Red Cross bestows honor on ‘hometown heroes’

A woman who provided potentially lifesaving first aid to a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy was one of 14 people honored by the American Red Cross on Thursday as “hometown heroes.”

The woman, Tomi Wheeler, witnessed the shooting of deputies Mike Northway and Matt Spink in June. She applied pressure to a serious wound in Northway’s arm and stayed with the two deputies until medics arrived.

Also honored at a lunch event Thursday at Northern Quest casino were:

• Capt. Leslee Kane, an active-duty doctor with the U.S. Air Force who led triage efforts as senior medical officer while deployed in Afghanistan.

• Ilan Coberly, a sixth-grader who rescued a neighbor’s dog from an ice-covered pond.

• Rainer Kisle, an employee at Spokane International Airport who came to the aid of a traveler who had collapsed in cardiac arrest

• Spokane police officers Rob Boothe and Ben Yinger, who provided lifesaving care to a man involved in a motorcycle crash

• Christopher Smith, a Gonzaga University student and ROTC member who rescued a man from the Spokane River

• Senior Airman Chandler Tuscany, who provided first aid to a passenger on an airplane.

• Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Tremel, who rescued stranded hikers from a cliff at night

• Jeff Bickell and Jeremy Driskell, neighbors who rescued a baby and two other occupants from a burning home

• Marley, a family dog that alerted the Atwood family to a house fire

• Operation Dog Tag, a program run by veteran Joe Scheffer to train service dogs to help other veterans with post-traumatic stress or physical challenges.

• Phil Haugen, general manager of Northern Quest, who was honored with the Spirit of the Red Cross award.