Lewis County Government awards Randall Christy and Blake Chandler for courageous actions

On Wednesday, July 21, 2021, City of Hohenwald Police Officer Chris Himes and his son Casen were fishing at the Buffalo River Blueway at the Mouth of Grinders Creek when Casen suddenly passed out. Chris was in desperate need of help. He had no cell service and didn't want to leave Casen to try and get service while he was unconscious. Plus, Casen, a teenager, was too big for Chris to carry to his vehicle by himself.

Luckily there were some ladies down on the river bank who saw Chris struggling and needing assistance, so they started yelling for help. Litter Control Specialist Randall Christy, and trustee on work release, Blake Chandler, happened to be at the county owned Blueway picking up trash and checking the public trash cans. Those guys heard the cries for help, saw something was wrong, and immediately jumped in the water, shoes/pants and all, to help Chris and Casen, who were downstream.

Randall and Blake helped calm Chris down and helped him pick Casen up and get him to his vehicle so he could rush him to the hospital. Tests showed everything was normal, so they're not sure what happened. Casen might have just gotten too hot.

"Chris messaged me later that afternoon to tell me how thankful he was for Randall's help, as well as the inmate, and how they made a very big difference in getting Casen taken care of," County Mayor Jonah Keltner said.

Randall and Blake were honored with a Certificate of Recognition Monday, July 26 for their courageous actions. Chris and Casen were also there to show their appreciation.