On Oct. 15, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments unanimously approved a resolution to name the section of Highway 246 between Lompoc and Buellton the Mayor Dick DeWees Memorial Highway.
Proposed by SBCAG chair and Guadalupe Mayor Lupe Alvarez, the designation will honor the late Lompoc mayor for his commitment to his hometown and the surrounding Santa Barbara County community. DeWees died of medical complications on July 30.
According to a staff report from SBCAG, DeWees served as mayor of Lompoc for 11 years and nine years as Lompoc’s SBCAG representative, where he “established a cooperative working environment [among] Lompoc, SBCAG, local agencies, and Caltrans.”
SBCAG is forwarding the resolution to Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo), requesting that he submit the request to the state legislature.
“We hope the governor will ultimately sign it into law,” SBCAG spokesman Greg Hart said.
In a release to the media, Blakeslee said: “Mayor DeWees positively impacted so many people in and outside of Lompoc. I am honored that SBCAG asked me to run this proposal in Sacramento.”
This article appears in Oct 22-29, 2009.