Taking the plunge

The temperatures may not be quite polar Saturday.

But they will be plenty chilly enough to make the plunge worthwhile.

Portland Fire Department and United Way of Jay County are teaming to host the inaugural Splashin’ with a Passion: Peggy’s Plunge at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.

“The fire department has been talking about trying to do something for the last couple of years because the closest one is in Muncie,” said Portland Fire Chief Mike Weitzel.

The plunge — a chance to jump into icy cold water in the dead of winter — is open to anyone. Participants are asked to seek pledges, with all of the money raised going to United Way of Jay County to be passed on to organizations including Jay County Special Olympics, Jay County Cancer Society and Jayland Homeless Shelter.

Venturing into the chilly water — Saturday’s high temperature is projected at 37 degrees — will happen in three cycles. A family splash will be at 12:15 p.m., with an individual splash at 12:25 p.m. and a group splash at 12:35 p.m. There will be awards for the best costume, most money raised by an individual and most money raised by a student.

Pledge sheets are available on the Portland Fire Department website, at the department (1616 N. Franklin St.), the United Way of Jay County office inside John Jay Center for Learning, Strohl Appliance and Electronics and Ja-Mar T.V. Appliances and Bedding. Anyone bringing in $100 or more in donations will receive a free T-shirt.

The event is named in honor of Peggy Atkinson, who died in July at the age of 51. She was active with Jay County Special Olympics, for which her son Kurtis is an athlete.

“We thought it would be a good idea, as much as she supported Special Olympics,” said Weitzel.

The event — volunteers will be there about 11 a.m., with the first of three plunges set for 12:15 p.m. — will be held at the pond directly north of Accelerated Curing on the north side of Portland. (On Monday morning, there was still a thin layer of ice coating most of its surface.)

Access will be from Morton Street. Parking will be available in the grass area near the pond, if the ground is frozen, Weitzel said. If not, attendees can park in the Moser Engineering lot and will be shuttled to the northeast corner of the pond where the plunge will be held. (U.S. Aggregates donated sand in the fall for the small beach area and city crews have worked on sprucing up the site for the event.)

It’s a natural fit for the fire department, as firefighters undergo training for cold water rescue.

“One way or the other,” said Weitzel of his plans to participate in the plunge himself. “I’ll either be in the ice suit as rescue or I’ll take the plunge.”

Jay Emergency Medical Service will also be on hand. 

Hole in the Wall in Fort Recovery will host a party following the event. Food during the party will be free, with free-will donations accepted. The business will also donate a portion of its proceeds from that evening to the event.

“It’s just another opportunity to give back to the community,” said Weitzel “We’ve seen the amount of participation that Muncie had and we always thought it would be kind of a cool thing to do.

“Even if you don’t want to plunge, come out and watch,” he added. “We’ll gladly take any donations.”