By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
As the Alabama song goes, there are angels among us. For a Jefferson Elementary student, that angel was Shelby Kern, a teacher assistant at the school. Kern administered the Heimlich maneuver on that student in the first few weeks of school, and Monday night she was recognized by the USD 428 Board of Education with a ROSE Award. Great Bend High School Head Custodian Charlie Bentley and Custodian Linda Loera were also recognized.
"This award was created to identify and bring to attention some great things we have going on in our district," said Superintendent Khris Thexton.
The ROSE Award stands for Recognizing Outstanding Support of Education. For Kern, that meant being in the right place at the right time. She was visiting a classroom when she noticed a student having difficulty breathing. She performed the Heimlich, dislodging an obstruction in the student's airway.
"I was just doing my job," Kern said. "My natural instincts kicked in, and I was able to help out. We are just thankful that the student is alright."
"Even though Charlie and Linda do a fantastic job, this one kind of really stepped out," Thexton said. "It's one of those shocking situations that pop up. You're just trained to do it, and you jump in and go after it."
Bentley and Loera were recognized for going above and beyond in July when the world-champion Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corp from Concord, Calif., used the Great Bend High School facilities for an overnight stay and practice. Bentley and Loera ensured the 19-time world champions and their 18-vehicle convoy were well taken care of during their brief stay in Great Bend.
"I did a lot of checking with Charlie before, and he was the one who made sure we had the rooms available we needed and made sure we had the air conditioning going," GBHS Assistant Band Director Don Regehr said at the time. "He had everything unlocked by the time I got there at 12:30 in the morning."