Dana Culhane - Field Representative, Jean Fuller

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 90, authored by Assemblymember Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield), passed out of the State Assembly on a unanimous vote. ACR 90 designates a portion of State Highway Route 178 from the mouth of Kern Canyon eastbound to its intersection with Kernville Road in Kern County as 'Kern County Deputy Sheriff William 'Joe' Hudnall, Jr., Memorial Highway.'

Kern County Deputy Sheriff William 'Joe' Hudnall, Jr. was killed in the line of duty on November 14, 2006, while transporting a prisoner from his duty assignment in Kernville, California, to Bakersfield, California. His patrol unit was struck head-on by a vehicle operated by a subject that was under the influence of a controlled substance while on Highway 178 in the Kern Canyon.

Joe Hudnall

'Deputy Sheriff Hudnall was a dedicated public servant who made the ultimate sacrifice and I am very grateful that we can honor him in this way,' said Fuller.

Hudnall was hired by the Kern County Sheriff’s Department in 1997 after putting himself through the P.O.S.T. Academy at his own expense and was assigned to patrol duties. His greatest joys were off-road riding with his sons, deep-sea fishing, and all family outings.

He is remembered not only as a deputy sheriff, but as a friend and family man, leaving behind his wife Carrie and two young sons, Chancellor and Creighton, and two adult children from a previous marriage, Joshua and Jennifer.

'My family and I are very honored that Joe’s name can be on the highway as a remembrance for us and our friends of what an amazing man Joe was and still is to us,' said Carrie Hudnall.

ACR 90 now goes to the State Senate for consideration.