Ceremony is a momentous occasion for 23 Yuba City firefighters
Twenty-three Yuba City firefighters stood tall in their dark blue uniforms.
They were assembled Thursday for a badge pinning and promotion ceremony at Hope Point Nazarene Church in Yuba City.
“In the last two years, we’ve saturated the department with new firefighters and what we have here are the best of the best and they go hand-in-hand with the rest of the department,” said Chief Pete Daley, to a large gathering inside the church. “Two years ago, we hired nine firefighters on the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response) Grant and eight of them stayed on with the department.”
Of the 23, there are six new firefighters, three have been promoted to battalion chief, multiple people were promoted to captain and other positions, as well as a fire marshal. Yuba City Fire Chief Pete Daley speaks during the badge pinning and promotion ceremony on Thursday.
The department has 48 uniformed employees and 58 total staff.
“This marks a real change in the department and leadership,” said Bill Fuller, the department’s administrative analyst. “It’s almost
like we’re building a new department.”
The department’s last badge pinning and promotion ceremony, which was two years ago, had more than 20 firefighters as well. neglect or natural causes.
Scarlett, a bay thoroughbred, was nursed back to health after her original owner ran out of money to feed her, causing severe weight loss. Liberty, Gates’ 8-year-old Arabian grade, or mix, suffers from degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis, a disease affecting the fetlock portion of her hind legs, causing the legs to sag.
Gates said Liberty will ultimately have to be euthanized in the next few weeks. “That is the worst part of horse ownership, when you have to say goodbye,” Gates said.
“You don’t make money in the horse business,” she said. “You do it because you love the animals and you want future generations to experience it. We make them as comfortable as they can be.”
Jacob Crouse, along with Olivia Dodd and Zoe Swan, are part of the equine mentorship program Gates facilitates. Through hands-on training mixed with online classes, the three teenagers will eventually become instructors.
Crouse, 15, who is home-schooled through Sutter Peak Charter Academy in Live Oak, said working with horses has enabled him to feel comfortable talking in front of others.
“I’m beginning to understand how to explain things I see the riders or horses doing,” he said.
“That’s the beauty of horsemanship,” Gates said. “You are constantly learning, no matter how much you know. You will never know everything about a horse.”
Gates’s daughter Michayla, 21, earned a primary riding instructor certificate through the North American Horseman’s Association but continues educating herself about horses, and in turn, about herself.
“Horses keep you humble,” she said. As she saddled Romeo, or “Little Romeo,” a bay Arabian, on Monday, she explained he came to the ranch in very poor health and had even worse manners.
“He was problematic at first. He would rear and throw his head when I would bridle him,” she said. “But I didn’t give up and I kept working with him. Sometimes the horses with the worst habits are the ones that have the most potential or the biggest hearts.”
Gates said she believes horses, and her family, allowed her to beat cancer. Her last treatment was in February.
“I couldn’t even groom the entire horse when I first started treatment, just the neck area. I couldn’t reach my hands up over my head.” But she said her daughters encouraged her to get out of the house and be around the horses. Eventually, she got stronger.
Her horse, Romeo, or “Big Romeo” as everyone calls him, stepped in to help. The lovable broadchested chestnut horse was very gentle with her.
“There’s something therapeutic about just being near them,” Gates said.
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