Mike Wilson has spent the last 17 years in the Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office watching John Saddler and helping out any way he could.
Recently Wilson decided it was time to step up and run for political office. Wilson, a long time investigator in the coroner’s office, has announced his candidacy for Coroner of Kosciusko County on the Republican ticket.
Before Wilson joined the coroner’s office he worked for the Warsaw Fire Department as a volunteer, and was in the military.
His time of public service began in 1975 when he joined the armed forces as a military police officer. Wilson spent five years working scenes in the military.
He did everything from crime scenes, to fatal accidents, to top-secret investigations. His work took him from Fort Knox, Ky., Fort Benjamin Harrisson, Indianapolis, and overseas to Germany.
When Wilson returned from military service he joined the Warsaw Fire Department as a volunteer in 1980. While on the WFD he worked on the Fatal Fire Scene Investigation Team and Squad 70 investigation, a team of law enforcement agents and firefighters who were specially trained to investigate certain incidents. He has also been the Warsaw Fire Marshal.
Through his experiences Wilson has determined where he would like to take the Coroners position.
“The coroner's office of the 1990s is much different than the coroners office of today,” Wilson said. “It is moving more towards CSI and we want to move it to that next plateau.”
Wilson has worked in one capacity or another with McHatton-Saddler Funeral home since 1973. It is that experience with families that he wants to take with him to the coroners office if he is elected.
“Being able to assist loved ones and family members of what is being investigated and why is very important to me,” Wilson said. “We need to be able to work with the families and provide support staff for them. We want to extend that service to them in their time of need.”
There are five investigators who work in the coroner's office and Wilson will not change that, but he would like to work closer with the Kosciusko County Drug Task Force, the meth teams and the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team.
“I want to make law enforcement aware of drug and methamphetamine deaths in K county,” Wilson said. “I really want to make the coroner an educational tool for the county. Public education is number one.”
Moreover Wilson, who retired from Warsaw Wayne Fire Territory in May 2011, would like to make being the coroner a full-time job. The position pays approximately $15,000 per year. Many Coroners have a full-time job as well as their elected position.
“You have to be available to the community and make that commitment to the community,” Wilson said. “With the new Indiana laws the coroner’s office might have to be informed of every death in the county. That would increase the number of calls per year for the coroner from 100 to nearly 500.”
At 500 calls per year that comes out to be more than one per day, which could leave little time for another job. Even though the coroner does not need to investigate every death, the amount of unexpected or unexplained deaths he might have to investigate could increase.
With the possible number of death notifications increasing, Wilson wants to take a proactive approach to community health.
“I don't want to increase my run numbers, but increase everyone's time with loved ones,” Wilson said. “I want everyone to know what to do when the medical emergency comes up.”
The coroner’s office currently sends out an educational press release once a month to local papers to inform the public about issues that could save their lives.
“Lately it has been a lot of holiday and fire press releases that talk about how to be safe around the holidays and prevent home fires,” Wilson said. “But it can be anything that can help save a life in the community.”
To Wilson the position is not only about closure for families who have lost loved ones, but also educating the public on how to keep their loved ones around longer. Wilson told a story about what his commitment to the community means to him.
“It's a warm feeling walking through Walmart and someone walks up and hugs you and says, ‘You probably don't remember me, but I want to thank you for helping me through my husband’s death,’” Wilson said. “It's the compassion and thought that goes a long way.”
