It's an uphill battle, but Alan Earl is ready for the challenge.

The Democratic challenger for the office of county coroner, Earl, 27, said he's running because he believes the electorate deserves a choice.

"Over the last 20 years there's never been a contested election," he said. "It's just basically been a coronation."

Earl, a funeral director at Titus Funeral Home, Warsaw, is running against Republican Larry E. Ladd in November's general election. Ladd, the manager of Jellystone Campground in Pierceton, is currently deputy coroner.

Indiana law does not require county coroners to be medical doctors.

A Warsaw native, Earl is a 1987 graduate of Tippecanoe Valley High School, attended Xavier University in Cincinnati and graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1992.

He recently returned to Kosciusko County after living in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and said he's happy to be back.

"I'm glad I made a decision to move back to Warsaw," Earl said.

Earl said he considered the race carefully after being approached by the county's Democratic Party. He also said he plans a careful campaign: "Basically by word of mouth - I'm going to have to get out and talk to people."

Besides working full-time at Titus, Earl is a member of the Leesburg F&AM Lodge #181, Scottish Rite of Fort Wayne, the Mizpah Temple in Fort Wayne, the Kosciusko County Shriner's Club, the Kosciusko County Saddle Club and the Warsaw Moose Lodge #1423. He also is a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Warsaw and the Indiana Funeral Directors Association. [[In-content Ad]]