Jeff Kuhrâs year could have been worse. As the head of the Mesa County Public Health Department and being the front-line guy dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic here, Kuhr could have faced far more obstacles, as many of his counterparts have in other parts of the state and nation. Sure, Kuhr and his staff received plenty of angry phone calls and emails over their handling of the pandemic at times, but nothing like the death threats and angry protests outside his own home that some others have seen elsewhere in the nation. But, in looking back, all-in-all things went as smoothly as one could expect dealing with the greatest public health scare of his 18-year career as a public health director.