SOCORRO – In the course of following up on a burglary investigation, Socorro police officers took five people into custody on child abuse and narcotics charges.
According to the criminal complaint, Anna Lee Baca, Amanda Padilla, Walter Robertson, Dustin Smith, and Stonee Williams were arrested Tuesday, Feb. 9,at 3:30 p.m. on one count of child abuse, possession of medication without a prescription, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Sgt. Richard Lopez said in the report that he and Capt. Angel Garcia were attempting to locate Dustin Smith on a separate matter, who was reported to be visiting a residence at 112 B Street. The officers found a note on the front door directing people to go to the back door. The report said that the officers heard voices from inside the house referencing the smoking of marijuana, and the odor of marijuana smoke was coming from an open window. The officers waited “for some time” and then knocked on the door.
Upon entering, Lopez saw two women and three men in the room, and a minor child on a bed.
The complaint stated that Anna Lee Baca was sitting on the floor with an amount of marijuana on a VHS case, and Walter Robertson sitting next to a piece of board with lines of white powdery substance.
Also in the room was Amanda Padilla (owner of the residence), Stonee Williams, and Dustin Smith, the man they were originally looking for.
“In the room was the strong odor of marijuana, along with a cloud of smoke,” the complaint stated. “In plain view” were marijuana cigarettes, the board with white powdery substance, a gray box with several syringes and “other articles associated with marijuana and methamphetamine abuse.”
All of the items were well within reach of the minor child on the bed, Lopez said.
The report stated that Amanda Padilla told police that the powdery substance was hydrocodone (vicodin) pills crushed up.
All five suspects were placed into custody and incarcerated at the Socorro County Detention Center. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Five Face Child Abuse, Drug Charges
The home of John and Barbara Foard of Magdalena still smolders Wednesday morning after catching fire late Tuesday. The fire is thought to have been caused by a problem with the electrical wiring. Magdalena Marshal Larry Cearley said the Foards were alerted by a smoke detector, and were able to get out safely, but were not able to save any of their possessions. Units from both the Magdalena Fire Dept. and Hop Canyon Fire Dept. responded. Cearley said that the home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and crews kept the blaze from spreading until 7 a.m. “Everybody from both departments worked good together, and they did as good as they could, but the fire spread so rapidly the home couldn’t be saved,” Cearley said. “The smoke alarm saved their lives. Everybody should have one.”Harry Kroyer photo.
Electric Co-op Sets Dates For Member Meetings
SOCORRO – The Socorro Electric Cooperative will hold a member informational meeting on March 27 at 1 p.m. at the Finley Gym and will hold its general member meeting on April 17 at 7 p.m. at the same facility.
Registration for the informational meeting will begin at noon and registration for the general meeting will begin at 5 p.m.
The informational meeting was the hot topic at Tuesday night’s co-op meeting.
Informational meeting committee chairman Donald Wolberg presented to the board the issues they wanted to discuss with the members.
“It’s what we do from here on in that counts,” Wolberg told the board.
Wolberg handed out a four-page summary to the board detailing what the informational meeting wanted to accomplish during the meeting.
Trustee Charlie Wagner said, “I want to ask some questions before I vote on this.”
Wagner asked if there was going to be voting at the informational meeting.
Attorney Dennis Francish said: “There is nothing to vote on.”
Wolberg said: “There is nothing to vote on but we left it vague in case we do have something to vote on.”
After a lot of back and forth, the board decided just to set the time, date and place for the meeting and directed the attorney to look at the report to determine if there are any legal ramifications.
According to the summary, the program will include an introduction of the board, the introduction of division/department heads of the SEC and brief statements of department functions, recognition of SEC staff in the audience, presentation of an overview of the SEC, presentation of the scale and scope of SEC operations and a presentation of board functions required by bylaws, regulations and efficient oversight functions.
The meeting also will cover the required costs of a functioning board, the presentation of a board budget, questions from the floor and responses by appropriate trustees and SEC Staff and other business including any motions requiring a vote by members.
The informational meeting committee also discussed resolutions that would be brought forward at the special meeting.
The resolutions involved board compensation, medical insurance, per diems and quorums.
Wolberg suggested in the summary that the board consider adoption of the resolutions already approved by district meetings and that will be voted a t the annual meeting, but Ulibarri and Cordova disagreed and they left it up to the board to determine its position.
The committee did agree that the president or a trustee that he chooses should hold a press conference regarding the special meeting.
Wagner suggested the board go through and discuss each of the resolutions that the committee discussed.
“If we do that, we are going to be here all night,” Trustee president Paul Bustamante said.
That’s why the board determined just the time, date and place for the special meeting and tabled discussion of the resolutions for another meeting.
The board also awarded a two-year contract to CB Ray Incorporated to serve as the co-op contractor.
Wagner said the board should look at other bids from other contractors.
“Just as a matter of form, it looks better if we go out and get competitive bids,” Wagner said. “CB Ray would probably have the inside track. We just owe it to our members to get the best for their money.”
Pineda said that CB Ray was asking for a two-year contract with a 2.5 percent increase to cover its payroll obligations. Although CB Ray is based in Arizona, Pineda said, most of their crews are from here and their equipment is in the Socorro County area.
“If we have a big outage, their crews would come out and help us,” Pineda said.
Ulibarri added, “They hire local people.”
Wagner’s motion to open it up to competitive bids failed 7-3 and the motion to award the contract to CB Ray passed 9-1.
The meeting opened with an address from member Don Steinnerd of Socorro.
“I am here to ask for clarification of the by-laws and on a 1967 resolution and to inquire whether the current Trustee compensation is in compliance. Specifically, is the current health, dental and vision insurance compensation for Trustees and his/her family in compliance with the bylaws?”
Steinard cited Article 5, Section 7 of the bylaws that stated that trustee compensation shall be specifically authorized by a vote of the members. The 1967 resolution said that the sum of $15 plus insurance as compensation to be paid to each member of the board for each day or portion there of spent on Cooperative business. The resolution does not define the types of insurance compensation. He said this is in conflict with the current “annual” insurance policies.”
Bustamante directed Francish to look into the matter.
In other business:
•The board will send two co-op linemen to take part in utility underground traning in San Diego.
•Trustee Leo Cordova was not attendance because he was in a car accident, according to Pineda, who added that Cordova was unhurt.
Quemado Woman Earns British Military Award
QUEMADO – It was back in 1940.
And Elsie Candelaria of Quemado, who recently received a long awaited medal of honor from the British military for her service as a member of the Women’s Land Army in World War II.
She remembers like it was yesterday.
She was just 15 at the time but she was a land girl for the British military and her job entailed that she be in charge of field workers, who picked crops in the Worcester area of England.
Regulations stipulated that those who entered the military be 18 years of age, but Candelaria, who was born in Wales, enrolled anyway.
“I put my age up at 15 and my brother his age up at 15. He was in Africa and when he was 16 he was with (General Bernard Law) Montgomery’s troops,” Candelaria, who turns 85 in April, recalled at the Quemado Senior Center this week. “I needed to be home. My father was dying. He was gassed in World War I and my mom was a fragile woman and I needed to be there.”
It was a normal summer day and she made the one and one-half mile walk to work. “The Battle of Britain was going on and all everybody knew about was the bombing of London. But the Germans also made regular bombing runs over Birmingham, which was 60 miles away in Coventry.”
The Germans had not made their way to Worcester.
At least not yet.
On this particular day, Candelaria and the other workers were picking green beans at Tooby’s Farm in Powick, about three miles from Worcester, which happens to be the birthplace of Worcestershire sauce.
About midway through the day, Candelaria remembered hearing the sound of a plane.
“It would get louder and quieter,” Candelaria said. “The field was wide and about three acres long. I remember looking over my shoulder and I could see the plane hedgehopping. It was getting really close. I yelled that it was a Gerry, that’s what we called the Germans.
“I told everybody to hit the deck and we all dove into the beans. But I looked up and the barrel of a machine gun was pointing right toward us and I could see the swastika on the leather helmet of the gunner. The plane passed over and I was sure he was going to come back and finish us off.”
But the plane banked and headed toward a school.
The Nazi plane’s gunner unloaded his machine gun on a playground, injuring or killing 19 children. Then the plane headed to Worcester and the gunner took out all the storefronts on the main street.
“Worcester was a defenseless city,” Candelaria said. “Nobody had any guns.”
The Germans never made any more bombing runs at Worcester, but occasionally when they made their runs to Birmingham or Coventry, they had an extra bomb in their bomb rack so they would drop it on their way back.
On two occasions, the bombs fell by the Candelaria house and it took out their windows.
Candelaria served as a land girl in the military until 1941 when she contracted pneumonia.
Candelaria eventually recovered and she worked at Rotol Air Screws factory in a variety of jobs until 1945.
But it was in 1944 when she made her New Mexico connection.
Near the end of February 1944, Candelaria and her sister decided to go to a dance in Worcester.
“The good thing about the dance was that no Americans were allowed,” Candelaria laughed. “When they were on leave, they were quite obnoxious and we really didn’t want anything to do with them. I also was engaged.
“So we went to the dance and I was with my sister. My sister went to the other side of the room and this American showed up and he should stood there. He went over to my sister and started talking to her and she didn’t tell him that she was my sister.
Then he started walking over to me and I said ‘Oh no.’
“I remember I was really not very nice because I was already engaged. So I asked him are you from New York and do you own a skyscraper?
“No ma’am,” Roger replied.
“Are you from Texas and do you own a big ranch?,” Elsie countered.
“No ma’am,” Roger said.
“Are you from Hollywood and you think you can get me in the movies?” Elsie asked.
“He said no ma’am I’m from New Mexico and I don’t own a doggone thing,” Roger said.
That American turned out to be Roger Candelaria, who was from Quemado.
Roger Candelaria stayed for a day.
“My mother really liked him,” Elsie said.
And apparently so did Elsie, who broke off her engagement.
The dance was in February and he proposed on leave in May and “we were married Sept. 25, 1944.”
A month later, Roger was ordered off to France with his company. On June 6 was the D-Day invasion at Normandy and Roger was on the scene two days later in a tank.
The Candelarias saw each just two more times until 1946.
“In 1946, I was one of 2,500 British brides that came over to New York on the Queen Mary. I knew nothing about New Mexico.
“The plan was for Roger to meet me in New York and we would take a long honeymoon train ride from New York to New Mexico. That was the plan anyway. We were in Tidworth, England and that’s where the authorities checked us out and checked our papers and vaccination records. There were German POWs there to make the bed and I told them not to touch my bed and I would make my own bed.
“We sailed to New York and we got there on the Sunday the 21st.”
When the ship landed in New York, Elsie waited and waited and waited for Roger.
But there was no Roger.
Because of a cable mixup, Roger had been told that his bride would not be in New York until Wednesday.
So Elsie started west on a train with a lot of other war brides.
Before leaving, the brides were given a tour of New York. They headed down Broadway and everybody gawked at the skyscrapers.
“We left from Grand Central Station, went to Canada, went to Chicago and I eventually got off in Albuquerque,” Elsie said. “The porter was Mr. Jackson and he was the nicest man. He helped all the women with their babies getting them milk and whatever else they might want.
“He asked me where I was going and I said Quemado, New Mexico, Box 65. He came back with a sackful of guest soap that they had in hotels. He told me you are going to need this because where you are going all they have is lye soap.”
The train arrived in Albuquerque and there was still no Roger.
“Everybody was gone but I saw two Red Cross ladies and I told them I was a British bride and that I was looking for husband. They looked at me like that I probably had been dumped. But they took me to lunch at the Alvarado hotel.
“This man kept looking at me after lunch. I was really nervous and I kept hiding my face.
He came up to me and asked me if I was Junior’s wife? I had never heard that Roger had been referred to as Junior and I said no.
“He walked away but he came back and asked me if I was Roger Candelaria’s wife. And I said yes, where is he? Well he is in New York looking for you. His name was Mr. Saiz and he was a very nice man.”
Saiz took Elsie down to Socorro and took her to the old Park Hotel where the Socorro post office stands near the Plaza.
Roger, after hearing that Elsie was in New Mexico, hopped on a transcontinental flight from New York to Albuquerque.
“He told me to close the door and not let anybody in because Socorro was one wild place,” Elsie said. “I finally was able to take a bath after spending four and a half days on the train. It was impossible to get any privacy on that train because I was helping the other brides with their babies.”
At 3 a.m. Friday, there was a knock on the door.
But Elsie was not about to open the door.
“But then I heard Roger’s voice, I was so relieved.”
The newlyweds were reunited, “but one of the first things he told me was that we had to be in Albuquerque Friday night because on Saturday we had to see Roger’s younger brother Billy star in a track meet and his sister perform in a piano recital.”
The Candelarias’ cross-country adventure was chronicled in a 1946 edition of the Albuquerque Journal and apparently the newspaper is coming to Quemado next week to talk with Elsie.
Roger and Elsie did not leave each others’ side. Roger worked in Albuquerque for a while. They lived in Michigan for about three years.
But in 1955, they moved to Quemado for good.
They had three children. Steve is a pastor at the Pie Town Baptist Church, Rhys owns his own truck and drives for Walmart and Tricia works at the prison in Grants.
They own a small cattle ranch in Quemado and Roger, through the help of the GI Bill, became a gas plumber and he was in charge of a propane gas company.
“He put in almost all the systems around here,” Elsie said.
Roger died of a stroke in 1992.
“He had some other health problems, but one day, he walked through the garage and he just dropped dead,” Elsie said
Elsie still is in fine health, although she is blind. The opthamologist told her that she had a stroke in her eyes.
Her blindness does not stop her.
She keeps busy around her home and makes some occasional stops at the Quemado Senior Center.
For years, Elsie was the organist at the First Baptist Church in Quemado and she taught adult bible study for more than 40 years. She also helped Roger with his business as well.
“I have a computer and through the commission of the blind, I have a program that speaks.”
Last year with the help of one of her nieces, Elsie found out that the British government was recognizing those who served as Land Girls in the military.
Elsie’s niece sent in her information and three weeks ago, Elsie received a medal of honor from the British government with a commendation from Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
“I wish I could see it but people have told me that it is a very nice medal,” Elsie said.
It is indeed.
Principal Gets Clipped
San Antonio Elementary School principal John Ray Dennis gets his head shaved by two students after the student body raised a $1,849 donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dennis said the money was raised through a school-wide Math-A-Thon, and that the top two students would have the privilege of cutting his hair. Pictured are the two top fundraisers in the Math-A-Thon (from left): Pre-K student Ashlynn Jones, and second grader Kasie Gallegos.
Illegal Aliens Flee
A Catron County sheriff deputy pulled over a vehicle and a number of undocumented aliens escaped on foot at 9:30 p.m., Jan. 31, on Highway 180 at mile marker 25.
“One of our deputies was in the process of a traffic stop and the vehicle failed to yield right away. A short time later the vehicle did stop and some undocumented aliens did run on foot,” Catron County undersheriff Ian Fletcher wrote in an email,. “There were other vehicles involved where the occupants who also were suspected of being undocumented aliens did flee as well. “The total number is unknown but estimated at around 30. Border Patrol did send agents and equipment to help with the effort. Since the incident, Border Patrol has been in the area more frequently than before,” he wrote.
Fletcher said the Border Patrol has taken over the case.
School Board Takes Action on Sarracino Parking Lot
The Socorro Consolidated Schools Board held an abbreviated meeting Tuesday night and board members took up the subject of the renovation of the Sarracino Middle School parking lot.
An estimate came from a contractor with a total of $79,138. Anton Salome asked the board for approval so the district could go ahead with pursuing the funding for the project. A motion to approve was made by Pauline Jaramillo and was seconded by James Chavez The action was then approved unaminously by the board.
On the next item on the agenda, the board decided to table discussion and action until a meeting in April because some members had not had enough time to review the Student/Personnel policies. Board member Robert Markwell voiced his concerns with some members not doing their homework and getting what has to be done for the district and the parents and students in a timely manner. Board Member Ann Leviner also voiced concern about putting the questions of the Student and Personnel policy off for two months. In the end, it was tabled until the meeting in April despite strong concerns voiced by Leviner and Markwell.
Socorro County Sheriff's Blotter
Dec. 31
A complainant in Socorro reported at 3 p.m. that neither she or other family members had not seen, or heard from, a relative who had been missing since August. She took the deputy into his home in Veguita, and found that it had been ransacked, as well as storage sheds and other buildings on the property. She stated that his vehicle had been seen in Belen driven by a female who apparently told others that she had purchased it from him. It is unknown when any property was removed. The missing man was entered into NCIC.
A man on Grant St. in Socorro reported at 7 p.m. that he received a harassing telephone call from a woman stating that if he did not pay money he owes, she would get her “homies” to take care of it.
Jan. 2
A woman on Abo Loop in Veguita reported at 10:30 a.m. the suspect pushed her after she met with him at an address on Highway 304. The officer met with the man, who stated that he was trying to get away from her but she would not let him leave. He said he pushed her out of the way. Neither party wanted to pursue the incident.
A car was stopped at a roadblock at mile marker 3 on Highway 380 at 2:02 p.m. A check showed the Carrizozo driver had a suspended/revoked license with an arrest clause. He was placed under arrest and taken to the Socorro County Detention Center.
OBITUARY: Marian Jojola
Marian Jojola
(Apr. 4, 1920 – Feb. 4, 2010)
Marian Jojola, 89, passed away on Thursday, Feb. 4, in Socorro. Marian was born in Socorro on Apr. 4, 1920 to Lucas and Catalina (Gallegos) Torres.
She is survived by sons, Lucas Jojola and wife, Sherry of Albuquerque; Henry Jojola Jr. of Socorro; Raymond Jojola of Georgetown,Tex.; Daughter, Toni Torres and husband, Willie of Socorro; daughter-in-law, Annie Jojola; sister, Josefita Jojola of Albuquerque; sisters-in-law, Frances Sarate of Socorro; Lena Silva of Albuquerque; Grandchildren, Raymond Torres; Kathy Torres; Michael Gallegos; Henry Jojola III; Chris Jojola; Laura Jojola; Christopher Jojola; Stephen Jojola; Elias Jojola; Carl Jojola; Jason Jojola; Loralei Gallegos; Nichole Gallegos; Great Grandchildren, Shannon Peralta; Alisa Torres; Sherree Torres; Amy Peralta; Kendra Peralta; Raymond Torres Jr.; Gabrielle Peralta; Candice Jojola; Chantilly Gallegos; Henry Jojola IV; Cody Howes; Justin Angel; Maray Angel; McKennah Jojola; Mathiew Jojola; Christian Jojola; Zyan Jojola; Cory Sanchez; Great Great Grandchildren, Gabriel Jojola; Christine Peralta; Amanda Torres; Jordan Torres; Isaac Gonzales; Nathaniel Gonzales; Ma'Leah Brown; Trinity Torres; Troy Torres; Jeremy Valenzuela; and a cherished niece, Margaret Torres.Marian is preceded in death by her husband, Henry Jojola Sr.; son, Eloy Jojola; daughter, Mary Gallegos; and daughter-in-law, Marie Jojola.
EDITORIAL: Time To Give Challengers A Fair, Equal Opportunity
Did they even think for one moment that the incumbent mayor and councilors would be hanging out within a few feet of the machine while people are voting and challengers were not allowed within 100 feet of that machine or the building it was sitting in?
It’s just another law that was either put in place to hurt potential challengers purposely, or the legislatures are just too simple to see the harm that something like this does to the voting process overall.
It leaves absolutely no doubt that the incumbents have a huge advantage at election time.
In Socorro’s case, the people waiting in line to vote get to see, hear and stand just about 8 feet from the Mayor while he sits at his desk “doing business.”
It’s laughable and really quite troubling. The excuse that the mayor and clerk must have the voting machine in close proximity so that they may also have access to their daily duties at the same time in city hall in ludicrous.
The machine should at the very least, be in the Council Chambers where the two very qualified young ladies who work for the city can do the business of running the election. It would still be a few feet from the mayor and clerk, but would remove any possibility of intimidation or campaigning by incumbents or challengers alike and would definitely be out of the line of sight for those standing in line waiting to vote.
Although the law currently in place does say that the voting machine can be in the clerk’s office during the city elections voting cycle, the mayor and clerk should remove all doubt and any questions concerning the election and the machine’s location, and take the steps to place the voting machine away from any elected officials’ office.
If the voting machine were placed in the Council Chambers, clerk Pat Salome would only have to walk another 20 feet should a problem arise.
No one should have to stand and wait to vote with one or more incumbents standing and talking in the immediate voting area.
It’s not only unnerving for some, but actually as unfair as it gets for the challengers who are made to stand outside and across the street – 100 feet away.
The clerk should do the right thing and move the early voting machine into the Council Chambers.
In doing so, he would be removing the concern about whether it is an unfair advantage to the incumbent mayor (Salome’s boss).
It would also be a great gesture by Salome to make a simple decision and place the early voting machine away from the mayor’s office so that people are not made to feel uncomfortable and placed in an awkward situation during their opportunity to vote in a city election.
No matter how you cut it, having any voting machine within a few feet of any incumbent who is able to see and converse with voters while they are waiting to vote is unfair to the challengers outside and across the street, and at the very least is unethical in very big way.
We wonder, would the incumbent candidates feel comfortable if the challenging candidates were able to sit in the clerk’s lobby while constituents voted?
OPINION: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
By Margaret Wultshire
Don loves the library here in Magdalena. It’s the one thing he’ll spontaneously get out of bed for. Stage and theater people are not known as early risers, Don Wiltshire is no exception.
While our librarian, Lucy Pino, is having some eye problems corrected, Don has been spending more time at the library than usual. I’m writing more columns.
We all hope Lucy is on the mend by the time the paper is out.
Love your village? Come to the library Saturday, Feb. 27. From 4p.m. to 6 p.m., you will have a chance to meet, question and support candidates for Mayor and trustee positions.
So what are you doing for Valentine’s day?
Going to the dance at the Bear Mountain Café?
Baking something special, or shopping for special treats?
Writing notes of love.
Love is best when it is a verb and not a noun. This idea opened to me one lonely season. It has made a great difference. I was in deep dark emotional pain and had feelings of being without hope (of love).
Love is not something to have, to get, to keep; Love is something to do. Anyone can do it, anytime, anywhere. There is no reason to be without, ever. If you are afraid of people, love the earth or an animal.
Dogs know love is a verb. Being loved is like a warm fuzzy puppy because that’s what they do. Giving love is as close to heaven and earth as you can get.
Speaking of dogs to love. Diane Allen (854-2601) or Janice Bruncini (854-3450) may have word on some puppies or dogs available for some good loving.
Our wonderful dog Abby was dropped in the village as a puppy.
I’m sad sometimes people drop so many animals here. I know there are circumstances that make keeping puppies or dogs difficult sometimes.
It’s best to plan a head and not have them. Second best to give the animal a safe shot at a good life at an animal shelter. Some animals dropped here don’t make it. Those who do, do so because this is a loving village.
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” said Mother Theresa. If ALL the churches, all the nations, all the villages and all the families and each of us could take this to heart it could be heaven on earth. It’s not the “bad” guys doing us in, it’s the judging.
“Judge ye not, lest ye be judged” is a comment from the Bible.
Unfortunately the Bible that gave us the ten commandments and many good pieces of wisdom was written by men.
These different men contradict themselves. There’s you shall not kill just a few lines before the golden calf worshipers were slaughtered by the thousands.
Of course, people who judge are also pretty good at justification. They seem to have a hard time finding the truth of something. That does explain why they judge.
Judging not only gets in the way of loving; it’s a short step to hating. Those who judge often will tell others they have to “earn” their love.
Spare yourself despair, longing, rejection and a low self image if someone tells you to “earn” their love. Justice may be blind; but self proclaimed judges seem quite blind.
They are judging to begin with because they are not sure what is “good” or isn’t. They don’t have a clue. They want control. They are willing to “rape” humanity to get control.
If someone judges you unworthy of their love, just say “thank you.” Move on. What they really want to prove is that they are more worthy of love, respect than you are. In other words, they want to find love, a noun, and not “do” love.
Jesus loves me this I know, unless I grow up gay. Bull. That’s not the message I got. You can find what you want in the Bible it has THAT many contradictions. What you find tells you about you, not God.
Love, just do it, you’ll like it.
WriteWshireoldadobe@yahoo.com. Margaret Wiltshire’s views do not necessairly represent those of the Mountain Mail.
OPINION: Valentine Still Teaching Many The Importance Of Love
By Doug May
Love is extremely important. We need much more of it. It is appropriate and beneficial to set aside one day a year to emphasize the importance of love. It is love that makes all our labors worthwhile.
But love is not something that comes naturally; it must be learned. If you think that it is natural for us to love, you are probably thinking of love as a sexual activity.
I am speaking of love in a much broader sense. Love is helping another person according to his or her needs. When we are born we naturally love ourselves and have many desires for our enjoyment, but being sensitive to the needs of others and helping them takes a life-time of learning.
The Bible describes love: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
Love does not focus on our desires but on the needs of others. We learn this kind of love from God. Christ’s apostle John wrote, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
Our Valentine’s Day gets its name from an ancient bishop in the Christian church who understood God’s love for him.
On February 14, AD 270 Valentine was killed in Rome under the Emperor Claudius because he would not renounce his faith in Christ. Historians tell us that those were days of horror for Christians in the Roman Empire.
“The new persecution, which was begun in 257, seems to have been directed more astutely. The bishops, as the heads of the Church, were singled out and were commanded to do homage to the old gods under pain of exile, Christians were threatened with the death penalty if they so much as went to any of the meetings or services of the Church... In the year 258 a new and more drastic edict was promulgated. It ordered death for bishops, priests, and deacons...”
Persecution of varied intensity continued until AD 323.
Valentine’s love for the Lord was so great that he would rather die than to deny the Savior who died for his forgiveness. Valentine’s love was but a reflection of Christ’s love for him.
Valentine did not invent love, but he knew the love of God in Christ. On the cross God’s Son suffered for our sins. God sent a message to sinners, “I love you.”
Paul, who had previously persecuted Christians, knew the blessings of God’s forgiveness. He wrote, “In all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus”
It is appropriate, that in memory of Valentine and his love for Christ that we should show acts of love for one another.
Remember that special one in your life, but also find two or three others who have who are hurting and encourage them with a message or gift. It is inspiring to see the enormous love being showered on the people in Haiti in this time of their great need.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Doug May is a retired Lutheran pastor and his views do not necessarily represent those of the Mountain Mail
OPINION: ‘Principalities And Power’ Continue On
By Jack Fairweather
To begin, up front, I don’t like what the present Obama administration has done or, more properly, has not done.
As the economy and, therefore, everything else crumbles around them, and us, they continue to play the same old games of corruption and greed.
Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
Let the people handle their own itch; catastrophic illness, loss of home, unemployment, under employment, a depressing reality that you cannot survive, in a healthy manner, on one meal a day, empty store shelves, businesses cutting hours, gasoline and energy prices playing peek-a-boo with your wallet and credit cards, and on and on.
Liberals and their more hardcore brothers and sisters in the progressive movement hoped for grass roots based meaningful change from an Obama presidency.
That has not happened. It will not happen.
The “Principalities and Powers” continue, as they have through human history, to hold sway. To put it in biblical terms, “Principalities and Powers” are, in reality, spiritual manifestations of human institutions. St. Paul called them “spirits of the air” with pervasive influence on human actions.
Walter Wink, and other theologians, see them as the domination system or “fallen angels” charged by their Creator with serving humanity and life. Now in the midst of (another biblical term) the Fall, they serve death and confusion.
In his book “An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land”, theologian William Stringfellow, something of a radical for his time, wrote, “Most Americans are naïve about the Fall, there is a discounting of how the reality of the Fall affects the whole Creation, not human beings alone but also the “principalities and Powers” as well.”
The “Principalities and Powers” are legion, Stringfellow wrote, and they include practically any human created institution. However, he said, it is the state that is regarded historically, empirically and biblically as the archetypal principality and possesses a special status among the demonic powers.
In the midst of the Fall, their moral imperative h as been corrupted. Rather than serving life, they now serve death.
For String fellow “Babylon” in the biblical sense means “confusion”. “Babel means the inversion of language, verbal inflation, coded phrases, hyperbole, falsehood, blasphemy, such profusion in speech and sound that comprehension is practically impossible. And in all this Babel means violence.” Think modern corporate media, advertising and political speech.
Former New York Times reporter and author Chris Hedges notes that when Obama went to Oslo, Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize he spoke of the so-called “just war” theory, although the slaughters in Iraq and Afghanistan do not square with the criteria of Thomas Aquinas or traditional Catholic just war doctrine.
In this, as in most of the policies of his administration, and those of his predecessors, Obama inadvertently highlights the moral bankruptcy of the “Principalities and Powers”; of the dominant earthly powers and authorities.
History has shown it is always possible for human beings to resist the powers; we can act humanly in the midst of the biblical “Fall”, but is rare and improbable for presidents and heads of state to actually sacrifice their political survival to do the right thing, the moral thing.
We hoped Obama would be better than Bush and other past presidents, at least in recognizing the evil of slaughtering thousands in wars of domination in the name of profit and power.
Stringfellow reminds us that “the survival of the principalities is the secret purpose of war. The servility of our leaders depletes them of their humanity, they are victims of the “Principalities and Powers” captivated and possessed.”
Dare we think global corporations, one party rule, political functionaries, some of them elected, captivated by the power represented by lobbyists who, in turn, function to insure control of those addicted to a life of greed and corruption lived outside any moral law.
It seems that, as always, we ourselves must insure change, progress, to realize a world in which expediency does not include a decision that unwinnable wars are better than unwinnable elections.
Jack Fairweather’s views do not necessairly represent those of the Mountain Mail.
LETTER: Ecocide
May I point out that Mr. Pineda’s concerns about the economic impact of mandated reductions in greenhouse emissions are only “theoretical.”
Jared Diamond, professor of geography at UCLA has described past societies that collapsed to a great degree as a result of environmental destruction or “ecocide.” Arnold Toynbee, the eminent British historian, years ago noted that societies tended to die from “suicide” as he termed it rather than from outside influences. And I believe that Pogo said something to the effect, “We have seen the enemy and he is us.”
But since our society has not yet collapsed as a result of environmental destruction such a collapse is only theoretical as are all things predicted by known fundamental theories of physics, biology, and chemistry that have not yet happened regardless of how probable the event. Remember it is less expensive to jump out of the airplane without a parachute than with one, and at the time of the jumping, death is only theoretical.
LETTER: Obama And The Bailout
With respect to the nation's economic crisis, we have passed through the “identify the guilty” stage and have moved on to “punish the innocent.” The innocent in this case are President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress.
How easily we forget that the huge government deficit and financial crisis that we now face were created by George W. Bush. Bush inherited a booming economy and a budget surplus from Bill Clinton and managed to turn this into a massive deficit during an eight year drunken orgy of unrestrained spending and irresponsible tax cuts.
It is George Bush and his Republican Congress who pushed through the biggest expansion of Medicare benefits in decades in a manner that lined the pockets of pharmaceutical companies.
Bush poured a trillion dollars into the Iraq war without arranging to pay for it. His failure to regulate the financial sector allowed Wall Street speculation to spin wildly out of control, wrecking our banking system.The country has a huge hangover from this eight-year-long party and Barack Obama has to deal with it. Now that Bush has left office, the Republicans have suddenly rediscovered fiscal rectitude. Witness the “tea party” activists who want to slash government, at least when it doesn't affect them. Where were they during the Bush years?
Ironically, with the anemic economy, now is the time to step on the economic gas pedal; if Obama had cut budgets to avoid deficit spending as did Herbert Hoover at the beginning of the Great Depression, the results would have been the same: 20% unemployment instead of 10% and a complete collapse of the economy. Instead, Obama had the courage to push through a controversial bank bailout and a huge stimulus package which invests in infrastructure and education as well as creating jobs. Though we are justified in our anger at the arrogance of Wall Street, the fact of the matter is that the bank bailout kept our economy from freezing completely.
In doing all of this, Obama has had to endure a constant barrage of criticism from a Republican Party whose stated goal is to bring down Obama, irrespective of the effects on the nation. However, this is nothing new; Franklin Roosevelt was subject to the same treatment as he struggled to bring America through the Great Depression. History vindicated Roosevelt, as the deficits incurred during his period in office were largely wiped out by the post World War II expansion. It will vindicate Obama as long as he sticks to his guns. Meanwhile, Howard Dean's statement that “you can't trust Republicans with your money” is as true now as it was then.
Silva Scores 52
For the Mountain Mail
The third-ranked Socorro Lady Warriors Basketball Team (17-5, 3-0) won their second road district game of the season. Socorro defeated Cobre High School 68-23 on Friday, Feb. 5.
“Cobre (3-19, 0-2) is a young and inexperienced team,” Socorro coach Joseph Garcia said. “After the first quarter, we were ahead 33-6. The rest of the way we only made 35 points, but we still ended up by winning by 45 points.”
“All the girls got to play so that was the good news. After a hard week of practice, it was good to reward these kids with some playing time.”
Roxanne Silva poured in 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. She also broke Charity Savedra's 1999 individual game record of 11 steals. Silva had 12.
Jaden Jones had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Kianna Gonzales also contributed 7 points. Point guard Tristen Peralta played well and distributed the ball, with only two turnovers, five assists and 5 steals.
The Lady Warriors were tested at home on Tuesday, Feb. 9 against the Hatch Valley Lady Bears but passed the test 83-54. Socorro is now in sole possession of first place in district with a 3-0 record, with three games remaining. Hatch Valley fell to 6-14 and 1-2 in district.
The state's leading scorer, Silva, broke Audra Major's school record of 47 points in a single game by finishing with 52. Many of her points came from assists by Tristen Peralta, Jaden Jones, Samantha Sedillo, and Brittany McDaniel.
“Roxanne played big again,” Garcia said. “I knew she had a lot of points, but I didn't realize she had that many close to the record. I was going to sub her out and than she had 47 to tie it, so she wanted to stay in. She ended up by getting five more points. She's been wanting to break this record. She has every other record there is, so she might has as well have that one too.”
But both teams battled back and forth in the first half. Hatch began the game playing man-to-man defense, confident in trying to contain Silva. But Silva terrorized the inside of the paint all night and scored 25 points in the half.
Garcia commented on the first half, “It started off real tough. I knew it would be. They're a little bit taller than us in every position. I think the problem we had in the 1st half was we gave up 22 points on layups on the top of our press. And the key to this game I told the girls before the game was rebounding. In the 1st, half, they outrebounded us, because they were getting 2nd and 3rd shots.
So we just had to change personnel in the back of the press.”
Garcia was pleased with the victory, “This was a big victory for us. We're now 3-0 in district, which is important. So we're in good shape going into our last three district games.”
Hatch Valley's 1st year coach Sara Davis said, “We got in foul trouble early, so we had to go with a smaller lineup. We had a hard time keeping them off the boards. They kind of wore us down after awhile. We had a great first half, than they just blew it open in the second half.”
Socorro's Jaden Jones and Brittany McDaniel had 8 points apiece.
For Hatch, Jessica Gomez had 18 points, Rebecca Hays had 14 points, and Kelcie Carson had 12 points.
Socorro plays Cobre at home on Feb. 12 and Hot Springs at home on Feb. 16.
Warriors Dominant In District Play
For the Mountain Mail
SOCORRO -- Halfway through district play the Socorro Warriors’ Boys Basketball team find itself in first place and undefeated.
In fact, the Warriors have beaten each of their district opponents by an average of 25.7 points. The Warriors took care of the winless Cobre Indians, 80-38 last Friday night in Socorro then traveled to Hatch on Tuesday night and took care of the Bears 84-74.
Socorro is 3-0 in district play and are currently in first place in District 3-3A. The Warriors will be looking toward a first place finish in district play which will give them home court advantage for the district tournament.
“We hope to be district champs, that is our first goal,” Head Coach Lawrence Baca said. “If we are district champs then we will automatically hold the first round game in the state tournament. We will hope for the first round then go from there.”
The Warriors will travel to Cobre on Feb. 12 then to T or C on Feb. 16. Senior night, and the final home game of the season will be held on Friday, Feb. 19 in the Warrior dome.
The Indians (0-13, 0-1) kept pace with the Warriors early in the game only trailing Socorro 18-14 at the end if the first quarter. However that was as close as it would get for the struggling Indians, the Warriors outscored the Indians 29-9 in the second quarter giving them a 47-23 halftime lead.
The Warriors’ onslaught continued in the second half going on an 18-0 run that spanned from the third quarter into the fourth quarter. The mercy rule was enacted in the third quarter and the Warriors cruised to the win.
Jared Marquez led the Warriors with 26 points followed by Kenneth DeCosta and Zach Esquivel contributing 10 each.
Tuesday night, the Bears (3-10, 0-2) gave the Warriors a scare on the road. It was the Bears’ senior night so they came out “pumped up” according to Baca.
“We came out flat and gave them confidence,” he said.
Socorro held a one-point lead at halftime. However the Warriors were able to control the emotional Bears to claim their third district victory.
“It was a big win for us and was a lot closer than we expected,” said Baca. “We will take the win but we need to play a little better on the road.”
Senior Erik Garcia had 37 points for the Warriors.
Pygmies Open Spring Season With Loss
The New Mexico Tech Rugby team opened their spring campaign by bowing to the revamped New Mexico Brujos 52-12. The hosts touched down eight five-point tries and succeeded with six two-point conversion kicks, while the collegians tallied two tries and one conversion.
2010 brings big changes for the Pygmies with the absences of head captain Jay Herrera, vice captain Bart Hegarty, and standout forward performer Matt Kretz. Royce Beaudry moved to the front of the back line in his new role as fly half and head captain, while new vice captain Jerod Aragon slotted in at flank forward and fellow skipper Isaiah Sanchez took over Beaudry's former position at inside center. Graham Payne was named Man of the Match by his Pygmy teammates.
Lady Steers Keep Winning
For the Mountain Mail
MAGDALENA -- The #2-ranked Magdalena Lady Steers remained undefeated with a resounding 88-8 home district victory against the Temple-Baptist Academy Lady Roadrunners (2-11, 0-5) on Feb. 4 as they improved to 18-0 overall and 6-0 in district play.
The Lady Steers looked more like the roadrunners in this game. They sprinted to a 10-0 lead before Temple-Baptist scored their first basket with 5:40 left in the 1st quarter. By the end of the 1st quarter, Magdalena lead 37-2.
Magdalena's man-to-man defense and fast breaking defense proved far too much for Temple-Baptist's inexperienced team to handle. At halftime, the lead increased to 58-4, with Temple-Baptist's second score coming with :55 in the half.
Coach Wally Sanchez said, “We played a real young Temple team. They have a new coach who is trying to turn the program around. But they never did quit and kept working.”
Even with a running clock (mercy rule) in the entire second half, things weren't much different. Magdalena led 73-8 after three quarters.
Eleven of the 13 Magdalena players scored three points or more.
Camille Mansell led the way with 22 points. Team Captain Nicole Hardy had 15 points and Alicia Armijo had 12 points.
Sanchez is concerned about his upcoming district games. “Gallup Catholic, Menaul, To'Hajiilee, and Pine-Hill -- those four teams on any given night could beat anybody. Right now, they're just beating each other.
“We just can't let them sneak up on us and give us a loss, because they are all capable. These last games are very, very important.”
Magdalena also hosted and beat non-district opponent Bosque School 55-18 on Feb. 6. Magdalena had three players score in double figures: Nicole Hardy (24 points), Camille Mansell (12 points), and Keanda Chavez (10 points).
On Tuesday, Feb. 9, Magdalena hit the road to play Alamo Navajo School (1-11, 0-4). Magdalena won the district game 76-38 for its 19th win of the season and 7-0 in district play. Camille Mansell led the way with 30 points. Jennifer Matai scored 12 points. Keanda Chavez and Nicole Hardy each had 10 points.
Magdalena's next games are on Thursday, Feb. 11 at Temple-Baptist, Saturday, Feb. 13 at home against Pine Hill, and Tuesday, Feb. 16 at home against To'Hajiilee.
Steers Roll Through District
For the Mountain Mail
MAGDALENA -- The Magdalena Steers basketball team won their fourth game in a row and improved to 13-4 overall and 5-1 in district play. On Thursday, Feb. 4, Magdalena beat the Temple-Academy Roadrunners 66-37 at Magdalena Gym.
Magdalena and Temple-Baptist (3-10, 1-5) battled for the lead for much of the first quarter. 
Magdalena's big men than took over in the middle. Senior Bryce Milligan and Sophomore Miles Parscal together scoring 13 points. Reg Peralto added two of his five total three pointers in the game and giving Magdalena a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Temple-Baptist's bench was not enough to overcome Magdalena's bench strength and full-court press. Temple-Baptist suited up only seven players, who Magdalena soon wore out. Magdalena kept hitting short jumpers and layups and went on to lead at halftime 35-18.
Magdalena continued to shoot well over Temple-Baptist's 2-3 zone defense.
Reg Peralto kept them honest and opened up the middle by scoring on two more three pointers. Milligan added 8 points to his total. Gene Leseberg and Ryan Alguire combined for 10 points in the second half, with Alguirre scoring one of his baskets on a beautiful reverse layup. Magdalena led 51-25 at the end of the third quarter and cruised in for the win.
Peralto had scoring honors with 20 points. Bryce Milligan had a strong 18 points inside.
Coach Jory Mirabal commented about the game, “I thought the boys came out and played a really good game. We played some good defense and made some good stops. We played as a team on offense and got some good shots. Everybody contributed.”
Going into the last district games the next two weeks, Coach Mirabal says, “I feel good about the team right now. We're playing good basketball. It's just a matter of maintaining it and fix some of the little problems, keep winning at home and hopefully get some of those on the road.”
Magdalena also beat host Alamo Navajo School 71-47 on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Magdalena now stands at 6-1 in district play. Leading scorers were Bryce Milligan (24 points), Daniel Hand (17 points), and Ryan Alguirre (11 points).
Magdalena's next game is at Temple-Baptist on Thursday, Feb. 11. They than host Pine Hill on Feb. 13 and To'Hajiilee on Feb. 16.
Picture: Coach Jory Mirabol talks with his Magdalena players during the Temple Baptist game.
Photo by Nicky Romero.
Mayor Candidate Cited For Shoplifting
SOCORRO - Mayoral candidate Mark Santomenna, 36, pled no contest in front of Judge Jim Naranjo at Magistrate Court Wednesday, Feb. 10, to a charge of shoplifting.
The charge stems from an incident Friday, Jan. 29.
The citation report stated that Officer Wes Mauldin was dispatched to the Circle K store on South California at 9:45 p.m., where the clerk said Santomenna had consumed a corn dog, chips, bean dip, and fountain drink while wandering around the store.
He then left without paying for the items, the witness said. Mauldin then located Santomenna and cited him for eating $4.20 worth of merchandise without paying.
Santomenna was ordered by Naranjo to pay $73 in fines and court costs for the misdemeanor.
Socorro Man Arrested On Drug Possession Charges
SOCORRO – A raid on a house last Friday, Feb. 5, resulted in the arrest of a Socorro man and the seizure of cocaine and “crack rocks.”
Lorenzo De Lao, 21, was arraigned in Magistrate Court Monday on charges of possession with intent to distribute, and possession of cocaine.
Sgt. Rocky Fernandez said he and Sgt. Richard Lopez served a search warrant at 11:50 a.m. on a residence at 910 Annette Street, and were directed by the owner of the house, the suspect’s grandfather, to a middle bedroom where they found De Lao asleep.
When asked where the narcotics were, De Lao directed the officers to his pants pocket, where they recovered 18 foil covered crack rocks, and two grams of powder cocaine in a plastic baggie.
De Lao was then arrested and taken to the Police Department, and after the substances tested positive for cocaine, he was incarcerated at the Socorro County Detention Center. Bond was set at $70,000.
The criminal complaint also stated that Del Lao had sold narcotics to Fernandez, who had been working undercover on a previous date. De Lao was also found to have a valid warrant out of Bernalillo County. If found guilty of the charges, De Lao faces 11 years in prison.
Small-Town Papers Better At Serving Readers
By Kay Mindar
Are small-town newspapers thriving?
Such as our own Mountain Mail because they're better, or because they happen to be located in small towns?
Community newspapers only do quite nicely, because they have not forgotten their mission, their responsibility to their readers, the service they must provide to their advertisers, their duty to report the good and the bad; to expose corrupt public servants who betray the public trust and seek to serve themselves first at the expense of the taxpayers.
I'm willing to grant that small-town papers have been less likely to get bloated and arrogant and out-of-touch than their big-city brethren. A few community newspapers do a great job of serving their readers and exposing corrupt public servants. Many more do a great job of publishing photos and personal stories of their readers, but generally shy away from any exposing of corruption.
Think of it this way; their communities are too small for Craigslist to have gotten to (yet); in most cases they serve populations less transient and less Internet-addicted than those of big metropolitan areas; and nobody ever looked to them for national or international news, so the fact that you can get all that on the Internet now is irrelevant. The median age of residents in small markets is much higher than the median age of residents in metro areas. And people who are older are much more likely to read newspapers than the under 35 set. But we try to cater to everyone.
The Luna Community Center wishes to thank Jerry Sawyer for his service and dedication in clearing out the snow from the parking and driving areas of the community center. This was not an easy task after our record snowfall here in Luna.
There is another night of sacred music being planned for all denominations and communities far and wide. The past two programs have been such a success we would ask all who can participate to please contact Alberta Nicolds and for those who just want to enjoy the evening we will keep you posted as to a date and time.
There are still project Noah flyers available if you will send a self addressed legal envelope to Kaye Mindar P.O. Box 42 Luna, New Mexico 87824.
Many of us have had to use our storage in these times of extreme weather and that’s great! That’s what we are doing this for. Now we can work slowly on rotation and restocking. We want you to store what you use and use what you store.
Facebook has opened a whole new world of meeting my relatives. I know some get tired of me asking just how or if we are related but I have had so much fun talking and comparing notes with everyone.
I do keep my security set very high but inspiration allows me to write a message and it literally can explode with names and stories from there.
Quote of the week:
“Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.”
~Author Unknown
Lopez Wins Mining Award
The New Mexico Mining Association has selected New Mexico Tech President Dr. Daniel H. Lopez as the 2010 recipient of a special mining association award called the Doc Weiler/Marvin Watts Professionalism Award.
Lopez was honored at the Mining Association’s annual legislative dinner Monday.
Mike Bowen, Executive Director for the Mining Association, said Dr. Lopez has provided valuable assistance and support of the mining industry over the years.
As the former New Mexico School of Mines, the Socorro university has always worked closely with the industry and the Association, Bowen said. Dr. Lopez has always fostered a close working relationship between the Mining Association and the university, he said.
“Dr. Lopez has always helped us when we’ve needed expertise from higher education and from the research angle also,” Bowen said.
Dr. Lopez has been the New Mexico Tech president since 1993. He said he’s honored by the recognition from Mining Association, which has a long history of collaboration with the university.
“New Mexico Tech has served the mining industry in many ways for more than a century,” Lopez said.
“Not only do we provide a top-notch education for tomorrow’s engineers, but we also contribute significant research that benefits the extractive industries. I have always tried to be an intermediary between mining industry concerns, higher education and our state government.”
New Mexico Tech also is home to the Office of the Mine Inspector and has hosted the annual conference of the Mining Association. Bowen said the Mining Association Board of Directors is appreciative of the university’s contributions to the mining industry.
“Dr. Lopez has been a partner in many respects,” Bowen said. “We’ve always had good relationship with New Mexico Tech and the Office of the Mine Inspector.
He received an award named after Doc Weiler and Marvin Watts, two former Lobbyists for the mining industry.
H.J. “Doc” Weiler and Marvin Watts were two of the most popular and respected lobbyists ever to walk the halls of the State Capitol, Bowen said. They used their exemplary knowledge of the governmental process to become two of the strongest advocates for New Mexico’s mining industry.
“Their dedication to mining extended beyond the interests of their clients and benefiting the New Mexico Mining Association and the industry as a whole,” he said.
“Doc and Marvin will always be remembered for their professionalism.”
Sylvia Welcomes Animal Control Officer to Catron
By Anne Sullivan
I stomped into the house, shedding my snow-covered boots at the door. Sylvia dogged at my heels, waiting until she got inside to shake the snow off her wooly coat.
“There’s a letter for you, Sylvia,” I said, pulling a damp envelope from my pocket.
Sylvia jumped up, grabbed the envelope in her teeth, took it to her bed beneath the TV and turned it over and over.
“Who’s it from?” I asked once I’d located my slippers and divested myself of my wooly wet coat.
“It’s from Buddy and Pie, my friends in Quemado,” she said, adding after she’d chewed the envelope open, “and they’ve got big news of the utmost importance.”
Naturally my next word was “What?” after which I turned up the heat and collapsed into my comfortable chair.
Sylvia took a long breath and stood in front of me to read her letter out loud: “’Dear Sylvia, You will be delighted to learn that Catron County will now enforce the New Mexico Felony Animal Cruelty Law (Chapter 107, Section 30-18-1.) Ryan Letergy has been hired to fill the position of Animal Control Officer.’”
At this point she lowered the paper, a frown covering her face.
As usual I asked, “What’s the matter, Sylvia? Aren’t you delighted with the news?”
“I don’t like the sound of that – -Animal Control Officer. I don’t like the idea of being controlled, particularly by an Officer. It’s bad enough with you giving me orders all day long – - ‘Sit. Stay. No’ – - but I won’t have any Officer doing it.”
“I don’t believe that’s the idea,” I said. “Doesn’t the letter tell you what this Animal Control Officer does?”
“Oh yeah, here it is: ‘Officer Letergy will investigate suspected animal cruelty complaints and take the proper legal actions, if cruelty is established.’ That’s better. It sounds like he’s on our side.”
“It sounds pretty good to me. Does the letter say how one can contact this Officer Letergy?” I asked.
Sylvia hoisted her letter and read on: “’Officer Letergy can be reached at the Catron County Sheriff’s Department in Reserve. The phone number is 575 533 6222.’ That’s very simple,” she said. “Even Gordo could probably do it if he knew how to use the phone. We’d better write that number down and put it by the phone so we might have a chance of finding it should we ever need it. Now all anyone has to do is pick up the phone and report any abuse or cruelty.” Sylvia’s demeanor showed that she was deep in thought, always a dangerous condition.
“Okay, Sylvia, out with it.”
“It’s just that I’m wondering exactly what constitutes cruelty. I have a particular case in mind. I received a bag of pigs’ ears for Christmas. Pigs’ ears which you immediately confiscated. It is now February and I have yet to see – - let alone eat – - one of said pigs’ ears. I call that most severe abuse and cruelty beyond the bounds of decency.”
“There’s a reason I haven’t doled out your pigs’ ears,” I said trying not to sound overly defensive. “If you remember, you were sick around Christmas time and on a rice diet. You might also remember that eating too much rawhide makes you throw up. I’m exercising my parental duty to protect you from further illness. To do anything else would make me liable for cruelty and I could go to jail.”
Sylvia eyes shot sparks into mine. “We’ll let the Animal Control Officer be the judge of your culpability and consequent liability and possible jail sentence. Will you be so kind as to dial that number for me?”
Quemado: Talent Tryouts Scheduled For March
By Debbie Leschner
The Quemado Talent Show is being organized. Participation in the show is opened to the Quemado community. The only requirement is that a school age child be in the act. All home schooled children are encouraged to get involved.
Tryouts will be held March 22-24 from 4-5:30 p.m. and the show is scheduled for Thursday, Apr. 29, at 6 p.m. In addition to the talent show, there will be a silent auction and concession stand. To sign up or get more information, please call the Quemado school at 575-773-4645.
The event is a fundraiser for the elementary school field trips
The Quemado Senior Center will be closed on Monday, Feb. 15, for Presidents Day. Quilting and Bingo will be on Thursday. Exercise to a one-mile walk video on Friday. Lunch for the week will be Tuesday – Tacos, Wednesday – Red Enchiladas, Thursday – Baked Chicken, dressing and gravy and Friday – Macaroni and cheese. Please call the center at 773-4820 to make your reservations.
Tickets for the two handmade afghans are still being sold. The fundraiser dinner and bingo night has been canceled twice now because of the weather. Call Diana at the center for an update.
The Women's Fellowship Luncheon will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16, at noon in the Cowboy Church located off Highway 32 near Quemado.
The Quemado School Science Fair will be the week of Feb. 16. Students from grades Kindergarten through 12 will be participating. Setup will be on Tuesday. Judging will be an all day affair on Wednesday by professional people from the community. Everyone is invited to come on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 2:30 in the old gym when awards will be presented and all the science projects will be on public display. The teachers in charge of this years science fair are Traci Williams for the elementary grades and Laura Larish for the high school grades.
The Quemado district basketball teams will play at Animas on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. These are the last of the regular season games. The district playoffs start the week of Feb. 22.
Flamenco Dancers To Perform At Macey Center
Mountain Mail reports
SOCORRO – The Performing Arts Series of New Mexico Tech brings to Socorro Yjastros, The American Flamenco Repertory Company, a flamenco dance and music from the acclaimed National Institute of Flamenco's professional troupe.
The group will perform Friday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Macey Center.
Out of his woven cultures Joaquin Encinias created Yjastros, a revolutionary flamenco performance entity that is a unique blend of two very different dance performance formats. With Yjastros, Encinias joins the structured improvisation of traditional flamenco and the mosaic quality of the American style repertory company. While dance and theatre repertory companies are common in America, Yjastros is the first professional American touring company presenting flamenco in a true repertory format.
Yjastros performers recognized internationally for their artistry, present breathtaking flamenco choreographies created exclusively for the company by some of the finest flamenco artists in the world. Through these exciting choreographies and masterful professional performances, Yjastros proudly brings the creative visions of world renowned flamenco artists to the American public and becomes a living flamenco archive.
The company's given name Yjastros, which means step children, describes the true nature of this repertory company - that of a new culture of flamenco, a new breed of this art form that is both American, and deeply rooted in flamenco heritage.
The National Institute of Flamenco (NIF) is a unique, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the art, culture and history of flamenco. Located in downtown Albuquerque, NIF offers a full flamenco curriculum for all ages and experience levels through the National Conservatory of Flamenco Arts. NIF proudly hosts exceptional performances by world famous flamenco artists throughout the year. Flamenco is the ancient form of artistic expression in the Spanish Gypsy culture.
As an enduring oral tradition, the art and spirit of flamenco is passed from generation to generation.
The song, dance and music of flamenco explore the full range of human emotion with an intense, vibrant quality that leaves audiences spellbound. NIF is committed to providing the public with a greater understanding and appreciation of this cultural treasure.
NIF founder Eva Encinias-Sandoval learned flamenco as a child from her grandmother and continues her family legacy with pride. Her daughter, Marisol and son, Joaquin are acclaimed performers and instructors with NIF. Founded in 1987, NIF has developed into three branches of focus: Educating, Performing, and Presenting.
The NIF Educating branch includes the Conservatory for Flamenco Arts - offering year round classes in flamenco dance, music and song; diverse community outreach programs and a flamenco media archive nearing completion.
The NIF Performing branch includes three outstanding performing groups: Yjastros - the American Flamenco Repertory Company, a national touring company featuring top U.S. flamenco dancers under the direction of Joaquin Encinias. Alma Flamenca, a pre-professional company of accomplished students from NIF's Conservatory of Flamenco Arts and the flamenco emphasis program at the University of New Mexico.
Ninos Flamencos including some of the Conservatory's best young students, ages 5 to 14.
The NIF Presenting branch supports the preservation and evolution of flamenco by hosting some of the most important flamenco performers and educators in the world throughout the year. In addition, each June NIF hosts the Festival Flamenco Internacional.
Held at the University of New Mexico, FFI is the largest event of its kind in North America. It attracts guest artists, students of all levels and ages, and flamenco fans from around the globe to study all aspects of flamenco.
FFI is famous for its many thrilling, full house performances by guest artists and local flamenco favorites. Flamenco experts in Spain recognize this dynamic festival as the most important flamenco event in this part of the world.
Tickets for Yjastro can be purchased at Brownbilt Shoes and Western Wear, Burrito Tyme, and Sofia’s Kitchen; and on campus at the Tech cashier, the Tech book Store, and the Performing Arts office. Prices are $16/Adult; $14/Senior; and $12/Youth.
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