CALDWELL, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Larry Haugness was walking with his wife and dog through Midway Park on Sept. 6 when he heard the voice of a little girl, who was struggling to keep above water in one of Nampa’s irrigation canals.
“Deputies responded to Midway Park for a report of a lost child. The caregiver could not find Violet. She’s 6 years old,” relayed Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue, reading aloud from Haugness’ nomination letter for a life-saving medal.
When the deputies arrived on scene, they were told that someone had found the child in a canal on the south side of the park. It was Haugness, having charged into water up to his chest to retrieve Violet, who had gone under.
“All I could see was her hair. I grabbed her hair and got her to the shore,” Haugness, a tennis instructor, said. “I started talking with her and said, ‘go ahead and throw up.’”
Once paramedics arrived, Violet was whisked off to St. Luke’s and she and Haugness parted ways. But they met again Thursday in Caldwell, at Canyon County’s semi-annual life-saving medal ceremony, put on by the sheriff’s office. Haugness, who was nominated by Cpl. Isaac Hodges, presented Violet with a stuffed bunny before claiming his own award.
“There’s a lot of selfless people in the world, and they’re willing to do anything to save someone who’s not their own child,” said Violet’s mother, Skye Bissell.
Exactly a month before that fateful day in Nampa, Dawn Houghton of Parma was driving to her job as a certified property appraiser when she smelled smoke. She thought 7:20 a.m. was a bit early to be burning something, and then she came upon a vehicle that was on fire.
“The driver of the vehicle was unable to open any of her doors, and the passenger compartment was quickly filling up with smoke,” Donahue read from the letter for Houghton’s nomination, made by Parma Firefighters president Joey Villasista.
Houghton could see hands grasping at the burning vehicle’s driver’s-side window. She pulled over, called 911, and attempted unsuccessfully to open the driver’s-side door.
“I have this tool that my dad bought me years ago. It’s a flashlight, a seatbelt cutter and a window-breaker that I’ve threatened to throw away for years,” she said. “I grabbed my cell phone, ran back to the car and broke the window.”
She was able to extract Maria Salud Arteaga, who was taken into an ambulance upon paramedics’ arrival.
“[Houghton] put aside her personal safety to rescue a complete stranger,” Donahue said. “Failure to act or any delay in her actions most likely would have resulted in a very tragic outcome.”
Houghton was also presented with a Department of the Army certificate of appreciation from the Pentagon, signed by her brother, Col. James Fuhrman.
Of Houghton and Haugness, Donahue said that “their remarkable actions have not only saved life, but have also inspired all of us to recognize the impact one person can have in a moment of crisis.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.