Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: People are important

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1999 | 9:28 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

SENIOR District Judge Norm Robison has to be proud of his son, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Craig Robison. Sunday, Craig, an Army Guard Black Hawk pilot, was presented the Air Medal along with Capt. Daniel Waters. The military announcement also said that at the same ceremony Sgt. Steve Milovich, Sgt. Patrick Moore and Sgt. Randy Barnes were presented the Soldiers Medal by Adj. Gen. for Nevada, Maj. Gen. Tony Clark. Earlier all of the men had received the Valley Forge Cross for heroism and the Navy Achievement Medal.

Briefly the military account tells us what happened Sept. 26, 1998. "At approximately 10 a.m., Waters was notified of a potential downed civilian aircraft recovery mission in the Mount Grant area near Hawthorne, Nev. With two Navy HH-60 Sea Hawks from NAS Fallon, Nev., currently in the search process, the guard was directed to stand down the alert notice. ...

"The Black Hawk arrived in the vicinity of the rescue effort at approx. 3:30 p.m. and began the search for the downed civilian and military aircraft. Basing their search pattern on the strength of an Emergency Locator Transmitter signal, the crew of the UH-60 negotiated the rapidly diminishing weather and the hazardous terrain of the mountain and located the crew of the Sea Hawk.

"Landing at 10,000 feet in the middle of a blinding snowstorm, the flight medic, together with the crew chiefs, surveyed the site for injured personnel and safety of the situation. Two of the Sea Hawk crew members were confirmed dead at the scene, with extrication impossible without additional rescue equipment. The two surviving crew members' medical conditions were assessed and they were assisted to the Black Hawk. One survivor was able to walk with assistance, while the second had to be carried on a litter.

"The survivors were transported directly to a local community hospital where both civilian and Navy medical personnel were waiting. The exhausted Black Hawk crew returned to their base at Stead, Nev., around 7 p.m."

* Rikki Cheese, a local girl who made good, is no longer at KVBC Channel 3. Some news or business organization will be fortunate to hire her during the coming weeks. She is believable and has a large following among the people of Clark County who have watched her grow up and become a talented professional. Some media critics have made note that Rikki gets upset when a job isn't being done according to her high standards. In my eyes this is just one more plus in her favor. ... Writer Dick Odessky and his wife, Joyce, have returned to live in Las Vegas. The author of "Fly on the Wall" is now working on a new book. This is their fourth move to Las Vegas during the past 45 years. ... A couple of badly abused bears have George Knapp of KLAS Channel 8 and Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson to thank for their present comfortable conditions. The wild horses of Southern Nevada have also found a friend in Knapp. He's the first local television personality who has taken up their cause and not dropped it after one or two sho ws. St. Francis also had a beard. ... The city of Las Vegas hired a good news guy and writer last week. Erik Pappa has done an exceptional job for the Sun, Channel 8 and Las Vegas 1 during the last decade. The city administration just hired a winner when it brought Erik on board.

* The retirement party for popular Metro Deputy Chief Kyle Edwards was a first-class affair at the MGM, where he will be vice president for corporate security. His popularity among the street cops and other law enforcement agencies was made evident by the mixture and number of people attending. At the same time, upstairs in the MGM Conference Center, former Sheriff Ralph Lamb was being honored as one of the 100 people who shaped Southern Nevada during the 20th century. Lamb was sheriff when Edwards first joined the department. Gov. Kenny Guinn's aide, Bud Craner, sat at the same table as Lamb and Sun Publisher Barbara Greenspun. Craner has always been one of my favorite people working in the Grant Sawyer State Building.

* I've always supported and had a place in my heart for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Animals deserve better treatment than many people give them.

Sometimes the members of PETA do things that are outrageous but the most recent act here in Las Vegas was a distasteful display. Sorry PETA, but you and some of your clowns have lost me.

Newly crowned Miss Rodeo America 2000 Brandy De Jongh didn't deserve a pie in the face from PETA activist Dawn Carr, 30, of Norfolk, Va. Brandy, a young lady, hasn't ever mistreated an animal or fellow human being in her life. She probably also takes better care of her animals than her antagonist. Carr's act of ignorance was designed to publicly embarrass an innocent human being by smearing pie in her face. If Carr's cocky attitude and remarks after the incident represent that organization, then count me as a Nevadan who has had a gut full of PETA.