Candle likely source of Ada fire: Ada Head Start teachers thought fire alarm was drill (Story & Video)

 

Check out the video: Lima News video by BOB BLAKE.

 

 

Candle likely source of Ada fire

Ada Head Start teachers thought fire alarm was drill

By BOB BLAKE

ADA — Sixteen young children and two teachers were finishing a tornado drill inside the First United Methodist Church in Ada early Tuesday afternoon. Then, the fire alarm sounded. Thinking it, too, was a drill, the collection of preschoolers and their teachers walked calmly to their normal meeting spot.

It was then as the scent of smoke wafted through the air, the sound of windows cracking and crashing that reality set in for the members of the HHWP Community Action Commission-run Head Start program.

“The fire alarm went off. I thought my assistant pulled it, she thought I pulled it. We didn’t know, we hadn’t had the opportunity to ask,” said Tara Swaney, the Head Start teacher. “We just grabbed our papers and headed out as normal. We could not see smoke but as soon as we got out our emergency exit door we could smell smoke. We thought, ‘Oh, that’s strange.’”

Once the children and two adults were safely to their meeting location on Main Street, Swaney said she turned around and could not believe her eyes.

“I turned completely around, looked at the church and smoke was coming out the front doors and out the top of the steeple,” Swaney said. “Dee’s [Nichols] yelling at me at the same time, she’s my assistant, she’s like, ‘It’s for real.’”

As the fire raged and began consuming the iconic Ada church, Swaney and Nichols moved the children first to the Ada Public Library. As the heat increased and smoke and burning embers began falling in the neighborhood near the church, the children evacuated the library to a spot on North Johnson Street, where parents met up with their children who hadn’t already been picked up at the library, Swaney said.

“I don’t even really remember a lot of my reaction. I just remember the crying and wondering if he’s OK,” said Jessica Short, whose 3-year-old son, Donovan, was at the Head Start program. “He had been hearing sirens for more than half an hour. The folks from the program hadn’t gotten to us to call us yet. At that point, someone had called my husband, who is one of our best friends, and said that he had our son, that he was at the library.”

It took more confirmation for Short to believe her son had made it out of the inferno unscathed, she said.

“I stayed on the phone with my husband and I still didn’t believe that my son was OK until he got there. When he got there I heard him say to him, ‘Donovan,’ and I heard my son say, ‘Daddy, daddy,’” Short said. “I was just in tears. It’s a relief to know they’re OK. The teachers were amazing to get 16 kids, 16 3- and 4-year-olds out of that building that quickly.”

Dennis LaRocco, executive director of the HHWP Community Action Commission, said for now the Head Start program will not operate until temporary arrangements can be made at a nearby facility. The group has already started working toward securing a new, permanent location in Ada, he said. One option that is being pursued is the possibility of using a site about 10 minutes away in the Upper Scioto Valley school district for the Ada program. Nothing definitive has been determined, he said.

“They want to get it going as quickly as possible,” LaRocco said. “There’s a lot of logistics they have to work out. It’s going to be several days before we get that accomplished.”

Published in The Lima News: March 15, 2012

 

Candle likely source of Ada fire: Bishop Ough holds prayer service on corner (Story & Video)

 

Check out the video: Lima News video by BOB BLAKE.

 

 

Candle likely source of Ada fire

Bishop Ough holds prayer service on corner

By BOB BLAKE

ADA — An unattended candle near combustible material is being blamed for igniting a fiery blaze Tuesday that destroyed the 113-year-old First United Methodist Church in Ada, a state fire marshal’s spokesman said Wednesday.

Even as firefighters continued to periodically spray the remaining hot embers, an investigation by the Division of State Fire Marshal concluded the fire was accidental. Sixteen children and two teachers in a basement day care and other people who were in the church at the time escaped unharmed.

“Officially the fire will be ruled undetermined because investigators were not able to complete their examination of the scene due to safety concerns with the structure of the church,” said Shane Cartmill, a spokesman for the state fire marshal’s office. “A few homes nearby the church suffered minor radiant heat damage, including burned roofs, melted siding and scorched vegetation. The nearby library suffered similar minor damage. A home a block away from the fire also suffered damage when blowing embers drifted onto the home’s roof.”

Bob McCurdy, a church trustee, said the church will in all likelihood have to be demolished, possibly as early as today. Despite losing a landmark, McCurdy said there’s more to the church than bricks and mortar.

“The focus is on life, on humanity, life goes on,” McCurdy said. “This is a building and the building is very important to the community and a building that our members cared about deeply and invested in tremendously, especially in the last few years.”

Even as the fire raged Tuesday, the administration at Ohio Northern University was busy extending offers of assistance to the church, its congregation and the firefighters battling the inferno, university President Daniel DiBiasio said.

“Our association with the church in general and our particular association with this church has a long history,” DiBiasio said. “So many of our university community members are members of this church, our students worship here. From the get-go from the first that we heard of it we wanted to do all we could to provide support.”

The church will take up temporary refuge in the university’s English Chapel beginning this Sunday, DiBiasio said. There will be space for worship services, Sunday school classes and day care. The university is also offering office space and technology support. All of it will be offered as long as the church needs it, DiBiasio said.

Members of the church community received a morale boost just before noon Wednesday when Bishop Bruce Ough, of the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, arrived at the corner of Main Street and Highland Avenue, across the street from the burnt remnants of the church, for an impromptu prayer service.

“Now that would be quite a miracle if we could take it down and rebuild it in three days, right? What Jesus was really trying to remind them is who the real temple is,” Ough said. “Even though this is a structure that many of us are attached to and you are attached to, this is really about remembering that Jesus is ultimately the temple. That temple cannot be destroyed and neither can this temple. Bricks are gone, the building’s down, the roof’s caved in, but this can never really be destroyed.

“It’s not ultimately about this building it’s about the fact that Jesus lives and because of that he will raise up this congregation and give you another spiritual home. It may not look like this one. It may not even be on this site, who knows what God has in store, but the promise remains and that is that Christ will raise you up.”

Published in The Lima News: March 15, 2012

Children escape Ada fire (Story & Video)

 

Check out the video: Lima News video by BOB BLAKE.

 

 

Children escape Ada fire

Landmark Methodist church completely destroyed

By BOB BLAKE

ADA — Smoke and flames were visible from miles away Tuesday afternoon as an Ada landmark burned to the ground.

Fire consumed and destroyed First United Methodist Church, 301 N. Main St., just after noon Tuesday. Teachers and about 16 children from a head start day care center, operated by the Hancock Hardin Wyandot Putnam Community Action Commission, escaped without injury.

From all angles, onlookers flocked to the scene, snapping photos and video on their cellphones and cameras as the fire raged. There were hugs and tears exchanged as residents and visitors alike watched events unfold.

“Whether I was a member of the church or not, this is a very sad day for Ada. This is a landmark building, a beautiful old church,” said Michael Elliott, a church member who lives across the street. “They just don’t build them like this anymore, they won’t build them like this anymore. It’s just so sad to have lost that. I really feel bad, I feel bad for this whole community.”

LeAnn Pryer, 41, has lived in Ada her entire life.

“I went from Lima Memorial Hospital to here to the church to be baptized,” she said. “It was my first public appearance.”

She said the church was more than a place of worship, it was a community center. Scout meetings and overnights, pancake breakfasts and more were all held at the center.

Elliott’s house was one of a number of adjacent structures with damage from the heat and flames. Those repairs, however, weren’t Elliott’s focus Tuesday afternoon.

“My house can easily be repaired and easily fixed but the church over here — I mean, it’s gone,” he said. “It’s gone. It’s just tremendously sad.”

A 911 call was placed reporting the blaze at the same time Ada Police Department Patrolman Matt Purdy noticed smoke coming from the roof of the church and told dispatch to get firefighters to the scene, Police Chief Michael Harnishfeger said.

“It was a significant event even before we discovered it really. We called the Fire Department,” Harnishfeger said. “We’ve had three or four structures that have had some damage. We were dousing them with water, the Fire Department was.”

Ada Firefighter Dave Zimmerly was one of the first on the scene. He said firefighters went up the stairs into the sanctuary area and were met with intense heat, forcing them to their knees. Black smoke prevented them from seeing much, and debris was falling from the ceiling. “At that point it was a safety issue. We knew it was in the sanctuary, but we couldn’t get to it,” he said.

Firefighters from Alger, McGuffey, Kenton and Dunkirk in Hardin County, Bluffton and Lafayette in Allen County along with Mount Cory and Jenera in Hancock County responded to assist the Ada Liberty Fire Department.

Harnishfeger said the Division of State Fire Marshal was on scene to aid in the investigation into what caused the blaze. No cause had yet been determined late Tuesday, he said.

He said investigators and insurance representatives will inspect the building today. A crane was on site in case the structure became unstable. Harnishfeger said the front wall of the church was the biggest concern.

The church, a recognizable town icon, was first formed in 1852, according to information on the church website. The congregation moved into the current building on June 18, 1899.

Church members, community members and well-wishers spent part of the evening at a prayer vigil downtown.

“That was kind of a healing prayer service,” church trustee Bob McCurdy said.

Church board members met at Ohio Northern University on Tuesday night to figure out the next steps for the 300-member congregation.

The church will resume regular Sunday activities at ONU’s English Chapel, including Sunday school, nursery and worship, all at the same hours, McCurdy said.

He said the university and many other individuals and groups, like Habitat for Humanity and the Ada Ministerial Association, have reached out to help the church.

“ONU made the offer almost instantly,” McCurdy said. “They’re pretty amazing when it comes to community responsiveness. They’ve offered office space, they’ve offered technology.”

McCurdy said nearly everything the church had was lost in the fire.

“There were some church records retrieved, but very little,” he said. “We’re all hoping that once we gain permission to go into the building, we may find something. Right now we’re not expecting that.

News of the church’s destruction brought quick reaction from folks both near and far.

“What a terrible tragedy,” wrote Tom Matteson, of Oxford, Mich., on LimaOhio.com. “This was a beautiful church!”

Reporter J.D. Bruewer contributed to this story.

Published in The Lima News: March 14, 2012

New Bremen blaze (Story, Photo & Video)

Check out the video: Lima News video by BOB BLAKE.

New Bremen blaze

Flames engulf building housing pub, barbershop

By BOB BLAKE

NEW BREMEN — At the close of lunchtime business Monday afternoon, everything appeared normal at the Fireside Pub in downtown New Bremen. Three hours later things were anything but normal.

Towering flames soared into night-darkened sky. Heavy smoke poured from the roof, broken windows and open doors. The building that housed an opera house dating back to 1895 and had been the home of the pub for 17 years and Que’s Barbershop for the last eight was fully engulfed.

The usual dinner time and evening traffic along state Route 274 in town was replaced by fire trucks. Residents of the community stopped to watch.

“One of my workers called me and said the place was on fire. I came running,” said Misty Callahan, owner of Fireside Pub. “Man, I’m shocked. We left the business about 3 p.m. today but even the coffeehouse lady said she left about 6 p.m. and everything was fine. I’m just at a loss.”

Callahan said it was too early to say what will become of the business.

“Man, this is my life. This is my family’s life,” Callahan said. “This was my whole life. My workers have been with me for so many years. My workers, man, now they don’t have a job, either.”

The fire was reported around 6:30 p.m., according to a dispatcher at the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office. No one was reported injured in the blaze.

Firefighters from six departments — New Bremen, Minster, St. Marys Township, St. Marys, Chickasaw and Wapakoneta — battled the blaze. Aerial trucks from New Bremen, St. Marys and Wapakoneta also helped firefighters get a handle on the blaze, which consumed the roof but otherwise left most of the rest of the building intact, New Bremen Fire Chief Bob Kuck said.

“The roof is totally burned off. The walls and everything appear to be stable at this point but haven’t been able to do much checking on that,” Kuck said. “We’re still hitting hot spots. It’s a big work in progress in many areas. We do have in the back corner, we do have a small area in the floor where it burned through, but the rest of it appears to be fairly well intact.”

Firefighters used water from nearby Lock One of the Miami and Erie Canal to help battle the blaze. Kuck said it’s too early to tell what caused the blaze. The point of origin appears to be in one of the pub’s kitchens at the rear of the building, he said.

The adjacent New Bremen Coffee and Books Co. was spared any fire damage, suffering only some smoke damage, Kuck said.

Keith Quellhorst, owner of Que’s Barbershop, which was also destroyed in the blaze, said he got to the scene and tried to enter to save antiques inside his shop.

“I opened up the barbershop doors and that’s when the smoke rolled out,” Quellhorst said. “I did get to open up the shop but I couldn’t go in because it was too much smoke.”

Quellhorst, who has dreamed of owning his own barbershop since he was 14 or 15 years old, said the fire won’t end the dream.

“I’ll try to set up somewhere temporarily,” he said. “I’ll try to find somewhere to set up here in town. I will stay in business here in town.”

Published in The Lima News: Feb. 28, 2012

Bones uncovered (Story)

Bones uncovered

Demolition of dead suspect’s home reveals Lima remains that could be Nicholle Coppler, missing since 1999

By BOB BLAKE

LIMA — The family of Nicholle Coppler has spent nearly 13 years in limbo, not knowing the fate that met their daughter, sister, granddaughter. The 14-year-old Lima girl ran away from home in May 1999 and never came home. The decade-old wait for answers may soon come to an end.

A planned demolition of a city-owned house — the last place police were able to link to Coppler — yielded one last surprise Wednesday afternoon. In a development first reported by The Lima News on its website, LimaOhio.com, demolition crews and police detectives discovered what were believed to be human remains in a basement crawl space area of the house.

“We’re looking for any type of remains,” said Maj. Richard Shade, of the Lima Police Department. “Clearly we don’t know if we’re looking at a single incident or multiple incidents. We don’t know where this will lead but we will take our time and use all exhaustive efforts.”

Shade said the discovery of bones was made mid-afternoon. Demolition work immediately stopped, yellow police tape went up and the property at what used to be 735 S. Elizabeth St. became a crime scene, he said. The house had once been the residence of Glen Fryer, a man suspected in Coppler’s disappearance. Fryer committed suicide in the Allen County Jail in February 2002 after pleading no contest to rape charges involving a 12-year-old girl.

Evidence, including a hair identified as Coppler’s, her school identification card, and a diary with entries several days after she disappeared were found in Fryer’s house in previous searches.

“We had detectives down here watching the scene at the time,” Shade said. “There was nothing abnormal with the house construction but when they got into the basement area, what would have been a crawl space area we did recover items that are bones.”

Authorities contacted Coppler’s mother, Krista Coppler, in Florida.

“I don’t know who else it could be,” Krista Coppler said.

Krista Coppler said she suspected all along Glen Fryer killed her daughter and hid her body on his property despite previous attempts by police to find her body, including using ground-penetrating radar.

“If this is her, I knew she was there,” she said.

Shade said in addition to detectives from the Lima Police Department, agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation were called to process the scene. By late afternoon, three state crime scene trucks, a local police and fire command center, and more than a dozen law enforcement officers converged on the scene.

Tents were erected to protect the site along with the retrieved evidence. The city brought in floodlights to help with planned overnight collection and processing efforts.

“Obviously we wouldn’t be here if it didn’t appear to be” human remains, Shade said. “There is no confirmation. Absolutely, it is being handled as a crime scene.”

Shade said it would take time to process the scene, collect all the evidence and remains as well as conduct all the forensic tests, including DNA analysis, needed to determine if the remains were Coppler’s.

The flurry of activity was met with plenty of onlookers, among them were relatives of Nicholle Coppler. All said they were hoping the discovery can help lead to closure for the family.

“This hopefully will bring closure to our family. We always had a hope maybe she was still alive,” said Diana Coppler, Nicholle’s grandmother. “Then after Sunday’s paper knowing if she was what she’d be going through, it may be a blessing she never made it out of Lima.”

In another story first reported by The Lima News a week ago, an investigator with the FBI’s Northwest Ohio Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force confirmed there is a federal investigation into people connected to Fryer. The investigator said federal charges for human trafficking related to Coppler’s disappearance could be forthcoming.

“It’s been pretty hard not knowing what happened,” said Rob Coppler, Nicholle’s older brother. “You usually hear little things here, little things there. The uncertainty of where she’s at, what happened to her, it’s been hard.”

Diana Coppler described Nicholle as a sweet, loving, fun-loving girl.

“She was loving. She always had a hug for Grandma and that smile of hers just would melt you,” she said. “She, again at the age she was, she was a teenager, and she felt confined so she spread her wings before she realized she wasn’t old enough to understand what was going on and ended up in a bad place.

“We know she wanted to come back home according to her diary. I just know God was with her, whatever happened to her. He will be with us and get us through all this.”

Published in The Lima News: Feb. 9, 2012

 

Man tries, fails to rob 2 gas stations (Story)

Man tries, fails to rob 2 gas stations

By BOB BLAKE

ALLENTOWN — Surveillance videos from a pair of local gas stations show a man in a gray, hooded sweatshirt calmly approaching the clerks and demanding money. In both instances, the would-be robber left empty-handed.

Police are still looking for the man and asking for the public’s help.

A similar, but successful, robbery happened late Tuesday in Van Wert, though it wasn’t clear if the that incident was related to the other two.

The two would-be robberies in Allen County took place about an hour apart Wednesday morning at the Shell stations in Allentown and Spencerville, authorities said. Officials, including Allen County Sheriff Sam Crish, were still on location at the Allentown store when the call came in reporting the attempt in Spencerville.

“It’s pretty much the same type M.O., same clothing description,” Crish said. “We’re pretty confident it’s the same individual.”

American Township Lt. Jerry Sarchet Sr. said the first attempted robbery took place around 8:48 a.m. at the Shell station at the corner of Allentown and Copus roads in Allentown.

“The suspect approached the clerk and demanded money. He didn’t show a weapon,” Sarchet said. “The clerk was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ and gestured like maybe he had a gun. The suspect then took off out of the store.”

A tracking dog from the Sheriff’s Office couldn’t find a trail at the Allentown station. The dog was also brought to Spencerville but could not find a trail.

Spencerville Police Chief Darin Cook said a similar robbery attempt took place at the store there around 9:57 a.m.

“The man pulled his shirt up around his face and told the cashier he needed his money,” Cook said. “The cashier said, “I can’t do that.’ The man turned and walked out of the business, ran down the front and eastbound until he hit Pearl Street when he turned south and appears he got into a vehicle.”

Authorities are looking for a clean-shaven white male standing approximately 6 foot 1 and weighing 180 pounds.

Anyone with information on the man’s identity or whereabouts is asked to call the Allen County Sheriff’s Office at 419-227-3535.

In Van Wert, police were looking for a white male, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, with short brown hair, wearing a gray sweatshirt over a navy blue T-shirt and blue jeans who robbed the Pak A Sak store at 800 N. Washington St. at about 10:11 p.m. Tuesday. The man did not display a weapon but demanded money and was given an undisclosed amount of cash before he ran southeast from the store.

Published in The Lima News: Nov. 3, 2011

Head-on crash hurts two (Story)

Head-on crash hurts two

By BOB BLAKE

CELINA — An elderly Mercer County man was injured Tuesday afternoon after driving his car the wrong way on a divided highway outside Celina, according to police officials.

Sgt. Jim Stelzer, of the Celina Police Department, said officials were unsure how long Norbert R. Kramer’s Buick LeSabre was going the wrong way before it crashed head-on with a minivan.

“We’re not really sure how long he was going the wrong way,” Stelzer said.

The crash happened around noon Tuesday on state Route 29, between Staeger and Havemann roads, just east of Celina. Stelzer said Kramer’s LeSabre was traveling east in the passing lane of the westbound lanes when the car collided with a Pontiac Montana, driven by Don Johnson, 68, of Dayton. Both vehicles sustained heavy front-end damage.

Both Johnson and Kramer, 85, of Chickasaw, were taken to Mercer Health in Coldwater, where their conditions were unknown, according to hospital officials. Stelzer said Kramer and Johnson’s injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Stelzer said Kramer will likely be cited for traveling the wrong way on a highway.

Tuesday’s crash marks the second time in less than a month that a vehicle has traveled the wrong way on an area highway resulting in a crash.

On Oct. 4, Robert H. Carroll, 65, of Carleton, Mich., died after a fiery head-on collision on Interstate 75 near Findlay.

Officials with the Findlay post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said in that incident Carroll entered the interstate at U.S. Route 68 and traveled south in the northbound lanes for a short distance before colliding head-on with a tractor-trailer.

Carroll’s car went into a ditch where it caught fire. Motorists with fire extinguishers stopped to assist and put out the fire, troopers said.

Published in The Lima News: Nov. 2, 2011

LACCA evacuated after bomb threat (Story & Video)

Check out the video: Lima News video by BOB BLAKE.

 

LACCA evacuated after bomb threat

By BOB BLAKE

LIMA — Children and staff members at the Lima/Allen County Council on Community Affairs were evacuated from the building Thursday morning after someone called in a bomb threat, officials said.

The threat was called in around 10:45 a.m. to the facility at 540 S. Central Ave., according to Jackie Fox, chief executive officer at LACCA.

“We had a bomb threat called in anonymously this morning,” Fox said. “We took the precaution of evacuating the building and calling the authorities. They swept the building to make sure.”

Once staff at the facility were alerted to the threat, Fox ordered the evacuation according to emergency plans, she said.

Adults and children at the facility remained outside for about 40 minutes while members of the Lima Police and Fire departments conducted a sweep of the building. No suspicious items were found, she said.

Fox said staff members were not overly concerned that the threat signaled any imminent danger.

“We have close to 250 children and parents and adults in this building at any given time,” Fox said. “We are going to take the extra precaution even if we don’t think it’s serious or think it’s a prank, we’re going to take that extra precaution and follow our procedure.”

Published in The Lima News: Oct. 14, 2011

 

Fall kills worker (Story)

Fall kills worker

Roofer, 54, dies at Superior Forge

By BOB BLAKE

SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — Investigators from multiple agencies are looking into the circumstances surrounding the death of a man who fell from the roof at Superior Forge and Steel on Wednesday.

Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Shawnee Township Police Department were called to the company, 1820 McClain Road, around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“Basically, we got a call at 10:33 a.m. [Wednesday] from Superior Forge employees stating a man had fallen from the roof of the structure,” Platoon Chief John Norris, of the Shawnee Township Fire Department, said. “Our crews arrived a short time later and found there was a 54-year-old male who had fallen approximately 60 feet from the roof.”

The man was taken to St. Rita’s Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Norris said.

The man has been identified as Frankie Cousey, 54, of Lima, according to officials at Siferd-Orians Funeral Home.

Norris said Cousey was not an employee of Superior Forge and Steel, but worked for CentiMark Corp., a Canonsburg, Pa.-based company, which had been contracted by Superior Forge and Steel to work on the roof.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with CentiMark Corp. and the members of the individual’s family,” Timothy Brennan, vice president of operations at Superior Forge and Steel, said in a statement.

No one at CentiMark Corp. could be reached for comment.

A spokeswoman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Toledo confirmed that an investigator had been sent to the scene but said no other information was available.

Published in The Lima News: Oct. 13, 2011

Car hits crash responder (Story)

Car hits crash responder

Mercer volunteer critical, driver arrested

By BOB BLAKE

CHICKASAW — Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey was at home listening to a portable police radio when he heard a commotion. It didn’t take long after hearing a volunteer with the local crash-response team had been hit by a car before Grey was out the door headed to the scene.

Grey knew from the police radio traffic that things were serious.

“As I was driving over there, the helicopter that had him was headed to Dayton and flew over the road I was on,” Grey said. “I saw the helicopter going by. I’ll tell you, it’s hard not to have tears in your eyes when that stuff happens.”

Grey said Marvin D. Collins, 56, of Fort Recovery, has been with Mercer County Emergency Response Volunteers since its inception 10 years ago. Collins and fellow volunteer James E. Kittle, 64, of Celina, had established a roadblock at U.S. Route 127 and state Route 274 to keep traffic away from a crash at U.S. 127 and Clover Four Road. A second roadblock had also been established at U.S. 127 and state Route 219.

Shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, a 2001 Saturn driven by Kameron J. McCarty, 21, who had been staying in Celina, failed to yield or slow for the roadblock and ran over an orange reflective traffic cone, Grey said. McCarty’s car then struck two MCERV vehicles, with amber lights flashing. The vehicles then struck Collins.

Collins was taken first to Mercer Health in Coldwater before being flown aboard a medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he was listed in critical condition, Grey said.

Grey said McCarty refused to consent to a blood or urine test, however, a search warrant was obtained and investigators are awaiting those results before deciding on additional charges. McCarty was arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular assault and is being held in the Mercer County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, Grey said.

A passenger in McCarty’s car, Ashley N. Farmer, 20, of Celina, had an outstanding warrant through the Celina Police Department for theft and was also arrested, Grey said. In addition, deputies found Farmer in possession of a syringe and additional charges could be forthcoming, Grey said.

Grey said it’s devastating when someone who helps out is involved in such a tragic event.

“They are just good-hearted, well-intentioned people that want to help serve their community,” Grey said of the MCERV members. “I wish that back when they started that we would have kept track of everything that they have done because they have saved the taxpayers thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. Even though they’re not deputy sheriffs, I feel like, and we’re treating it just like it was, a deputy that got hit.”

Grey brought the volunteers together Monday night at the Sheriff’s Office for an impromptu prayer vigil for Collins. Meanwhile, Grey had a deputy go to Fort Recovery to get Collins’ wife and take her to Dayton. A member of the Fort Recovery Police Department went to Ball State University to get Collins’ daughter, who didn’t have a car there, and take her to Dayton as well, Grey said.

“It was hard for me,” Grey said of the meeting with MCERV volunteers. “You try to stand up and be the strong, brave sheriff but I kind of had to stop talking for a little bit because it was emotional. … Now we just keep our fingers crossed and pray for a full recovery for him.”

Published in The Lima News: Oct. 5, 2011