TERRE HAUTE — Harrison Township Trustee E. Nick Peters has submitted a letter of resignation, effective Dec. 1.
Peters, a Democrat, was last elected in 2006 and his current term expires Dec. 31, 2010. He has held the largest township office in Vigo County since January 1983. Prior to that, he served on the Terre Haute Fire Department for more than 25 years.
Peters, 79, said arthritis in his knees and hips has made walking and driving painful.
“My health is not too good and so I thought I would just resign. I can’t do the job like I used to, so I would just get out of it,” Peters said Friday.
He plans to spend time with his grandkids and stay active in party politics.
Peters submitted a letter of resignation to the Vigo County Clerk’s office Thursday and on Friday, mailed out letters to precinct committeemen, who will select his successor in a Democratic Party caucus election.
Peters said his wife, Debbie Kirk, will run as a candidate for the trustee’s office.
Kirk currently works as director of the Vigo County Voter Registration Office. Under state law, the party in a county that receives the most votes for Secretary of State in an election serves as director of the voter registration office.
Two representatives are selected by the two main party chairmen to serve a two-year term in the voter registration office. Kirk’s appointment expires Dec. 31. Kirk is also the vice chairman of the Vigo County Democratic Party.
“I have always liked township [government] and, frankly, my first political job was in the [Harrison Township] trustee’s office. I went to work there in 1974, when Paul Schoffstall was the trustee. I liked it then, but with politics, when the office changes, people do to,” Kirk said.
Kirk also worked as a chief deputy to the city clerk for Terre Haute and in January 1985, former Democrat party chairman Robert L. Wright appointed Kirk to the Voter Registration Office as the Democrat representative.
“We have gone through a lot of changes. The county voter system is gone and now we are on the statewide voter registration. The trustee office is a different pace, and holding an elected office and an appointed office are two different things,” Kirk said, saying she wants to take on the challenge of an elected office.
Joseph Etling, chairman of the Vigo County Democratic Party, said he received official notice Friday of Peters’ resignation. Etling has scheduled a party caucus for 6 p.m. Dec. 1 to elect Peters’ replacement. Democrats must submit a letter of candidacy to Etling no later than 72 hours prior to the caucus. There are 44 precinct committee people eligible to cast a vote in the party caucus, Etling said.
Etling said if Kirk is elected, he will fill that position before the end of the year. Etling, himself, will face an election in March 2009, when his four-year term as party chairman expires. Etling said he plans to seek re-election.
The Harrison Township Trustee earns $39,702 in 2008, while director of Vigo County Voter Registration earns $35,553 in 2008, county records show.
Peters said one of his biggest accomplishments was to move the trustee’s office into its current building at 721 Elm St., after the former office at 131/2 St. and Wabash Avenue caught fire in 2001. “We had enough money in the reserve to buy this building and just pay cash for it. We own it. We paid $90,000.”
An audit of the township office from Jan. 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2007, showed Harrison Township Trustee’s office had more than $1.5 million in cash and investments, according to a State Board of Accounts examination report filed Oct. 15.
The township began Jan. 1, 2006, with more than $1.1 million, disbursing $515,845 and ending that year with more than $1.61 million in cash and investments. In 2007, the township disbursed $830,858, ending the year with more than $1.52 million in cash and investments.
The examination report “disclosed no material items that warrant a comment,” the report states.
Peters is opposed to eliminating township trustee offices. “In a big office, you don’t get any help, just the run-around, but in a small office, you get the help. We can provide anything that is a necessity of life, from utility bills, prescriptions, burials, clothing and rent,” he said.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Harrison Township trustee to resign Dec. 1
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Patriotism & Honor
From his vantage point, Sonner Faught could see almost every volunteer in the cemetery.
-
Graduation turns to mourning in Clinton
Jeana Lunsford’s graduation from South Vermillion High School Saturday should have been a time of celebration.
-
School choice proponents foresee growth of vouchers
Twenty-seven Vigo County students benefited from tax-supported vouchers during the first year of the Choice Scholarship Program, and that number is expected to grow for 2012-13, say Indiana school choice leaders who visited Terre Haute Thursday.
-
Tales of obstruction meet first takeover attempts
A decade after Indiana legislators gave the state the power to take over chronically failing schools, the first implementation of the law is meeting with resistance, skepticism and questions about its costs.
-
THE OFF SEASON: Raising a flag for my father, veteran or not
My daughter, Ellen, and I stood at my parents’ graves on Mother’s Day a few weeks back and talked about how it couldn’t possibly have been so long since we lost them. My dad, for instance, has been gone for 16 years, and that is nearly unimaginable
-
3 rescued from burning residence
Quick action on the part of some first-responders is credited with saving the lives of three people in a Vermillion County fire early Saturday morning, according to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department.
-
He never forgot a name: Friends remember victim of fire at Garfield Towers
When Freddie Poore met you, he never forgot you.
-
Hometown boy embraces ‘Promise I Made’: Clinton native Ken Kercheval takes role in Dreams Come True production
Thanks to some help from a hometown boy in Hollywood, “This Promise I Made” is still on track to be kept in Clinton.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Many say they don’t vote in primary because of tag that comes with it
A couple of columns ago, I posed a question about why most Indiana polling places on primary election day had so few customers.
-
Police looking for convenience store robber
Police are seeking a robbery suspect following a Saturday morning armed robbery at the Jiffy MiniMart at 25th Street and Eighth Avenue.
-
Graduation ‘responsibility’: Rose-Hulman stages 134th commencement exercises
Inventor Dean Kamen gave a first-hand demonstration Saturday of how to be an innovator.
-
THE OFF SEASON: To the seniors, one last lecture before you go …
It dawned on me one day last week, as I sat at my desk in my teacher clothes and shoes, a stack of ungraded essays calling to me from a rather tall and depressing pile, that I hadn’t missed a high school graduation in 33 years.
-
Water rescuers
Emergency personnel wheel a man who was removed from a vehicle that had been driven into the water at Crystal Lake on Boston Avenue near 14th Street at about 9 p.m. Friday.
-
For many, camping outdoors is the way to beat the heat, enjoy nature
Stringing up fishing poles in the shade of American flags, households full of Hoosiers are packing into parks across the state this weekend.
-
Towns along National Road readying for next week’s miles-long yard sale
Stretching 824 miles from Baltimore to St. Louis, the National Road — known as U.S. 40 through Indiana — will soon be the host site for perhaps the longest bargain market in the country.
-
Rose grads honoring late president Branam at commencement today
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Class of 2012 will honor the memory of Matt Branam during today’s commencement ceremony by wearing special pins with the phrase “Make It Happen; Make It Fun,” a favorite saying of the former Rose-Hulman president, who died unexpectedly on April 20.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 26, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday and Friday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
A fallen soldier returns home
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Spc. Arronn D. Fields early Thursday morning at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
-
Official touts trade with northern neighbor
A top Canadian diplomat told a Terre Haute audience Thursday his country was “disappointed” when President Obama at least temporarily rejected a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas.
-
Caution urged for summer’s kickoff
Lane restrictions in construction zones on Interstate 70 and other highways around the state will be lifted to accommodate holiday travel for the Memorial Day Weekend.
-
Letters delivered
Several positions will be eliminated this summer at the Terre Haute mail processing facility as the U.S. Postal Service begins moving the operation to Indianapolis, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman has confirmed.
-
Companies seek Vigo tax abatements
Two Vigo County companies are seeking tax abatements for expansion projects, one of which is included as part of a county incentive package.
-
High-speed chase suspect caught in West Virginia
The suspect in a cross-country, high-speed chase originating in Terre Haute last week was reportedly in federal custody Thursday evening.
-
Second victim of deadly I-70 semi-trailer crash identified
The Vigo County Coroner’s Office has identified the passenger of a semi-tractor crash on May 16 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 12-mile marker.
- VIGO COUNTY JAIL LOG: May 22-24, 2012
-
Burn ban in effect for Vigo County through holiday weekend
Vigo County officials have issued a burn ban effective Thursday and remains in effect until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
-
Brazil remembers a Fallen Son
A small town seemed sadly quiet Wednesday, waiting to honor a local fallen warrior.
-
ISU OKs four-year degree guarantee
Indiana State University has announced a four-year “graduation guarantee” for students enrolling this fall and beyond.
-
Dems tout good side of compromise
Indiana Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, chosen to run as the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor with gubernatorial candidate John Gregg, said during a stop Wednesday in Terre Haute that bipartisan experience is a key factor in creating jobs and legislation to help Hoosiers statewide.
-
Motorcyclist dies, motorist charged after accident
A Terre Haute man has died of injuries he sustained in a two-motorcycle, one-car crash that also injured another motorcyclist late Tuesday. The incident has led to the arrest of the car’s driver.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Raw Video: National Mall Concert Shut Down
Beryl Threatens Rain, Winds on Southeast Coast
Tropical Storm Beryl Strengthens, Nears US Coast
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Shell Readies Arctic Drill Ship
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Today in History
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Astronauts Enter World's 1st Private Supply Ship
Raw Video: Obama Lays Wreath on Memorial Day
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
Lady Gaga Cancels Indonesian Show After Threats
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Long Story Short: Beyonce back on stage
Raw Video: Man Rescued From River in China
Celtics crush Sixers in Game 7
Alleged Lego Thief Faces Felony Charges
Has Snooki Named Her Baby?
Heat Wave Warms Holiday Weekend
Beyonce Entertains the First Family
Inspiration for the class of 2012
Colorado College Student Shot While Trespassing
Will Smith & Josh Brolin on "Men in Black 3"
80-Year-Old Skydiver's Nightmare Jump
JWoww Sizzles in a Black Bikini
Sliders on the Grill
Cruise ship crunch
Backstage With Beyonce
