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Firefighter who curbed drunken school bus driver honoured for bravery

Nov 14, 2017 | 7:00 PM

A local firefighter has been recognized for his bravery during a scary incident involving a school bus last June in Vanier Woods.
 
On June 5, Kurt Stenberg had just returned to his home on Van Slyke Way when he heard a crash.
 
He then looked up the street where a school bus had driven over a tree and a sign. The bus then turned twice before coming to a stop on Voisin Close. As this was happening, Stenberg had gotten back into his car with his 4-year-old daughter Kate, cut someone off and did a U-turn all in order to get in front of the bus so it could go no further.
 
As it turned out, the bus was being driven by Shelley Kolodychuk who was sentenced on November 6 to 45 days in jail for being impaired while driving the bus with 18 students on board. She had driven the bus to Vanier Woods all the way from Barrie Wilson Elementary in Timberlands.
 
On Friday, Stenberg was in the provincial capital to attend the Royal Canadian Humane Association Bravery Awards at Edmonton Police Service headquarters.
 
“It didn’t feel really abnormal at the time dealing with the incident,” Stenberg recalls. “So after the fact receiving an award was a little bit unusual at first, but then after going through the ceremony it was really nice. The family was really proud and it was a nice moment to be an Albertan. Plus, there was meeting the Lieutenant Governor, the chief of police and having him shake my hand and give me a pat on the back.”
 
Little Kate also received a special Alberta pin from Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell, who presented Stenberg with his certificate.
 
Stenberg, who admits he doesn’t know who nominated him, is extremely grateful to not only the neighbours who approached him with thank you cards and even a gift card for dinner, but also to his Red Deer Emergency Services team with whom he’s served for eight years.
 
“Even though I wasn’t on shift [at the time], people saw me as that,” he says. “They gave me the day off to go up for the awards without any special leave, allowed me to wear my tunic and stuff and represent Red Deer.”

According to their website, the Royal Canadian Humane Association’s mission is, “To recognize such deeds of heroism, by Canadians in civilian life, who, through their alertness, skill and concern, save or attempt to save a life, especially where those actions lie outside the ordinary duties of the person involved.”