GREENFIELD — Kent Fisk’s roots in Hancock County are deep. He and his wife are now the sole owners of Fisk Waste Removal Services, a business that began in Greenfield in 1935 and has been in the family for four generations.
“My family has a long, long history on the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. My great-grandfather was sheriff, my grandfather was sheriff, my father was a reserve deputy sheriff, and my other grandfather was a reserve sheriff,” Fisk said.
After graduating from Ball State University, Fisk spent 10 years as a reserve deputy himself. He then pursued elected office himself, first as a member of the Greenfield-Central School Board and then on the Hancock County Council.
Now, Fisk is the only incumbent running for re-election as an at-large member of the Hancock County Council. Among five candidates, the top three vote-getters will be elected. Keely Butrum, Robin Lowder, Kirk Jocham and Ray Richardson are also running. All candidates are Republicans. It would be Fisk’s third term.
Fisk said his initial decision to run for school board was inspired by meeting Richard Lugar, the Republican who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013.
“He told me when he started out, his first elected office was school board. This was when I was in my 20s. The school board is a very challenging position, and you learn a lot. The learning curve is really, really long. But it gives a great perspective on everything, because you’re dealing not only with local people; you’re dealing with federal laws and state laws every day,” he said.
During his time on the school board, Fisk helped make decisions about the direction of the growing school corporation. After Greenfield-Central residents opposed a nearly $100 million expansion plan that included a new high school, the board had to come up with another, less expensive, solution. Fisk said the new plan, which resulted in a new junior high building that combined students from Greenfield and Maxwell in a major realignment, ended up being the best solution.
“It really changed the complexion of the community and helped the Greenfield kids and the Maxwell kids come together at the right age,” he said.
The expense of that project, launched in 2007, was still large but necessary, Fisk said — much like the construction of a new Hancock County jail, which he’s confronted while on the county council.
“When you take an oath to be a councilman, you take an oath to the taxpayers to spend their money to the best of your ability,” Fisk said. “You don’t take an oath to support a specific individual or company. And if you don’t believe as a councilman that the taxpayers’ money is being spent properly, then you have an obligation to not support that. We had some differences on the project to start with, and I think we’ve come to a real good compromise.”
Dan Riley, now a member of the Greenfield City Council, worked with Fisk on the Greenfield-Central board.
“He’s a man of his word, he’s a straight shooter and you know exactly where you stand with him,” Riley said.
Fisk said it is important for the county government to prioritize the services most necessary for residents, starting with ambulances and other emergency services. The county council, he said, has prioritized making sure it can meet those needs for a growing population.
“We not only balance our budget, but we have a very safe community,” he said. “When all of those basics are covered well, then people can have a better life. That’s what, to me, government’s main function is.”
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Age: 57
Party: Republican
Office sought: County council (at large)
Political experience: 10 years on Greenfield-Central school board, two terms on county council
Family: Wife Kim, three children, three grandchildren
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The Daily Reporter is presenting profiles of candidates whose names will appear on the primary ballot for county offices. These stories will run periodically over the coming weeks leading up to the primary election on May 5.
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