Cool off day held in West Lafayette
June 26 was the cool off party at Ridgewood High School in West Lafyette.
West Lafayette Mayor Jessie Tubbs said, “Morgan Eckelberry our chief of police and his wife came to us last year and suggested that we have a cool off party and open the fire hydrant and we did it a couple times. We knew the heat wave was coming and Morgan reached out last week and said I think we should plan it for Tuesday. It was supposed to be one of the hottest days this summer. The fire department used one of the fire trucks and pulled water from the hydrant, let it spray it up into the air and out over the crowd. It will be a great time for everybody. French Press Cafe brought popsicles, and Baltic Bank brought four cases of water, so everyone is hydrated, and it is a great opportunity to cool off.”
Chief Eckelberry said, “Last year we had the hot weather and my wife, and I were talking and said, ‘why don’t we have a fire hydrant day for the kids, and it was a huge success. It was something easy to do. We heard it was going to get hot again, so we said, ‘hey we need to do this again.’ The village doesn’t have a pool, the kids enjoy it, and it is just something good for the kids. It’s something good for the community, it brings people together and it lets them see a different side of us, we’re not the bad people. That’s really what it’s about, bringing people together, the fire department and Kim from the French Press donated popsicles.”
Councilman Adam Fisher wanted to come over and support the work that the police department is doing and the fire department. “I’m also a fireman and I also have kids, a 6-years-old and a 3- years-old and they were excited about coming. We brought the tent, so we have shade this year. We just want to have a blast with the kids, help set up and make sure everything runs smoothly. I want to help where I can and let my kids have a blast.”
Kimberly and Vernon Yoder and family from the French Press Cafe were handing out the popsicles.
“The kids always love it, and it is a good way to cool down. We did it last year and we will just continue every year that they do this. We will bring the popsicles, and they can bring the fire truck with the water. The kids just love it, and it has kind of become a part of something we do for the village. I brought my kids, I’ve got three Zoe, Bentley and Everly. They have been looking forward to it. They have been asking for a couple of weeks if we were going to do this again this summer. So, we will continue to freeze popsicles by the case.”
Category: Multimedia, People & Places, Photo Galleries
