A LIFE SAVED : Dispatcher who did her job meets man she helped keep from dying

MORGAN HOOVER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

August 25, 2009 7:33 AM

After saving a man's life by calmly sticking to protocol under the most frightening of circumstances, a Santa Barbara County public safety dispatch supervisor was honored Monday afternoon with an Emergency Medical Dispatch CPR Save Award.

Tuesday's ceremony, held at the Santa Barbara County Public Safety Dispatch Center, marked the first time Shannon Hoogenbosch met the cardiac arrest victim whose life she is credited with saving on June 27, 56-year-old Orcutt resident Mike Hanneman.

On that particular day, Ms. Hoogenbosch took the 9-1-1 call related to Mr. Hanneman, learning that he was unconscious and not breathing.

After sending firefighters and paramedics to the scene, she provided instructions to Mr. Hanneman's family that ultimately saved his life.

County Health Department representative Marc Burdick took the opportunity Monday to praise Ms. Hoogenbosch for ensuring that Mr. Hanneman's family members took every step possible to save his life until help arrived, particularly performing CPR.

"She kept telling them to keep going until we got there," said Mr. Burdick, who explained that a defibrillator was eventually used on Mr. Hanneman. "After the second shock, he started to get his heartbeat back."

The importance of CPR was a theme of the ceremony.

Dr. Angelo Salvucci, the medical director of the county's Emergency Medical Services, also expounded upon the vital role of the life-saving technique and said everyone should learn how to perform it.

"Because CPR was done and done correctly," he said, "...(Mr. Hanneman) is here to talk to us today."

Dr. Salvucci then pointed out that the saving of Mr. Hanneman's life was a process accomplished through a "chain of survival," in which "the link representing the dispatch" was especially crucial.

He emphasized the point that were it not for Ms. Hoogenbosch, Mr. Hanneman may not have been present at Monday's gathering.

"If any of you listened to the (9-1-1) tape, you'd understand," he said.

Mr. Hanneman spoke next, briefly but memorably.

"I just wanted to thank Shannon for her professionalism," he said. "All I know is that I survived, and I survived because of the efforts of everyone it took."

Santa Barbara County Undersheriff Ken Shemwell used his time to praise Ms. Hoogenbosch, explaining that she would not praise herself.

"She's going to act like, 'Well, this is not that big a deal; I was just doing my job,' " he said. "This is her second (Emergency Medical Dispatch) CPR Save Award."

He called Ms. Hoogenbosch's efforts "fantastic," emphasizing that while she is modest, others recognize the impact of her accomplishments.

"I'm even more pleased that Mr. Hanneman is here today," he said, turning to Mr. Hanneman, who wore an appropriately lively green shirt to the ceremony, and he added with a handshake, "It's great to have you here."

Ms. Hoogenbosch spoke very positively of the inspirational experience.

"It's a good feeling," she said and quickly corrected herself, saying, "It's an awesome feeling to know that you saved somebody's life."

She said one of the most important aspects of a dispatcher's work is insisting on calmness from someone who has been forced to call 911.

"The caller was pretty hysterical," she said. "You've just got to keep reminding them."

She provided some words of wisdom for those who ever have to call 911 for emergency services.

"I know the situation's hard," she said, "but just try to stay calm."

As for meeting Mr. Hanneman, Ms. Hoogenbosch described it as having "come full circle."

"I'm very modest and very quiet about it," she said, "but it's a great feeling."

Woman plans to hula hoop 200 miles for a cause : She also has her sights on a long distance hooping world record

MORGAN HOOVER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

August 22, 2009 7:38 AM

Proving that staying fit can be fun and might even help make the world a better place, a Maricopa woman plans to hula hoop her way across 200 miles of the South Coast to raise awareness about the nonprofit organization where she is an intern.

Ahni Radvanyi, 23, currently interns at Quail Springs, described in its Web site as "a working farm dedicated to demonstrating and teaching holistic ways of designing human environments, and to facilitating deeper understandings of ourselves and one another through immersive experiences in nature."

"I want an adventure, and no one's set a record for long distance hooping," she said.

Ms. Radvanyi said she has hula hooped since she was a child, but she became especially passionate about it approximately four years ago.

"Any time there's good music around, you can't make me stop," she said laughing. "I don't do it every day; I do it when I feel called to do it."

Ms. Radvanyi said hooping has changed her perspective on health.

"It makes me feel so balanced afterward," she said, explaining that since she began hula hooping regularly, she has achieved greater body awareness and is "more comfortable in (her) own skin."

"It's another kind of yoga for me," she said. "It's mind and body."

Her favorite place to hula hoop is at Quail Springs.

"There's a hill ... that was considered the center of the Chumash Indian universe," she said. "Early, early morning is the best."

She now plans to take the activity to a new level by embarking on a hula hoop journey beginning Aug. 29 in Ojai, continuing through Ventura, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta and ending in Gaviota.

Ms. Radvanyi said she hopes people will join her along these 200 miles because she wants to be encouraged.

"I want to see that they believe they can do it too," she said.

Ms. Radvanyi said eventually she would like to teach a hooping class, but right now she wants "to take on the world."

"I want to facilitate hoop jams," she said of the future, "but what I really want to tell people is to take your next step toward a healthier mind and body."

Symbolism is another important part of the activity for the adventurous hooper.

"I want people to see it as a metaphor," she said. "I want people to see the circle they're dancing in and be the change within it."

For more information on Quail Springs, visit quailsprings.org.

To join Ms. Radvanyi's hooping journey at any point or to gain more information, visit myspace.com/hoophike.

Apollo reunion attendees recall 'exciting times'

MORGAN HOOVER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

July 22, 2009 7:36 AM

Santa Barbara will be well represented by a handful of space engineers at an Apollo Reunion in Waukesha, Wis., today and tomorrow.

Apollo was a NASA program during the 1960s and into the 1970s, which successfully landed a man on the moon.

More than 100 Apollo engineers still live in the Santa Barbara area, including Richard Kraemer, one of 120 Delco engineers who worked with MIT in Boston in 1962.

"There were some exciting times," said Mr. Kraemer, 75, who remembers his responsibilities as being quite serious. "I think the thrust was the quality of what we were doing; with lives involved, it was a dedication thing."

The Apollo reunion happens every five years and alternates between Waukesha and Santa Barbara. In 2004, it was held at Fess Parker's Doubletree.

The reunion will boast a social hour tonight, a golf outing in the morning and an afternoon educational opportunity, all of which will lead up to the reunion's main event, an evening banquet.

The banquet will feature a speech by John Kaufman, a presentation by Art Voros, a presentation by Hugh Brady's grandson Liam Brady-Cheney, a speech by Bob McMillin and a speech by Lockheed Martin Vice President of NASA Program Integration Capt. Ken Reightler.

Jim Lovell was originally scheduled to speak at the banquet, but he will now be unable to attend.

Mr. Kraemer said his experiences during the 1960s were all about teamwork.

"My job was supervising electronics; somebody else was in charge of software," he said. "The total team was about 300."

Mr. Kraemer admits, however, that there were times he felt honored personally.

"I worked with Dr. (Charles Stark) Draper, known to be the father of inertial navigation," he said. "That was pretty great for me."

The reunion will be held at the Country Springs Hotel and Western Lakes Golf Club in Waukesha.

For more information, visit apollocarousel2009.org.

UCSB to decrease enrollment, cut salaries, institute furloughs

MORGAN HOOVER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

July 17, 2009 7:02 AM

The University of California's governing board has approved an emergency budget plan that will force tens of thousands of employees to take furloughs and pay cuts.

The UC Board of Regents voted Thursday to furlough up to 80 percent of the university's 180,000 workers to help address a $813 million budget shortfall caused by deep cuts in state funding. The overall goal of the plan is to achieve an estimated $184.1 million in payroll savings from general funds for 12 months, beginning on Sept. 1, 2009.



At UC Santa Barbara, a minimum of $45 million will need to be cut, according to a statement from UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang.

"We have been in a continuous cycle of budget reductions since 2003," said the chancellor.

This $45 million, however, is three times last year's reduction.



Since 2003, the campus' reduction in state funding has totaled $102 million, or 30 percent of its current-year state budget.

In order to offset some of these lost revenues, UCSB is reducing its enrollment rates to the level it held in the 2007-08 school year and will maintain this rate until at least the 2014-15 school year.

"We expect to decrease enrollment by more than 600 students below our current projected 2009-10 enrollment level for the next five years," said Mr. Yang.

A significant amount of state funding to UCSB has been lost, and according to Mr. Yang, the state will not provide new funding for the 2009-10 school year.

"While we are still interested in the long-term goals outlined in our Long Range Development Plan, the worsening budget climate will force our trajectory to be one of contraction rather than growth in the near term," he said. "I am deeply concerned about the unprecedented sacrifices that members of our UCSB family are being asked to make."

Under the plan, employees will see their salaries reduced by 4 percent to 10 percent and will take between 11 and 26 furlough days a year, with higher-paid employees taking larger pay cuts and getting more time off. The administration still needs to reach agreements on furloughs affecting union represented employees which accounts for about a third of those affected.

The furloughs are expected to cover about a quarter of the university's budget deficit. The remainder will be addressed by a previously approved student fee increase, debt refinancing and major cuts at individual campuses, which are already laying off staff, increasing class sizes and eliminating academic programs.

UC officials say the furloughs are intended to cut payroll costs, preserve pension benefits and prevent more widespread layoffs.

Employees ranging from janitors and clerical workers to professors and chancellors will be required to take furloughs, but there will be exemptions for several groups, including most students, workers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and researchers paid with outside funding.

UCSB is one of the 10 universities that make up the UC system. The campus system, one of the country's leading public universities, is just one of many institutions being rocked by California's budget crisis.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature are struggling to close a $26 billion budget gap that is forcing deep cuts to education, health care and state services.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Fundraising campaign for Max the owl wings its way toward goal : Birds of Prey campaign has raised $78,000 to build aviary at Museum of Natural Histor

MORGAN HOOVER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

July 12, 2009 9:57 AM

A fundraising campaign to provide a home for Max the Great Horned Owl and five other birds kicked off Saturday morning at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

The Birds of Prey campaign has already raised $78,000 out of the needed $150,000 to build an aviary at the museum in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society, which hosts an array of wildlife educational programs, some with the birds.

The campaign launch drew a crowd of approximately 50 and showed off Max along with the three other birds currently cared for by the program.

These three birds are Kachina, an American kestrel; Tecolita, a Western screech owl; and Ivan, a red-tailed hawk.



The aviary will be built large enough to include two other birds the museum and the Audubon Society hope to acquire once the habitat is in place.

Construction on the habitat should begin in September and last no longer than two months.

Gabriele Drozdowski is Max's trainer who, out of her home, has been directing an Audubon Society program called Eyes in the Sky.

"It's like a dream come true," said Ms. Drozdowski of the new habitat at the museum. "The birds' location is secluded, peaceful, serene."

Planning for the habitat began in 2003 after Ms. Drozdowski brought the birds to the museum for programs free of charge several times.

The exhibit, which will be the first live bird offering for the museum, will provide an opportunity for public showings of the bird every day.

These showings will be conducted largely by volunteers, according to Ms. Drozdowski.

"We have a group of 15 volunteers," she explained. "Twelve can work with the birds, and eight can present them to the public."

The birds will be taken out and fed from 2-4 p.m. every day until a maximum volunteer workforce is achieved, at which time the public will have access to view the birds for several hours a day.

Max will be in seclusion every year for approximately three months while he fosters a baby owl, but a webcam will be set up so that visitors can still see him and the young one for whom he cares.

Ms. Drozdowski has a very close relationship with Max.

"Max has been with me since he was 6 months old," she said. "The first mating season, he decided I was his new wife."

During this time, Max courted her not with flowers, but with a dead mouse every night.

"He built a nest for us on top of the book shelf," said Ms. Drozdowski, laughing. "I finally realized what was going on, and he had decided I was his wife!"

After caring for them for 18 years, Ms. Drozdowski has a special relationship with birds.

"They all become a little part of your heart," she said. "The attachment is very close. Once you work with them one-on-one, you can't look at them the same. They're such a magnificent way to get into nature."

She is especially grateful to the Audubon Society and the museum for Birds of Prey.



"It'll be rent free," she said. "We'll have water, electricity, maintenance. In Santa Barbara, that's just amazing."

For more information on Birds of Prey, visit www.santabarbaraaudubon.org.