By Don Wiltshire
There are two items in my “Absolute Must Do” list for this weekend. One is the Yard Sale to benefit The Grizz Project on Friday and Saturday, April 16 - 17 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the parking lot next to the Golden Spur Saloon on Highway 60 in Magdalena. I’ll even part with some of my treasured “rusty bits” for this one. The other is the Annual Meeting of the Socorro Electric Cooperative on Saturday, April 17 with voting starting at 5 p.m. and the meeting at 7 p.m. in the Finley Gym in Socorro. If you have any comments, problems, solutions, upcoming events or body armor for the SEC meeting, contact me at
Let’s take a look at the thinking that went on “behind the curtain” before these two events came to our attention. The Grizz Project is the brain child of Marguerite Sweeney. It’s named after her all-time favorite dog. Grizz is dedicating itself to relieving the suffering of animals and to furthering the humane treatment of animals in and around Magdalena. “Animals”, for the moment includes dogs, cats and horses. I’m sure other animals will follow.
There is a wide spectrum of attitudes toward animals in this area, ranging from appreciating animals as “part of the family” and all of the creatures that make up our environment, to the legitimate use of animals as food, to kids who see animals as nothing more than moving shooting targets. We seem to range from bunny huggers to dog kickers, from ravenous carnivores to mild mannered vegetarians. We all find ourselves somewhere on this continuum, and an occasional “reality check” can be a good thing. I for one, have come to respect the full range of emotional intelligence that our canine, feline and equine friends can exhibit.
Magdalena seems to be a popular spot to “drop off” animals that are unwanted. My own dog, Abby was one of those drop-offs. I was lucky that she chose to follow me home and she’s been a loyal friend ever since. Other drop-offs and some dogs that “get loose” can be of questionable “friendliness”. Some are outright dangerous, yet I have rarely met a dog that couldn’t be reasoned with or at least “shouted down”. If you encounter such an animal, contact the Marshal’s office at 854-2493. It can be sheltered and cared for at the improved pens in the rodeo grounds. This was one of Grizz’s first projects.
Grizz hopes to raise funds for the neutering and spaying of animals and to place unwanted pets in good homes. Without this effort, Magdalena could (and has in the past) become over-run with feral dogs and cats. The Grizz Project also hopes to offer assistance to individuals to help them to keep and to provide for their pets. Intervention, education and foster care programs are also in the works. Pets looking for homes in the Magdalena area are posted at
Another group of people who are working for the common good (although this might be a bit of a stretch) is the Socorro Electric Cooperative. It is, as it’s name implies, a cooperative, not-for-profit organization with the purpose of providing electric power to its “members”. Electric power is purchased from a variety of vendors and supplied to us through a distribution grid, built and maintained by a staff of 38 employees. A Board of Directors of 11 members, at a cost of nearly half a million dollars seems to be a bit excessive to “direct” this operation. This matter and other overdue changes to the by-laws are to be voted on by the members (us) at the annual meeting this Saturday at the Finley Gym in Socorro.
We are in a unique situation here in New Mexico with our Electric Co-op. Many US residents are at the mercy of privately owned for-profit electric corporations. Consider for a moment, the reign of terror that was Enron: for the Greater Greed rather than for the Greater Good. This is why Dennis Kucinich (yes, that progressive, socialist do-gooder), back when he was the Mayor of Cleveland, fought tooth and nail to keep the Cleveland Electric Company (Municipal Light) a publicly owned utility. I watched this case closely back when I was still a Cleveland boy; that’s why I’m a bit strange; perhaps it was the water. This is YOUR Co-op and YOU have a say in how it’s run. Come, experience Demo-cracy at its finest.
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