Calcasieu Parish Police Jury appoints Dr. Joseph Dressler interim coroner

The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury voted to appoint Dr. Joseph Dressler as interim coroner to complete the unexpired term of Dr. Terry Welke. The appointment occurred at the jury’s July 2025 meeting after the Secretary of State notified the parish that Welke had resigned and set deadlines for both a special election and an interim appointment.

The Secretary of State told the police jury it must proclaim the vacancy no later than July 22 and call a special election to be held in 2026, and it has until Aug. 31 to appoint an interim coroner before the governor would make the appointment, according to parish staff. “On July 2, we received official notice from the Secretary of State that doctor Welke had submitted his resignation, effective 08/11/2025 at 12:01PM,” parish staff member Mister Boland said, adding that staff began outreach and informational meetings with interested people before the appointment.

The motion to appoint Dressler was made by Mister Andrew Pond and seconded by Mister Smith; the jury approved the motion. The meeting record also shows the presiding officer recused himself from this agenda item prior to the appointment. After the vote, the newly appointed interim coroner addressed the jury and gave a brief biography: “born and raised in Lake Charles,” he said, and described his training at LSU Shreveport, residency in family medicine in Lake Charles, work as a hospitalist with Memorial Hospital, and a master’s in business from McNeese.

Discussion — what staff told jurors — focused on the administrative timeline and next steps. Boland told jurors staff had held informational meetings and began the required appointment process following the Secretary of State’s instructions. That administrative guidance, as recited at the meeting, set the deadlines that govern both the interim appointment and the subsequent special election.

Decision and next steps — the jury formally appointed Dr. Joseph Dressler as interim coroner; staff were already directed to carry out the Secretary of State’s timeline and preparations for the 2026 special election. The action carried without a recorded roll-call tally in the meeting minutes provided.

Background — the Secretary of State’s notice and the requirement to call a special election are administrative steps the parish must follow when a coroner’s office is vacated midterm. The resignation date and the Secretary of State timeline were provided in the meeting record; the jury’s appointment fills the vacancy through the special election process specified by the Secretary of State.