COLUMBUS — Colorado County Sheriff R.H. “Curly” Wied was honored with a resolution Dec. 9 during a regular Colorado County Commissioners Court meeting in Columbus. Wied announced his retirement and as the final days ap -
proached for his time in high office, he was surrounded by family, friends and
law enforcement colleagues as he ac- cepted the resolution presented by Col orado County Judge Ty Prause.
Wied, a lifetime resident of Nada, joined the Air Force in 1972, serving
until 1976. Unsure about what he want- ed to do after enlisting, he worked at several gravel companies. In 1981, he became a reserve sheriff's deputy under then-Sheriff George “Doc” Mueller. He went full-time and went on night patrol.
He was right where he wanted to be since he had wanted to be a policeman since he was five. His dream would not only come true, but it would propel him into one of the high offices of the county.
Wied stayed on patrol for 15 years until he was promoted to lieutenant and became an investigator. He was promot - ed to chief deputy and ran for and won the spot for sheriff in 1996. Wied served under three sheriffs and held his position as sheriff of Colorado County for 28 years.
In the early 80s, a county patrol of -
ficer worked six days a week for about $800 a month. He worked with a sec -
ond-hand cruiser left over from the day deputies and was lucky if it had a mount - ed spotlight. The only communication was a radio with four channels and a 260 radio. The deputy covered at least half the county by himself during the night patrol, and if assistance was needed, he could expect backup to take at least 2030 minutes. Wied said the biggest pos -
itive change he has seen over the years is upgrading the computer system, up - grades in dispatch with more dispatchers and, better communications and more deputies on patrol at one time. Upon thinking back over his many years as a law enforcement officer, he said he still remembers the marijuana
bust he was involved in when a plane made a landing on a crop duster airstrip
in the Garwood area. He was the clos-
est deputy since he lived in Nada. Upon making the stop, over a ton of marijua - na was discovered in the plane. He said there are so many memories, some good and some too bad to forget, such as the double homicide at the Western Club in Colorado County.
Wied leaves a legacy that many sher - iffs can't. He has always upheld the law and did so that he could sleep peacefully at night, knowing he followed the letter of the law and was fair to everyone he came in contact with.
Wied said, "I'm gonna miss the em - ployees, the courthouse and all the peo - ple of the county. And I am going to miss being sheriff.” He will shift gears and spend more time traveling, remodeling and being closer to his family. Wied ded- icated his life to protecting the citizens of Colorado County and will go down in history as a man of integrity and com- passion. Not bad for a dream of a five- year-old.
How did he get the nickname of "Curly"? When he was a little boy, he wore his hair buzzed on the sides. A rancher teased him about his short hair and called him "Curly." Now you know.
