By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
A number of presentations and awards were given at the Mesquite City Council meeting held Tuesday, Sept. 27. These included recognition of first responders in the community as well as a proclamation on the arts in the community.
Early in the meeting, representatives from the two Rotary Clubs in the city stood to give their annual presentation of the SOAR awards.
SOAR stands for Safety Officer Award Recognition. The annual award is presented by Rotary Clubs throughout southern Nevada to outstanding officers from both police and fire departments.
The first award was presented by Roy Stephenson, President of the Noon Rotary Club of Mesquite. This award went to a Mesquite Fire and Rescue team that responded to a serious accident on I-15 on March 20 of this year.
“In that incident we had one semi-truck that failed to stop and wedged itself between two other semis and five other passenger vehicles,” said Mesquite Fire Chief Jayson Andrus during the presentation. “We had a total of 14 patients on this incident.”
Andrus emphasized that the incident exemplified the need for “ongoing and specialized training, teamwork and communication.”
Stephenson said that Rotary would like to recognize the professional and dedicated department members who responded to this incident as the 2022 SOAR award recipients.
Next to present was Richard Guttierez, President of the Sunrise Rotary Club of Mesquite. He presented the 2022 SOAR award to Mesquite Police officer Steve Bruehl.
Guttierez told of a specific call for service that had come in from Metro Police in Las Vegas earlier this year. Metro was attempting to locate a vehicle being driven by a man who was unlawfully detaining a two-year-old child.
“The man had sent pictures of the little girl to the mother and told her the child was dead,” Guttierez said.
Officer Bruehl located the suspect’s vehicle on I-15. Calling for backup, Bruehl then made contact with the suspect.
“The suspect, who was sitting in the vehicle, picked up the child who was sitting in the front seat next to him,” Guttierez related. “It appeared he was using the young child as a shield while Officer Bruehl issued commands to put the child down.”
With this interaction as a distraction, another Mesquite Police officer opened the passenger side door and pulled the child from the vehicle, Guttierez said.
The child was given immediate medical attention and then sent back to her mother in Las Vegas. The suspect was arrested on felony charges.
“Officer Bruehl should be commended for his outstanding actions during this call and for assisting this little girl,” Guttierez said. “Mesquite Police Department congratulates Officer Bruehl for his many years of exemplary service.”
Later in the meeting, Mesquite Mayor Al Litman read an official proclamation recognizing the month of October 2022 as Arts Month in the city of Mesquite.
The proclamation recognized the fact that October had already been recognized as National Arts and Humanities month by many other communities and states across the country.
“Lives continue to be positively enhanced and enriched by the arts and humanities by sharing the wisdom, imagination and intellect of all mankind,” the proclamation stated.
Litman also pointed to the fact that the vibrant fine arts community existing in Mesquite enhances the quality of life in the city. This community has also scheduled a full month of activities highlighting the arts and culture within Mesquite, Litman added.
For more information about some of the activities going on for Arts Month in Mesquite, visit mesquitefineartscenter.com.
