Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  On Saturday morning, the Nederland Police Department added another police officer to its team. Wesley Kugel was sworn in by Judge David Gloss with Kugel’s fiancé, family and fellow officers attending the ceremony.

Kugel is a familiar face in the Nederland area, having graduated from Nederland Middle Senior High School in 2012. A force on the high school football team, Kugel was known for covering his teammates’ backs and for not letting much get in his way.

While in high school, the hard-working young man started his own landscaping and firewood business to pay for his car insurance and gas, and developed a strong work ethic.

After he graduated, Kugel considered going to business school but ended up working for Boulder County Road Maintenance, which he said was a lot of fun, but also led to his decision to become a police officer.

“I was on the road crew during the 2013 flood and we were the top crew coming into Jamestown in the third after. There was a lot of dirt and as we opened the roads to help the stranded residents, I liked the sense of urgency. Being a first responder felt like a good path to take.”

Kugel said he never considered himself popular in high school but felt like everyone liked him. He was a good student, got good grades and ended up with enough credits to graduate early.

In May, 2012, Kugel was at Costco with a group of friends, dropping in for a slice of cheese pizza and buying parts for his truck when he happened to notice a girl who was on her lunch break from Monarch High School. Hannah Grabou had also noticed Kugel and when the guys drove away, she went after him.

“We just chased after the handsome country boy, trying to find out where he was going and when we caught up, I passed my telephone number to him through the window. While driving.”

At first, the two hung out as friends, but eventually they realized they would be together. Last June, while on a family vacation in Hawaii, Kugel took Hannah to St. Regis on Hanalei Bay for dinner. By the time the chocolate cake arrived, she was frustrated, because he had not yet proposed. She thought the ring was probably in the cake and ate the whole thing. She had to tell him her finger was getting cold.

Wes was waiting for the right moment. As soon as the sunset was in the right position, he popped the question. She cried.

“After that trip I decided I wanted to go to police academy,” says Kugel. “I knew it would be more rewarding at the end of the day.”

He enrolled in the Red Rocks Police Academy, beginning in August 12 and running through December 17. While he was doing this Hannah was working as a 911 Dispatcher in the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department in 2014. While Kugel was attending the academy he was aware that Nederland was going through the hiring process and began contacting them.

“I wanted the part-time position so I could continue going to school, getting a general degree from Front Range. But I wanted a job that would make a difference.”

Kugel has been working as a trainee since March 3, riding along with officers Larry Johns and Josh Follett. He says he’s never had a job where he couldn’t wait to go to work and is determined he is going to work as much as possible.

He was on duty during the Frozen Dead Guy Festival weekend and said it was a huge learning experience. He saw and talked with many people he remembered from growing up in Nederland. He and Hannah live on Flagstaff Mountain right now, but he stays up here at night with his mother while she works her dispatch shift.

Nederland Police Chief Paul Carrill says Kugel is the most patient applicant he’s had.

“And he’s a local boy which has been one of my goals. Everybody knows him, every little old lady town remembers him, and the teachers remember him.”

Judge David Gloss announced that the NPD is now up to full staff.