ALBION â This one even caught Mr. Preparedness off guard.
Recently retired Noble County EMA Executive Director Mick Newton was presented the Sagamore of the Wabash â the stateâs highest civilian honor â during a surprise presentation Monday morning during the commissioners meeting at the Noble County Courthouse.
âIâm so very proud,â an emotional Newton said. âI donât know what else to say.â
Newton was brought to the commissioners meeting by current EMA Executive Director Justin Stump under the guise of a discussion concerning the EMAâs offices in the new Noble County Annex currently being constructed.
Instead, he was greeted by a room full of family, friends and co-workers.
âIâll see you in heaven.â
It was the last thing Al Braccolino, 90, of Crown Point, told one of his daughters as paramedics loaded him into an ambulance Nov. 16. COVID-19 forced him into the final fight of his life.
Ten days later, the chair Al usually occupied at the Thanksgiving table would sit empty. The husband to his wife of 70 years, father of three and grandfather of six died on the holiday.
Alâs daughter, Sandra Noe, was herself suffering from COVID-19, which she contracted while caring for her sick parents, when the virus forced Alâs hospitalization.
Noe, 66, is no stranger to helping elderly shut-ins weather isolation.