Vol. 41, No. 45
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. January 23, 2019
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Bachelor Creek to host ‘prom’
Study: Tourism spending up in ‘17
By Josh Sigler jsigler@thepaperofwabash.com Bachelor Creek Church of Christ will host a Night to Shine, a prom for people with special needs, at the Honeywell Center’s Legacy Hall on Friday, Feb. 8. “We’re really trying to change Valentine’s Day weekend from a celebration of love to just a celebration of God’s love, even for people with special needs,” said David Diener, Bachelor Creek’s student minister. “This is going to be an unforgettable prom night, just to show everybody has value and everybody has worth, because they’re created in God’s image, even people with special needs. We’re just really excited to celebrate that.” Diener and children’s minister Tyler Leland have been talking about putting on an event such as this for a couple years, but opted to wait until they launched their special needs ministry at Bachelor Creek to do it. Bachelor Creek, along with (continued on page 4)
By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
to have started in the rear of the structure, Stroup said in a news release. He said the fire is still under investigation and is suspicious in nature. The home was the topic of a Wabash Board of Public Works and Safety meeting on Jan. 3. At the meeting, property owners Donnie and Peggy Fraley were given 90 days to demolish their home and clean up the
Tourism brought in $53.6 million in 2017, according to a new study, up $2.6 million from the previous year. The study was released Friday, Jan. 18, by Christine Flohr, executive director of tourism with Visit Wabash County, shows the growing impact tourism has on Wabash County’s economy. “Based on the increase in independent lodging options in the county and the increase in VWC marketing efforts, I was confident we would see an increase in tourism spending,” Flohr told The Paper of Wabash County. The study, the most recent figures available, also showed that: Visitors spent $ 15.9 million on retail, $15.1 million on food & beverage, $11.4 million on transportation/fuel, $6.2 million on recreation & entertainment, $4.7 million on lodging. These are the key categories monitored by the study.
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Wabash firefighters spray water into a house fire at 319 Euclid St. as smoke and flames shoot from the structure’s windows. Photo by Joseph Slacian
House fire called suspicious By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com A fire at a vacant Euclid Street home is still under investigation and has been labeled as suspicious in nature. The fire, at 319 Euclid St., was reported shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16. The Wabash Fire Department received a report of smoke coming from the structure and upon arrival found heavy smoke and
Wabash firefighter Trevor Baker crawls on his back through an opening between two wall studs in the basement of the former Parkview Wabash Hospital while trainer Kyle Foster looks on. Photo by Joseph Slacian
flames present. The house, which was scheduled to be demolished, was vacant and had no utilities. Firefighters had the fire extinguished by 3 p.m. According to Fire Chief Barry Stroup, the damage estimate is listed as no value as the structure was scheduled for demolition. The Wabash Fire Department is investigating the cause and origin of the fire, which appears
Wabash firefighters train at old hospital By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com Wabash firefighters, in conjunction with Parkview Wabash Hospital, spent three days last week training in the basement of the old hospital. The firefighters trained on how to breach a door, how to breach a wall to escape a building, finding the spot of a fire using a thermal imaging camera and more. “We will pin a door shut with a wooden dowel rod,” Lt. Scott Kirtlan, the Wabash Fire Department’s training officer, said, standing near a thick wooden door in one of the basement’s office areas. “We’ll have a guy on the other side that has our basic hand tools that has to breach through that door to simulate a locked house or a locked business or something like that that we have to get in quickly through.” Inside the office area, drywall was scattered around on the floor where firefighters a day earlier practiced breaching walls inside a building. The firefighters cut through the bottom of the wall then squeeze themselves and their equipment through
the 16-inch space between the wall studs. “If we get in a bad situation where we have to get out quickly and there’s no access, we have to create our own access,” Kirtlan said. “With our air packs on and breathing air, we have to get ourselves and our air packs and everything through that 16-inch opening. “There’s a technique through it because even a guy my size has to get through that opening.” When they arrived, the firefighters were broken into two teams. One went with Kyle Foster to train on breaching the doors and walls, while the others went with Kirtlan for other training exercises. In that exercise, firefighters in teams of two go into a darkened hallway looking for an office which served as the source of a fire (a small heater was used in this case). “They’ll use a thermal imaging camera to simulate finding a fire room,” Kirtlan said, noting this exercise is being done in complete darkness. “They’ll be going into a structure not knowing where the fire is at, full of smoke so you can’t see, they’ll
use that thermal imaging camera. You can see the heat tracing on the door, the door frame and maybe some on the wall. They will open that door and they will find the fire.” Once the fire is discovered, the firefighters will get word that there is a victim located somewhere on the floor. They must then work together to find the victim. “They’ll close (the fire room) off and supposedly another team will come in and extinguish the fire,” Kirtlan said. “Then they’re going to start doing a room by room search in the dark, trying to find the victim. “As we come into this, they go through a lot of twists and turns so they’re completely disorientated once they come in here, so that helps with the nerves and that type of thing.” Once found, the victim is then dragged out of the building. “When you combine the breaching the wall, the door, crawling through here with full gear, air pack and everything, and then dragging him out, it’s pretty physical and demanding,” Kirtlan said. (continued on page 6)