At 9:00am on Saturday, August 12^th, the 3^rd Annual Wilsonville Community Walk will begin with a grand procession of Emerald Society Bagpipers. (See below for event overview.)

The 5K walk is a brainchild of Wilsonville resident Joan Vedder who sought a project that would encourage more community involvement in her city. The event has since been organized by Vedder and Phyllis McLaughlin who have managed to raise thousands of dollars for the Wilsonville Community Center and Library. This year the ladies chose their local fire station as the recipient of their fundraising efforts. Their goal is to raise enough money to purchase a Thermal Imaging Camera (which costs approximately $16,000).

A thermal imaging camera can improve firefighters’ ability to see in any type of dark, smoke-filled environment. The units work by making pictures of heat rather than light. The warmer the source, the brighter the image. Looking through a viewfinder on the camera, firefighters can locate unconscious people, see children hiding under beds and determine the path of a fire by detecting heat beneath floors and behind ceilings. Though thermal-imaging cameras can be an invaluable tool, their high cost prevents most fire departments from being able to have one in every fire station.

To date, the ladies have collected over $9000, and are counting on citizen participation to reach their goal. When that goal is met, the thermal imaging camera that will be housed at the Kinsman Road fire station will be dedicated to Terry and Wayne Lowrie who have been volunteer firefighters in Wilsonville for over twenty years.