The portion of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge east of the Rio Grande was closed to the public Monday in order to initiate a mountain lion study.
The closure, which may last up to 90 days, will have some impact on public use on the refuge. Due to the remote nature of this portion of the Refuge and that access is by foot only, the impact to the public is expected to be minimal. The only members of the public that may be affected are occasional hikers, and oryx hunters, who possess off-range permits for the months of January and February.
The refuge is working with its conservation partners to implement a mountain lion study in the east boundary of the refuge, which will include setting various remote sensing equipment in order to observe mountain lion activity in the area. Capturing and collaring is another technique being used in this study. “Protecting wildlife on the refuge is our mission,” said Tom Melanson, Manager of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. “In order to understand the natural habitats of these large cats, we first need to study them, and that is what this particular effort intends to accomplish.”
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Refuge To Conduct Mountain Lion Study
EDITORIAL: Time For Co-op Board To Mend Some Fences
The three new Socorro Electric Cooperative trustees – Luis Aguilar, Prescilla Mauldin and Don Wolberg -- vowed they want to make a difference.
Here is hoping they can.
But it is not going to be easy.
Needless to say, the wounds run deep between the members and the co-op board.
There was a full house at the first meeting of 2010.
And things escalated even before the meeting started.
At 6:30 p.m., trustee Charlie Wagner demanded the meeting start on time. But Trustee president Paul Bustamante insisted the board wait for Dave Wade, who was running late.
“Will you extend me the same courtesy if I am ever running late,” Wagner asked.
Bustamante said: “I sure will.”
Ten minutes later, Wagner said: “This is not professional. We have to go by our bylaws and we have to start on time.”
Trustee Milton Ulibarri told Wagner to keep his voice down.
“We have a duty to start on time and we have a quorum. We don’t have the right to not start on time,” Wagner yelled.
Bustamante scolded Wagner, telling him his tone causes a lot of hostility.
Wagner told Bustamante that he was not a very good leader.
After some more bickering, a woman in the audience yelled out, “here is your old fool,” as Wade walked into the meeting room.
Ulibarri swung around his chair and confronted the woman, telling her she had no right to say that.
The woman responded by saying, “we don’t need you either.”
Wade humbly took his chair and apologized for being late. “I almost forgot my shoes,” he said. “I appreciate you waiting for me.”
This little episode, though, indicates how much work the trustees have in front of them.
They have to earn the trust back of their members.
Bustamante should be commended because on more than one occasion he said the board has to go forward and not look backward.
Time and time again, Wolberg reiterated that the board has to reach out to its members. He said the members have to know who the co-op employees are who go out each day and risk their lives, making sure everybody has power in their homes and their businesses. He said the members have to know how the co-op board is spending their hard-earned money. He said the members have to know what resolutions are coming up in April’s general meeting.
But of course, how much influence the new trustees have remains to be seen.
They likely will be on the short end of most votes.
What’s good, though, is that there are some new voices to be heard on the board.
And hopefully, everybody on the board will be listening a little more carefully and making better informed decisions.
LETTER: Tired Of Antics
I am so tired of the antics of the current board members. It has become a soap opera.
Perhaps we would do better to cut to the chase and just appoint a board composed of N.M. Tech juniors. They could perhaps conduct business in a more adult manner.
OPINION: Magdalena - 2,100 Miles From Wall Street
By Don Wiltshire
While trying to fall asleep the other night, an image kept reoccurring to me: the Wall Street traders in their shirt sleeves, talking on their headphones, yelling at the big board, throwing crumpled papers to the floor. Who were they talking to? Why were they yelling at the board? Were they happy in their work? How much do they get paid? What does all of this mean to us?
Increasingly, this “floor show” is just that: a theatrical stunt to keep the public mesmerized and excited about the prospect of making money with money. It’s designed to put a human face on making money at the expense of the real workers out here in the “boonies.” The real work of stock trading is being done backstage on banks of computers. Take it from an old theater techy: the show must go on!
For those of you who still have your heart set on being an NYSE Trader, the cost for a yearly license is now $40,000. There are only 1,366 positions open, so you better hurry. How much you make for you and your clients is strictly up to you, your greed and your cunning. You’ll also be pleased to learn that the NYSE is now offering the services of Supplemental Liquidity Providers (SLPs) for those of you with not quite enough capital to snag that real buy on GE at $16.63.
Around the block from the current NYSE trading floor on Wall Street is the original NYSE building on Broad Street. It’s a magnificent neoclassical building designed by George B. Post in 1901. The facade sports six enormous Corinthian columns which support a pediment sculpture designed in 1903 by John Quincy Adams Ward. It’s title: Integrity Protecting the Works of Man. (Hummmm.) The 22-foot high figure of Integrity with classic gown and winged hat, is shown waving her protective arms over rather gaunt, nude male figures representing Agriculture and Mining to her left and Science, Industry and Invention to her right.
There is a pregnant pioneer woman (fully clothed) thrown in for good measure. The combined weight of all of this marble statuary, 90 tons, not including all of that irony, proved to be more than even the Corinthian columns could bear.
In 1936, the statuary was replaced by lead-coated replicas which weighed in at only 10 tons. Should the title of this work now be changed to Lead-Coated Replica of Integrity Protecting the Works of Man?
The only thing in Magdalena that we’ve got to compare to that is the 1908 BANK pediment over the now defunct Evett’s Café. But we do have something that New York City doesn’t have: the magnificent Magdalena Mountains. I can guarantee that we won’t be replacing them with lead-coated replicas any time soon. In all fairness, New York City does have one thing that Magdalena does not: good cheese Danish; a small price to pay.
So where did all of that integrity go? Buying stock in a company used to a way to lend money to a company that you trusted and believed in. You would be rewarded with dividends and a share in the company as it prospered and grew. The present day stock trader is only concerned with buying low and selling high in nanosecond time blocks. The goal is to amass as much money as you can. At the same time, corporations are now concerned primarily with driving up the value of their stock prices at the expense of the employees and their working conditions. This is a vicious cycle indeed, driven by greed, not by integrity.
Thank goodness, we have a great deal of integrity left in Magdalena. People here believe that they can still do and create good things without trampling on the lives and works of others. That’s a priceless commodity, not to be taken lightly. I’m very proud to be part of a community that can grow and sustain itself while other parts of the country are consuming themselves with corruption and greed.
If you have any Comments? Problems? Solutions? Up coming Events? Good Stock Tips? Contact me at mtn_don@yahoo.com or (575) 854-3370.
OPINION: A Step Toward Socialist Health Care
By Doug May
On Christmas Day as many were celebrating God’s gift of a Savior, Senator Tom Udall sent out an e-mail celebrating the Senate’s passage of a health care bill.
He wrote, “I am proud to say that this Christmas Eve vote was a monumental step towards making sure all New Mexicans have the opportunity to live healthier lives for generations to come.” That promise requires a lot of gullibility to believe. But there is no doubt that in so doing the Senate took a giant step toward governmental control of health care. That is more socialism.
The socialist mind favors government control as the only way to be “fair.” In so doing they always demonize the private sector.
Udall explains, “Those who have been refused coverage because of unfair insurance policies like discrimination based on pre-existing conditions will get the protection they need.” What he is saying, for example, is that a woman who is pregnant should be allowed to buy health insurance and have her delivery covered. By paying $500 for a few monthly payments she should have $10,000 to $20,000 in hospital and doctors bills covered by her insurance. And Udall has the gall to call that insurance company “unfair” for not doing that. It is unfair to the insurance company to require it.
Auto insurance companies have a variety of rates based on the type of vehicle and the person’s driving record. If a person has 2 DWI and several speeding tickets his is going to be charged more for insurance. Such a system encourages good conduct. The same should apply to health insurance. Unhealthy life styles on average are going to require more health care. Fairness requires that the one who will receive more help should pay more.
However, the government should continue to support those clinics that charge on the basis of what a person is able to pay.
The bothersome thing is the socialistic mind set that demonizes capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, doing business based on private decision rather than by state control and competing in a free market. Capitalism is in a large part responsible for the good health care system we have. Capitalistic health care encourages innovation and provides better care for more people.
Udall, on the other hand, is promoting “a system where health care is a right for all Americans, not just a privilege for the wealthy.” This is the first time that I have ever fallen into the category of being one of “the wealthy.” I do have good health care. Over 90 percent of our population is “wealthy” because they have good health care. Even those who do not have health insurance are receiving health care.
Our Bill of Rights does not mention health care. But it does say we have the right to pursue happiness. Pursue means we must work for what makes us happy.
There are several factors that have inflated health care costs.
• States that do not allow all insurance companies to compete in their states.
• Insurance companies that only cover treatments at certain hospitals or for certain doctors.
• Costs for those who have insurance is higher to make up for those who do not pay.
•High malpractice insurance for doctors and hospitals that causes them to recommend tests and treatments that are not always necessary.
• Governmental regulations.
If a person would pay cash, most visits and treatment would cost less than one half of what is now charged. We don’t need the socialist’s approach. We need fewer governmental regulations.
Doug May is a retired Lutheran pastor and his views do not necessarily represent the Mountain Mail.
Galaxy Researcher To Speak At Tech On Friday
A leading researcher on galaxies will present the annual Karl G. Jansky Lecture on Friday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. The lecture, sponsored by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, will be in New Mexico Tech's Workman Center, room 101. It is free and the public is invited.
The Jansky Lecturer is Professor Anthony Readhead of the California Institute of Technology. This year's public lecture is entitled "The Central Engines that Power Active Galaxies."
Readhead studied physics and mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He continued his education in England at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, where he conducted his Ph.D. research under Anthony Hewish, winner of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics.
From 1981-86, Readhead was the Director of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. He is a leading researcher on active galaxies -- the types of galaxies with supermassive black holes at their cores. Since the late 1970s, he also has made significant contributions to our understanding of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, the remnant of the Big Bang. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts.
Magdalena Marshal's Blotter
Dec. 13
An officer attempted to stop a vehicle racing on Second Street and on First Street at 2 a.m. The driver, with his passenger, left the vehicle at the arroyo on Fifth Street and ran from the scene. The vehicle was impounded and the driver was later caught and charged with eluding police.
Dec. 16
An officer stopped a vehicle at 9:25 p.m. on Spruce Street that left skid marks on Highway 60 at the intersection of Spruce and First streets. The driver was arrested for DWI, his third offense. The driver blew a .18 blood alcohol content level. He was also charged with racing on highways.
Dec. 18
An officer approached a vehicle parked in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot at 9:30 p.m. The driver of that vehicle was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Magdalena Municipal Court.
Dec. 19
An officer was called at 1 p.m. to assist the U.S. Forest Service with an arrest off Forest Road 505. The officer was told by the Forest Service official that he stopped to check some wood cutters, and found that a female and male had outstanding warrants from Otero County and Lincoln County; and an arrest order from Probation and Parole for stealing a vehicle. The female also had an arrest warrant out of Socorro Magistrate Court. Both were taken to the Socorro County Detention Center.
Dec. 27
An officer assisted the U.S. Forest Service at 3:15 p.m. with an arrest off Forest Road 128. A male subject was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant from Socorro Magistrate Court. The subject was taken to the Socorro County Detention Center.
Dec. 31
An officer took a report at 11:40 a.m. of a two vehicle accident at the post office. No citations were issued.
An officer stopped a vehicle at 10:35 p.m. at Second and Main for a headlight out. The driver was arrested for DWI, and a passenger was arrested for disorderly conduct and allowing a minor to be served alcohol. The driver was taken for a blood test after admitting to taking narcotics.
Jan. 1
An officer was approached at 2:25 a.m. by a female driving a red passenger vehicle. The driver stated, “Happy new year!” The officer asked the female to park her vehicle. At that point she sped off and a pursuit ensued. She was stopped at Spruce and Seventh where the female was arrested for DWI, and refused being tested. She was taken to the Socorro County Detention Center and charged with no driver’s license and a second DWI offense. The driver had just been released 12 hours prior to the arrest from jail for not complying with the first DWI. A passenger was arrested for fighting with officers. He was charged with disorderly conduct.
An officer was called at 4:15 p.m. to a rollover accident at mile marker 113 on Highway 60. The male driver was taken to Socorro General Hospital for a blood draw. The driver will be charged for DWI and Damage to NM State Highway property.
Jan. 9
An officer was called to the 900 block of First Street on the report of an accident. Upon arrival it was found the driver has a mental problem, and was unconscious. An ambulance was called and he was taken to Socorro General Hospital for treatment. No citations were issued.
Jan. 11
An officer was contacted at 11 a.m. by a female who said she had beaten with a pistol by her spouse at about 6:30 a.m. She refused medical treatment but did give statements as to the fight that occurred at the residence. The male subject fled the scene with two wanted subjects in a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was not located by the Marshal’s Office, Socorro Police, or New Mexico State Police. An arrest warrant was obtained from Adult Probation and Parole.
An officer took a report at 5:20 p.m. of a barking dog at Second and Main streets. The owner stated, “just charge me.” Charges are pending.
Lady Steers Romp To Stay Unbeaten
By Nicky Romero
For the Mountain Mail
MAGDALENA – The undefeated and third-ranked Magdalena Lady Steers continued their winning ways on Jan. 12, defeating the Alamo Lady Cougars 79-23. The Lady Steers improved to 11-0 overall and 2-0 in district play. The Lady Cougars fell to 2-7.
The Lady Steers’ full-court press proved too much for the Lady Cougars to handle, causing numerous turnovers and easy baskets for Magdalena. The Lady Steers began the first quarter by scoring the first 15 points with balanced scoring from seven different players. The Lady Steers led 15-2 after the first quarter.
The Lady Steers continued their fast-break style, outscoring the Lady Cougars 32-4 for a 47-6 halftime lead.
In the second half, it was more of the same as Lady Steers coach Wally Sanchez substituted freely, giving playing time to some underclassmen. They outscored the Lady Cougars 32-17 in the second half.
The Lady Steers were led by Keanda Chavez with 13 points and Kameron Armstrong added 12 points and Camille Mansell scored 10 points.
Shannon Secatero had eight points followed by Merrissa Tafoya and Karly Chavez adding six each. Elizabeth Thomas had nine points and Chanlyn Monte added eight points for the Alamo.
“I am happy we got to play 15 girls and pick up some experience for the younger kids,” Sanchez said. “Our girls are working hard and it’s starting to pay off.”
Sanchez said he was looking forward to Saturday’s road game with district challenger Gallup Catholic High School.
“It should be a good competitive game,” Sanchez said. “It’s gone back and forth with us and them the last few years.”
(Photo by Nathalie Nance) Magdalena’s Keanda Chavez defends Alamo’s Elizabeth Thomas.
Steers Roll Past The Alamo
By Nicky Romero
For the Mountain Mail
MAGDALENA – The No. 8 Magdalena Steers defeated the Alamo Cougars 71-41, winning its second district game of the season. The Steers are 8-2 overall and 2-0 in district play, while the Cougars fell to 3-9.
The Steers and the Cougars battled in the first two quarters of play. The Steeers started with a 6-2 lead but with 3:30 remaining, the Cougars rallied for an 8-6 advantage.
The Steers, though, led after the first quarter 14-12.
With their man-to-man full-court press, the Steers slowed down and started to wear out the Cougars’ offensive threats. Magdalena’s Reg Peralto connected on three three-pointers in the second quarter to take a 33-24 halftime lead.
Magdalena coach Jory Mirabal made some offensive and defensive adjustments to take charge of the game.
Bryce Milligan put the defensive stops on the Cougars’ big man John Padilla, allowing Padilla to score just two points in the third quarter. Milligan scored 10 points in the third quarter and the Steers extended their advantage to 50-33.
In the fourth quarter, Magdalena guard Ryan Alguirre scored 10 points, including two three-pointers.
Alguirre led the Steers with 18 points, Milligan had 14 and Peralto added 13. Daniel Hand also contributed 10 points.
Fillian Herrera led the Alamo with 12 points and Elijahwon Apachito contributed 10 points.
Magdalena will travel to Gallup Catholic on Saturday, Jan. 16 and host Carrizozo on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
(Photo by Nathalie Nance) Magdalena’s Abie Pino looks to pass despite the presence of an Alamo defender. In the background is Magdalena’s Ryan Alguire.
Congressman Teague In Socorro
Trey Phunborg, a senior at Socorro High School who just earned a nomination to the Air Force Academy, stands with Rep. Harry Teague at the Socorro Senior Center on Jan. 7. Teague kicked off his “Solutions for Southern New Mexico” tour Jan. 2. During the weeklong tour, Teague planned to visit all 18 counties in the 2nd Congressional District. Throughout the week, he met with constituents, community leaders and attended various events across the district.
John Severance/Mountain Mail
Posts
