By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
PIERCETON – Five police departments responded to a large-scale fight at Pierceton Woods Academy Wednesday night, just days after a business owner complained to Town Council about residents of the youth home causing trouble.
Pierceton Town Marshall Jim Bumbaugh, in a news release, said that dispatch received a call at 9:07 p.m. about a disturbance at the facility north of US 30.
Bumbaugh said in a news release that staff told police they did not have enough people to control the situation.
When police arrived, they saw all of the residents outside and many were fighting while others were running around unsupervised.
With support from other police departments, the situation was quickly placed under control, the news release said.
Medical treatment was provided to those injured and an unspecified number of residents were taken to hospital for further care.
Staff were eventually able to confirm that all residents were accounted for and that most were back in their assigned units, the release said.
Bumbaugh took the unprecedented move of issuing an alert through town government to warn area homeowners out of concern that residents of the facility might leave the premises in an agitated state.
Bumbaugh told News Now Warsaw Thursday afternoon that that kind of precautionary measure will be used again if necessary.
Bumbaugh said he received approval from the town council president to issue the notification.
“That’s something we will continue to do,” Bumbaugh said.
“I have an obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents of the community,” he said.
“If that means giving them a heads up that there’s a heads up about a situation unfolding out there that could potentially filter into their yard, then I want them to be aware,” he said.
Other departments responding included Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, Warsaw Police, Winona Lake Police and North Webster Police as well as Lutheran EMS and fire departments from Pierceton and North Webster.
Town Clerk Myra Mast said a business owner brought up the issue at a recent council meeting and complained that residents of the facility had trespassed on his property.
She said a representative of the academy attended the meeting.
She said it’s not the first complaint the town has received about Pierceton Woods.
“We’re at a standstill. There’s only so much we can do,” Mast said.
She said representatives have told them that due to state guidelines, staff cannot touch the residents unless they are about to hurt somebody or themselves.
When the residents leave the property, staff follow them, she said.
Mast said she expects the issue to come up again at the next town council meeting in an effort to keep residents aware of what’s happening.
