County Commissioners Winkleman, McMillen stepping down in Jan.

Cheyenne County Commissioners Harold Winkleman and Ken McMillen are ending their long tenures in their respective posts effective Jan. 8.

The pair have overseen a litany of projects for Cheyenne County. They have decades of work under their belt and seem to be at peace with the upcoming cease of their tenures.

"I started 12 years ago in January of 2003," McMillen said. "I consider the position of county commissioner as an opportunity to take part in a public service to our community. The reason I feel this is a public service is this community has been extremely good to me and my family ever since my grandfather arrived in 1910."

"I started in 1995," Winkleman said. "The person I was going to run against wasn't about to run again so that's when I decided to file. We've basically tried to do the best we could do for the county. We have three districts in the county but it never meant any difference to me because when you go in there you represent the whole county not just the district that you're in."

The two men have a combined 31 years of service under their belts and both have a common aspect of the job they'll miss.

"The biggest thing I'll miss is the friends I've made," said the 86-year-old Winkleman. "Thats one thing for sure. I'll also miss being involved with county government. I'll miss keeping up on legislative bills as well. I probably won't be able to do that as much as I've done over the past 20 years. I'll still be involved as much as I can and I'll keep up on matters pertaining to the county."

"I'll miss the people," McMillen said. "That's one aspect I'll miss is for sure."

Both men are looking forward to their newest stage of life beyond their county commissioner positions. They both have ranches to look after and a lot of experiences they'll lventure into with their new found free time..

"At my age, I'm going to be pretty well retired," McMillen said. "I still have a ranch to operate.

I plan on taking it easier and incorporating a lot more traveling into my life."

"I'm still active in farming and I still plan on doing that for a while," Winkleman said. "Other than that I'd really like to keep myself involved in community oriented events."

The two commissioners have seen a great deal of progression in Cheyenne County

"I'd like to thank Cheyenne County residents for the last 20 years," Winkleman said. "It hasn't been a bad experience because we've all gotten along well. I'm sure the person who's replacing me will do a good job."

"I'm certainly pleased to have been elected to serve our county for the past 12 years," McMillen said. "I thank the citizens of Cheyenne County for supporting and electing me along with the other elected officials in Cheyenne County. I'm honored to have served as a member of this team for Cheyenne County."

Darrell Johnson and Philip Sanders were elected in the November election and will be their replacements. They'll be sworn in at the January meeting.