Two women filed by Saturday evening’s deadline for the Republican caucus for the town of Mentone clerk-treasurer.
Tammy Stoneburner and Amanda Yaprak each will have 3 minutes at the 6 p.m. Tuesday caucus in the Mentone Council Chambers, 201 W. Main St., to address the voting caucus in hopes of replacing Janick Norris.
Norris resigned as Mentone’s clerk-treasurer effective April 22. She was selected as the Republican candidate for clerk-treasurer during a town convention on Aug. 21, 2019, beating out Stoneburner. Norris then won the general election in November 2019. Norris replaced Barb Ross, who had served as clerk-treasurer for almost 30 years.
In a telephone interview, Yaprak said she grew up in Mentone and graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 2002. She joined and served in the Air Force for six years. With the help of the G.I. Bill, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance online while the mother of a toddler.
She said she left and returned to Mentone, finally deciding to stay and “make this wonderful town my homestead.” That was about six years ago.
She has a 15-year-old son, who is a future Eagle Scout, at TVHS and an 8-year-old son who attends Triton Elementary. Yaprak said she is heavily involved in Boy Scouts.
Asked why she was running for clerk-treasurer, Yaprak said, “I love this community and I really need to get more involved.”
She said after Ross retired, she wasn’t ready at that time to step up, but she is now.
Yaprak worked in the finance department of Zimmer Biomet before being laid off, and is currently in a finance and accounting role.
Stoneburner said she’s running for clerk-treasurer because when she heard the position came open, she thought she could help the town, the community and be a bigger part of the community.
She said she also can help computerize Mentone’s information and records and be more active in the community.
Growing up in Walkerton, Stoneburner said she moved to Mentone in 2007 with her youngest son. Her dad came to live with them in 2008 so she could take care of him. He died in 2013.
She has a married child, one deceased and one living in Tennessee.
“I have worked in an office environment for over 29 years and was the treasurer for Jack & Jill Preschool here in Mentone for over three years,” Stoneburner said, adding that she knows quite a bit about budgeting and financing.
“I just feel I’m a hard worker and am willing to do what it takes to get the office up and running and I’ll do my best for the community,” she said.
The deadline to file declarations of candidacy with Kosciusko County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan was 72 hours prior to the commencement of the caucus, or 6 p.m. Saturday.
