SOCORRO -- At a workshop Thursday at the County Annex Building, county manager Delilah Walsh unveiled a tentative list of budget cuts to account for the $500,000 shortfall in PILT money.
Socorro County was earmarked to receive $1.5 million in PILT money, but after a recalculation, it only received $1 million.
Finance director Roberta Smith made $295,000 worth of cuts with the hardest hit being the commission, the detention center and the clerk’s office.
Walsh presented the cuts to the commissioners at Tuesday night’s meeting.
The biggest cuts in the commission budget will come from capital outlay, which means $65,000 will not be used to repair any county buildings. In addition, $25,850 were cut in appropriations, which go to such organizations as Puerto Seguro and the bookmobile. Also cut was a $68,000 subsidy to the detention center.
Walsh said the detention center has five open positions and two will always be open.
“We have such a high turnover rate and we don’t have any applicants,” Walsh said.
The clerk’s office had $40,000 trimmed from its budget.
“My only concern is that it is not taken on a permanent basis,” county clerk Rebecca Vega said. “We need that money to run our elections.”
Walsh assured Vega that money would be there for elections.
Walsh told all department heads if they can not handle the cuts to let her office and Smith’s office know
All departments had their raises cut. The sheriff’s department lost one-half of a position.
Walsh said funds used by the emergency management and DWI departments are safe because they come from different sources.
Overall, Walsh said, “It’s gonna hurt. You guys were all lean and the only fat was personnel. I don’t believe in furloughs either.
“We are the lowest paid county in the state. But there are going to be no furloughs or layoffs. If we have layoffs, it would have a demoralizing effect on the community.”
With the cuts, the county still has a shortfall of about $200,000.
“Our reserves can handle that for one more year,” Walsh said.
Walsh said the county also make up the difference if there is an increase in property tax revenue or gross receipts go up.
Another way to make up the difference would be to cut down on expenses, so there was a discussion about possibly going to four 10-hour days. That would not affect the sheriff’s department, the detention center or the senior center.
Walsh said if the county went to the four 10-hour days, that would help bring down the cost of utilities, which run the county around $90,000 per year.
“We need to get employees more aware to turn off lights and don’t leave equipment on all night,” Walsh said.
It also was brought up that the county had not had a tax sale in 15 years. The commission drafted a resolution a couple months ago that would urge the state taxation and revenue department to hold such a sale.
“If we had a tax sale, we would be fine.”
There were a lot of glum faces, but assessor Val Anaya complimented Walsh near the end of the hour meeting.
“I have to commend you,” Anaya said. “You saw there was a potential train wreck and you are taking measures to correct it.”
The commissioners were impressed as well.
“I am amazed you could make the $295,000 in cuts and still keep jobs,” R.J. Griego said. “I want to say thank you to all the departments who have accepted the cuts.”
Chair Rosie Tripp said, “A lot of credit goes to the department heads. At least, we were not laying off anybody.”
Thursday, July 15, 2010
County Adapts To PILT Shortfall
Sylvia Employs Gordo To Type Autobiography
By Anne Sullivan
During the ensuing week Sylvia continued her computer lessons with Gordo and soon Gordo was turning on The Computer by himself and the day finally came when Gordo actually started typing the treasured manuscript.
Sylvia was now free to spend the entire day writing her autobiography. She filled my last spiral notebook and was now making swift inroads into my computer paper. The pages were now stacked up in three 18-inch piles which made passage across the living room difficult.
“Don’t worry about it, boss,” Sylvia raised her head to say after I nearly stumbled into the pile closest to my comfortable chair. “Gordo will type this in no time. I reckon he’ll finish one of these piles a week. Then, as soon as I finish the first draft, I can start on the rewrites. After that it will be up to you to keep your end of the bargain and get my autobiography published.”
Oh, dear. This was a major worry. I couldn’t visualize the Mountain Mail publishing this voluminous manuscript. Yet, where else would I send it? I wasn’t about to bankroll Sylvia to self-publish. I decided to take a nap and think about it some other time.
The daily routine of Sylvia writing page after page and Gordo typing page after page went on for what seemed like an eternity but the calendar showed that only thirteen days had passed. Gordo, on his part, typed a page, crumpled the finished page up and tossed it into the waste basket. Most of the time he missed and I picked up the little balls of paper each night and every few days took a huge bag to the dump.
Thirteen days of this frenzied work and Gordo began to crumple himself. He complained that his paws were sore. Finally he revolted altogether, turned off The Computer and pushed the screen door open by himself, so anxious was he to get out.
Sylvia shouted after him, “Come back here immediately or I’ll dock your pay!”
“I didn’t know you’d paid him,” I said.
“I haven’t yet and if this revolting revolt continues, I won’t pay him at all.”
“What have you got to pay him with? I haven’t noticed you earning any money.”
“I will, I will. When you get my autobiography published, I’ll not only have loads of money, a million or more, but I’ll be famous as well and have all sorts of TV appearances and book signings to attend. I’ll be able to give Gordo $50 or even $75 out of my earnings. It all depends on the deal you get me.”
“I’m not your agent,” I protested.
“We made a deal,” she yelled at me before going to the door to screech at Gordo, “Come back here, you lazy cat! “
Gordo didn’t appear to pay any attention as he stalked up canyon and then raced up a tree.
Sylvia did her stalking into The Computer Room, muttering, “It’s just as I thought. I have to do everything myself.” She sat at The Computer and began clicking away, still muttering, “Who needs that dumb old cat anyway? I should have known better than to hire an undocumented alien. I can do the rewrites without him. I’ll dock his pay for sure. He must be almost finished with the typing by now anyway…” The mumbles stopped there and what emanated from her mouth then cannot be printed in a family newspaper.
Sylvia jumped up from The Computer, so suddenly that she knocked over the chair, and ran out of the house, almost going through the screen door which wisely gave way. She stood on the porch, shaking her paw and shouting up at Gordo in his tree. He seemed unconcerned by her imprecations.
“I need to get at the book you typed!” she hollered. “But I can’t find it anywhere. What did you save it under?”
“Gordo perked up, looking puzzled. “Save it? Was I supposed to save it?”
Oh dear, oh dear.
Luna Rodeo Scheduled For July 24
They call it the Best Little Rodeo in the West.
The Luna Rodeo will be held on July 24 and there promises to be fun for everybody.
Action starts at 9 a.m. with a slack barrel race. At 10 a.m., the parade will be held, and at 11 a.m., there will be a slack team roping event.
Lunch will be served at noon with a barbeque at the Community Center.
At 1 p.m., cowboys and cowgirls will line up for the main event – the rodeo. Considered home of the famous wild cow ride, there also will be bull riding, calf roping, bareback and saddlebronc, breakaway roping, barrel racing, team roping, steer riding, calf riding, mutton busting. There also will be an egg toss and calf scramble.
A western dance will be held at 8 p.m. and music will be provided by “Bobby and the Buckers.”
Susan Ley, Susan Erb, Myrna and Lavar Nikolaus, Jeanette Jackson and Jim Williams finished painting all the old bleachers on the west side Monday. Besides those, there are 12 new sets on the east side that were bought last year. Henry Zamora, Pascual Trujillo, Lloyd Jackson, Jim Williams, Pat Morrison and Richard Ley worked on getting them all set up. The Luna Pioneer Rodeo Association board members are: Lloyd Jackson, Pascual and Becky Trujillo, Henry Zamora, Janice Kiehne, Louise and Dan Estrada, Corwin Hulsey and Susan Ley.
For more information, call 575 547-2176 or 547-2144, check http://www.lunarodeo.com or surestrike@gilanet.com.
Quemado: Women’s Fellowship Luncheon
By Debbie Leschner
The Women's Fellowship Luncheon will be held Tuesday, July 20 at noon in the Cowboy Church located off Highway 32 near Quemado. All women are invited to come share in this special time.
The Men's Fellowship Breakfast will take place on Saturday, July 24 at 10 a.m.
Quemado Senior Center Activities for the week: Pool on Tuesday, July 20, quilting and bingo on Thursday. Lunch menu: Monday – sausage pizza, Tuesday – chicken tenders, Wednesday – rolled green enchilada, Thursday – fish platter and Friday – BBQ chicken and scalloped potatoes. All seniors are welcome. Please call the center at 773-4820 before 9 a.m. to make your lunch reservations.
Good Luck to all the Catron County 4H Seniors who are in Las Cruces attending the State 4H Conference.
July 4th Results: The Independence Day Parade had twenty nine entries.
The judges presented each of the following parade winners with $50:
Category 1 Animals: Chris Hostler (entry #14) matched pair of mules,
Category 2 Floats: Quemado Senior Center (entry #5),
Category 3 Cars/Trucks: US Forest Service (entry #4) with Smokey the Bear,
Category 4 Kids/Other: Truckin' USA (entry #7) driven by Tanner.
The Grand Champion winner the High Plains Outlaws entry won a cash prize of $100.00.
The 5th Annual Freedom Shoot had 18 participants with many shooting in all four shooting settings - F-class/10, a centerfire prone precision rifle, Practical Pistol, Precision Pistol, and a Rimfire Rifle. Ron Trover of Pie Town bested everyone in F-class/10 with a 191-4X out of a possible 210. Carlton Armstrong came in second with a 187. In Practical Pistol, Doug Marable of Quemado came in first with an 85 and Nicole Martin of Quemado came in second with an 80. This was Nicole's first experience in Practical Pistol. In the youth category, Nicole as well won the "Flip'n Rimfire" rifle course and Cody Colbert from Lubbock, Texas, grandson of Dan and Cyndi Lee of Pie Town, came in second. Cody as well shot all four courses coming in fourth in Practical Pistol. Precision Pistol won by Greg Sheahan from Phoenix, Az., with Jim Hart of Quemado second.
Jaramillo Horseshoe Tournament Results
Final standings: ‘A’ Class
First place and Tournament of Champions - Leonard Platero of Newcomb, New Mex. (62.5 percent).
Second place - Bergin Riddle, Reserve (56.5 percent)
Third place - Ken Jones, Albuquerque (53 percent)
‘B’ Class
First place – Lynn Platero, Crown Point (47.2 percent)
Second place – Daniel Martin, Pinedale (47 percent)
Third place – Emerson Martin, Yah Ta Hey (38.7 percent)
‘C’ Class
First place – Jeff Carey, Roswell (27.5 percent)
Second place – Randy Priddy, Bosque Farms (24.7 percent)
Third place – Melvin Cole, Socorro (30 percent)
‘D’ Class
First place – Leithan Platero, Crown Point (23.5 percent)
Second place – Ron Sanchez, Albuquerque (23 percent)
Third place – Shirley Chavez, Albuquerque (10.5 percent)
The state Horseshoe Tour-nament will be held in September at Sedillo Park.
Picture: Participants take part in the Dan Jaramillo Memorial Tournament of Horseshoes at Sedillo Park Saturday.
Mountain Mail photo
Gilworth A Fixture For Anglers
By John LarsonSOCORRO - For the last 33 years, Ron Gilworth of the Socorro Bass Club has been the Master of Ceremonies at the Annual Junior Open fishing Tournament held at Elephant Butte.
“I’ve been involved with the Elephant Butte Bass Anglers for almost as long as I have with the Socorro Bass Club,” Gilworth said. “Our club in Socorro has always assisted the Junior open Tournament with bikes and trophies.
“The idea for the tournament at Elephant Butte is based around Father’s Day,” he said. “And regardless of the outcome, every child gets a gift to take home.”
“But it’s more than just getting gifts. There’ve been expensive gifts available, things like specialty rods and reels. But you’ll see kids go up there and pick out something like a small priced radio.
“What’s unique about this event is there are a lot of repeat children coming back from all over the U.S.” Gilworth said. “Those whose families have moved away from the area. They’ll come back from places like Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Salt Lake City. This year there was a child coming back for his ninth year.”
“They can keep entering up to the age of graduation from high school.”
Two of the returnees were the children of previous contestants, “kids grown up with kids,” he said.
As Vice President of the Socorro Bass Club, Gilworth encourages its members to participate in the tournament, and to promote bass fishing in general.
“Our membership supports it very well,” he said. “There’s bass fishermen from all over New Mexico, and our club is one of the most active.”
A good example of the activity of the local club comes from its success with getting the state to create a specialty fishing license plate.
An article in the July, 2010, national magazine Bass Times, cited the Socorro Bass Club as being instrumental in lobbying the 2009 state legislature to authorized the Motor Vehicle Division to issue the special bass fishing plate.
“We understand it will be coming out the first of August,” Gilworth said.
The Socorro Bass Club has been in existence for 35 years and boasts 43 current members “from all over the area,” he said. “We do different projects throughout the year like tournament fishing and involvement in conservation.
“We worked for the creation of the warm water hatchery in Santa Rosa, and worked to set black bass limits.”
The current president is Betty Arthur from Elephant Butte.
Picture: Ron Gilworth with a hopeful young fisherman, who waited to see what his final day’s catch would weight during the 33rd Annual Junior Open Tournament June 20. Gilworth again served as the event’s emcee, greeting each of the 75 young competitors and praising their efforts, and like every wise fisherman, picking up a tip or two about successful lures and techniques. Photo courtesy of the Sierra County Sentinel
Space Camp Quite The Adventure For Alamo Student
By Nathalie NanceFor the Mountain Mail
When Alamo student Eva Padilla, 16, learned that she had been rewarded with a scholarship to go to Space Camp in Alabama for a week in early June, she got equally excited and nervous.
She had never really traveled anywhere by herself before, let alone flown across the country. Her mother, Angela Guerro, was also nervous to see Padilla off at the Albuquerque airport. However, the trip went just fine and Padilla soon overcame the initial homesickness. Despite somewhat hard and uncomfortable bunk beds in the room she shared with other participants, Padilla soon settled in on campus in Huntsville.
“Now I wouldn’t hesitate to go somewhere on my own again,” said Padilla.
The Advanced Space Academy is run by the University of Alabama, and a lucky few get to attend their popular space camp each year. While there, the participants learn about space exploration and aerospace technology as well as basic leadership skills and team building. Padilla was on the teenage team, with members not only from the United States, but also from as far away as India and China.
Every day they were given a special mission, which they had to solve together. One was to land a space shuttle on the moon, exchange an antenna on its surface and then land on Earth again without crashing (yes, it was only a simulator), another was to build a rocket from a hot dog.
“It only went about two feet,” laughed Padilla.
Besides lectures on planets and stars and safety in space, there was also time for a lot of fun.
“We played a lot of pranks on our supervisor, Kevin,” admitted Padilla.
The teammates also got to try to do moon walking and to hang from the ceiling in order to experience what it feels like to be weightless in space. A real test, however, was the six hours locked up in a space shuttle with oxygen masks.
“But I wasn’t nervous,” Padilla said.
Consequently, she passed and as part of the graduation ceremony the last day of the camp, her name tag, which on purpose had been put upside down on her coveralls, was turned around to face the right way.
Now Padilla is back from space camp with a lot of happy memories, new friends and one college credit from the University of Alabama. She is currently enrolled in the summer youth program at Alamo, where she helps with the summer food program. This fall, she will begin 10th grade and eventually she dreams of becoming a vet.
“I would like to go back to space camp and see everyone again,” says Padilla, “but I prefer to stay on Earth.”
Picture: Eva Padilla tries to do the moon walk at space camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Courtesy photo
NAPA Food Drive
Owners Frank and Lori Romero said the food drive held Friday at Scott’s Napa Auto Store was a big success. Napa also gave away prizes that afternoon and Richard Murillio won the televsion and Walt Seward won the tool box. “We want to thank the community for the support,” the Romeros said. In conjunction with the food drive, the store also held its annual tool sale. Frank Romero said close to 400 hot dogs were grilled for customers. From left to right in the photo are Jeremy Petrie, Frank Romero, Lori Romero, Brian Wheeler and Andrew Zamora.
Mobile Mammography Van Unveiled
Mountain Mail reportsSocorro General Medical Group at Socorro General Hospital has partnered with the company High Resolution in Albuquerque and will now offer state-of-the-art digital mammography services through a mobile unit to Socorro County patients. The new mobile van replaces the analog screening mammography previously used.
The mobile mammography van includes a patient reception area and private areas for preparation and imaging. The van includes a bathroom and access for those with special needs.
“This is a significant enhancement for the hospital and in patient care for residents of Socorro County,” said Paul Wiest, Socorro General Hospital Radiology Department Manager, in a press release. “This technology and convenience is now offered locally and I think this enhancement shows the dedication and commitment Socorro General Hospital has in serving the community.”
Digital mammography provides enhanced image clarity far better than older methods. Images are transferred the same day to clinicians who can interpret and report the results to the doctor faster, which allows for the ability to screen more patients.
“It’s amazing how much faster this machine is. It will cut most, if not all exams by at least one-third to one-half the time and the clarity is outstanding,” Wiest said. “The acquisition time of the image is faster.”
The van makes it possible to offer digital mammography services semi-monthly in Socorro on the second and fourth Tuesdays. Patients will also continue to have the option to utilize digital mammography services at High Resolution in Albuquerque.
“This new technology brings superior image quality to our patients and is part of Presbyterian’s continued commitment to improve clinical quality,” Wiest said. “As we look for new and innovative ways to deliver care, this is one example of transforming the way we provide enhanced technology to better serve our patients and communities.”
Picture: Theresa, a technician for High Resolution, shows off the new examination room in the mobile mammography van. Photo by John Larson
Catron Officers To Play In 9-1-1 Bowl
By John LarsonTwo Catron County law enforcement officers will be butting heads with firefighters this Saturday, July 17, in the Second Annual “Fire Fighters vs. Law Enforcement” football game in Albuquerque – the 9-1-1 Bowl.
“This is full contact football. It’s fun to watch,” Undersheriff Ian Fletcher said. “It’s guaranteed hard hitting. Real football.”
This is the second year Fletcher and Goetz will be playing on the law enforcement team.
“Players come from all over the state, but the cops’ team is mostly from the Albuquerque Police Department,” Fletcher said. “Our team should have about 40 players.”
He said his team has been practicing for the big game for about 10 weeks.
“The purpose is a fundraiser to assist firefighters and law enforcement officers for illnesses and treatments,” Fletcher said. “Some of the money also goes to the Team Conner Cancer Foundation, and New Mexico Boys and Girls club.
“Plus as an added attraction, this year we have Houston Alexander, the mixed martial arts champion from Omaha coming in for a meet and greet,” he said.
Kick-off at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque is 6 p.m. Saturday, with tailgating starting at 3 p.m.
Ticket prices are $10 per person.
Posts
