Kosciusko County Coroner Tyler Huffer installed this sign outside his office at 1275 W. Lake St., Warsaw, to track the number of drug overdose deaths in the county for the year. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko County Coroner Tyler Huffer says drug overdose deaths have “increased at epidemic proportions.”

He noted while media outlets were paying attention to covering the COVID-19 pandemic, overdose deaths were still occurring.

His desire to have “more of an impact in the community” through his role as coroner motivated him to put up a sign tracking the number of overdose deaths in the county for 2023. That sign outside Huffer’s office at 1275 W. Lake St., Warsaw, was installed last week with the support of local leaders.

Huffer said he got the idea from a sign in South Carolina.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 19, the total on it stood at 20 for the year.

“We’ve seen a lot of fentanyl,” he said of the particular drug causing the deaths locally.

He noted there was an uptick in overdose deaths around the July 4 weekend, with one happening in August.

Huffer said he’s not aware of any other coroner’s offices in the state with similar signs.