At the December 7th Regular Council meeting Mayor Baker will present Mr. Steve Swetlishoft with the Certificate of Commendation awarded by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, in recognition of the rescue of a man who had fallen through the ice on Wood Lake on March 27, 2009.
A survivor’s story:
(Summarized from the Lake Country Calendar article “A survivor’s story” Published April 7, 2009 by Roger Knox)
Peter Gallant, 60, from Vernon, credits the efforts of three fellow Wood Lake ice fishermen he knows only by first names – Steve, Grant and Klaus – for pulling him from the frigid lake after he and a fellow fisherman named Elmer, 70, fell through the ice while walking out from the shore to a pre dug hole shortly after 6 a.m.
Gallant and Elmer met on the beach of Wood Lake at 5:55 a.m. The pair had been fishing the day before, when the ice was approximately 9 inches think. They had not heard that two fishermen fell through some ice somewhere else on the lake, but pulled themselves to safety.
After jumping from the beach onto the ice, checking its thickness, Gallant and Elmer headed to a pre-cut hole. Normally they would go about an eighth of a mile off shore. That day, they had gone only 200 yards when, without warning, the ice gave out beneath their feet. It was 6:05 a.m. and still dark.
Gallant sank in the water up to his chest. Elmer, not wearing a flotation device, went under the water.
“I grabbed my pail and took out my axe, and punched a hole in the ice to hang on to,” Gallant said. “Elmer came back up and grabbed my left arm. I told him not to panic and he let go. That was it.”
“He was behind me and I kept yelling at him, but heard nothing. I kept yelling for help.”
Hearing the distress cries was Steve, from Oyama, who came running to the beach, and he told two guys sitting in a truck drinking coffee to dial 911. Steve came out onto the ice to give Gallant a hand, but was told by the calm fisherman to go back, saying one man had already been lost, he didn’t’ want to lose another.
Grant, from Armstrong, found an old bench on the beach, turned it upside down and pushed it along the ice out to Gallant. Steve and Klaus, from Vernon, came back with a rope that had a ball on the end, tossed it to Gallant, and pulled him from the water. It was now, in Gallant’s estimation, 6:50 a.m.
Just as Gallant was being helped off the ice, rescue services arrived and headed out to where Elmer had fallen through. Elmer was found and emergency personnel worked on him, said Gallant, for an hour, but Elmer could not be revived.
“My condolences go out to his family,” said Gallant, eternally grateful to the efforts of the three fellow fishing enthusiasts, a trio he knows from time spent on Wood Lake. “I just want to say thanks to them. I’d have done the same thing for them.”
Mr. Swetlishoft’s selfless actions are an inspiration to others and represent a high form of citizen ship of which we can all be very proud. We wish to extend our warmest congratulations to Mr. Swetlishoft.
Certificates of Commendation awarded to Mr. Grant Grills and Klaus Koch will be presented to them at a future date in their respective towns.
The Certificate of Commendation is issued to those who have made significant contribution by providing assistance to another person in a selfless manner. The Certificate is signed by the Governor General and is intended for eligible candidates whose actions are deemed notable by the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee. The Commendation is not automatic; eligible candidates are selected through a voting process.
For more information contact: Mayor Baker, Phone: 250-766-6670 Email admin@lakecountry.bc.ca
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