Burcham appointed to Colfax Village Board

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has appointed Keith Burcham to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Village Trustee Susan Olson.

The Colfax Village Board approved appointing Burcham to the position at the October 12 meeting.

Colfax received two letters of interest for the village trustee position, one from Burcham, dated October 8, and one from Casey Rihn, dated October 12.

In his letter of interest, Burcham wrote: “While I commute fifty-two miles per day round trip for work outside of Colfax, my wife and I have come to realize that someday, Colfax is where we are going to retire. As mentioned, I work outside of the Colfax area, but my non-working hours are the most important to me and that is family and home. We have grandchildren in the Colfax School system and have immense pride in the curriculum provided and the path the grandchildren are undertaking thanks to the guidance of the school system.

“With the pride in the local school, I also have pride in our local community. I understand it takes a lot of hard work and dedicated people to keep the Village of Colfax in operation. I have a strong background in Purchasing and Management Peer Review. I believe that everyone should be given equal opportunity. I also, however, understand that we must have ordinances and regulations in place to keep our Village safe and continue to assist in building infrastructure to improve our Village for the current and future residents. I also understand that all of this requires capital and I have experience dealing with large budgets.

“My weaknesses revolve around politics. I’ve never been much of a ‘beat around the bush’ type of person. I have a tendency to ask rather blunt questions and prefer the answer to be that way also.”

Scott Gunnufson, village president, said he was delighted to see that there was interest from village residents in serving on the village board.

“I am not saying one is greater than the other. I know both parties who are interested, and I think they would both do a fine job,” he said.

In his letter, Rihn wrote: I have been a Colfax resident for the last five years, and all but five years of my entire life. I regularly donate to and attend community functions, and am known by the majority of residents.

“I am the owner of a successful construction business for the last seven years. I previously co-owned a gravel production company that worked all over Northern Wisconsin. I also ran a tree service for a couple years, and eventually rolled my tree service knowledge into my construction business.

“My schooling background consists of a Bachelor of Science degree in business management. I believe my professional knowledge and experience would be a great addition to the board. My support for Colfax is deeply rooted, and (I) would love the opportunity to help it flourish into the future.”

Gunnufson noted that Burcham had previously indicated interest in serving on the village board. He also encouraged Rihn to file nomination papers and run in the next village board election.

Village Trustee Dave Wolff said he was impressed with both candidates and that he believed Burcham’s budget experience would be beneficial to the village.

The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved a motion to appoint Burcham to the vacant village trustee position.