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Walton looks back on 40 years as county official
What could possibly prepare a public servant for 40 years of having his constituents say, among other complaints, that fixing their road should be the No. 1 priority in the county?
Try 17 years of fans second-guessing every call or non-call you make in hundreds of basketball games.
Of course, while Don Walton has certainly heard his share of complaints in his years as a Putnam County commissioner and Putnam County councilman, he hasn’t been one to dwell on the negative.
“There’s a lot of wonderful people here in Putnam County,” Walton said. “We’ve had a lot of good help over the years and I’ve seen Putnam County grow.”
In 63 years since graduating from Belle Union High School, Don Walton was in the U.S. Army from 1962 through 1964, worked as a bricklayer, ran his own wood and gas stove business and, yes, has been an IHSAA basketball official.
However, for the last 44 years — with a one-term break — Walton’s name has been synonymous with Putnam County government, having served nine terms (36 years) as a commissioner and another on the council.
Walton was honored by fellow commissioners David Berry and Rick Woodall, along with the Putnam County Council, during the final regular commissioners meeting of 2020 on Monday, though they will meet in a special session on Dec. 31 to approve claims.
That meeting will mark the end of Walton’s 40 years in county government, as Tom Helmer will take over as District 3 commissioner on Jan. 1.
Walton’s journey as a public servant began in 1976, when some friends encouraged him to seek the District 3 seat.
“I hadn’t even thought about running until I had some friends come around and ask me to think about it,” Walton said.
He won the seat and began serving in 1977, not relinquishing the seat until 2004.
Looking back, though, Walton’s occupation got him familiar with various issues throughout the county.
“I was a self-employed bricklayer and we did a lot of jobs around the county,” Walton said. “I guess you could say I put several years working and I had some good guys working for me.”
The county changed a lot in those years, with the introduction of zoning in the early 1990s as one major step forward.
While Walton left the commissioners in 2004, he was back on the Putnam County Council the very next year, taking over a vacant seat and serving through 2008.
After a four-year absence from county government, Walton was again elected in 2012, serving from 2013 until now.
Along the way, Walton earned attention outside the borders of Putnam County.
“I’ve gotten two Sagamore of the Wabash awards and both were from Democrat governors -- Evan Bayh and Joe Kernan,” the longtime Republican notes with pride of his 1995 and 2004 honors.
And why shouldn’t he? Walton earned statewide respect, serving as the president of the Association of County Commissioners in 1987 and the Association of Indiana Counties in 1990.
“I got a lot of good experiences out of that, working with people from all over the state of Indiana,” Walton said.
The leadership roles even sent Walton to the nation’s capital for training.
“That was a great experience,” he recalled. “As a matter of fact, the state board back then helped pay for my transportation to Washington, D.C. We had to go over there for a short session for two or three days. We had a good experience and worked with a lot of good people.”
The AIC even named Walton its Outstanding County Commissioner in 1988.
Even with the work at the state level, Walton was able to keep in mind what was going on in Putnam County, where maintaining people’s roads remains job No. 1.
“Roads have been one of my main concerns over the years,” Walton said. “With what money we get, we try to make sure we get roads and bridges and do the best we can on them. It’s awful hard with the money we’ve been getting to do it.”
In the meantime, Walton also spent about 15 years running his own business in Cloverdale, Walton Stove Sales.
“I just gave it up here recently, decided to sit back and enjoy life,” Walton said.
Now it’s on to retirement for Don and wife Micalene.
“I’ve appreciated all the good people in the years as county commissioners,” he said. “It’s been a good thrill to be an elected official for years.”
For their part, the fellow commissioners had some nice things to say about Walton on his way out.
“We’d like to honor a longtime servant for the county,” Berry said in presenting Walton with his commemorative clock bearing pictures of the Putnam County Courthouse and Buzz Bomb. “We’d like to thank you for your efforts, Don. You’ve been instrumental to so many things in the county, I can’t even begin to count.”
Woodall also closed the meeting with his appreciation for Walton.
“Don, I want to thank you very much for what you’ve taught me over the last six years of me being a commissioner,” Woodall said. “I greatly appreciate being by your side and I wish you all the best going forward.”
And while Walton will no longer be an elected official, he wished to remind his colleagues he is only a phone call away.
“I think it’s been a good experience and I look forward to being off the board,” Walton said. “I’ll still try to be of help if someone wants to talk about something.”
