Thursday, January 4, 2007

Three dramatic rescues recently won the attention of Montgomery County officials, who recognized a group of "everyday heroes" for risking their lives to save others.

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), County Council President Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County) and Fire Chief Tom Carr were at the Dec. 22 ceremony at the Executive Office Building in Rockville.

In August, seven bystanders helped save a driver whose car crashed into a tree on White Ground Road in Boyds.

Perry Duffin, 55,Nanette Hunter, 46,Bart Servaes, 40,Roland Talley Jr., 50,Richard Talley, 41,Benjamin Warner, 16, and an unidentified individual, who left the scene, were credited with saving the life ofCarlos Sanchez-Borjas, 19, of Germantown.

The rescuers used a knife to cut Sanchez-Borjas out of his seatbelt to pull him to safety. He lost both legs in the crash. Two passengers escaped with minor injuries.

In October,Michael CornejoandJoel Willis, both 20, and a third man who did not want to be identified helped a Vietnamese couple whose second-floor Gaithersburg apartment kitchen had caught on fire. The young men persuaded the couple to flee the building and made sure all the other tenants were out of the building before they tried to fight the blaze with a fire extinguisher, said Pete Piringer, a county fire and rescue spokesman. Cornejo and Willis have since applied for jobs with the fire department.

In December, a woman crashed her car into a Rockville building, striking a gas meter and causing a gas leak. Building residentBiswajit Das, 39, helped the woman, who apparently had suffered a seizure, escape the vehicle. The building, in Rockville, soon exploded as a result of the leak. The force of the explosion knocked Das's pregnant wife,Dolanchanpa Ghosh-Das, 37, and their 2-year-old son -- who were standing nearby -- about 25 feet away.

Ghosh-Das, whose leg was severely injured in the blast, called 911. Their son was not seriously hurt. Ghosh-Das gave birth to a boy two weeks ago.

"I think [rescues] happen more often than one would think," Piringer said. "Just the fact that someone calls 911 deserves recognition. But when someone puts themselves in danger to help someone who they don't even know, that's something a little special."

Washingtonian Magazine recently named Jewish Foundation for Group Homes chief executiveVivian G. Bassthe 2006 Washingtonian of the Year for three decades of service in helping people with disabilities.

The foundation offers disabled individuals long-term assistance and training to enhance their independent living skills. It supports 151 people in Maryland, Northern Virginia and the District.

Bass, 58, of Bethesda, has worked for the foundation since 1986. She has served as chairman of the Montgomery Interagency Coordinating Council for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and has volunteered with Potomac Community Resources, the Maryland Association of Community Services for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Inc. and Best Buddies International.

The Victims' Rights Foundation named Bass's foundation the 2006 nonprofit organization of the year.

Chevy Chase residentHeidi Maloni, 58, was inducted into the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Volunteer Hall of Fame in November, in honor of her 15 years of service.

Maloni is a patient care and research nurse coordinator at the Veterans Affairs MS Centers of Excellence.

She has helped shape programs for the local Multiple Sclerosis Society chapter and regularly speaks at chapter events.

She was inducted in November at the society's 2006 national conference in Orlando.

The National Coalition of Girls' Schools selected Holton-Arms School juniorPriya Kvam, 16, to be the coalition's ambassador to this month's Student Leadership Conference in Perth, Australia.

The conference brings together more than 100 girls from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to promote leadership in young women.

She was one of two people in the country chosen to represent girls' schools after she wrote an essay about cultural exchange, community service and women's rights.

If ever there was a dynasty at Damascus High School, the Kreysa family might have a claim on it.

In November, seniorKelsey Kreysa, 17, was the third member of her family crowned homecoming queen for the green and yellow Swarmin' Hornets. Older sisters Kaela and Katie, now students at the University of Maryland at College Park, won the crown in 2004 and 2002, respectively.

Their dad, lawyer Francis Kreysa, offered a humble explanation: "They all take after my wife, which is very good," he said.

Kelsey preferred to downplay the whole thing. "My parents think it's, like, really a cool thing, I guess because they are my parents," she said. "Me and my sisters, I don't know, we don't think that it's so big."

The future could hold more tiaras for the family mantle. The last of the Kreysa tribe, 13-year-old twins Mary and Margaret, start ninth grade at Damascus in the fall.

-- Compiled by ARUNA JAIN