By Lilli Dwyer
InkFree News
Pierceton Superintendent Casey Boggs may be a newer face in the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission, but he’s very familiar with the area.
Born and raised in Pierceton, Boggs went to Whitko schools and started working part time for the town in 2006. After graduating in 2007 and attending Purdue University for a year and a half, he came back to work for the town full time. Five years ago, former Superintendent Chip Hill moved away and Boggs took over the position.
“He was like a big brother to me,” Boggs recalled.
Boggs sums up the average day in the life of a town superintendent in one word: “unpredictable.”
Town employees have a wide variety of responsibilities. Water and wastewater, brush and snow removal, fixing potholes, building maintenance and the maintenance of Pierceton’s three parks all fall under Boggs’ jurisdiction.
On any given day, there’s always a chance that an emergency situation will pop up.
“You have water leaks that pop up. You have somebody that has a backed up sewer and wants to know if it’s on their side or on your side, so you’re popping manholes, then, to check your flows. There’s just a lot that you get calls during the day to go check out,” Boggs explained. “I deal with a lot of the big picture things then, too, as far as assisting with grants, pulling information for that; working with engineers, too, any information they need from me; and then a lot of paperwork for IDEM.”
What keeps Boggs motivated is his love for the town.
“I moved back to the area and bought a house. I bought the house next door to where I grew up. Really like the area, really like the people,” he said.
From 2013 to 2021, Boggs owned two antique stores in downtown Pierceton. While his superintendent duties now take up too much of his time for him to run a separate business, antique collecting remains a hobby of his.
“There were some things I couldn’t part with, I’ve got a garage full of things and I’ve decorated my house real cool. … I really like the gas pumps, I’ve got a good eight or nine gas pumps still and one of them is sitting right inside my foyer when you walk in the door,” he said.
Part of his collection is Pierceton memorabilia: coins, trade tokens, post cards, pictures, license plates, a century-old Primrose League Cycling Corps badge manufactured downtown and a sign for the now-closed BB’s Antiques.
“They were in business for I think 60 years in town, doing antiques before it was cool,” Boggs said.
Boggs attended his first APC meeting in March. Like his superintendent position, there are a lot of details to deal with, but Boggs look at it as another way to help people in the community he cares for.
“It’s helping make decisions that protect the community and help the residents. That was something I’ve learned along the way. … It comes down to not just how a situation is being presented at face value, but how is this affecting others as well? You’re trying to do something to benefit the person that’s proposing something, but at the same time, you need to protect others,” he explained.
Outside of work and the APC, Boggs enjoys spending time with his niece and nephew and his dog, Max. He also golfs and collects sports cards, alongside antiques.
