Stephen F. Austin State University

Julie Ketelsen, a native of Austin, today gained a unanimous vote of commissioners court as Washington County’s new county Extension agent for Family and Consumers Sciences, effective Sept. 8.

Ketelsen recently received a second undergraduate degree majoring in food and nutrition from Texas Women’s University in Denton after having previously served America’s Peace Corps for two years in Turkmenistan, a country bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

One of the first 50 volunteers to return to Turkmenistan in 2002 — after Peace Corps volunteers had been removed from most worldwide locations following the 9-11 terrorist attack — Ketelsen was the lone American serving in a rather remote village in that country.

Ketelsen had earned her first university degree in 2002 from Stephen F. Austin University, majoring in family and consumer sciences, and then volunteered for that Peace Corps service. Upon a return from Turkmenistan, she then taught one year at Paris, Texas, high school prior to a decision to earn a second related major at TWU.

While officially becoming a Washington County employee on Sept. 8, Ketelsen is looking for a place to stay on this visit to Brenham with plans to move here by July 25 and commute to Texas A&M University’s campus during her required training period with the A&M-administered Texas Agricultural Extension Service.

Jeff Ripley, director of the Extension Service’s 18-county District 11, was in attendance at commissioner court to introduce Ketelsen as the nominee for the Washington County family and consumer science position.

The court’s vote was a unanimous 3-0 with Judge Dorothy Morgan and Commissioner Joy Fuchs absent. Morgan’s absence was due to a committee meeting in Austin and Commissioner Donald Ahrens presided at today’s session.

In other major actions taken by the court today, they:

• Approved a slate of 36 election judges — one Democrat and Republican at each of 18 county voting locations, a lead judge representing the majority party at each location. Six people were also appointed as the key personnel for manning the county’s central county station.
  
  It was noted that as many as 60 election clerks will be needed for what county election administrator Linda LaCross told the court might be “a turnout as high as 70 to 80 percent of registered voters” for the Nov. 4th election.
  
  
• Reapproved a buried utility lane by PGMS/Central Washington County Water Supply on Green Oaks Lane in Precinct Four. A change from a 2-inch to 4-inch water line necessitated the repeat approval.
  
  
• Approved a replat of two lots in Plantation Oaks subdivision, located on Newman Lane in Precinct One — actually creating three lots out of what was previously two lots in the division. It was noted that a Precinct Two location of this property on the court’s agenda was in error — Precinct One being the correct location.