The City of Monticello hereby expresses its gratitude to the Lake Shafer Association for decades of support for the Fire Department Water Rescue Team. The relationship between the City of Monticello and the Association was born of tragedy. Henry Warinecz drowned in Lake Shafer on May 18, 1983. Divers from the Fire department recovered his body.
Henry's daughter, Ruth Bortscheller, who was affectionately known as Mrs. B. was the secretary treasurer of the Lake Shafer Association. She knew the importance of the Water Rescue team and helped in raising tens of thousands of dollars for the Team over the last 40 years. The money not only purchased hardware such as boats, motors, and diving equipment, it also paid to train Fire Department Divers. Divers are trained in advanced skills like Emergency Response Diving, ice diving, dry suit and full-face mask diving. The latest contribution from the Association was a sonar unit for the department's new boat. Sonar allows the victim of a drowning to be located much more quickly than possible by traditional underwater search patterns.
The Lake Shafer Association's contribution to public safety has afforded the Monticello Fire Department to have a water rescue team that is better equipped and better trained than would have been possible without their support. The City of Monticello is extremely thankful for this on-going public – private relationship with the Lake Shafer Association that continues to enhance the safety of our community.
