Former Indiana State Senator John R. SInks, Jr. passed away in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
John Sinks served an extraordinary 32 years in the Indiana legislature. He was originally elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in the 1960's and then was elected to the Indiana Senate in the late 1970's where he served until succeeded by current Senate President Pro Tempore David Long.
He was a guidance counselor and government teacher at Elmhurst High School for 38 years.
Legislative colleagues and former students uniformly would describe John Sinks as a kind person and a nice guy.
However, John Sinks represented his constituency with resolve. One example of his resolve is manifested by several buildings on the IPFW campus. In the mid-1980's, Purdue leadership opposed recommendation of the financing of two key buildings on the IPFW campus even though Purdue was advocating for multiple structures for other campuses. It was a continuation of what was seen as Purdue serially relegating the Fort Wayne campus concerns to a low priority.
Senator Sinks was a member of the Senate Finance Committee. He took the message to legislative leadership that unless financing authority was included in the state budget for the campus, that the entire Allen County legislative delegation would not support the passage of the budget.
He had the support of the delegation, of which the editor of FWOb was a member.
The buildings were approved in the budget.
A memorial service will be held Monday, December 17th, at 11 AM at Trinity Episcopal Church with callling one hour prior to service. Calling will also be held Sunday from 2 PM to 4 PM at the Klaehn Fahl & Melton Wayne Street Funeral Home.
I had many conversations with Sen. Sinks over the years. No matter what the subject was, he always gave you a fair listen. I'm not sure you can ask for any more than that.
Leaders in Washington could learn a lot by studying his leadership style.
Posted by: Roger McNeill | December 17, 2012 at 05:27 AM