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PilotNewsMarshall County, Indiana’s community news source since 1851 Volume 164 Issue No. 279 50¢
S P O R T S
Girls basketball
Plymouth tops Bremen
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Weather outlook
Thursday Friday Saturday
High 30, Low 19 High 34, Low 28 High 48, Low 45
Local news and weather at www.thepilotnews.com
L O C A L
Anniversaries
Section A, Page 12
Pucker- up, principal
PILOT PHOTO/ JENNIFER BRITTIN
The moment they’ve been waiting for has arrived! Washington Discovery Academy
(WDA) students were rewarded Tuesday for surpassing their goal to recruit 100 blood
donors for WDA’s Blood Drive last week. Washington principal, Andy Hartley, chal-
lenged students with the promise of kissing a pig when the goal was met and today
Hartley stayed true to his promise. He locked lips with Chanel the pig not only once,
but twice, much to the delight of the student body.
By Rachael Herbert-Varchetto
Staff Writer
MARSHALL COUNTY — Residents may
seek alternative ways to heat their homes to
battle tough winter weather and icy blasts
this season.
According to a recent press release by
Indiana State Fire Marshall Jim Greeson
and Indianapolis Fire
Department Chief
Ernest Malone, alterna-
tive forms of heating
can lead to fires if they
are not properly treated
and handled.
“There have been
more than 70 fire-relat-
ed deaths in Indiana so
far this year,” Greeson
said. “Last year we had more than 100 fire-
related deaths, and in a lot of these cases
there was not a working smoke alarm in
the home. Smoke alarms are proven to save
lives.”
Investigators from the Indiana Department
of Homeland Security have responded to
more than 300 fires this year. In more than
half of those investigations, the location did
not have smoke alarms, or had non-working
smoke alarms.
Lakeville Fire Chief and fire inspector who
works in Mishawaka, George Schafer has
seen his share of alternate heating fires that
can put a damper on warming a home.
“It’s not just winter but year round to keep
them checked,” he said of smoke and car-
bon monoxide (CO) detectors. “You should
check the smoke detector once a month and
make sure it operates, same as with the car-
bon monoxide ones.”
Schafer recommends replacing the batter-
ies once a year, as the use of a CO detector
can mean the difference between life and
death. Detectors with digital readouts that
give the CO in parts per million are among
the better models he recommends.
He stated that in his experience, one of
the biggest risks with CO poisoning is the
possibility of cracking of the heat exchanger
inside the furnace. The gas can waft into the
ventilation system and be pushed through
the rest of the house of the blowing house
fan.
“Carbon monoxide can build up to dan-
gerous levels in a
matter of minutes,”
said Chief Malone.
Kerosene burners
can pose a risk for
CO gas as well.
“It’s not highly
recommended to
use them. Those
devices give out
carbon monoxide.
House may not have the proper ventila-
tion to move the carbon monoxide out of
the structure to replace it with oxygen,” he
explained.
But among the many options, space heat-
ers are popular and often can be mishandled.
“The biggest problem with space heaters
is the clearance that needs to be around the
space heater. A lot of people put blankets,
furniture, or clothing to close to it, items that
are conductible,” said Schafer.
According to the state fire marshall, there
should be at least a three-foot perimeter
around space heaters at all times. Space
heaters should be unplugged before going
to bed or leaving the home for any period of
time and should not be left on in unoccupied
rooms.
This extends to unplugging all unneces-
sary electronic devices while gone from
extended periods of time.
Space heaters account for one-third of
home heating fires, according to the National
Fire Protection Association.
“You don’t want them to be on in a high
Alternative heat and fires
There have been more
than 70 fire-related
deaths in Indiana so far
this year.
— Jim Greeson
Diona Eskew
Editor
MARSHALL COUNTY — “Hey bidder, bidder, bidder, the
next auction item we have is a one-owner 2005 Jeep Grand
Cherokee Limited.”
The seventh annual Shop with a Cop Radio Auction takes
place on Dec. 5. The auction is hosted by WTCA AM 1050
and FM 106.1. Oliver Ford has added a new item to the list
of auction items this year. There will be more than 400 items
in this years auction begin-
ning at 8:30 and wrapping
up when everything is gone,
around 6 p.m.
“This is really great,” said
Kathy Bottorff of WTCA.
“We’ve never had a car for
the auction before.”
The Jeep received a clean
bill of health from CARFAX
with a regular maintenance history. It has a leather interior,
moon roof, 4.7L V8 and 4 wheel drive. It will be an all day
auction item with a minimum bid of $5,900. It can be seen at
the radio station on Washington Street and various locations
around town.
Plymouth FOP #195 is preparing for their 14th annual
Shop with a Cop program. Fundraising efforts began in
October with the Shop with a Cop donation jars place
throughout the county at area businesses. Member of the
community donate change and bills to help 100s of children
Big ticket auction donation for ‘Shop with a Cop’
PILOT PHOTO/ DIONA ESKEW
Oliver Ford donated a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee to the annual Marshall County Shop with a Cop Radio Auction hosted
by WTCA 1050 AM and 106.1 FM. The auction will be held on Dec. 5. From Left: Jennifer Houin, vice-president Oliver
Ford; John Oliver, general manager Oliver Ford; Bob Delee, Plymouth Police Department; Jamie Greenlee, sales con-
sultant, Oliver Ford; Dawn Roose, Oliver Ford concierge; Shelley Cleveland, Plymouth Police Department; Justin Murphy,
Steve Keiser, Larry Plummer, Missy Sander and Drew Westafer all Oliver Ford sales consultants.
Risk of home fires increases
with cold weather warn firemen
See Auction, page A2
See Fire, page A2
We’ve never
had a car for the
auction before.
— Kathy Bottorff
Make any qualified purchase now
through 11/30/2014...
If it snows 9 inches or more on
December 25, 2014...
YOU WILL RECEIVE A FULL REFUND!
Ask your sales representative for complete details.
206 N Michigan St., Plymouth IN 46563 • 866-681-1577 • www.fernbaughs.com
STORE HOURS Friday, November 28, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. • Saturday, November 29, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. • Sunday, November 30, 1-5 p.m. (all times Eastern Standard Time)