By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw

WARSAW — Camp Hero, the three-day youth camp organized by the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, just keeps growing.

In 2019, the new program ushered in by then-sheriff Kyle Dukes, attracted about 50-60 participants. Last year, it reached 167 participants.

Organizers have had to limit registration so they can plan ahead with enough shirts and other items for the kids.

This year, they had just under 240 youths.

“That cap was met in about an hour and four minutes,” said Sgt. Justin Smith, a lead organizer for the event.

[caption id="attachment_115333" align="alignright" width="420"] Two Camp Hero participants listen intently to one of the presentations conducted on Wednesday. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

The highly structured program provides lots of insights into various aspects of police work and firefighting, but also offers real-life skills. This year, they added anti-bullying self-defense tactics.

More than 30 activities were on the schedule over the course of three days, and groups moved from one station to another with a lunch and ice cream break midway through each day.

Wednesday’s focus was on various aspects of firefighting, and included a display that highlighted how firefighters use specialized tools — including the "jaws of life" — used to extract car crash victims from within their vehicles.

[caption id="attachment_115371" align="alignright" width="420"] Camp Hero also had light moments of frivolity. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

Thursday was scheduled to feature presentations on K9s and a SWAT team before everyone gathered for the graduation ceremony.

A new session focused on anti-bullying defense tactics — everything from how to react if somebody's pulling your hair to how to — if it comes down to it — how to defend yourself by punching back with a closed fist or open hand.

Sgt. Doug Light recalls how CPR training came in handy last year. That’s when one of the Camp Hero graduates used it months later when they found themselves on the phone with 911 Dispatch and helped coach his father with CPR skills in an emergency.

“When you talk about the educational piece, I don’t think it gets any better than that,” Light said.

But there's also some upside to inviting kids to work closely with first responders for three days.

“We want these kids to know that we’re safe. We’re always available. They can come to us. We want to build mentorships and build rapport with these kids,” said Smith.

It also works as a recruiting tool for various first responder agencies.

It absolutely is,” Smith said. “It opens their eyes to a lot of different things and what being a first responder has to offer.”

Some of the kids have a desire to go into this career field, which we desperately need in today’s times, as you know,” he said. “Other kids may need it … if we can provide them the opportunity to steer them in the right direction, that’s our other goal in all of this.”

The camp was set to conclude Thursday afternoon with a graduation ceremony.

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