Heroes – April 2012
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — It’s a tragic story of love, loss and sacrifice.
Sharrell Blackenburger was more than a grandmother. She was her 12-year-old granddaughter Cassidy’s best friend.
“She was always smiling and she was a great cook,” says Cassidy who is from the San Diego area. “Being around her made you feel good. It always brought joy to the whole family.”
But that joy turned to tragedy when the two stopped for cold drinks at a gas station in Amarillo, Texas.
A man in a truck, Gary Carner, 58, had been eyeing them as they made their way across the parking lot. He cut them off, grabbing Cassidy by the arm, threatening her at gunpoint.
“My grandmother defended me and tried to get him away from me,” Cassidy says.
Carner turned to the 63-year-old grandmother and asked if she was prepared to die. She said no. A struggle ensued, and just as Blackenburger was able to free Cassidy from his grasp, shots rang out.
“All I was thinking was, did that really just happen?” Cassidy says. “It all felt like a nightmare.”
The gas station attendant called 911 as Blackenburger lay dying on the sidewalk.
Carner drove off, kidnapping another girl two blocks away. That girl was 11-years-old.
Several witnesses were able to identify Carner’s car. Just hours later, authorities surrounded him and killed him.
Meanwhile, Cassidy is left without her biggest protector. But she keeps her grandmother’s memory close to her heart, wearing her wedding rings on a necklace.
“It makes me feel like I have a part of her with me,” Cassidy says. “I know she’s watching down on me. She will always love me.”
The girl later taken by Carner was not hurt. He had apparently failed to kidnap two women earlier that day.
(Copyright ©2012 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
I realized listening to the news this past week that we have had our men and women in the Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for ten years now. That’s a long time to be fighting wars in the Middle East, and these men and women are risking their lives every day for us. And, I can’t help wonder if the people in these countries even appreciate what we have been trying to do for them.
Haight told his nephew to call 911, and then jumped in and swam to help the drowning man. The river was running high and fast, at more than 4,000 cubic feet per second. The water temperature was about 59 degrees. The water was so high due to the amount of rain the area had through spring.
The boy, still yelling obscenities approached him and drew a knife. The young driver was surprised, and raised his hand for him to stop. He asked him what was wrong. He told him it was obvious he was upset about something and asked if the boy wanted to talk about it; that he would listen.
Because this issue has dealt with the growing problem of domestic violence, I felt it only right that we should deem everyone that works in these shelters that help women suffering from domestic violence as heroes. 
