Mitch Titus, the late fire chief of Winona Lake, was remembered and honored during the Winona Lake town council meeting Tuesday evening.
“Mitch was dedicated to his task as a firefighter. The outpouring of support from the community during the funeral is an indication of the impact he had on our community. His loss will be felt greatly by his family and friends and the town of Winona Lake. The town will miss his focus and dedication to the task of keeping Winona Lake residents safe,” Rick Swain, council member said at the beginning of the meeting.
Titus died on May 5 at the age of 47 due to injuries sustained in a workplace accident.
Titus’ family was presented a golden ax, as well as a stand with Titus’ picture that held his place during council meetings since his death.
Town Coordinator Craig Allebach said a scholarship will be set up in Titus’ name.
“We’ve been in contact with the family and the fire department to best be able to handle that,” Allebach said of the scholarship.
The town council also congratulated the street department on the job they have been doing keeping up with storm damage.
“It’s been crazy weather,” Street Superintendent Tom Miller said.
The last bad storm that came through, Allebach said, came through on a Thursday morning.
During that storm, the council was notified 31 trees were downed.
Miller also stated the post office roof had been damaged and the repair was done in a day.
“You wouldn’t know a week later if you came for the art fair that the village had such devastating damage,” Allebach said.
Miller said he wanted to commend the residents who have come out and given workers coffee and water during the cleanup work.
In other news, the committee also:
• Approved purchasing a lawn tractor from More Farm Store, Warsaw, for $16,000 as it takes approximately 34 hours a week to mow all the grass the town has.
• Approved the extension of the trash and recycling contract from Advanced Disposal.
