During the White County Board meeting Tuesday, we got a chance to take a look at Coroner Chris Marsh’s annual report. We already knew 2020 was a tough year; taking a look at the report gives us some scope however. The report reveals there were 182 total deaths in White County for the year with 6 of them ruled as accidental along with 7 suicides and a single homicide. The coroner’s office completed 49 investigations and requested a total of 6 autopsies over the period. Cremation continues to grow in popularity as the coroner’s report shows 70 White Countians chose that manner as their final wishes. Marsh says there were 22 total CoViD related deaths in the county.
Unfortunately, It’s impossible to get a good idea of whether the county is organically growing or shrinking. Without a hospital that handles obstetrics and the Department of Public Health’s most recent data being 2018, the county only reported a single birth in 2020. Given reports on the mass exodus of people from states like Illinois and California, it’s hard not to assume that White County by population continues to shrink.
