7th-Grader Gets Hero’s Welcome At Warsaw School Board Meeting
7th-Grader Gets Hero’s Welcome At Warsaw School Board Meeting
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
7th-Grader Gets Hero’s Welcome At Warsaw School Board MeetingNot only did the Warsaw School Board recognize Edgewood Middle School seventh-grader Milind Kumar Monday for being a hero, so did Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, Lutheran EMS, Kosciusko Community Hospital, Kosciusko County Central Dispatch and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.
All the recognition left the 11-year-old speechless.
On Feb. 4, Kumar recognized his family was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and called 911 for help. An interview with him and his family appeared in the Feb. 12 Times-Union.
At the school board meeting Monday, Edgewood Principal JoElla Hauselman said, “Now Milind is a straight-A+ student. And it’s funny because when the 911 operator said he called in he used vocabulary” that surprised her that he was a seventh-grader. “It was impressive and he knew what to do.”
She said the local emergency services also wanted to recognize Kumar because they recognized the valuable lesson he taught everyone about carbon monoxide poisoning.
Scott Sigerfoos, Lutheran EMS director, said it seems that several times over the past four years a Warsaw Community Schools student has been recognized for being a life saver. “This is a great thing,” he said.
He said he — along with three EMS crew members who assisted that night; Kosciusko County 911 Director Sarah Lancaster and three of the dispatchers that were working that night and an assistant director; Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory’s Rob Barker; KCH ER’s Laraine Tucco; and Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes — knew they had to do something to recognize Kumar for his actions.
Sigerfoos presented Kumar with a certificate and a coin, as well as coins to his parents, Anika Prasad and Mukesh Kumar, and 3-year-old sister, Rohini Kumar.
Lancaster then presented Milind with a coin from the sheriff’s office and a medal from the 911 Center. “Because you really are a hero life-saver,” she told him.
Barker then gave Milind a life-saving coin. Generally, he said, the coins are for the firefighters but “in this case we felt that you deserved one as well,” he said. “Thank you from the fire department.”
A dispatcher said Kumar’s call to 911 was “amazing” and he did “an amazing job.”
Heather Reichenbach, school board president, told Kumar, “It sounds like you were very brave and you did the right thing, and that takes a lot of courage and calm. It is a pleasure to be here and be able to do honor you this evening. Thank you.”
Hauselman asked him if he wanted to say anything, but he replied, “I’m good.”
Reichenbach asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said he wanted to be a computer coder.
Kumar’s recognition was preceded by a spotlight on Edgewood’s canned food drive.
Hauselman said the drive means “feeding our community for the winter” and stocking the shelves at Combined Community Services and Our Father’s House, feeding needy families of WCS schools and that the community helps support its efforts. With the support of Owen’s Supermarkets, she said they were able to have a “tremendous” canned food drive again this year.
Teachers Zach Netzley and David Cook spoke about what the food drive means to them.
In 2018, the drive collected 19,000 items, up from 10,000 in 2012. There were 61 family boxes given away in 2018, up from 35 in 2012. Monetary donations totaled $1,000 in 2018, up from $100 in 2012.
“It’s not a small endeavor to complete those, “Cook said.
He also said that without Owen’s, none of the food drive was possible. “If I could say anything, Owen’s is legit,” he said.
In another recognition Monday, Lakeview and Edgewood middle schools’ band director, Joe Peloza, talked about how students competed at the Indiana State School Music Association solo and ensemble contest Feb. 2 at Carroll High School in Fort Wayne. All students from both schools earned a gold rating on their pieces, including 15 from Lakeview and 18 from Edgewood. Three from Edgewood earned perfect scores.
The school board was then treated to two musical performances. Eisenhower Elementary School sixth-grader Rick Orr performed a solo of “Culligan Man,” followed by a wood quartet of eighth-graders Morgan Howett and Keely Roe and seventh-graders Jessica Holcomb and Marissa Howett on “Noel Novlette.”
