Lauri Perlick, Sawyer County Record www.haywardwis.com
Thursday, August 10, 2006 02:15:39 PM
LCO Tribal member Ben Fleming, left, helps to stabilize an �accident victim� along with fellow student Angelina Hart during the final exercise of the first Great Lakes Ojibwe Emergency Services Academy.
It was hard to tell who was wearing the biggest smile as 11 students, teamed with law enforcement officers, flashed by on the evasive driving course.
Tribal youth were getting a taste of the real world of emergency services as the LCO and St. Croix tribes presented the first Great Lakes Ojibwe Emergency Services Academy.
Tribal officers, EMTs, First Responders and fire fighters donated their time and services to present this week long course to introduce youth 14-18 to the responsibilities of and opportunities in emergency services.
The course began July 30 at the LCO School where the participants were housed. The intensive, supervised program included training in medical emergencies, accident response, law enforcement, wild fires, water rescue, fire arms, and evasive driving among other things.
�We�re trying to make it as realistic and hands-on as possible,� said Jason Bisonette, one the organizers of the program.
After a period for introductions and welcome, students thought they would be hitting the books. Their first taste of police work on Monday, however, was a graphic demonstration of K-9 work as one officer acted as the bad guy and another officer�s dog completed a take down. Students, members of either the St. Croix or LCO tribe, then got a primer in law enforcement with emphasis on defense and arrest tactics and non-lethal force. Bisonette said Monday was also an opportunity for those presenting the academy to evaluate the students � �to see how the kids handle the different situations.�
By the end of the first day, each of the academy students was certified as Medic First Aid CPR after training with Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College trainer Judy Balog.
Patterned after similar academies, Great Lakes Ojibwe began each day at 6:30 a.m. with students and instructors exercising, followed by time for personal hygiene. The study day began at 8:45 a.m. �A lot of the tribal officers wanted to steer kids into something positive,� Bisonette explained. The academy was the result of many members of the community looking to create positive opportunities for the area youth.
On Tuesday, the focus shifted from law enforcement to emergency medical training. The teens received instruction in emergency extraction getting an opportunity to see the jaws of life open a vehicle in which �victims� were trapped. They learned proper lifting and transport techniques from emergency response professionals. Both Sawyer County Ambulance and the LCO Fire Department were on hand to help with the training. Also on Tuesday a Department of Natural Resources vehicle was on scene to demonstrate wildfire suppression techniques.
Organizers wanted students to experience the actual role employees or volunteers in emergency service jobs perform in different situation. �This is for kids with a desire to be in the emergency services,� Bisonette said. Fliers were used at the area schools to notify interested teens about the week-long academy. Because the emphasis was on training those with a desire to go into emergency services, trainers were not concerned when one of the students dropped out of the academy after the second day. Not everyone is cut out for the riggers and challenges of emergency services.
Wednesday students again started their day in the classroom with weapons training before taking to the shores of Round Lake for instruction in diving. The dive team from St. Croix was slated to demonstrate water rescue. That part of the class, however, was canceled due to the questionable weather. Students did participate in a diving demonstration before returning to the classroom for defensive driver training.
As the sun neared the horizon, students were paired with officers to ride along on a course set up in the drive at the LCO School. After strapping in, it was a twisting ride through the serpentine portion of the course before swerving through one of the stop lanes. According to radio traffic, instructors where assigned push- ups for each cone knocked over on the course.
�We could not have done this without these guys giving their time,� Bisonette said. All of the instructors volunteered their time and services to make the academy possible.
More than 26 organizations and individuals volunteered or worked at the academy including the LCO, St. Croix and Red Cliff police officers, the Brunette County liaison officer to the St. Croix Tribe, Barron and Sawyer County Sheriff�s Departments the LCO and Bass Lake fire department, Sawyer County Ambulance, LCO Trails and the LCO School. �These guys are working tremendously and taking the lead in taking a good honest look at the next generation of tribal officers (and EMS).�
Those presenting the academy worked closely with the tribe�s insurance carrier to assure that all training was done in a safe manner. During much of the hands-on portions of the academy the instructor and volunteer to student ratio was 2 to 1. Bisonette said the company was so impressed with the schedule, it sent an agent from Minneapolis to conduct a class on crash safety.
On Thursday students put their weapons training to the test at the firing range.
As students participated in the various exercises, trainers evaluated them in preparation for the culmination of their academy training.
Early Friday morning, at 3:30 a.m. student�s were awakened to respond to an emergency situation. With lights and sirens flashing, they were transported to a mock accident where their training was put to the test.
Sawyer County Ambulance and area firefighters and First Responders were paged to assist but it was up to students to use their training in assigned roles. Some of the students were assigned police officers roles, assisting with securing the accident scene and the apprehension of one of the drivers who fled the scene. Other students assisted the fire department, securing the area as the �victims� were extracted as well as helping the victims during extraction. Those assigned the role of EMT were responsible for stabilizing the injured with c-collars, checking for shock, then transporting them to the waiting ambulance. Students also had to help secure the scene at the LCO School for the arrival of St. Mary�s Life Flight, which assisted in the academy training by transporting one of the �victims.�
EMTs on the scene praised the efforts of the students. �They were very calm and patient. They treated this like the real thing. They listened and did what they were told. They used critical thinking.� These were just a few of the comments thrown out by the professionals on the scene.
LCO officer Joel Valentine said in their one week of training the students learned a lot. He said the academy touched on many of the aspects of police work that he received in his training. He was also impressed to see that some of the students parents came to the accident scene to watch the exercise.
Valentine agreed with officer Twyla Daily who said the teens did an excellent job.
Student Kayleigh Edley who was assigned the role of law enforcement officer and EMT with Daily called the scene �crazy.
�You had a lot of things to do and it was kind of stressful. You had all different jobs you needed to do and had to ask who needed help.�
Andrea Manzanares had to call on her first aid training from the first day of classes in her role as an emergency responder. �We learned how to stabilize their head and to check their pulse.� She added the exercise really got the adrenaline going and that she would �defiantly� consider becoming an EMT.
LCO Police Chief Bill Morrow explained the reason for the early morning exercise. �We are stressing this is not a Monday -Friday, 9-5 job.� Assessing the scenario he too said the students did an excellent job.
On Friday, 11 tired but proud students became the first graduates of the Great Lakes Ojibwe Emergency Services Academy.
The 2006 graduating class of the academy were: Andrea Manzanares, Kayleigh Edley, Angeline Hart, Shane Gasper, Brett Littlepipe, Mike Raney, Donavon Sullivan, Ben Fleming, Marie Wooten, Ashley Matrious and Oakley Kagigebi. Each received a compact disc documenting the class�s achievements during the academy.
Bisonette said next year organizers hope to open the academy to members of other area tribes. �We called it Great Lakes Ojibwe because we wanted to see if there would be interest from Flambeau, Bad River and Red Cliff tribes.� The academy is in part a recruiting tool to help the tribes interest students in emergency services and police enforcement and give them some early training. At the urging of the 2006 graduates, organizers are considering expanding the academy to two weeks.
More information about the 2007 Great Lakes Ojibwe Emergency Services Academy will soon be available on a Web site currently under construction. Interested students may leave a message at the academy�s e-mail [email protected] and they will be contacted when more information is available and the site is operational.