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  • Reese Wedel takes the oath of office as a county commissioner from District Judge Dennis Hladik Thursday at the Garfield County Court House. Wedel was elected in April’s primary election, and will be stepping into the job early after the resignation of current Dist. 2 County Commissioner Mike Postier. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON)

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November 1, 2012

Wedel sworn in as county commissioner

By Phyllis Zorn, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID, Okla. — The change of guard for Garfield County’s District 2 commission seat officially took place Thursday morning.

Reese Wedel, elected to represent the district in a race decided at the April primary election, was sworn in by District Judge Dennis Hladik in a Thursday morning ceremony.

Wedel was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Mike Postier, who held the seat for eight years before giving the governor his resignation about two weeks ago.

“I’ve been having some health issues and it’s probably advantageous to go ahead and step down,” Postier said. “Also, this will allow the new commissioner to get in before the end of the year. That way he can be settled in and take advantage of all the commissioner training courses.”

Postier said available training for new commissioners includes such topics as road funding, education and legal issues.

Wedel was road foreman for District 2 before running for election.

As commissioner, he will oversee road and bridge maintenance, budget matters and anything else needed for the financial side of much of the northeast portion of the county. He and the other two commissioners, James Simunek and Mark Bolz, jointly oversee matters directly related to the courthouse.

 “We come together for Monday morning meetings and go through the purchase orders for the courthouse,” Wedel said.

Wedel said he’ll build on the foundation already in place and work to improve the county infrastructure.

“We’ve got a lot of bridges that are in need of repair and we’re going to replace some of them,” Wedel said. “That’s an ongoing process.”

In addition, he also will oversee the things that arise on an as-needed basis, such as snow removal.

Wedel can be reached by phone from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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