On Jan. 14, 2016, the Parnassus staff had the honor of meeting Mayor Shane Evans for an interview. During our time, we explored many aspects of his life ranging from his witty humor, to his high school career, to his future political endeavors. It was a long awaited trip for all of us, especially for Emilee and Lacie, who longed to know which character from Parks and Recreation the mayor felt he most resembled.

Before becoming known as the “new sheriff in town,” Evans was just a normal high school graduate of Delphi Community High School, with no plans of becoming mayor in sight. “I thought I was going to be an attorney,” said Evans. After graduating in 2008 as salutatorian of his class, however, he strayed away from his idea of being an attorney and decided to study chemistry. He went on to graduate from Wabash College with a Bachelor’s degree in that field, and also got published in a scientific journal during that time.  

Throughout his high school years, Shane Evans was involved in a little bit of everything, from the sports side of football and wrestling, to the drama side of plays and Entertainers, to even finding time to be very studious. “I was trying to be involved in everything in high school,” Evans said, while answering the prayers of student counselors everywhere. It was evident that Mayor Shane Evans enjoyed his years at DCHS as he fondly remembered some of his favorite teachers including Senora Cornell, Mrs. Mason, and Mr. Gasser, both his math teacher and his football coach, who had nothing but fond memories of him. “Shane always worked harder than everyone else, whether it was in the classroom or on the football field,” he said. Of course, while in the presence of our Parnassus advisor, the ever-diplomatic mayor made sure to state that he had never had the opportunity to have Mrs. Tonsoni in class. As Mayor Evans reminisced about his high school days, he was quick to mention that he is very interested in the high school demographic, stating that he wished to interact with us as much as possible, and hopes to build a culture where people want to come back to Delphi.

As far as his future political goals are concerned, Evans said that he was perfectly content with his mayoral position and doesn’t have any higher aspirations. “I’d have to work a lot harder than I probably am right now, but I wouldn’t mind being mayor for eight years and maybe even beyond that.” During his time in office, Mayor Evans has many plans for the small town of Delphi. He plans on working on the ordinances, developing our economic standing, bringing more businesses to Delphi, and marketing this little town as much as possible.

We learned a lot during our time with the Mayor, but the most intriguing fact by far, was how important water is. “Water’s a huge thing,” he said. “We need water. Industrial parks need water, the people of Delphi need water, we need it for our fire hydrants.” Bottom line, water is very important.

According to Evans, politics was always in the back of his mind, but the interest really sparked when he attended Hoosier Boys State and wound up running for lieutenant governor. He got “demolished by a kid,” but how do you compete with a guy who rips a telephone book in half during the debate?

Now, we’ve all asked the question, what exactly does the mayor do? “Good question,” Evans said, as we all shared the laugh we knew was coming. “I’ll let you know when I figure it out.” He went on to talk about the ten things that Indiana law requires him to do, along with the details involved in those laws.

After asking all of the serious questions, the Parnassus staff did what they do best, and moved on to the fun. So what are some of your hobbies, Mayor? Evans jokingly answered, “Being Mayor and driving the Canal boat.” We had by then moved into our “fun facts” section of questioning, which allowed for a much lighter atmosphere. During this portion of the interview we uncovered much top secret information such as him being single, his favorite book being The Great Gatsby, his playlist including classical music (in which he finally came to terms with the fact that he is an “old man”), he is not voting for Donald Trump, he loves tacos a lot, he likes the color blue, and he sees himself as a combination of Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson, and Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation.

The Parnassus staff is very thankful that Mayor Shane Evans took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. We truly had a wonderful time full of great memories that we will remember for a very long time. Mayor Evans better watch out though, Emilee Gear is poised and ready to take his gavel in the next election.

#EGForPres