Couch out, Abels in

Carbon County will have a new health officer as of August 1 following a split vote by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) on July 20.

Dr. Marvin Wayne Couch II, who served as the county health officer for two years, will be replaced by Dr. Duane Abels. The decision to enter into a contract with Abels comes after two meetings—one on June 1 and one on July 6—in which the county commissioners discussed the county health officer position. It also comes as Wyoming begins to see a rise in cases of both the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the delta variant.

On June 1, when Couch’s contract wa...