Meet the Editor

Jimmie L. Clayton Jr. has taken an extraordinary path to the editor’s chair at Wabash Watchdog. Raised in Battleground, Indiana, he graduated from William Henry Harrison High School in 1985 and immediately sought out challenge and discipline in the United States Army. Serving as a tank crewman on the M60A3, Clayton graduated near the top of his battalion, completed the Instructional Teaching Course, and was selected to assist drill sergeants in training recruits. The military gave him resilience and leadership, but also exposed him to struggles with alcohol that would shape much of his adult life.

After his discharge, Clayton earned his welding certification, started a family, and built a career in the steel industry. He eventually became a supervisor at Harbor Steel in Michigan, where he managed third shift in the sheet department. Yet his battles with alcoholism led to legal troubles and eventually time in prison. Those years, however, were not wasted. Clayton immersed himself in American jurisprudence, working as a law clerk and lay advocate for fellow inmates. The fluency with the law that he developed behind bars became one of his defining skills.

His professional life has spanned both industry and human services. Clayton served as Director of Operations for New Directions, where he oversaw multiple addiction treatment facilities across Indiana, including long-term residential programs and outpatient centers. Known for his steady rapport with clients and staff, he kept facilities compliant, supervised work therapy, and supported clinical programs. Later, he returned to the steel trade, working his way back up at Harbor Steel before stepping away to become his brother Randy’s hospice nurse when cancer struck.

The loss of his family members, capped by Randy’s death in 2020, forced Clayton to rebuild from the ground up. The crash of COVID-19 compounded the hardship, leaving him homeless and battling depression. But in that darkness, he rediscovered purpose in writing and truth-telling. He began drafting investigative stories, creative projects like the animated series Pocahontas Court, and eventually laid the foundation for Wabash Watchdog.

Today, Clayton brings together military discipline, blue-collar grit, legal expertise, investigative drive, and creativity. His mission is clear: to expose corruption, hold government accountable, and give Carroll and Tippecanoe Counties a news source that will not fold under pressure. He is not chasing headlines or popularity—he is chasing the truth. And with every tool at his disposal, from FOIA requests to AI-driven investigative scripts, Clayton is determined to ensure that truth sees the light of day.

That is his promise as editor of Wabash Watchdog.