Pulaski County Commissioners Approve New Name for Former Winamac Masonic Lodge

Pulaski County Commissioners: Mike McClure, Jerry Locke, Kenny Becker

The former Winamac Masonic Lodge officially has a new name. The Pulaski County Commissioners voted Monday to name the building the “West Annex.” The county bought the building back in June. It will house the Coroner’s Office and Emergency Management Agency.

The new name was suggested to the commissioners by Chief Deputy Coroner Jon Frain, after discussions with EMA Director Sheri Gaillard. Having the name is expected to help with the process of moving mail delivery to the new location.

Coroner John Behny said he’s begun moving some equipment to the new space, but the delivery of the generator is taking longer than expected. “Between the two major hurricanes, we’ve got generator issues,” he explained. “So as a result of that, it’s taking time to get the generator there and so forth. Locks are supposed to be changed entirely by next week, and all of our security cameras and so forth are supposed to be in place before the generator gets there.”

Due to the delay, Behny said Frain Mortuary has agreed to extend its contract with the coroner’s office, so it has a place to store files until the West Annex is ready.