By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

MENTONE — Another candidate is seeking reelection to the Mentone Town Council.

Shelly Krueger joins Tim Croy in filing for a seat, trying for her fourth term.

She shared with InkFreeNews part of her reason for running again is her support of the Mentone Police Department.

Shelly Krueger

“There are some in the community that would like to disband our police department and depend on the county sheriff’s department to protect the town,” she said. “I believe that we should continue to have a local police department.”

Krueger said some projects she’d like to work on if reelected are bringing a community center to town as well as “a small YMCA facility, like the one located in North Webster.” The two could be in combination, she noted.

She also wants to explore allowing chickens in town.

“Mentone did have a chicken processing plant located in the town limits. If a business can have chickens, then I believe that, with certain limitations and a good written policy in place, homeowners should have the freedom to have them,” she said.

Krueger currently works as executive assistant at the Syracuse Public Library. She’s worked for 24 years at area libraries.

“At Bell Memorial Public Library in Mentone, I created their first young adult department and started their first newsletter, webpage and programming for teens and adults,” she said.

She moved to Syracuse’s library in 2016 as circulation manager.

“I worked with the teens, creating teen programs and some adult craft programs, as well as keeping track of the daily desk receipts,” she said. “In 2022, I transitioned to part time. In addition to doing the daily money transactions, I help the director with the accounting program.”

Krueger has been married to Larry Krueger for 43 years, with them living in the Mentone community for 38 of them. They have eight kids, with Shelly homeschooling most of them until junior high.

“Homeschooling gave my kids one-on-one attention and the ability to focus on individualized learning methods,” she said. “Homeschooling also aided in their confidence and self-esteem and gave them the ability to handle peer pressure.”

Shelly notes five of her kids, along with three of their spouses, served a total of 14 deployments with the Army to Afghanistan and Iraq.

She volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters for three years and started the Mentone Community Farmer’s Market.

“I wanted the market to be simple with no fees or rules to provide fresh vegetables to the citizens of Mentone and give local gardeners a place to sell their produce,” she said. “The farmer’s market also has a craft and antique fair on the opening and closing dates of the market to give our local crafters and collectors an opportunity to sell their items.”

Shelly is a four-time cancer survivor and likes “making crafts, sewing, gardening, and any DIY project” in her time off.

“Mentone has a good school system and is a great place to live and raise a family, and I would like the opportunity to work hard to keep it that way,” she added.

For the 2023 election, the filing deadline for elected positions for all towns in Kosciusko County, save for Warsaw, Winona Lake and Syracuse, is noon Aug. 1.