WARSAW â A much-missed summer tradition is about to make its comeback.
The annual Warsaw Firemenâs Carnival will take place July 2 to 4, officials confirmed Monday on the fire departmentâs Facebook page. As of now â with guidance from the Wyoming County Health Department â all of its usual activities are planned.
That includes rides, food, games, a parade, a chicken barbecue and fireworks.
âThis is huge, not only for us, but for our community who stood by us last year without our major fundraiser,â said Chief James Ferrin of the Warsaw Fire Department. âEven with COVID restrictions still in place, we are excited to give this a shot and hopefully give our community and surrounding communities some sense of normalcy. Our ride vendor â American Amusement Rentals â and the bands we had signed for last year â Highway 31, Trolls 2.0, and Double Cross â have been great to work with and have stood strong beside us for over a year
WARSAW â Todd MacConnell is being remembered as a man who would be there for anybody.
Family, friends and colleagues in the Warsaw community and beyond are mourning MacConnell following his death on Saturday from COVID-19 complications.
MacConnell held a variety of roles in the community. He was a longtime village firefighter, director of Wyoming Countyâs Information Technology department, and a member of Valley Chapel Free Methodist Church.
He had been battling coronavirus and its effects since November. About 90 people participated in a candlelight vigil for him and his family on Dec. 22.
âHe was a great man that always had a smile on his face and that would help anyone out at any given time,â the Warsaw Fire Department and Rescue Squad said in a tribute on its Facebook page. âHe will truly be missed by many in our department and our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Toddâs family during this difficult time.â
WARSAW â East Side Nursing & Rehabilitation Center residents got to see trucks from several fire departments roll past Saturday evening thanks to a âcrazyâ idea the nursing home started planning a month ago, an East Side staff member said.
âI wrote up a letter and I sent it to 20 of the area fire departments, just on a whim, hoping to hear back from a couple .â said Tifffany Jo Stoffer, activities director for the nursing home.
Stoffer said sheâs been to fire truck parades before.
âI thought, why couldnât we do this for the nursing home residents? Theyâve really had everything shut down for this entire year. I started hearing back from one and then two, and I think weâve reached almost eight or more of the fire departments in the area that have responded they wanted to help us out.â