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Brazil RPCV Dale E. Stickel to pursue Indiana State Senate seat
Brazil RPCV Dale E. Stickel to pursue Indiana State Senate seat
Bayer retiree to pursue state Senate seat
Stickel will seek GOP nomination to succeed Adams in 9th District.
ELECTION '04
By JAMES WENSITS
Tribune Political Writer
The loss of jobs, education and the need to reform tax laws were named as top priorities today as Dale E. Stickel announced he will seek the Republican nomination for the 9th state Senate district.
Stickel, 61, a Bayer Corp. retiree, lives in Baugo Township in southern Elkhart County.
The district, which includes portions of St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall and Kosciusko counties, is currently represented by incumbent Sen. Kent Adams, R-Warsaw. Adams has already announced that he will not seek re-election to the Senate and will instead pursue election as Kosciusko County treasurer.
"We need to stop the flow of corporate headquarters away from northern Indiana, which take the best jobs with them," Stickel said Wednesday.
"We also need to make education a top priority," Stickel said. "From kindergarten through graduate schools, we need to place higher value on education and encourage our students to excel."
Stickel, who grew up on a farm and farmed part time for more than 20 years, said he believes he has a unique perspective on the state's system of taxation.
"We need a more fair taxation system for all," he said, "one that will also encourage economic growth."
Stickel is a 1961 graduate of Jimtown High School. He also graduated from Purdue University, where he earned a degree in industrial engineering in 1969.
Stickel said he interrupted his college career to join the Peace Corps and served two years in Brazil.
He joined the former Miles Laboratories pharmaceutical company, later Bayer, and served 30 years there, working in engineering, materials management and purchasing before retirement.
"I call myself semi-retired," Stickel said Wednesday, noting that he still has "productive time" left. He currently serves as a substitute teacher in the Mishawaka school system.
Stickel has also done volunteer service with religious, community and professional groups and is the immediate past chairman of the board of Faith United Methodist Church, Goshen.
Staff writer James Wensits:
jwensits@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6353