BC first responders honored

On Tuesday evening, nine members of the Boulder City Fire Departments and one BCPD detective were honored by the city’s two Rotary clubs as part of their Service Officer Award Recognition program, which celebrates first responders who are “everyday heroes.”

Amy Vandermark, president of the Rotary Club of Boulder City, made the presentations.

The awards were actually originally announced at a ceremony in Las Vegas last month honoring first responders from across the greater metropolitan area. Like last year’s awards, a presentation was also planned in the recipient’s hometown (or at least work town).

Police Department

Honoree: Detective Mark Dubois

In October of 2021, a Boulder City resident was the victim of a follow-home robbery. The elderly woman was followed home from Las Vegas and when she parked, she was robbed of her purse. During the robbery, the woman fell and sustained serious head injuries. According to Vandermark, the woman died in December of that year as a result of the injuries.

The coroner ruled the case a homicide and Dubois was assigned as the lead investigator. According to Vandermark in her presentation, leads on the case were scarce and the case seemed impossible to solve. Dubois, a 25-year BCPD veteran and the current lead crime scene investigator, doggedly followed any evidence he could find and finally, in February of this year, was able to identify two suspects, both residents of Antioch, Calif. They were charged, extradited and are currently in custody awaiting trial.

Fire Department

Honorees: Assistant Fire Chief Josh Barrone, Reserve Battalion Chief Scott Satterlee, Captain Aaron Bleck, Captain Jimmy Whitworth, Engineer John Kingma, Firefighter Ryan Bodily, Firefighter Jason Tullis, Firefighter Carl Ford, Reserve Firefighter Colton Dody

Vandermark described the incident in her presentation, “On April 4, 2024, Boulder City Fire Department received a report of an individual who had fallen off a trail in Bootleg Canyon. Details were limited on location and injuries.”

According to Vandermark, BCFD arrived on scene within eight minutes. Due to the darkness and limited info, they immediately called for assistance from Henderson and Mercy Air. The woman, who had fallen about 40 feet down a steep slope was located within 50 minutes and she was brought up the slope within 20 minutes of being located.

The hiker was placed in a trail utility vehicle and taken to a waiting Mercy Air unit where she was transported to a local hospital.

“This was clearly an example of exceptional teamwork and the actions of these Boulder City File Department personnel showed their commitment to the citizens of and visitors to Boulder City,” Vandermark said.

According to the program’s website, the Rotary program SOAR was created to honor the ordinary officer who day in and day out, performs his or her job in an outstanding manner. He or she is not necessarily a “hero” in the standard sense of the word; rather, a person who is a “quiet hero” and does an excellent job at what he or she was hired to do. “They guard and protect the rights and responsibilities of the citizenry of their community.”