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EL SEGUNDO HERALD May 30, 2019 Page 11
Mail Carriers from page 3
figures. Gardena had the highest number
of dog attacks on mail employees at six.
Lawndale, Lynwood and Torrance had
five dog bites reported by postal employees.
Inglewood had four attacks, while Hawthorne
and El Segundo had two and one
bite respectively.
The actual number of pet attacks on the
mail delivery person is probably higher, says
the USPS spokeswoman Ramirez. Incidents
involving aggressive dogs are left to the
employees’ judgment whether it was serious
enough to warrant a report to a supervisor.
The dangers to letter carriers are so serious
that they receive special training to prepare
them for the inevitable confrontation with a
dog upset that somebody is trespassing in his
territory. Bites are on the decline locally and
nationwide since the training began.
Sixty carriers in the South Bay and Metro
L.A. were bitten in 2018, which was an
improvement from the previous year. The
number of dog attacks was 67 in 2017, Postal
Service figures show. Statewide, the number
is dropping too, from 911 two years ago to
791 last year. Knowing which houses keep
dogs has helped the carriers to avoid injuries.
The Post Office outfits delivery workers with
a handheld device for pet detection.
Knowing a dog is in the vicinity only
works so well, though. Many letter carriers
say they were bitten from behind as they
left the property. They have to be alert at all
times when entering or leaving a property.
The South Bay carriers will be attired in
dog bite awareness shirts on Saturdays for
the next three months.
The Postal Service’s technology supports
carrier safety in two ways. Handheld scanners
used by carriers to confirm customer delivery
have a feature that indicates whether a dog
lives at the address. The Package Pickup
application asks customers to indicate if
dogs are at their address when they schedule
package pickups, and carriers receive alerts.
“Most dogs will never bite, but it is important
to remember that any dog can bite
regardless of breed or type,” cautions State
Farm Insurance. In 2017, the insurer said
it paid $132 million as a result of 3,600
dog-related injury claims. California was
the number one state for dog bites last year,
according to State Farm. Those claims reached
$18.7 million.
A data-reporting group for the insurance
industry estimated the average payout for a
dog bite claim exceeded $37,000. When a
postal employee is bitten, the pet owner is
liable for the injuries caused by the animal.
The Postal Service can sue to recover medical
expenses and damages, including the cost to
replace temporarily or permanently a carrier
who was attacked. Owners are responsible
for the actions of their pets under California
law, even if they didn’t have reason to believe
a pet was dangerous.
There’s liability for the Postal Service too
if it hasn’t done enough to protect employees
with warnings, protective measures and warnings
about where dogs live on mail routes
and whether the animal has been aggressive
in the past. L.A.-based law firms advertise
themselves as dog bite experts in the law.
A January attack on a mail carrier in Whittier
highlights the dangers from an aggressive
dog getting loose in a neighborhood. The mail
carrier was knocked to the ground and bitten
on the face by a pit bull mix, according to
Whittier news reports. She survived the Jan.
8 attack and was taken to the hospital for
treatment of her bite wounds. •
Postal carriers will wear this shirt on Saturdays during the summer
with a message for dog owners.
Sports from page 4 Deena Lee from front page
education he’ll receive while still being able
to play lacrosse. He said he’s looking forward
to recreating the close friendships and the
camaraderie with his new teammates.
Max will always remember the journey that
got him to the pinnacle of his sport playing
alongside his teammates. He said the memory
of taking the lacrosse ball from one end of
the field to score at the other was awesome.
Lukas Roscoe, Bard College,
New York (lacrosse)
Lukas used his passion for lacrosse and his
heritage to play for the Danish National Team.
He was the team’s high scorer at the World
Championships in 2018 held in Netanya, Israel.
He is a four-year starter for the Eagles and
helped lead them to an Ocean League title as
a sophomore. He was named to the All-Ocean
League first team as sophomore and was the
Ocean League’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Lukas chose Bard College for its great
academic reputation and it being close to New
York City for internships. “I’ll be studying
Economics and Global Policy with hopes
of entering the Bard/West Point Exchange
program my junior year,” he said.
Lukas said that playing lacrosse in the
Liberty League is competitive with games
against some high-level colleges that will
challenge him.
Eagles in the News
Lars Nootbaar (2015) continues to impress
with the Palm Beach Cardinals, the Advanced
Class- A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
All Nootbaar has done is go 11-19 in his last
five games and raise his batting average to
an eye-popping .405. Since joining the PB
Cardinals of the Florida State League South,
Nootbaar has helped the Cardinals to a first
place lead of three games.
Jake Palmer (2017) was named Big West
Player of the Week recently. He had been
sidelined for an injury, but returned to put
together a four-game stretch in which he had
11 hits and reached base 13 times in 20 plate
appearances. Palmer, who is hitting .307 for
UC Irvine, was 2-5 and scored four times
against UC Riverside in the season finale.
The Anteaters finished second in the Big
West and are 37-17 overall. They’ll wait for
the NCAA selection committee for an invite
to the tournament.
Spencer Palmer (2017), Spencer Long
(2017), Jimmy Galicia and Brendan Casillas
(2018) have led their El Camino College
Warriors to a first round win in the California
Community College Athletic Association state
baseball tournament. Against the top seed
from Northern California the San Joaquin
Delta Mustangs, the Warriors won 5-3. The
Warriors rode the arm of Galicia, who pitched
6.2 innings; and Long, who picked up his
10th save by striking out five in 2.1 innings.
Palmer had a double in the ninth inning and
scored an insurance run. Casillas was behind
the plate and walked once.
The tournament was delayed because of
inclement weather. Rescheduling the games
for Monday and possibly Tuesday was in
the works. •
Lee promptly switched majors from nursing
to fire science (at Long Beach City College)
and landed a position with the La Habra
Heights Volunteer Fire Department working
nights in the emergency room while enrolled
in an 18-week academy. During a deployment
to an area brush fire, she caught the eye of
members of the La Verne Fire Department
who encouraged her to join their agency
as volunteer. “Deena was raising two kids,
working 40 hours in the emergency room and
volunteering Fridays at La Habra Heights and
Sundays at La Verne Fire,” Donovan said.
“She had found her purpose.”
After more than three years of testing and
training, Lee formally became a firefighter
in 2003 for El Segundo. Once done with
the required probationary period, she took
classes, obtained her fire officer certification
and became urban search and rescue-certified.
She earned a promotion to fire captain in
2007. Her responsibilities over the years
have included safety equipment officer and
platoon training officer. Lee was also an
original member of the department’s Rapid
Extraction Modular Support (REMS) team, a
specialized unit deployed to major incidents to
provide support for firefighters who become
ill or injured in remote locations.
“I love working for the El Segundo Fire
Department -- it’s the best job in the world,”
Lee said. “I work alongside a great team
of firefighters who are dedicated to serving
the community. We love being so involved
with the people we serve. Most recently, we
celebrated Fire Service Day at Fire Station 1.
We taught CPR to over 100 residents, served
hot dogs and snow cones, and the children
had the opportunity to run a miniature firefighter
agility course.”
Never content to rest on her laurels, Lee
continued in her quest to learn and further
her education. In addition to her fire science
AS degree, she earned a BS degree in fire
administration from Columbia Southern as
well as a fire officer certification through the
state fire marshal’s office. She is additionally
a state certified fire instructor and has taught
at the El Camino College Fire Academy for
10 years. She has also completed prerequisite
work to become a strike team leader for
brush fire responses.
Lee emphasized the importance of giving
back and raising awareness about the
opportunities for women in her field. She
volunteers with the Women’s Fire Alliance
and Girls Fire Camps and currently mentors
a local high school student interning with the
El Segundo Fire Department. “I am passionate
about mentoring young women interested
in this career path,” Lee said. “I have been
an advisor at fire camps for girls 14 to 19
years old. It is so rewarding to see the young
women light up when they realize that they
can do something that they never thought
was possible. Now I can show young women
that not only can you become a firefighter,
but you can promote through the ranks and
become a battalion chief. If you can see it,
you can be it!” •
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