HANCOCK COUNTY — The longtime Sugar Creek Township Trustee will face a challenger for the Republican nomination in the May primary.
Incumbent Bob Boyer told residents last summer he wasn’t planning to run for a fourth term, prompting Jayson Combs, a career firefighter and township board member, to throw his hat into the ring.
But by the fall, Boyer had changed his mind, saying he had some unfinished business he’d like to take care of in the township and decided to run for re-election, creating the Republican face-off.
Combs, a longtime New Palestine resident, has served on the Sugar Creek Township Board since June 2017. He is a Vincennes University graduate and has worked as Decatur Township Fire Department firefighter/EMT since 2002.
Combs decided to run for the township trustee position after joining the board and learning the township lacked a five-year master plan, he said.
“If you don’t have a progressive, long-term plan, you’ll become stagnant, and I don’t want to see that happen here,” Combs said.
If he wins the GOP nomination and November’s general election — no Democrats have filed for the race — Combs would like to make the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department safer for residents and firefighters, he said. He wants to do that by having more staff, creating a part-time crew and starting a cadet training program for area high school students.
Since becoming part of the board, Combs noticed the Sugar Creek Fire Department had two firefighters and two EMTs on runs 90 percent of the time, a number below state standards, Combs said.
Combs asked the board to raise the number to at least three per truck per run, which is happening, Combs said.
“Four would be golden, but three is a minimum for safety reasons,” Combs said.
He’d also like to see the township go after more state and federal grants to save taxpayers money. He’d also like to make township assistance funding more accessible to families by creating an online system.
Boyer is running on his past record of fiscal responsibility. As a certified accountant, he’s balanced the books throughout the years, helping the township get to a zero debt status and create a surplus, including saving enough money to pay cash for the $3.6 million fire station that recently opened at 401 S. County Road 500W.
“Things are rolling along pretty smoothly here, and I’d just like to see it stay this way,” Boyer said.
Boyer wants to be around to take part in the dedication of the new fire station later this spring and oversee the sale of two former station buildings, as well as finish up some projects at Sugar Creek Township Park, he said.
He’s proud of the financial state the township is in and that the township has been able to grow without becoming a tax burden to it, Boyer said.
