Back in March firefighters were dispatched to Goshen’s Rogers Park, where they found fire crawling through the roof of the pavilion. Crews extinguished the blaze, but not before the roof was badly damaged. Investigators quickly determined that arson was to blame.
Earlier this month firefighters were called to Park on the city’s north side. There, crews saw flames from a barrel climbing up a post and into the structure’s roof. That fire was also determined to be intentionally set. The estimated price tag to repair both pavilions is $60,000.
This past weekend Goshen police announced they have arrested two suspects. One was arrested in connection with the pavilion blazes and two vehicle fires, the other for the Oakridge Park fire. We trust the judicial system will work swiftly and appropriately to derive the guilt or innocence of these two young men.
What we do know for certain is that arson — no matter who is the perpetrator — is a cowardly and despicable act that puts people’s property and lives in danger. In this case, the arsonists scorched public property, which touches us all. Luckily no one was physically injured in the above mentioned incidents.
Middlebury and Elkhart County police are still investigating a string of arsons this year targeted toward homes. One resident in the Pine Hills subdivision near Ind. 120 had to wake and evacuate his 8- and 6-year-old children at 3 a.m. from their burning home. The man’s home was damaged and his 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee was destroyed as a result of the arson.
This cannot continue. Eventually, someone could die. Arson is a cold, calculated, cowardly obsession that is cloaked in anonymity. Perhaps that’s part of the attraction for an arsonist — that everybody is talking about something they did. Well, that’s just not something that’s worth living with. These aren’t practical jokes. They’re horrific acts of crime, the results of which can be devastating.
Hopefully one set of these arsons is on its way to being solved. And for that we thank the work of the Goshen police and fire departments. Now we must figure out what is happening in Middlebury before someone doesn’t have time to wake up and get their children out of their burning home.
Please, if you have any information about these arsons, do the right thing and call the Middlebury Fire Department at 825-1492. An entire community needs your help.
And one more thing ...
The Elkhart County Commissioners on Monday extended the countywide burn ban indefinitely due to the extremely dry conditions.
We support this decision and ask that all residents adhere to this mandate.
Enough said.
Opinion
Related Photos
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A 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee as well as the back of the home owned by Stacie and Brian Mills, located at 53203 Hilltop Drive in the Pine Hills subdivision near Middlebury, was damaged as a result of a fire that took place June 25 at approximately 3 a.m. JUSTIN CRIPE
Arson is an act of cowards and must be stopped
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