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Highway superintendent Randy VanWagner retires after 33 1/2 years
By: Tim Murray - Thursday, October 24, 2019

LAGRANGE – When he walked through the door more than 33 years ago, little did he know he would one day run the place.

Thursday the LaGrange County Highway Department held a retirement party for Randy VanWagner, who officially retires as highway superintendent at the end of the month.

He says there has been change since he first started as a truck driver with the department.

"You know there's a lot of changes in technology, the trucks have changed a lot. The basic road work is about the same. You do a lot of patching, some paving, chip and seal, a lot of that hasn't changed much. What works, works. We used to go out in the middle of the night and cut a tree and you wouldn't see anybody on the roads. Any more, any time of the day or night, there's somebody out on the road. There's just so much more traffic here in Lagrange County. That's probably the biggest change is the amount of traffic."

Like most jobs there were some days when he didn’t want to walk in the door, but overall it was a satisfying career.

"I didn't mind plowing snow at all. There's times when we got way behind on it and that's just the way it is. I enjoyed plowing snow. The paving season things get kind of hectic. Spring, when the roads need a lot of patching it was really busy, but overall I didn't dread any one season. It's year around work. It's always something different."

VanWagner, who appears fit and in good health, looks forward to what’s next.

"Well I plan on doing a little hunting, a little fishing, a little bit of traveling. I don't have any big plans. I'm just ready. I'll be 66 in January so I'll let these younger guys take over."



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