Perhaps the most hotly contested race in Tuesday’s primary, at least as far as Kosciusko County is concerned, is the coroner’s race.
Current coroner John Sadler is term limited and two of his deputy coroners, along with an EMT, will vie for the Republican Party’s nomination.
No Democrats have filed for the office.
Both Tony Ciriello and Michael Wilson bring years of experience and both currently serve as deputy coroners.
Ciriello, 51, is the current Syracuse Police Chief.
Wilson now works for McHatton-Sadler Funeral Homes but was formerly the long-time fire marshal for Warsaw Police Department untill mid-2011.
Neither man has held political office.
Sadler has not publicly or privated endorsed either candidate.
Carl Saint, 33, is an EMT. He serves as the race’s darkhorse.
None of the three members has held political office before.
While a job that pays just $12,921 a year, the coroner’s office serves as one of the most important in the county.
Both Ciriello and Wilson have hit the campaign trail hard for their party’s nomination.
The three men took time to answer four questions provided by the Times-Union. The fourth question dealt with whether they agreed with term-limits for the coroner. Due to space constraints, that question will be left off. Ciriello and Wilson agreed on term limits while Saint said it depended on whether the coroner was doing a good job.
Each candidate was asked to limit their responses to 250 words but was not required to use that many.
The following answers are to: 1) What in your experience allows you to best serve the community as its next coroner? 2) Describe the responsibilities the coroner faces and how you plan to run the coroner’s office. 3) Why are you seeking the office of coroner?
In alphabetical order, here are the candidates' responses:
Tony Ciriello 1.) The coroner determines the cause, manner and mechanism of death, but also needs to be an administrator, maintain records, budgets and fulfill required training. I have extensive experience as a medicolegal death investigator, as a law enforcement investigator, as an administrator and as an educator. Having been in law enforcement for 28 years with the last seven of those in an administrative position gives me the best opportunity to understand the human resources side of being the coroner. This includes preparing fiscally responsible budgets, preparing and initiating contracts that may be needed for services, payroll and record keeping as prescribed by the Office of Vital Records. As the director of training for the Indiana State Coroner’s Training Board for the last 13 years, I am responsible to see that each coroner and deputy coroner become trained and certified as prescribed by Indiana law, and as member of the legislative committee I have valuable insight into the latest changes in the ever-changing death investigation field as well as first-hand knowledge of law changes regarding the coroner’s office on both a state and federal level. I have a great working relationship with all emergency services personnel in Kosciusko County which are involved in just about every coroner’s call. 2.) By law the coroner is charged to determine the cause, manner and mechanism of death by investigating each death that meets the requirements for a coroner investigation. However, the coroner is also an educator. There is a need for the coroner’s office to provide education to emergency services personnel (police, fire and EMS) so that they understand the role of the coroner in a death investigation and what is needed of them at scene of a death. The coroner also needs to provide education to the public, to include the roles and responsibilities of the office, the latest trends in preventable deaths (especially those involving children), whether that be in safe sleep practices, texting and driving, drinking and driving and prescription drug abuse. The coroner also plays a vital role in organ donation by facilitating donation between the families and the organ procurement organizations. If elected to the position of coroner I will make sure education is a priority, continue with the facilitation of organ donation and to continue to work with emergency services personnel to ensure that all death investigations are done with the highest degree of respect and dignity. I will also make sure that the office of coroner maintains a fiscally responsible budget and that the office can justify its expenditures. 3.) After 18 years as deputy coroner I am seeking the position of coroner for a number of reasons. First off, with my experiences as a law enforcement officer, deputy coroner and former fire marshal and as an administrator and trainer I feel I have the qualifications needed to be the elected official. Secondly, I am seeking the office to continue to grow the office by becoming more transparent with what we do, why we do it and to be an active part of preventable deaths. I feel the position requires much more than the investigation part of the job, as this office has many facets to it well beyond the scene investigations. While it is true that there are a number of coroner investigations done throughout the year the majority of the duties are outside of that. The office of coroner has to have a high degree of confidentiality and dignity within its scope and I feel that I can provide that level of competency. The coroner not only investigates the circumstances of a death but also has to maintain a relationship with the families and work with them for closure. I am seeking this position so that I can make a difference in our community and to hold this office to the highest professional standards.
Carl Saint 1.) As an EMT, I have been in situations where family and friends have passed on and all I can do is show my sympathy and console the family. I believe I am qualified to be the next coroner due to my medical background and my experience. 2.) As a coroner you are responsible for showing up in a timely fashion, pronounce the patient deceased, take the deceased to the funeral home, preferably of the family’s choice. Then you would run an investigation on the cause of death and if there is no medical doctor you would sign the death certificate. I would run the coroner’s office with integrity, compassion and professionalism. 3.) As an EMT, I work closely with the coroner’s office and I have seen firsthand how the current coroner handles these situations and I belive there is room for change. Time for someone who considers this a passion, not just a job.
Michael Wilson 1.) I started my career in emergency services in 1974 in the first Emergency Medical Technician class for our area while employed with the McHatton-Sadler Funeral Home providing my first level of community-service based occupation. I enlisted in the Military Police Corps U.S. Army in 1975, trained and served and was involved in narcotics investigations, patrol division, patrol supervisor, traffic accident investigator, assistant K9 officer completing and overseeing all types of criminal scene investigations along with homicide scene investigations. I joined the fire service in 1980 and still am involved in our county as fire scene investigator with national certification as a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator for the counties SQUAD 70, have been involved as an deputy coroner/investigator with Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office under the direction of John Sadler or Larry Ladd as employee of the office since 1994. I started helping John Sadler in a volunteer capacity during his first term as coroner with death scenes as early as 1988. To date, I have been involved in scene investigations involving criminal activity, fire scene investigations, death scenes to include traumatic injury, homicide, suicide, drug overdoses and natural deaths since 1975. I have a exceeded continual education aspects of state level certification within the coroner’s office, with levels of certification as a medicolegal death investigator. I am currently working as an after-care counselor at McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapel in providing care and counseling to families after the death of a loved one. 2.) The aspect of the coroner’s office is to investigate unattended, suspicious and traumatic deaths within the county limits, to oversee and assist local, county and state law enforcement with the investigation into the death, to operate within the scope of state law to ensure the scenes are handled with professionalism, while protecting the rights of the deceased and the family. To ensure the correct answers are gathered to be able to determine with or with out autopsy the cause and manor of death, to provide correct information to medical personnel and health officials of all deaths within our jurisdictional area. I plan on further establishing a means of education for law enforcement, fire officials and emergency medical personnel pertaining to death scene investigations. To ensure the members the office have the opportunity for continual education, to work with all emergency services personnel in aspects of continual education involving death scene investigations, to always have available primarily myself and/or a certified deputy investigator available to the public and emergency services 24 hours a day. The goal of the office is to have representation of the coroner’s office on scene, or in communications with the officers, emergency services personnel at the scene within 20 minutes from time of request. At this time, I do not plan on removing any deputies/investigators of our office, as they have all dedicated time and experience to our office and our community. 3.) I have experience within the current coroners office as an deputy/investigator handling or assisting in a vast amount of the cases each year, with dedication of making this a “full-time commitment,” with real experience involving real situations. In 2010, our plans with this position were for myself to run for the position after retirement from a career as fire marshal for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, Warsaw Fire Department. With this plan and goal to provide a commitment to the community, to bring my experience in government budgeting, leadership and scene investigations to the office, to give back to the community what the community has graciously given to me during my career in the fire service as the fire marshal. I plan on providing a full-time commitment being there for the law enforcement officials, emergency medical service, and fire service along with the citizens whom work, live and play within our fine community, without overly increasing tax based budgeting. This goal has been one in the making for at least 15 years. I have the drive and compassion to provide a professional service to our community. I personally see our office as one of the best in the state, with exceptional growth in experience and education provided under direction of Sadler and Ladd, I promise to the community that this office under my direction with continue to grow in experience, education, and professionalism.
