He's a man of many talents
Submitted by jcht2010 on
By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer
Pct. 3 Commissioner Johnny Belicek is a man of many talents. One of those talents, the newest in fact, is woodworking. He’ll tell you he’s an amateur and doesn’t know much about it, but the finished product says otherwise.
Recently Belicek built from scratch a new bench for the Commissioner’s Court room in the county courthouse. He said he asked the court to allow him to build it when he realized that the commissioners were sitting in a straight line, leaning over and craning their necks to speak to one another.
“Commissioner’s Court is supposed to be a meeting between us and when I’m talking to someone I want to be able to look them in the eye,” he said.
The new bench is slightly curved, making it easier for them to look at one another, improving the ease of conversation.
The project, which he says took about three months “off and on,” didn’t come without its hazards. Belicek all but mutilated one finger and injured two others in the process.
“I was a code welder for Mobil Oil for almost 14 years,” he said, “I’ve welded on live gas pipelines, 2,000 pound lines. I’ve welded lines that had fire coming out of them that I had to patch and I don’t think I’ve gotten hurt nearly as much as I have woodworking.”
Regardless of injuries, he said he is enjoying learning new things and working with wood.
“I’ve been a welder most of my life. I can build things from metal. It got a little old, so I went to wood,” he said. “Wood is challenging. It’s beautiful to build something out of wood, so I’ve just been learning.”
He said he appreciates those who helped him assemble it after it was built and add a granite top on the commissioner’s side.
“Tanza Granite deserves credit,” he said. “They donated their time and labor to put that top on. The county is also fortunate to have Bruce Airhart [county maintenance supervisor] working for us with his talents. It’s great to have someone with carpentry skills.”
Belicek says he isn’t done building for the county he loves and serves.
“I now have the sheriff waiting for me. I have to build a covered shed over our new cooler. That will be welding. I have a boat shed I have to build for the county. I have a covered shed I have to build for the county. I also have a truck bed to do,” he said with a grin. “I feel like I’m getting paid by the taxpayers to do whatever it takes to keep their taxes down. If that means they don’t have to hire a welder to do it, then that’s what I do.”
Rate this article:
- Log in to post comments
