I attended our supervisor’s meeting on June 5, when our Board
Chairman asked for a moment of silence in honor of our
ex-supervisor George Kinkaid. I was very touched.
Editor,
I attended our supervisor’s meeting on June 5, when our Board Chairman asked for a moment of silence in honor of our ex-supervisor George Kinkaid. I was very touched.
This great man was my friend for the last 40 years. He was very competitive and I learned a lot from him. Every time we got together, we spent the time talking politics. He was always concerned about the county’s good standing. In the last few years, he was telling me, “Amadeu, I would like to see you run for supervisor.” I answered that I had never tried because I don’t feel educated enough. He then said, “I wasn’t educated either. What is needed is common sense and you have it.”
When I worked for the county, myself and the supervisor did may things together. While talking to him one day, he said that they had to make cuts to be able to balance the budget. I told him they could save a lot of money if they stopped all of the county cars that people drive home. By golly, he stopped them all! At that time, many departments drove the county cars home. I could go on and on as there were many and many more examples.
I also got along with many of our ex-supervisors. Inez Silva called one night to offer me a foreman position in San Juan. Supervisors were very influential in each of his districts. I told them I feel I was the most qualified but I felt the county doesn’t need five foremen anymore. They can get by with four and just spread out the other ones. He commended me for the advice. I could have picked the raise but this wasn’t right to me. This caused some controversy but ended up as planned.
Herman Botelho left a place in my heart when I went to his packing house to buy a sack of potatoes. After we spoke and he saw I just arrived in the county, he gave me the potatoes at no charge. He was a man with a great heart.
Frank Sabatini, was another great friend. If you had a problem that he could help you with, he would do it pronto. He had no problem grabbing the phone and calling any department head and telling them how he felt.
Rita Bowling is a woman with a lot of common sense and a great supervisor. When she told you she would work on it, she never broke her word. I wish you all the health in the world. I know your health is not so well.
Curtis Graves is a good friend, but he could go either way. I got along with Curtis too.
All these supervisors don’t let the head of departments run over their heads. They used to make the decisions. No department head was allowed to spend more than $1,000 or hire another employee without board approval. It seems to me, today, we are heading backwards. It’s hard to get to the end of the tunnel if you are stuck in reverse and have forgotten how to shift. It was a pleasure working with these great guys. I hope all those who passed away have found the peace we are looking for. And for those alive, I wish all the health and happiness.
Amadeu Lima, Hollister
