Jim Costa

Mr. COSTA

Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' On rollcall vote No. 13 had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. COSTA

Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of William Haskell Pinckard of Bakersfield, California. Mr. Pinckard was known to all as, simply, ``Pinky.'' He passed away January 9, 2005 at his home in California. Pinky dedicated his life to his fellow Kern County community members. He moved to California from Oklahoma in 1950, and life for Kern County residents from that point on was not the same. Pinky touched many lives through the numerous organizations in which he was involved. He was a member of the Community of Christ Church, Masons, Shriners, and Eastern Star. A life long member of the Democratic Party, Pinky received many awards for his service as an ardent activist. He represented local #743 Carpenters Union; for his dedication to advocacy, the Labor Union also recognized Pinky. The truth of the matter is Pinky was a civic-minded individual, who took seriously his role as an American citizen. All too often, we forget that activism, and outreach, and grassroots efforts are the foundation upon which we build our representative government. Pinky never forgot, and he never let anybody around him forget. Those who commemorate Pinky's life will forever be changed by the contributions he made to society.

Mr. COSTA

Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and wish well in retirement Mr. Tom Clark, of Bakersfield, California. This individual has served his community, his state, and his country well. Born October 21, 1945, Tom attended school in Bakersfield until he joined the army in 1968 and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant E-5. Following his honorable discharge in 1970, Tom enrolled in the Graduate Program at University of Pittsburgh; where he graduated in 1974 with a Master of Science in Water Supply-Water Pollution Control. We are thankful Tom utilized his training in school to become a key player in water issues back home, in the Central Valley. Tom was an initiator of the effort to create the Bay-Delta Accord of 1994 as a response to unreliable water supplies. This agreement was a precursor to the CalFed Record of Decision by the Department of the Interior, which provided for a series of agreements between water agencies and environmentalists. He was a key player in negotiating the Monterey Amendments to the State Water Project contracts that included crucial revisions to the water shortage provision and the transfer of the Kern Water Bank from the State of California to the Kern Water Bank Authority, a Joint Powers Authority. Tom's efforts were lauded by the community and as a show of gratitude he received the prestigious Association of California water Agencies' Excellence in Water Leadership Award in 1996. Among his many accomplishments, Tom has taken part in numerous state and local water activities; not only in the public sector, but also in the private sector. He has established himself as an authority on water issues, serving as an expert witness for water management and water rights before state and federal courts as well as before the State Water Resources Control Board. More recently Tom has been challenged as the Kern County Water Agency General Manager, and taken on a number of significant projects and responsibilities including the acquisition of Kern Lower River rights and the coordination of the Agency's supports toward the passage of the CalFed authorization in October 2004. Tom has served the people of the state of California and the community of Bakersfield in an exemplary manner. For us, his retirement is bittersweet--although it is well deserved his efforts will be greatly missed. I congratulate Tom Clark, and wish his family all the best.