Cupples to chair Jasper County supervisors

Doug Cupples is back as the center chair of the Jasper County Board of Supervisors.

Cupples, who was reelected to county supervisor this past year, was chosen by his fellow elected officials Monday, Jan. 4 to serve as chairman of the all-Republican board for 2021.

Typically, the Jasper County Board of Supervisors cycles through chairpersons and vice-chairpersons at the start of every new year, Cupples said. In 2018, he served as chairman alongside supervisor Denny Carpenter and former supervisor Joe Brock.

“Everybody says, ‘Congratulations! You made chairman!’ Well, ‘congratulations’ means you got more work,” Cupples said with a laugh.

Cupples is proud of what the current board roster has accomplished so far.

The supervisors, he said, have managed the budget well and kept it under control; made progress on the annex building; overcome the challenges that followed the board of health’s decision to cut the Home Care program; and found a solution to animal control after JCARL couldn’t sustain itself.

“I’m excited about the future,” he said. “We’ve got a good board, and it’s actually a diverse board. But that’s good. That’s why they have three of us there.”

Carpenter, in turn, was voted to serve as vice-chair of the board of supervisors this year. Meanwhile, Jasper County Supervisor Brandon Talsma, the former chairman, will be in charge of handling county personnel matters, as requested by Carpenter during the meeting.

Talsma clarified with Newton News that he will be the person that county department heads call with routine questions and guidance. When asked if he would be acting as a county administrator of sorts for employees, Talsma said, “Yes, in a way, this role I guess could kind of be called a ‘county administrator.’”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com