Going down

A member of the Vermillion Volunteer Fire Department rappels down the 36-foot high wall of the Ivan Pierce Fire Tower, located southeast of the city, during an open house held at the training facility Wednesday evening. The $135,000 structure was made possible with a generous $50,000 donation by Pierce. The city of Vermillion and the local fire department provided the remainder of the needed funding, and firefighters constructed the sophisticated building themselves, donating 2,400 man hours of labor.