Queen City resident given Lifesaver Award

By Randy Grider
randy@casscountynow.com

Queen City resident Jim Hughes calls Lorraine Fry “his angel.” And it’s for good reason.
On July 26 of this year, Fry literally saved Hughes life.
Fry arrived at Hughes’ automotive repair shop on FM 96 to pay him for working on her car. Her husband, Marlin Fry, had picked up the car earlier and noticed Hughes didn’t seem to be in good physical shape. He suggested his wife go over with the payment and check on him.
“When I got out of the car, I noticed something was wrong,” Fry said. “He was talking gibberish and then we went to the ground together.”
Hughes was suffering a heart attack. Fry quickly call 911 and began administering CPR on Hughes with the help of dispatchers and arriving emergency responders, Hughes’ life was saved.
This past Saturday at the Cass County Emergency Services District 2 Annual Christmas Banquet, Hughes was on hand to present Fry and emergency personnel, who also played key roles in saving his life, with the organization’s lifesaver awards.
“She is a lifesaver,” Hughes said. “She is just a real nice lady.”
Fry, who is a paraprofessional  at Atlanta Elementary School, has been certified in CPR the past three years.
“I have my certification in case I ever need to help any of the kids,” Fry said. “I never thought I would have to use it on someone else. I’m just happy that I was there for Mr. Hughes.”
Cass County ESD 2 also recognized several others at the banquet including its fire department cadets and Firefighter of the Year, which was awarded to Firefighter Kendall Collier. 
Cadet of the Year was awarded to Jesse Meagher, while Jesse Rich was named new cadet captain.
Shreveport Fire Department Training Officer Jim Taggart  and James Pappas, a flight  medic and ground medic for LifeNet EMS and emergency medical education coordinator for Texarkana College, were the guest speakers.
The banquet was held at the First United Methodist Church in Queen City. 
For more information, visit the Cass County ESD 2 Facebook page by typing @CCESD2 in your web browser. You can watch a video shown at the event.