Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 134, Number 52, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 24 December 2015 — Page 2

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• Advance News • Thursday, December 24, 2015

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Nappanee window decoration winners

Photo/David M. Palmer Stephanie Yoder, Nappanee, stands proudly with the plaque awarded to Veni's Sweet Shop (228 E. Main St., Nappanee) for their second consecutive win in Nappanee's window decorating contest. The contest'featured local businesses which were voted on by patrons who visited a minimum number of participating shops.

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Photo/David M. Palmer (From left to right) Cheryl Arnold, Goshen, Mary Ann Horst, Goshen, Charity Yoder, Nappanee, and Stephanie Yoder, Nappanee, pose for a photo with the prizes and awards they won in Nappanee’s window decorating contest. Two S2OO prize?, a SIOO prize and a SSO prize were awarded to shoppers who visited a minimum number pf participating shops to vote on the winner of the window decorating contest. For the second year in a row, Veni's Sweet Shop took home the topcprize for their efforts in the contest.

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Nappanee’s first EMT witnesses three decades of growth, changes

By Merrie Chapman Advance Correspondent NAPPANEE —Larry Thompson, who now serves as Mayor of the City of Nappanee, also holds the title of the city's first Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He was among the first certified EMTs in the State of Indiana, and began his work in Delphi. Upon moving back to the Wa-Nee community, Thompson settled in Nappanee, worked at the local funeral home and served as the city's first EMT. During that time he was also a Nappanee fireman. Today the former EMT/ fireman has witnessed, supported and help plan three decades of growth in both departments. He has done so as active participant, local citizen and mayor of the city of Nappanee. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Larry Thompson studied to be a mortician after graduating high school a profession he admits was inspired through a Young Eagles program during his earlier years of education. In reflection of that program and its inspiration in his life, Thompson encouraged city leaders to restart the Young Eagles program in| Nappanee this year. During the process of his training to be an undertaker, Thompson also became interested in a new emergency response program being developed ih the state of Indiana. Once state guidelines were in place he underwent training to become one of the state's fitfst certified Emergency' Medical Technicians (EMTs). He began both his career and volunteer EMT service in Delphi before returning to the Wa-Nee Community where he grew up. There he served as Nappanee's first EMT and instinctively led others to also train in helping those in distress. 1 In addition, Thompson also served:as a Nappanee fireman when needed. He and |four other firemen reported for duty each time emergency calls came into the funeral home and the director called them out. His passion for helping others inspired his fellow firemen.

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"That was back when our EMT training was a course through the American Red Cross," said Frank Hartman, a 20-year Nappttnee Fireman who worked alongside Thompson in those early years. ' "A year later we got our first ambulance, and that's when we decided we needed to keep things separate because it was just too much to do both," added Hartman. "We were all volunteers so we were still working all the time when we weren't volunteering." EMS DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED Arrival of the city's first ambulance resulted in several of the firemen led by Ray Schwartz totally dedicating their time to volunteering as EMTs. Thompson and Frank Hartman were among those remaining back as firemen. This was the first of many changes Thompson, the former EMT, would witness in both departments. THOMPSON SERVES A DECADE AS FIREMAN Thompson continued to serve as a fireman a total of 10 years between the early 1980 s and 19905. He took pride in the growing number of volunteers, fire trucks and updated pieces of equipment being added to the department. "1 think Larry would have stayed a fireman," said Frank Flartman. "He only left when he decided to be mayor so he could focus on that." Thompson retired from the Nappanee Fire Department late in 1994 before taking office as mayor of the city of Nappanee in 1995. STATE DEVELOPS DEPARTMENTAL REGULATIONS The former EMT and fireman has also witnessed regulation changes over the past three decades since he began as a volunteer. 'Originally a band of five, the Nappanee Fire Department now has over

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20 members. When the Nappanee Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department was established, several of those firemen left that calling to become registered EMTs and focus their skills on that emergency response department. That group evolved through regulations requiring a higher level of training —the Basic EMT course, then requirements for achieving Advanced Emergency Medical Technician Training and now has a select few who sought further training to become paramedics. Today the group has become a paramedic emergency medical services department made up of over 20 volunteers and eight fulltime paramedics. CHANGE IN DISPATCH Thompson has also watched emergency services dispatch evolve through the years. Calls stopped 1 coming in through the local funeral director when a single phone system was established for all three emergency response departments police, fire and EMS. Phone lines were put in at the police station and the fire siren set off to call volunteers to duty as needed. As the city population, business base and industrial areas grew there came more and more need for emergency services. Additional communication lines were needed. The importance of a bigger dispatch became evident, and Mayor Thompson worked alongside city leaders and emergency responders alike to establish development of a modem city dispatch center which was incorporated in the heart of the police station. In recent years state leaders voted to do away with individual community dispatches in favor of requiring a single dispatch center per county throughout the state. However, efforts to establish the state-of-the-art communications center in Nappanee were not in vain. The city has been asked to keep all equipment in operational order to serve as a second option of dispatch center in Elkhart County should an emergency ever incapacitate the current county facility. CONTINUES TO SUPPORT, CHEER ON FIRE AND EMS In the position of mayor, Thompson has been responsible for making decisions for both the fire and EMS departments everything from purchase of new equipment, fire trucks or ambulances to building a new facility to house ambulances and taking them away from See EMT, page A 3

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