King looks to bring experience to Parke County Council

With prior experience on the Planning Commission and Zoning board in Parke County, Jacob King looks to bring his experience in county government to the Parke County Council.

The Republican is running for the open District 3 seat and faces a May primary challenge from Caleb Chambers. 

"I grew up in the southern end of Parke County. I farm with my family in southern Parke County. I was always involved in 4-H as a kid, went to Riverton Parke and was a member of the FFA. I've always been involved in the county and love being here. My reason to run was I want to learn how the things in our county work. I think people have a lot of questions about how things work in our county and why things happen the way they do. This is the next step, and I want to do everything I can to help improve the county the best way I can," King told The Parke County Post. 

King said Parke County is a great place to live and raise a family.

And what sets it apart? 

"The nostalgia. We have so many covered bridges. This is kind of an old timey county, little bit more laid back with a smaller population, and things are more peaceful here," King said. 

With that said, King understands that Parke County will have to see growth in the future and that includes getting families in Parke County.

"A lot of it has to do with the want to be closer to events happening in the county. One big positive is we are looking at adding a septic system out in the county in Bloomingdale and the Marshall area, so, hopefully, having the availability in a rural area to have city sewer will help bring people in. We would also love to see some businesses expand, and that brings more people in that want to live here. We also want to keep our natural beauty. We want to keep properties cleaned up, and that is a big part of it. People want to live in a peaceful place, and that is what we want it to be. We have a lot to draw people in with the state parks and Raccoon Lake. We just have to make it appealing for people to be here all the time," King said. 

King said he does not foresee the growth including data centers, or solar farms in the future. 

"I don't. I know those are things the majority of our residents don't want. Currently, we have a moratorium against the solar and wind, which I think is great. Putnam County had been fighting the solar farm in Cloverdale. I don't think that's what people don't want, and if it is something people don't want, then we shouldn't do those things. Obviously, the appealing thing is the tax income for the county, but we don't want to see those things. It also doesn't bring in permanent residents or a lot of jobs. Once they are built, they are pretty much vacant," King said. 

The first time office seeker said his experience of being involved with the county's comprehensive plan really helped prepare him for running for office and gaining experience and knowledge when it comes to what Parke County residents want. 

He said the work the Parke County Council has done has helped position the county for positive things. 

"From the council's perspective, the council is sitting in a really good spot right now. That is one nice thing about the position I am running for, you can't sit here and say somebody did something wrong. Our county has a nice reserve and the council has done very well for our county. We need to keep building off of that. We have a lot of positives coming up. The issues people talk about like roads, that is more of a commissioner's thing. We are getting all the grant money we can to improve those things, but we don't get as much money as others because we don't have the population that some have. There are a lot of things in the works that I think are going to be a positive for Parke County," King said. 

King said when he talks to prospective voters, he hears "excitement."

"I think people have a good perspective of things happening in the county. Obviously, people have concerns about things getting done, but I think things will get taken care of. We just have to give it time. Things may change at other levels in the county, and that change can be exciting. I think, for the most part, people are pretty positive. Our council has done a good job for many years, and I hope to continue that," King said.

As for why voters should select him in the May primary, King said he offers a "fresh perspective."

"I have a lot of experience. I have a fresh perspective and a lot of experience when it comes to the workings of the county. I have a lot of support from great people, and that leads me to believe they believe in me, and I hope the voters do too. I am going to do everything I can to keep Parke County a beautiful place to live," King said.