Former local city council member found dead

By Deborah Buckhalter

Published: July 7, 2008

Former Malone city council member Robert Hagler was found dead in his home of an apparent gunshot wound Monday morning, according Major John Dennis of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
The JCSO is leading an investigation into the death, Dennis said, but foul play is not suspected.
Hagler served as a member of the Malone Town Council from January 2004 to October of 2005, when he resigned to devote more attention to his business, according Malone Mayor Gene Wright.
Wright said he understood that Hagler traveled extensively to various exhibitions, where he sold a variety of merchandise to those who attended the events.
Wright remembered Hagler as someone who cared for his community, and said the two of them went to Tallahassee in August of 2005 for a private meeting with then-Gov. Jeb Bush. They talked with the governor about the need for state assistance in extending the town’s sewer service, Wright said. That’s a project the town is still working to achieve, and Hagler showed a continuing interest in the issue after he left office, Wright said.
He said he also remembered that Hagler was deeply moved when the city named a park after Julius Smith, a personal friend of Hagler’s who died while serving as a town council man.
He said Hagler also seemed happy when he was able to move back into his family’s old homestead on 10th Street some time ago, although in recent times he had spent less time there due to his travel schedule.
“His family has been here a long time,” Wright said. “His dad owned some businesses here in town, so he was connected to us. He was a real likeable guy, and it’s sad that he’s no longer with us.”
Wright said someone called him early Monday to say that they’d heard reports of a problem at Hagler’s home. Wright said he went there immediately and learned of Hagler’s death at the scene.