By Jennifer Tangeman
Wardens and bailiffs were busy Thursday as more than 125 public figures were locked up.
With their bond set at $1,200, the jailbirds spent their time behind bars trying to raise money to make bail. Their crime was one of care and concern — the citizens want to fight muscular dystrophy.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Mishawaka office has hosted a lockup in Logansport for the past 15 years, and MDA returned Thursday to sentence locals to a stint behind bars yet again.
MDA fundraising coordinator Michael Vaughan said the event raised roughly $25,000 last year, and their goal was to raise even more this year.
“The community response is great here in Logansport,” Vaughan said. “Sometimes I measure a lock-up’s success by how busy I am, and I was busy all day [Thursday]. Logansport has always been a great community to us.”
He said the Northern Indiana region of the association serves 535 patient families and will host 13 lockups this year. About 25 patient families are served in Cass County alone.
The money raised from the lockup helps support free clinics, support groups, wheelchair and leg-brace repairs and summer camps for kids 6 to 17. The cost for one camper is $650.
The Council on Aging provided volunteers for the day, and fire and police department officials traveled throughout the city to bring the jailbirds to the McHale complex at Riverside Park.
Pastor Mike Osborn from the Church of the Brethren said when he told the church’s leadership team at a meeting this week that he was going to jail, their jaws dropped.
“I waited until the end of the meeting, and when they asked if there were any other announcements I tried to be very serious and told them that I had a confession to make to them and that on Thursday I was going to be locked up,” Osborn said.
Osborn said he wanted to participate in the lockup because Muscular Dystrophy is a disease that has been around for years and impacts many children.
Fellow jailbird Bob McKaig of Chapel View Farms said he was surprised at the positive response he got Thursday when calling for bail money.
“I know businesses get hit all the time for different fundraisers, but they were all very willing to participate,” he said.
He said the entire event was a good way to be a part of the community and to help those “that are on a tougher road.”
“It’s just a way to remember those who are less fortunate and not as blessed as we are, not just with MD but in any situation,” McKaig said.
“It’s the old pay it forward,” the pastor added.
• Jennifer Tangeman is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or jennifer.tangeman@pharostribune.com.
