Uncle Darren to retire

I wanted to use this blog space as an opportunity to thank someone very close to my heart for his amazing service to Jasonville and the surrounding communities.

On Dec. 31, my cousin Darren Sluder will retire from the Jasonville Fire Department. He's been a volunteer fireman for 30 years.

Darren gave so much of himself to the fire department and to the people of the community. He's become a familiar name and face with the department and will definitely be missed by many.

Uncle Darren, as I call him has, always been a person I have looked up to. He's been a great influence to me and a good role model. He's taught me the importance of helping others. He's taught me about giving back to the community. He'll continue to be someone I look up to as he's a good Christian man. I love you, Uncle Darren.

Often times being any type of emergency worker -- firemen, police officers, EMTs, etc. -- is a thankless, underappreciated job. Unless you have a family member who does that type of work, it's hard to fully appreciate what emergency workers do.

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank each and every emergency worker for their hard work and dedication to our communities and the people who live within them. I appreciate everything you do to keep us safe.