Three Kosciusko County sheriff’s deputies were honored at Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting in Warsaw. The officers were honored for two separate life-saving efforts Sept. 25, 2013, and Aug. 18. Pictured, from left, are Chris Rager, Don McCune and Neil Likens. Ron Truex, county commissioner is shown in back. (Photo by Phoebe Muthart)
Kosciusko County Commissioners gave the green light Tuesday for the establishment of a new community corrections program.
The new program will be for non-violent offenders. The county will receive a $356,000 grant from the state to start the new program. The two-year grant will allow the county to hire more personnel. The program will not take the place of the county’s work release program nor cost the county any additional funds.
“It will save the county money,” said Barry Andrews, who is with the probation department, adding the offenders won’t be incarcerated. The offenders must first qualify for the program.
Kosciusko County is one of eight counties in Indiana that had not yet established a community corrections program.
Three sheriff’s deputies were also honored at the meeting. Sheriff Rocky Goshert and Captain Aaron Rovenstine honored Don McCune, Chris Rager and Neil Likens for heroic and life-saving actions on two separate occasions.
McCune and Rager responded to a call Sept. 25, 2013, of a female who had been struck by a train in Warsaw. The female’s arm had been amputated. Both officers climbed underneath the train and applied a make-shift tourniquet to the victim’s remaining arm, preventing further blood loss until Multi-Township EMS arrived.
The third officer, Likens, responded to a shooting incident Aug. 18 in Cromwell. Upon arrival, officers located two seriously wounded males, one bleeding profusely from a femoral artery. Likens, also a certified advanced EMT/medic, applied a tourniquet to one of the subject’s legs to control blood loss. Officers and medics were advised later by Lutheran Hospital medical staff Liken’s actions likely saved the subject’s life at the scene.
Goshert said the officers were honored because of “their immediate response during an extremely dangerous and stressful situation to save another human being’s life by going above and beyond the call of duty.”
The individual patrol officer kit tourniquet is provided by funding from the K-21 Foundation through a grant initialized and created by Multi-Township EMS Paramedic Ryan Reed.
Veterans Service Officer Rich Maron, left, presents Rex Allen Rife with September’s Veteran of the Month award at the county commissioners meeting Tuesday in Warsaw. A Pierceton resident, Rife is a Vietnam War veteran who served from 1969 to 1972.
September’s Veteran of the Month is Rex Allen Rife. A Pierceton resident, Rife is a Vietnam War veteran who served from 1969 to 1972. Rife is commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1126, Warsaw, and is a member of the American Legion Post 49, Warsaw. One of his greatest accomplishments, he said, is he celebrated 31 years of sobriety.
In other news, a letter of understanding with the Indiana Department of Transportation for a bridge project on SR 13 was approved. The bridge deck overlay project will be over Grassy Creek, located 4 miles north of US 30. The project will last two months and bid letting for the project will be Oct. 8. The project will start sometime next year. The unofficial detour will be from SR 13E to East CR 200N, to north on North CR 850E to west on East CR 350N.
Also, bid letting for 2015 county highway department supplies will be at 9:15 a.m. Nov. 3.
The next meeting is at 9 a.m. Sept. 23. Commissioners are President Brad Jackson, Bob Conley and Ron Truex.