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Colorado County Commissioners honored two longtime servants within the county for their dedication to serving their community at the recent commissioners’ court meeting this past Monday, Dec. 9.
Sheriff R H “Curly” Wied and Precinct One Commissioner Doug Wessels were hailed for their years of hard work and reflected on their seperate tenures in their respective positions.
Wied, who has worked at the Colorado County Sheriff’s office for over 42 years served as Deputy Sheriff from June 2, 1981, to Dec. 31, 1996, and as Colorado County Sheriff from Jan. 11, 1997, to Dec. 31, 2024.
Wessels worked within the county system for over 30 years, six years as an equipment operator and 24 years as county commissioner for precinct number one.
Colorado County Judge Ty Prause read the two proclamations for both individuals remarking on their contributions over the years to serving the county, highlighting their drive to serve the community.
“Wied has earned the respect of his colleagues and the citizens of Colorado County and is held in the highest esteem by all who deeply appreciate his service to Colorado County and to his office,” said Prause. “Wessels served the citizens of Colorado county with pride and professionalism, with honor to himself and to his office. Wessels is held in the highest esteem by all who deeply faith is 30 years of service to the citizens of Colorado County and to his office.”
Wessels reflected on his time as a commissioner thanking those he has worked with, the other commissioners and Prause for their efforts in working together.
“In 24 years, I never was a speech maker, but I’d like to thank my wife and family for all the years that I worked for the county and put up with me,” said Wessels. “I’d like to thank all the citizens of Colorado County, especially my precinct workers, for keeping our roads in good shape, taking care of the public. I’d like to thank the judge and commissioners and all elected officials and all employees the past and present for working with them. It’s been a good challenge, and it’s nice to think it’s going to be a new chapter in my life. I have plenty to do. I have five grandkids that live close by. It’s just been a pleasure to work for the county for the last 30 plus years.”
Prause choked on his words while speaking upon working with Wied and Wessels over the years, appreciative of being able to work with the two gentlemen throughout his time as county judge.
“It’s hard not to get a l ittle emotional,” said Prause. “When you work half of your adult life with two men like this. I appreciate the opportunity to serve with them. I’ve worked with them for 14 years but have been fortunate enough to know them all my life in Colorado County.”
Commissioners also motioned to continue restricting outdoor burning with several exceptions and the use of certain fireworks in unincorporated Colorado County, unconfident that the conditions were favorable to lift the burn ban.
According to Prause, the county is still experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions with not enough cumulative rain or moisture content in the soil to “pull” the ban. Despite recent showers over the previous week throughout various parts of the county and his desire to curb the ban, he feels it still could be too early, especially in certain areas, to lift the restrictions.
“In my opinion, after you look at this data and the forecast, to pull the burn ban off at this point despite having good showers in different parts of this county the past week and weekend, the northern part of the county and the western part of the county are still very, very dry, and that’s just Mother Nature. I take it very seriously when we start thinking about banning anything or limiting fireworks and curtailing people’s business practices and livelihoods, which is why I read everything I could and studied to present to the court this morning. But again, as I said, that’s Mother Nature, and that’s where we are.”
Wessels was the only commissioner to vote against keeping the ban, citing that two fire department chiefs within his precinct, Garwood and Columbus, both gave him the approval that they were okay with lifting the fireworks restrictions. Regardless of his vote, the motion upheld, with the burn ban continuing with certain restrictions as well as the fireworks restrictions.
A safeguard is in place for the fireworks restrictions however, lifting automatically if the drought conditions cease to exist.
The Colorado County 4-H program also spoke to commissioners highlighting their recent successes and history making, having qualified for a national judging content for the first time in 11 years after placing second at a state competition in Fort Worth. Colorado County 4-H Chairman Jack Dudensing reflected on their time at the competition and the lead up to qualifying.
“The impact that we had on this trip was the honor to be the first Colorado county dairy judging team to make it to Nashville’s in three short years,” said Dudensing. “Hardwork definitely pays off. I’m thankful to my team coach and parents for this opportunity.”
The group will have the opportunity to go back to the state contest in January, and if they secure first place, will get the opportunity to go to the World Dairy Expo in October of 2025 to judge the national contest.
