Here are the 2009 Everyday Heroes:

Good Samaritan:  Cassandra Jackson

December 2, 2008 started out as a normal day for Cassandra Jackson.  As she took her children next door to the babysitter, she looked across the street and saw a young boy running toward her, his upper-body engulfed in flames. She ran to the child, got him to "stop, drop and roll," and grabbed a garden hose to completely extinguish the flames.  Noticing that his shirt was completely burned, she quickly wrapped him in a sheet to reduce shock and called 911.  When fire fighters arrived, Jackson called the school where she worked to help find the boy's emergency contact information, so that his family could be reached as quickly as possible. Her intervention was critical to the timely notification of his family, and the child's chances for recovery from his burns.

Youth Good Samaritan: Chazz Blunt

On June 27, 2009, eleven year-old Chazz Blunt was in the car with his mother, traveling east on Craig Road after running some errands.  While stopped at a signal light, they witnessed a young woman lose control of the motorcycle she was riding, sending her and the motorcycle skidding across the opposite side of the road. Chazz's mother noticed the rider was pinned beneath the motorcycle, and quickly crossed several lanes of traffic to see if she could help.  To her surprise, Chazz jumped from the moving car before his mother even had time to stop. Though Chazz weighed only 75 pounds, he lifted the 700 pound motorcycle off the injured rider by himself, and stayed with her until EMTs arrived.

Aquatics: Ashley Rucker

On May 30, 2009, Lifeguard Ashley Rucker filled in on her day off for guard duty at a local resort swimming pool.  As she was scanning the water, she noticed a young girl on the other side of the pool, on her tip-toes in the water.  As she scanned the pool again, she noticed that the girl was struggling for air and fighting to stay above water. Rucker, knowing that seconds mattered if she was going to prevent a drowning, jumped directly from the six foot high guard stand into the shallow end of the pool. When she did, she felt an excruciating pain, as she had fractured her heel in three places. Despite this injury, she made her way across the pool to the girl, who was, by then, completely underwater. Despite her own painful injury, Rucker brought the girl to the surface and was able to restore her breathing, sparing one family from a tragic loss that afternoon.

Fire Fighter: David Phelps

On March 16, 2009, David Phelps, an Engineer with the Clark County Fire Department, was off duty when he came upon a traffic accident that had just occurred. When Phelps pulled over to help, he noticed that the driver was in distress, and trapped inside the car. Recognizing that every minute that went by reduced the driver's chance for recovery, Phelps quickly took charge of the increasingly chaotic scene. He pulled the victim from the car and into a safe area, where he administered CPR until rescue teams arrived.  When EMTs arrived, they were impressed with Phelps' effective CPR and competent handling of the scene. Upon investigation, it was determined that the traffic accident had been caused when the driver went into sudden cardiac arrest.  If not for Phelps' actions, which sustained the victim's pulse and blood pressure until he could be taken to the hospital, the driver could have lost his life or suffered significant damage from the heart attack.  

Emergency Dispatch:  Shannon Lund

On September 13, 2008, Shannon Lund, a Las Vegas 911 Dispatcher, received what could have been a typical dispatch call. But this was not a typical situation. The voice on the other end of the line was a young boy with special needs, who described hearing a crash and finding his mother lying in a water-filled bathtub with blood and bubbles foaming from her mouth.  He was terrified, crying and did not know what to do. That's when Lund sprang into action. She arranged for an ambulance and remained on the line, keeping the boy calm enough to help his mother until the medical professionals arrived. The mother's collapse was caused by a grand mal seizure while she was in the shower, from which she recovered.  But Lund's ability to stay calm, comfort the boy, and summon immediate help left this family forever grateful for her sensitivity and responsiveness to the emergency situation.

Military: SSgt Luke Frazier

While en route to Creech Air Force Base on July 24, 2009, Sgt. Luke Frazier and several Airmen traveling with him witnessed a sudden rollover accident on US 95. Upon witnessing the accident, Sgt. Frazier directed the other Airmen to call 911 and assist in directing traffic around the scene.  Sgt. Frazier quickly made contact with the car's occupants - a pregnant woman, a child that had been strapped in a baby seat, and the driver, all of whom were shaken but uninjured.  Sgt. Frazier then discovered that one of the car's occupants had not been wearing a seat belt and had been ejected from the vehicle.  As the car rolled, the victim had been hit twice by it, and was still trapped beneath. Sgt. Frazier provided first aid and stayed with the seriously injured man, keeping him conscious and medically stable until emergency responders arrived.  When they arrived, the EMTs enlisted Sgt. Frazier's help to free the victim from under the vehicle. Due to his quick action that day, Sgt. Frazier helped save a life and monitored the scene to insure the safety of all involved.

Community Impact: Clark County Gang Intervention Team

In an effort to prevent local young people from joining gangs, the Clark County Gang Intervention Team provides positive alternatives for thousands of children from high-risk neighborhoods. Its Back on Track program focuses on building relationships through sports, education and employment programs, cultural activities, and community service     projects such as graffiti abatement. Over its 8 year history, 80% of the participants of the Back on Track program have stayed in, or returned to, school and work.

Law Enforcement:  Kaycee Otteson                                        

One night in September, Deputy Kaycee Otteson and several other officers responded to a call regarding shots fired at a Pahrump RV park. It was dark, and the shooter was concealed by the landscape as he moved back and forth shooting. While searching the grounds for the gunman, one officer was shot three times from close range in the upper body, setting off a gun battle between officers and the still-concealed shooter. When Deputy Otteson heard that a fellow officer had been shot, she rushed into the middle of the gun fight to rescue her fallen colleague.  She dragged the officer on foot for about 150 yards to her patrol car, and then drove him to a waiting ambulance several blocks away.  Deputy Otteson's quick thinking and willingness to expose her self to danger may well have saved the life of her fellow officer that night.

Animal Rescue: Dr. David Henderson

In addition to providing lifesaving care to sick and injured animals on a daily basis, Dr. Henderson gives back to the community every day by running low-cost spay and neuter clinics, a service that enables pet owners to spay or neuter their pets regardless of their economic circumstances. Dr. Henderson also provides affordable immunizations to those families that can't afford to vaccinate their pet.  Additionally, he conducts no-cost spay and neuter clinics for local animal rescue organizations practicing the county's "trap, neuter, return" policy. The number of feral cats in Clark County has been estimated at 200,000. Dr. Henderson conducts these feral cat clinics monthly, and can neuter up to 300 cats in one day.  Dr. Henderson's commitment to animal welfare is evident  to patients in his regular practice as well, many of whom have stories about Dr. Henderson working on holidays or after hours to help injured or sick animals.