Wadena and District Search and Rescue (WADSAR) is teaming up with the Wadena Elementary School once again for this year’s Walk of Remembrance in association with missing person’s week. The Walk is slated for April 29.
It’s a two-part affair, explains Demaar Korchalo with WADSAR. The day opens up with a presentation by the local search and rescue organization that communicates to youngsters what to do in the event that they find themselves lost in a natural environment. The global wide Adventure Smart program is delivered to students in an effort to keep them safe and smart about outdoor activities. The specific program for this year is dubbed “Hug A Tree.”
“They’re supposed to hug a tree and stay put as explained in the four parts to it,” says Korchalo. “They’re told to stay warm and stay dry and respond where searchers call your name.”
Special packages are prepared for the students and distributed, conveniently bundled for them to carry with them at all times.
“The packets include a whistle in the event you need to call out as well as a foil blanket that is insulated and catches the sun,” says Miles Johnson, principal of Wadena Elementary School. “The blanket is also reflective for aerial searches.” Kids are taught to sound three short whistles, the universal code for “SOS.”
Johnson laughs when he tells the story of how Hank Korchalo would tell the local kids that if they could catch him on the street without his emergency pack, he’d reward them with a crisp fiver. Johnson says there were seldom occasions when Hank paid out.
The second component is the walk itself which takes place the morning of April 29.
“We do a little parade up and down Main Street,” Demaar says. “We hold pictures of the faces of people who have gone missing and have never been found.”
Miles Johnson says that the Walk of Remembrance is also attended by the local RCMP and Fire Departments, members of WADSAR, local conservation officers and school staff.
“In the community of Wadena, you are probably not getting lost in town,” Johnson confides. “But in the lakes surrounding the community, Fishing Lake, Greenwater Lake, Marean or Barrier Lakes, our students spend a lot of time in these areas during the summer months. There is potential to get lost, so it’s a very important learning opportunity for the kids who get that packet to help keep them safe.”
The Hug A Tree training and the Walk Of Remembrance are just a couple of the training experiences and initiatives provided by Wadena and District Search and Rescue.