Lifesaving fisher to receive Governor General commendation

Jeff Buell had one of his better fishing days July 24, 2003.
First he caught four or five bass, and then he saved someone’s life.

Buell, 25, will be recognized for his efforts at Monday’s North Bay city council meeting when Mayor Vic Fedeli presents him with a Governor-General’s Certificate of Commendation.

Very honoured
The certificate will recognize Buell’s actions in saving a young woman from drowning that day in Lake Nipissing.

Fedeli will be handing the certificate to Buell on behalf of Governor-Gen. Adrienne Clarkson.

“I’m very honoured to be receiving this,” said Buell, who works for the Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation.

“It sounds like a cliché but it feels to have been able to help someone, and to know you were able to respond in a crisis, remain calm and not panic.”

Head above water
Buell’s heroics began off the shores of the lake as he was fishing with his fiancée Kathy Pearson.

He heard a faint cry for help and then saw the woman struggling in the water.

“I put the trawling motor on and brought the boat along side the woman and she passed out just as we arrived,” said Buell, who grew up on the lake.

“Then I kept her head above water as Kathy took the boat back to shore.”

Treated and released
Although the boat was only about 200 feet out, Buell said the water in the area must have been at least 10 feet.

“The woman had been walking out into the water when she suddenly hit a really deep part that was probably caused by shore erosion, because it’s atypical for it to be that deep there,” Buell said.

An ambulance was called and the woman was taken to hospital, where she was treated and released.

Second commendation
Buell said he doesn’t know who the woman is but believes she’s from Toronto.

A second GG commendation will be given out April 19 to Ken Ferance, the technical services manager for The Nugget, who pulled a woman out of a burning car almost two years ago near Sault Ste. Marie.

Last month a third North Bay man, Doug Mosher, also received a GG commendation from Fedeli for pulling a woman out of a burning car in British Columbia.