Homeless man saves teen from drowning

 

A homeless Winnipeg man risked his life to save a teenager from the Red River on Sunday afternoon.

Faron Hall, 44, who lives on the banks of the Red in St. Boniface, said he saw the male teen fall from the Provencher Bridge above where he was sitting with friend Wayne Spence. Hall said the teen appeared to jump.

“He was saying, ‘It’s cold! Help me!’ and I just threw off my backpack and ran down and dived in,” said Hall, who is originally from Dakota Tipi First Nation but mostly grew up in foster care in Winnipeg.

Hall said he managed to get a grip of the teen about 30 metres from the bank but was afraid both would be swept away by the rapid, cold waters.

“He was fighting me and I told him, ‘Don’t fight me! I’m trying to save you. Otherwise we’re both going to drown’,” Hall said. “He was pushing me under and I had to slap him in the head. I hated to do it, but I said, ‘I’ll bring us to shore. Just trust me.’ He went limp and I got him to the grass.”

Hall said his friend Spence helped pull the exhausted and freezing Hall and the teen out.

“The firefighters said to me, ‘You’re a hero, you saved a life’.” Hall said. “I said, ‘Well, possibly, but can I get a blanket? I’m kind of cold.’ “

Hall downplayed the hero tag.

“I don’t think I’m a hero. I’m just a human being,” he said yesterday.

Hall was transported to St. Boniface General Hospital — along with the teen, whose condition is unknown — where he warmed up for several hours before being released. Before leaving the hospital, he visited the teen he pulled from the river.

“I just asked him, ‘Why?’ That’s all I said to him,” Hall said. “He just said he was sorry.”

Hall said he’d like to see the teen and his family in the future.

“I’m not ever going to forget what I saw,” Hall said of the incident. “That boy’s got his whole life ahead of him.”

Hall is no stranger to tragedy. His sister Kristi Hall, 36, was stabbed to death in a random attack in July 2007 in the North End.

“Maybe that’s why I didn’t want to let anyone else die,” he said of the river rescue.

Hall, who has been homeless for about seven years, said he spent Sunday night at the Main Street Project shelter on Martha Street but sleeps year-round along the banks of the Red near the rescue spot, where he said he plans to continue living.

“I just do my own thing,” Hall said. “I don’t bother anybody.”

After graduating high school, Hall said he worked as a teacher’s aide while studying education at the University of Manitoba for two years before his life took a turn for the worse.

“That’s when I hit alcoholism,” Hall said. “I’ve had so many pitfalls in my life.”

Hall said he last worked on construction jobs in Saskatchewan before returning to Winnipeg about 10 years ago.

Read more: Homeless man saves teen from drowning

Students help injured classmate complete project and graduate [Video]

This is a a great one! If you are soft-hearted, get the tissues ready.

Last January, a Seneca Valley High School student was killed in a tragic accident on I-79 while driving to a sporting event.

But her best friend, a passenger in the vehicle, survived serious injuries and is now looking forward to a bright future.

Family, friends and teachers say it’s nothing short of a miracle to see Dana Hughes, a Seneca Valley High School senior, up and walking again. Two months ago, the teen was critically injured in an auto accident while heading to a lacrosse match.

As a senior, in order to graduate, Hughes had to complete her senior project of training and competing in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s ”Just A Short Run” marathon at North Park.

However, the accident left her not well enough to run so about 90 of her classmates got permission to complete the project for her.

“She’s like a big sister to me. All my life, she’s always been my role model, so I wanted to do something for her,” said one of Hughes’ classmates, Megan Condit.

Hughes, just out of rehab, was able to walk five miles of the marathon, and dedicated the effort to in the memory of Quail. And today she had a chance to thank all of her classmates and friends who supported her.

“Everything that I got when I was in Pittsburgh Institute, in the hospital, the prayers especially helped,” she said. “I think, God was shining over me. I know he was.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but I never thought I’d be so excited to go back to school,” added Hughes.

Read more and watch this heart-warming story:  Students Help Injured Classmate Complete Project

Mother uses tragedy to win lottery [Video]

It’s a big win for a woman with big family.

“I never thought I’d win,” Phyllis Canady said.

Phyllis takes care of her grown children along with their little ones. Making life more difficult, her oldest son Markey was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2005 and now Phyllis helps with some of his six children.

“I’m not going to says it’s been easy because it’s not,” she said. “It’s been hard, but it’s just day by day.”

It was about time her lucky number came up, and this week it did. Five lucky numbers.

“My baby’s 17, my daughter’s 20, my son is 22, my oldest daughter’s 25 and my deceased son is 29,” Phyllis explained.

Her numbers perfectly matched Sunday’s Badger 5 and Phyllis won the $211,000 grand prize.

She’s already got a plan for the money. Phyllis said her son dreamed of building his mother a house before he died.

“I think God has really blessed me because he knows I’ve been struggling,” said Phyllis. “Now I can get the house he wanted me to have. If God were to take me today, at least I could say my grandkids have a place to go.”

Read more and watch this story: Murdered Man’s Mom Wins Lottery