Shown with some of the new equipment are Kosciusko Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine; Rich Haddad, K21 Health Foundation; KCSD Dive Team commander Lt. Don Wiesehan, and Dive Team member Cpl. Brandon Hepler.

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — Recently, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Dive Team was the recipient of grant funding from the K21 Health Foundation.

The KCSD Dive Team has striven to maintain the proper training and equipment necessary for the numerous rescue calls that occur every year. To stay current with other city and state dive teams equipment, the KCSD Dive Team began the process to update and maintain efficiency that paralleled with other agencies.

The K21 Health Foundation was able to approve grant funding of $18,000 that was immediately used to purchase items such as; Aqua Lung Buoyancy Control Devices, O.T.S. Guardian full face scuba mask, high capacity scuba tanks, and an O.T.S. Hard-Wire Communication System. The Hard-Wire Communication System allows for divers to a clear, steady communication back to the land/shore operator (tender), similar to a land-line telephone. Because the communications are directly fed through ComRopes to the diver, there is no need to worry about communication being lost, fuzzy, or intermittent. This is particularly critical due to the undesirable environments and water conditions that exist among the various lakes in Kosciusko County.

Due to the vast size of Kosciusko County, KCSD. Dive Team members will often respond immediately to rescue scenes with their dive equipment in their squad cars, as the KCSD Dive Boat is deployed from Warsaw where it is centrally located. Subsequently, divers are able to immediately enter into the rescue location, along with the newly allocated equipment, where minutes can often be the determining factor between life and death.

The KCSD Dive Team has been in existence for 41 years and responds to water emergencies within, but not limited to, the 104 lakes throughout Kosciusko County.