West Central community mourns loss of student in early morning fire

At approximately 2:20 a.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 21, the Medaryville Fire Department was toned out to a structure fire at the residence of 201 S. Jefferson St., Medaryville. As emergency crews arrived on scene, they were notified that a juvenile was still inside the residence. As emergency crews did everything possible to extinguish the fully engulfed structure, they were unable to get aid to the juvenile in the home. The victim was later identified as Chloee Compton, 14, of Medaryville. She was a freshman at West Central High School. West Central Superintendent Dr. Cathy Rowe sent out a letter to the West Central community on Tuesday, Nov. 21 addressing the early morning fire and asking the community to keep the family in their "thoughts and prayers as they navigate through difficult times ahead." The Town of Medaryville has also shared that anyone wanting to help the family can reach out to the various churches in the community, West Central schools or the Medaryville American Legion Post 96. Churches in the Medaryville area hosted a candlelight vigil for Chloee on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Medaryville Baseball Diamond.