By STEVE MARTIN
Guest Columnist
One of the unsung leaders of our community here in Sheridan, it seems to me, is the immediate past president of the Town Council, one Mr. David Kinkead.
I have known David for about 10 years now, ever since he was elected to the Town Council. He served as a council member his first year and became president of the council starting on his second year and he continued to serve as the president for eight years.
David has caused Sheridan to make noteworthy progress, and I recently asked him to recap the high spots of his tenure on the town council as president. One of the first things accomplished here in town was the completion of the flood drainage project across the east part of the community. For years, every time it rained hard there were major flooding issues throughout the southeast part of town. Partnering with the county, the town was able to solve that problem with a flood plain project completed over a three-year period. David has been proud of the partnership he has been able to forge with Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt and Hamilton County. This has resulted in the major flood abatement project mentioned above and several smaller projects here in Sheridan.
Kinkead
David has been able to work closely with INDOT, the county and use town resources to repair and resurface nearly three quarters of the streets within the of the town perimeters.
The crowning achievement of David’s tenure occurred a couple of years ago when the local water and wastewater utility was sold off to Indiana American Water Company. This sale saved the town millions of dollars in EPA fines as it faced the mandatory expense of upgrading an aging system; the sale money also endowed the town with funds for future infrastructure improvements.
David is a life-long Sheridan resident. His family owned and operated the Pure Oil gas station on Main Street where David learned to service and repair all sorts of vehicles. After high school he attended Lincoln Tech and earned a degree as a diesel mechanic. He worked as a mechanic in his family’s business for years, and eventually worked for the state highway department as a mechanic before retiring a few years back.
Another big part of David’s life has been the Sheridan Fire Department. David has been a Sheridan volunteer fire fighter for years, rising through the ranks and holding most of the positions within the department. As a member of the fire department, David was involved with town administration, and a few years back he decided to take the plunge and enter politics by running for the Sheridan Town Council. He was elected to his first four-year term on the council in 2012.
David is one of the quieter characters in this community, and while the town’s progress under his leadership does not sound like much, what he has accomplished has made a substantial impact on the life quality of Sheridan.
Being a politician is a tough gig. They seem to get blamed for everything that goes wrong and it seems like they hardly ever get the credit they deserve.
We should be enormously proud of David Kinkead and thankful for his steadfast leadership and many accomplishments that have made Sheridan a better place to live and work.
Hear hear!