By David Slone
Times-Union
WARSAW — By taking the oath of office and signing some paperwork Wednesday, Don Miller officially is back on the Claypool Town Council.
Kosciusko County Republican Committee Chairman Mike Ragan made the appointment of Don as the middle district board member at the county clerk’s office. No one else had filed for the seat by Sunday’s deadline.
The Claypool Town Board middle district seat became available after Nate Morton resigned Jan. 30 without ever taking the oath of office after being elected in November. Morton won the November general election against Democrat Elizabeth Heiman, 27 to 22 votes.
Don, 72, previously served on the town board for over 18 years until July 2016. He first joined when he was appointed to fill a vacancy.
Ragan thanked Miller for being willing to serve again. Noting Don had served on the board previously, Ragan said, “He’s not walking into something he doesn’t know what to expect. It’ll be a little different, but I really appreciate you stepping up and being willing to serve again.”
Ragan thanked Miller’s wife, Vicki, for being willing to share her husband with the town of Claypool.
“I’m glad to do that and be able to. It’s good to have an opportunity to be a part of your government,” Miller said.
Ragan said he wanted to get someone appointed to the board as soon as he could to help the town of Claypool with its ongoing struggles. The town board’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday
In a brief statement Wednesday, Miller said, “I know we have some issues with our utilities and that sort of thing, but we kind of need to get some stability back in the system for sure, and, hopefully, protect our community, too. That’s a big factor these days, and provide an atmosphere for people to feel good about where they live.”
He said you can’t please everybody all the time so that’s always a challenge.
“Hopefully, most or all will feel comfortable with what things we do decide in the near future, as far as the infrastructure and our expenses and costs and things like that,” Miller said.
Things change over time, but he said he hopes he can get back into serving on the town board in the best way.
