3 prison workers honored for lifesaving efforts at Casino

Three Dick Conner Correctional Center employees recently were recognized for their lifesaving efforts last spring.

On April 26, prison case managers Sarah West and Richard Guerrera, and Correctional Training Officer Danyal Weaver, were on lunch break at the Osage Casino when Leon Day, a Cleveland resident who was visiting the casino, went into cardiac arrest.

The three Conner employees immediately began lifesaving measures on Day. They continued the emergency procedures until an ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital — where he eventually made a full recovery.

Representatives with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Osage Nation and Oklahoma House of Representatives recognized the trio during a June 14 reception. The three workers were given commendations on behalf of interim Corrections Director Joe M. Allbaugh and State Rep. Sean Roberts of Hominy.

Scott Crow, the DOC’s director of field operations, applauded the employees for the life-saving efforts they provided beyond the facility walls.

“You were ready at a moment’s notice to go into action,” Crow said. “You lived up to the oath you took when you graduated from the academy to protect and serve the citizens of the state of Oklahoma.”

Roberts called their courage “commendable.”

“Giving a man a second chance at life is something not a lot of people can say they have done,” Roberts said.

Assistant Principal Chief Raymond Red Corn represented the Osage Nation at the event.