Spare the Rod, spoil the police Taser demonstration

Sometimes volunteering for a mission can get you in over your head.

Ask the guys who defended the Alamo or any public official who ever sat in a musty dunk tank on a chilly day.

But Park Director Rod Weinschenk's misguided volunteer effort came on a warm summer morning recently as the Police Boot Camp was unfolding at Robe-Ann Park.

To hear Weinschenk tell it, he was minding his own business, wandering through the Greencastle park when he noticed that Boot Camp activity seemed to have ground to a halt.

"I was walking through and they were all looking at their watches or phones," he told the Park Board this week.

He advised that he then asked, "What's the matter?" and the police officers conducting the Boot Camp replied that their volunteer had not yet shown up.

Not really knowing what he was getting himself into, Weinschenk volunteered to be the victim of a police tasing demonstration.

Once he found out, he didn't ask for a blindfold and one last cigarette but he did summon his wife and kids to be witness to the event.

"Yay, I volunteered," Weinschenk admitted, "but I'll never volunteer to do that again."

But he managed a bit of optimism despite the discomfort of being tased by Sgt. Ed Wilson.

"Well, I guess I can check that off my bucket list," the park director concluded to a chorus of Park Board member chuckles.