-Messenger photo by Lori Runkle
Humboldt County Sheriff Dean Kruger demonstrated how the camera in the emergency disaster center trailer works. The trailer, which was manufactured by Jensen Trailers in Humboldt, is one important piece of equipment that the town’s former Emergency Management Coordinator, Doug Wood, left behind after his death in October. “Doug wrote the Homeland Security grant for the trailer. It was his baby. He left us better prepared to respond to an emergency if the need ever arises,” said Kruger.

By LORI RUNKLE, Messenger staff writer

HUMBOLDT —Steve Samuels spent 14 years as Humboldt’s mayor before the people of Humboldt elected Walter Jensen to replace him on Nov. 6, 2007.

Samuels had this advice for Jensen.

‘‘Treat the office with dignity. Make sure to work with everybody. Utilize the talent that is here, and don’t try to do it all yourself,’’ he said.

Nothing happened in Samuels’ 22 years of public service that made him wish he hadn’t done it.

‘‘I enjoyed every minute of it,’’ said Samuels, who served as a city councilman for eight years before moving into the mayor’s office for 14.

One thing Samuels enjoyed about being the mayor was building partnerships and utilizing the talents of the people who surrounded him to solve problems that existed in town.

For Samuels, this was the road to progress.

‘‘If anybody told you they did it all alone, they’re nuts,’’ he said.