionally leaving the car to pace and smoke, then returning.

“At one point, I saw him grab his steering wheel and start to shake it, and that was really off to me,” Ramirez noted. “That's when I really know something was wrong with him.”

She wrote his license plate number in the little notebook she always carries, and didn't think about it again until that night, when her girlfriend told her a child had been abducted.

“She read the description of the car, and I was like, 'hold on', that sounds like somebody I saw earlier at my job! It fits the same description,” said Ramirez. “I was like 'It's kinda weird' and she said, ‘you should call.’”

Ramirez called the plate in, and it led to Douglas, which led to the Antioch Marina, where police have had encounters with him before. He was apprehended, and the girl reunited with her family, four hours after she was taken.

Police came to Ramirez's door about midnight to tell her that her tip had made the difference.

“They said I helped crack the case, and my heart just dropped, like, really? I couldn't believe it” said a still incredulous Ramirez.

“She is a true hero,” acting police Capt. Tammany Brooks told KTVU. “We at the Antioch Police Department applaud people like Roxanna Ramirez who are willing to step forward to make our community a safer place. It's a collaborative effort.”

Ramirez said she is simply glad she could play a part in bringing the young victim to safety.

“I'm happy that she's home, and gets to spend the rest of this time with her family because not all kidnappings end like this. It feels really good.”

And she hopes her experience encourages everyone to listen to their gut instincts. In Roxanna's words, when something doesn't feel right, “Run with it.”

[kuhio98]

An Angelic Superhero
He wasn't really a superhero; he just dressed like one. But then an opportunity to be an angel presented itself...
By Troy Marcum, Huntington, West Virginia


Every kid dreams about growing up to be a superhero, but not many expect that dream to come true. My twin brother, Travis, couldn’t believe it when I told him mine had. “What do you mean you’re going to be Captain America for real?” he asked.

Superheroes had been important to me since I was a little kid. Travis and I really needed heroes back then. We had a difficult childhood, bouncing around from one tough situation to another. When we didn’t think things could get any worse, they did.

The one thing Travis and I could rely on was our comic books. When you’re a small boy, and afraid, it’s a great comfort to imagine you’re big and strong, rescuing other children from danger.

One night, when we were about eight, Travis and I huddled together in bed wondering if we’d always be surrounded by people stronger than us. “We’ll find a way out of this mess,” I whispered to him. “Someday we’ll overcome, like all of our heroes. You’ll see!”

With each other–and God–to lean on, that’s exactly what we did. Travis worked for the would-be governor of Washington State. I’d spent years as a professional wrestler and been awarded the Armed Forces Service Medal in the Navy for my work as a surgical technician.

Now I’d been offered an even more important job.

“I’m going to be Captain America,” I repeated to Travis. I’d gotten a call from a man named John Buckland, an Iraq War vet and a former firefighter. He ran a group called Heroes 4 Higher. They dressed up as superheroes to teach kids how to be a hero in their own right.

John had seen a picture of me from my wrestling days. I competed dressed as Cap–red, white and blue uniform, star on my shield. It was a big hit with the crowd, but it had special meaning for me.

In striving to become a hero like him as a boy, I didn’t feel like a victim. Maybe in this program I could share that feeling with other children. “If anyone can do it, you can,” my brother said.

I started “work” right away, visiting elementary schools, hospitals and community centers. John dressed as Batman, his wife was Batgirl.

There was nothing better than talking to kids one-on-one, having them look at me and see a hero. Courtney from Milton Elementary wanted us to visit her school on her birthday to teach everyone to be nice to each other.

Abby met us at an anti-bullying rally at the mall where she appeared in a tiara. Cameron, a boy losing his fight against cancer, said we gave him courage.

“You really have become one of the heroes from our comic books,” Travis said. Well, not really, I thought as I suited up for an appearance for local kids at the American Legion last fall. I wasn’t capturing bad guys or saving lives. The kids just thought I did those things because of my costume.

Our hosts at the American Legion introduced us, and John and I–as Batman and Captain America–took the stage. The kids clapped and then quieted down.

I spoke about some of the challenges they might face at school and gave some tips about standing up to peer pressure. The kids were taking it all in. John suddenly stepped forward and pointed out the window to a house across the street. “That place is on fire!”

Brown smoke poured out of the windows, turning black. The ex-firefighter didn’t waste a minute. “Call 911,” he told the room, and both of us ran across the street, followed by some of the bikers who were there to give an anti-drug presentation. One of them, Tank, helped John to kick in the front door.

“Throw a rock through the window,” John then ordered me. “We need to get some of that smoke out!” John went inside the house, disappearing into the thick smoke. “Anyone home?” he shouted. No answer, thank goodness.

Across the street the kids shouted, “Go, Batman, go! You can do it, Captain America! You can do it!”

John emerged from the blackness with something in his arms–something furry. It was a gray and black cat. “He needs air,” I said.

Firefighters hosed down the house. John laid the cat on the grass, and we exchanged a desperate look. Neither of us had ever performed CPR on a cat before, but we had to try!

“Captain America and Batman will save him!” one of the kids shouted. John breathed air into the cat’s mouth. The cat twitched. His eyes sprang open. He hissed angrily. Success! By the time the family returned home, their pet was good as new.

EMTs treated John for smoke inhalation, while the kids stared at us, awestruck. “You saved him!” they said. “Batman and Captain America saved the cat!”

John turned to me. “Guess this really was a job for Batman and Captain America!” he said. My brother agreed when I told him all about it. “Superheroes giving a cat CPR,” he said. “That’s like a scene from a comic book!”

John and I received many accolades for our actions that day. At the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival Parade we were reunited with Bob the Cat and family. The fire damage wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, and they were back in their home already.

Now people were not only calling us heroes–they were calling us angels. All I knew was, for one day God had truly granted my adventurous boyhood wish.

[kuhio98]

Good Samaritan helps jump start cars for free -- Illinois, USA

The cold can be pretty hard on our cars, but one local man volunteered his time helping give people a jump.

4th Avenue Auto Sales in Moline has been flooded with calls.

“They’ve been ringing off the hook, probably about every five minutes,” said employee Chris Sunken.

However, the calls aren’t for their business, but for a certain employee. Brad McCorckle, who works at 4th Avenue, decided to post on Facebook he would help out whoever needed a jump start for their car.

“(I thought) ‘We should put something on Facebook and go out and see who needs some help,’ so that’s what we did,” said McCorckle.

The post blew up on Facebook and so did the calls. On Monday, January 6, 2013, McCorckle started his day at 10:00 a.m., driving to several homes to offer his help for free.

“That’s what struck me right there, that he was willing to do that to give back to the community. So, I think it’s a great thing he’s doing especially in this weather,” said Robin Carden, a nurse who was stranded at home and needed to get to her patients.

McCorckle says it’s just the right thing to do.

“I was always taught by my parents to help people,” said McCorckle.

He’s bringing sunshine to people on a very cold day.

“There’s not many out there willing to do that anymore,” said Carden.

[kuhio98]

Portland man who wrestled bank robber: 'I'm not going to just stand around and watch'

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - Portland police officers were honored Thursday for their heroic efforts on the job, but the police bureau also left room for a brave civilian.

Scott Adams received the Portland Police Civilian Medal for Heroism.

In August, Adams was working construction at Portland Community College when he saw a man run through the job site.

He heard people shouting that the man had just robbed a bank, so Adams chased after him.

Police said the suspect, Frazer Piccolo, eventually confronted Adams, threatened him and even tried to punch him.

But Adams managed to dodge the punch and then landed a punch of his own on Piccolo, bringing him down. Adams then held Piccolo down until officers arrived.

"They were saying it was a great job (and) that if I hadn't taken action, there's a chance he might have gotten away," Adams said. "I'm a hard-working individual and for people to try and take something that isn't theirs, I'm not going to just stand around and watch it."

A police sergeant joked at the ceremony that Adams should stop by the recruitment table on his way out.

[kuhio98]

~~ Cats pay it forward ~~

During a stroll, my son pointed out a puff of black & white fur trying to keep up beside us in a weed infested field, I stopped him from heading over to it, "It probably belongs to one of these houses." Like most good teenagers he didn't listen. When he came back with the bundle his eyes were moist & his voice trembled. "I think someone's poked his eyes out." The barely palm size matt was covered in fly eggs, there were swollen red mounds where eyes should have been, it smelled like sickness. At home, a warm, wet wash cloth was the best I could do for a mother's cleaning, until Big Thor came over. Thor was a massive cat, we had found him in the snow by our apartment dumpster years before where his mother & siblings had frozen to death. He had bitten through my husband's leather gloves (winning his affection immediately). Now he came, pawed at the kitten softly. At first I was afraid how he might react to this new invader. With one paw on the little guy's head, he started cleaning & purring. With its’ mouth open came the loudest purr I had ever heard from any cat, much less this little tennis ball-sized matt. Thor became a surrogate, even allowing him to nurse his "Male" nipples at times. The vet treated his severely infected "eyes", after a month, he could see. Being quite the hunter, we named him Nimrod. He slept with Thor everyday even till the last breath Thor breathed, when he cleaned Thor's head and walked away. My nieces brought in a sick, abandoned kitten from their barn 2 days later. Nimrod grabbed him by the nape of the neck, he's cleaned him every day for 4 years. Cats pay it forward.