Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Page A-3
IVHS grad saves drowning woman
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
Todd Heiller, IVHS Class of
2009 and his friend, Neal Berg,
were hailed as heroes on KEZI-TV
Springfield July 10. Due to their
quick thinking and actions, they
saved a woman from drowning in the
Willamette River July 9.
Heiller is a 25-year-old painting
contractor who lives in Eugene,
Oregon.
Heiller’s mother, and Illinois
Valley resident Susan Boigan said,
“My husband, Randy Heiller, and I
are very proud of him and also Neal,
who is a close family friend.”
KEZI News reporter Amber
Wilmarth quoting the local fire
department said, “Without their help,
the situation would have been much
worse.”
Heiller and Berg routinely go
fishing in that stretch of the river and
normally would have already left for
the day, but they’d gotten a late start
and were still there.
“Todd loves to fish and they
just happened to be on the river that
day. The motor was off and they
heard people screaming further down
the river. It took them a couple of
minutes to get there, but they got
there on time. I feel like that woman
is really lucky,” his proud mother
explained.
As the fishermen approached, a
man waved them down. He was in a
fallen tree and holding onto a woman
whose head was barely above water.
The married couple had fallen
out of a pontoon boat into the river.
They were not wearing life jackets.
The husband’s grip started
slipping as the fishermen approached
and the woman was almost swept
away in the fast moving current.
Heiller said, “If they didn’t
get that one snag, I’m not sure she
wouldn’t have made it.”
Heiller and Berg were able
to grab the woman and pull her to
safety.
“I got a hold on her arm and
just didn’t let go. I was wearing latex
gloves because I was fishing, so I
was able to hold onto her,” Heiller
continued.
After the rescue, they brought
the couple to the boat ramp at
Clearwater Park, where paramedics
examined them for injuries. No one
had to go to the emergency room.
Remarking on the rescue,
KEZI-TV reporter Wilmarth stated,
“As is the case with many Oregon
rivers, the water in the Willamette is
still very cold, and running very fast
due to the continuing snow melt in
the mountains.”
When asked if his life had been
any different since the lifesaving
event, Heiller replied, “I got $20
off an oil change because they
recognized me from the news
report.”
He added that he’ll be a
dunk tank target at an upcoming
charity fundraiser at his girlfriend’s
workplace.
Heiller concluded with,
“Ironically, I saved two more people
yesterday (July 23). A couple had
been in an inflatable raft that popped
and they were stuck on a small island
in the river. I threw them a 40 ft. rope
and was able to pull them in so they
could get in their car and go home.”
“I hope everyone reading this
always wears a life jacket on the
river, because it could have been
a way different story if this other
couple hadn’t been wearing theirs.”
Heiller explained that due to
a December 2016 ice storm, many
trees that fell into the Willamette
River are now submerged hazards,
like the one that ruined the inflatable
raft.
(Courtesy photo for the Illinois Valley News)
Neal Berg (left) and 2009 IVHS grad Todd Heiller on the bank
of the Willamette River.
Neighbors cry foul when local man digs up river
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Senior Contributing Writer
Concerned residents on both sides of the
Illinois River contacted multiple government
agencies after Kamron Ismaili hired a backhoe
operator to move large quantities of river rock
in an effort to stabilize the bank on his property
in the 7000 block of Takilma Road June 29.
“They dug a new channel through the
center of a gravel bar to divert the water flow
away from his property,” said Mal Sanford,
who lives across the river. “They changed the
channel. Then they dug rock out of the middle
of the river and swung around and dumped it
up next to his deck, which caused most of the
sedimentation.”
“The whole river turned brown,” said
Aaron Beckord, another land owner nearby.
“The excavation went along about 500 feet of
river front and clouded the river with sediment.”
Residents living several miles downstream
also reported the normally clear river turning
“milky.”
The Oregon Department of State Lands
(DSL), the lead agency dealing with Ismaili’s
infraction, regulates Oregon’s streambeds.
The
G SPOT
Hump day Karaoke
w/ Jammer Dave
8 - midnight
Open Mic w/ B
Thursdays @ 7
(Courtesy photo for the Illinois Valley News)
The view from the other side of the East Fork of the Illinois River during the
excavation June 29.
The DSL resource coordinator for this region,
Melody Rudenko, explained how many
streams and rivers in the area are designated
as “Essential Salmon Habitat” which means
IV STRING
BAND
the waterway is critical habitual for salmon
spawning and rearing.
“Some people still believe that it’s OK to
remove up to 50-cubic-yards of river material
KARAOKE
w/ Steve - OH
LIVE MUSIC
Friday, July 28 @ 9 p.m
Saturday the 29TH @ 6 p.m.
F r i d a y, J u l y 2 8
@ 5:30
Saturday Pool Tourney @ 7
Every Wednesday
from
Open MIC Night
6 - 8 p.m.
Taylor’s
Country Store
Fridays @ 6 p.m.
J Barley
(Free pool on Sundays)
Sportsman
Tavern
without a permit, but with the ‘Essential
Salmon Habitat’ designation, that 50-cubic-
yards threshold no longer applies,” Rudenko
said. “There’s a zero threshold - so you need a
permit or an exemption to move, add or take
any materials away in those waters. Basically
anything you’d want to do will require a
permit.”
Ismaili, who embarked upon his project
without permits, said he thought he owned the
land up to the middle of the river. “That’s what
I was always told and that’s what I believed at
the time,” he said. “I’ve learned different now.
All the agencies have come and discussed the
issues with me and I’m totally cooperating with
them now.”
But Sanford, a land developer with
decades of local experience said, “It’s hard
for me to believe - in this day and age - that
anybody could be ignorant of the fact that
there’s rules and guidelines about taking heavy
equipment in the river.”
“You have to plan ahead. You can’t
just cowboy it in,” said agriculture engineer
Gordon Lyford, who sat on the Illinois Valley
Soil & Water Conservation District for many
years.
SEE RIVER ON A-5
Selma Center
Drive - In
Movies
THE
FIREFLIES
Friday, July 28
FRIDAY, July 28@ 7-10
JURASSIC
PARK
free
rated pg-13
$5 per person/$20 per car
- Gates Open @ 8:30pm
- Movie Starts @ 9:30pm
reasonable $ concessions
18255 Redwood Hwy
@
McGrew’s!