By Maureen Vander Sanden
Contributor
A county worker who was killed on the job last summer will be remembered as “a conscientious and dedicated employee who served the public well.”
Last week, the Walworth County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution that would name the Public Works Department Driveway on County Road NN in Elkhorn after the late Jerry Himebauch.
Himebauch was tragically killed July 23 after he was struck by a county dump truck while working on County Road J near Sterman Road in the Town of Troy.
The 66-year-old Lyons man was among the highway crew chip sealing the roadway, according to officials.
He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Last month, Kevin Brunner, director of the county’s central services, told the Public Works Committee his department wished to name the driveway after Himebauch. The committee unanimously approved the request and made the recommendation to the County Board, which unanimously OK’d it Nov. 13.
In addition to highlighting Himebauch’s good work ethic, the resolution also indicates he was a long-time employee, working for the county for 19 years.
“Appropriate street signs shall be erected and placed along the drive to properly honor Jerry, who lost his life while serving the citizens of Walworth County,” the resolution states in part.
According to Brunner, plans are also in the works to construct a memorial on the public works grounds honoring the late county worker.
The honor marks the second memorial drive designated to county employees killed on the job.
Last summer, the County Board approved naming the driveway to the Walworth County Jail’s Huber facility after the late sheriff’s deputy Patrick Bolton, who died in the line of duty Aug. 26, 1966.
According to reports, the 31-year-old full-time deputy was accidentally electrocuted by a downed wire while investigating a single-car crash at the bend of County Road J several miles west of East Troy.
