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The David Parker Ray Story
True crime book about a
criminal sexual sadist and cohorts busted in kidnap, rape and sexual
torture cases in New Mexico
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Last modified:
April 14, 2008
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State
police divers return empty handed late Tuesday afternoon after a two-day
extensive underwater search at Elephant Butte Lake for bodies that may
have been dumped by David Ray during his reign of sexual terror at the
lake. Click on photo for more shots & story.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson
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Paul
Laskay Jr. turns as he leaves the courtroom Thursday.
DJ
photos by Bill Johnson
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Paul
Laskay Sr. at Thursday’s court appearance.
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…The
fire that got Bruno killed
This
fire at the residence of Gilbert Del Rio at East Second and Date streets
in T or C the night of July 22 is the one for which Paul Laskay Jr. and
Sr. blamed Betty Wolff Bruno for igniting and for which she allegedly was
killed in retaliation. State Police Agent Norman Rhoades said he didn’t
immediately know whether the fire was accidentally or intentionally set,
but in any case, it’s not a good reason to murder anyone over.
DJ photo
by Bill Johnson
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Murder charge filed
in Betty Bruno'
death
Father & son
reunite
behind
bars with arrests
By Bill Johnson
of the Desert Journal
A murder charge was filed Tuesday in
magistrate court against a Truth or Consequences man for the bizarre
strangulation death of Betty Wolff Bruno last July.
According to court records and a state
police criminal agent, Betty Wolff, 58, of Truth or Consequences, was
executed in retaliation for a fire she had set, whether intentionally or
accidentally, to an apartment occupied by the murderer’s “friend”
the night before she disappeared.
Likewise, state police also arrested
the accused murderer’s father on Monday for his alleged involvement in
kidnapping the victim before his son allegedly strangled her to death
using his tee-shirt and dumped her body in the river.
Norman Rhoades, agent of the New Mexico
State Police Criminal Investigation Division in Las Cruces, said Tuesday
his investigation was completed with the filing of the first-degree murder
charge against Paul C. Laskay Jr., 27, of 305 Austin Ave. Apt. 8, on
Tuesday, which followed Monday’s arrest of his father, Paul C. Laskay
Sr., 59, who had resided with his son at the same T or C apartment.
Rhoades said he doesn’t expect any
more charges to arise from the case despite rumors of other people’s
involvement in the death of Betty Bruno, also known as Betty Wolff.
Besides the murder charge, other
charges leveled against Laskay Jr. include a count of tampering with
evidence, a fourth degree felony, and against both Laskay Jr. and Sr. a
count each of first-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping,
a second degree felony.
The alleged kidnapping and murder
occurred between July 23 and 24, occurring only a day or two after the
fire Betty Wolff Bruno allegedly started the night of July 22 at an
apartment at East Second and Date streets, only a half block away from the
Desert Journal’s office.
Co-incidentally, the DJ staff
photographer shot the fire that was published exclusively on the Desert
Journal’s website, www.desertjournalonline.com,
for its July 26, 2002 edition, the same week the DJ’s operating system
crashed resulting in the cancellation of its July 26 print edition.
At the time, it was believed that a lit
cigarette ignited the fire after the smoker fell asleep.
However, this is disputed by other
statements such as Betty Wolff may have been cooking in the apartment at
the time of the fire. Witnesses said also that she appeared intoxicated
that night.
Agent Rhoades said he could not confirm
any of these story lines because the incident went without much probing,
although it was his understanding that no accelerants or chemical
substances that would aid in an arson were detected at the scene. He said
the county fire marshal was not called in to investigate the fire on East
Second and Date streets because of the belief that it was accidental.
But whether an arson or accidental
fire, the law clearly prohibits the carrying out of acts of retaliation or
a vendetta, never mind murder. And the case gets stranger with the fact
that although Paul Laskay Jr. considered the fire victim a friend, the
fire victim didn’t want to have anything to do with any association with
Laskay, Rhoades said.
The case came to light on July 26 when
Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Deputy Gregory Garland was sent to the Rio
Grande about 2 miles south of State Road 436 near Garfield to retrieve a
body from the river. The body was then taken to the Office of the Medical
Investigator for an autopsy.
In the course of the homicide probe,
police learned the body belonged to Betty Bruno and that her cause of
death was by strangulation, according to the affidavit for arrest warrant.
George Padilla, a friend of Bruno’s,
told police that at about 10 p.m. July 23 (about 24 hours after the fire)
Bruno was in the living room of his home at 215 Birch St. when both Paul
Laskay Jr. and Sr. entered uninvited. Laskay Jr. started to yell at Bruno,
blaming her for the fire that damaged the residence of Gilbert Del Rio,
the affidavit said.
Laskay Jr. then approached Bruno and
struck her on the side of the head, knocking her from the chair onto the
floor, the affidavit said. While continuing to holler at Bruno about the
fire, Laskay Jr. then grabbed her by the arm, forced her to her feet and
then forcibly walked her through the kitchen where his father also began
to help his son move Bruno out the side door into a van parked in the
driveway, according to the affidavit.
“That was the last time Mr. Padilla
saw Mrs. Bruno,” Agent Rhoades’s affidavit said.
Sarah Balaskovits, an acquaintance of
Bruno, told police that during the evening of July 23, Laskay Jr. knocked
on the door of her residence at 305 Austin Ave. and she saw a white van
parked in front of her doorway. She also saw Laskay Sr. and Bruno inside
the van.
Laskay Jr. then asked Balaskovits where
her mother, Janice Hollis, was because he wanted Hollis to beat up Bruno
as she had once done. He said Bruno needed to be “sent down the river”
because she set the fire to Del Rio’s home and then he said he was going
to do it, the affidavit alleged.
Balaskovits said she then observed
Bruno screaming inside the van and attempting to get out. Bruno then
opened the van’s sliding door and got out but Laskay Jr. ran after her,
called her a “bitch,” and then caught and put her back inside the van,
shutting the door, the affidavit said.
After Balaskovits finally told them
that her mother was not home, the three drove away with Laskay Jr.
driving.
Balaskovits’ husband, Eric Boeck,
told police he was present and that he also heard Laskay Jr. say, “The
bitch needs her ass kicked,” referring to Bruno.
“Laskay Jr. explained that this
beating was necessary because Bruno burned Del Rio’s house down,”
Boeck told police, adding he also heard Laskay Jr. say he was going to
take her to the river to beat her up. He said he too heard Bruno shouting
but couldn’t understand what she said.
Hollis told police that the Thursday
(July 25) before Bruno’s body was found, Laskay Jr. went to her house
with Rosemary Landers and her two small children. Laskay Jr. told Hollis
he had been looking for her the prior night (July 24).
Laskay Jr. then allegedly told Hollis
that he had beaten and strangled Bruno until she had no air, and he then
threw her in the river, the affidavit said.
In disbelief, Hollis said, “No, you
didn’t.” But Laskay Jr. insisted he in fact “killed the old
bitch,” the affidavit alleged, adding that the murder suspect also told
Hollis he had to clean out the van because there was blood in it.
Despite her disbelief, Hollis asked
Laskay Jr. where he had done it and he replied he did it the night before
(being Wednesday night, July 24), at “Bobby’s Place” near the river
– a popular fishing place where someone had committed suicide, according
to Agent Rhoades’ statement.
David Briggs, a friend of Laskay Jr.,
told police Laskay Jr. went to his residence at 1700 S. Broadway at about
1:30 a.m. July 24. He said Laskay Jr. was shirtless, wore pants covered
with dried mud and was caked with mud from his elbows to his shoulders.
Laskay Jr. then allegedly told Briggs,
“I just killed Betty Wolff.” Briggs then asked Laskay Jr. why he did
it to which he received a mumbled response. He said Laskay Jr. then said
he had to go clear his mind.
Briggs said he also saw the white van
parked outside his home while speaking with Laskay Jr. He said the van
belonged to Laskay’s girlfriend, Sheri.
Sheri Beckman told police she and
Laskay Jr. had been living together at the time of Bruno’s murder and
that she owns the white van. She said Laskay Jr. was driving the van
especially during the time of Bruno’s death as she was away. She said
Laskay Jr. also was taking care of her two small children.
Beckman said that when she returned
home from a two-week absence she noticed the van was cleaned and the
garbage removed. She also spoke with Laskay Jr. about Bruno’s murder and
he admitted only that he had picked up Bruno on the night of her death and
had driven her to Ralph Edwards Park, where he let her out of the van.
Rhoades said he spoke with Laskay Sr.
who said that on the night of July 23 he and his son were in Sheri’s
white van when they saw that there was a fire at Del Rio’s apartment.
After the fire was extinguished, the two then drove to Padilla’s
residence to tell him about the incident.
When they arrived they found Bruno
there and she was intoxicated. He said he and his son then took Bruno from
the Padilla residence, put her in the van and drove her to Ralph Edwards
Park, according to the affidavit.
Gilbert Del Rio’s brother, Eddie,
told police that on the evening of the fire he saw Bruno at his
brother’s residence and she was talking about cooking food. Eddie Del
Rio said he went to sleep at his brother’s apartment and woke up
smelling smoke. When he went out to the street he found Laskay Jr. and Sr.
and was advised by them that his brother Gilbert already had been taken to
the hospital.
Agent Rhoades said it appeared to him
that Eddie Del Rio blamed Bruno for starting the fire and conveyed such
information to other people that night. In particular, after visiting his
brother in the hospital, Eddie Del Rio went to Padilla’s residence with
the Laskays where he confronted Bruno, according to the affidavit.
Then the story changed with the most
incredible statements, with son now accusing father, considering the
mounting evidence and witnesses that Laskay Jr. seemingly left in the way
of his loose lips.
On Sept. 17, Laskay Jr. told Rhoades
during an interview that after he and his father arrived at the Padilla
home, they went inside and found Bruno sitting on a chair in the living
room. He said he was angry with Bruno about the fire and yelled at her;
however, he denied striking her saying it was his father who actually
knocked Bruno to the floor.
Laskay Jr. allegedly told the agent he
it was he who “helped her get up from the floor and out to the van,”
with his father hollering at her about the fire, according to the
affidavit.
While on their way to the
Boeck-Balaskovits residence, Laskay Jr. said he heard Bruno say something
and that he turned toward her “to see his father strike Bruno on the
head.”
Laskay Jr. allegedly admitted he then
drove to Janice Hollis’ residence to ask Hollis if she could beat up
Bruno, according to the affidavit, which added that he also admitted that
Bruno slid the door back on the van and tried to exit when he ordered her
back inside.
After driving to other places, Laskay
Jr. said he and his father drove Bruno to Red Gate, which is off the
dead-end road by the Rio Grande in T or C. Laskay Jr. said that he waited
in the van while his father and Bruno walked off into the distance with
his father “continually striking Ms. Bruno.”
After his father stopped, Laskay Jr.
said he got out of the van and walked over to where Bruno was lying. He
told the agent he could neither feel a pulse nor detect any sign of life.
The father and son then picked her up
and put her inside the van, according to Laskay Jr. in his statement to
Rhoades. He said his father stated that they had to get Bruno out of the
county.
“Paul Laskay Jr. stated that he
thought she might be dead, but when they arrived at their next stop, which
was south of Caballo Dam, he noticed that Ms. Bruno groaned,” according
to the agent’s affidavit.
“He then saw his father drag Bruno
toward the river, and when the father returned to the van Bruno was not
with him,” according to the statement Laskay Jr. gave police.
Furthermore, Laskay Jr. allegedly also
said that when his father returned to the van, his shirt was missing and
he was holding his pants, which appeared to be very wet, in his hand.
“The shirt that Laskay Sr. was
wearing [purportedly], as described by his son, matched that of the shirt
that was used to strangle Bruno and that was still around her neck at the
time her body was discovered,” according to agent Rhoades’ affidavit.
Magistrate Tom Pestak set no bond for
both father and son and District Judge Kevin Sweazea continued no bond
during their first appearances Thursday morning.
Preliminary hearings for
both defendants are pending in the Sierra County Magistrate Court that has
been closed this week due to a court clerks and judges conference in
Albuquerque.
<<<
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…Cold
& murky
These
were the words state police divers (top photo) used to describe their
search Monday and Tuesday at Elephant Butte Lake for any bones or remnants
that could be tied to the David Ray sexual torture case. They dove
primarily in the Kettle Top area (middle photo) that is among the deepest
areas of the reservoir. The dock at Rock Canyon Marina (bottom photo) is
where state police and park rangers floated in the body of Billy Ray
Bowers in 1989 – his body wrapped in blue tarp and weighed down with a
boat anchor. Bowers was Ray’s boss at Canal Motors in Phoenix, AZ, at
the time.
DJ
photos by Bill Johnson
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Agents seek closure
on David Ray’s
case
No bodies found in EB Lake
after two-day intensive search
By Bill Johnson
of the Desert Journal
 i
David
Parker Ray (at his sentencing last year) died at age 62 on May 28 this
year at the prison in Hobbs, NM, apparently of a heart attack, after
serving only three years of his 224-year prison sentence.
DJ file photo
After two days of intensive searching
for bodies believed to have been dumped in Elephant Butte Lake during
deceased convict David Parker Ray’s reign of sexual torture, more than a
dozen state police divers returned home empty handed late Tuesday
afternoon.
Murky and cold are the words divers
chose to describe conditions during their search for possible homicide
victims whose most likely remains would consist of bones considering the
fact that it has been more than three and a half years since Ray’s
arrest in March 1999 on charges of multiple kidnappings and rapes in which
he held his victims captive while sexually torturing them for days on end.
But no homicides thus far have been
tied to Ray although his former boss Billy Ray Bowers at Canal Motors in
Phoenix, AZ, rose to the surface of the lake in 1989.
And it was in the Kettle Top area of
the east side of the lake where Bowers’ body emerged while wrapped in
blue tarp with a boat anchor attached.
Investigators then knew him only as the
anonymously slain “John Doe” and had determined that he had been
executed – shot in the back of the head – before being disposed of in
the lake a year prior in 1988. It would take nearly a year for his body to
gas up enough to cause the weight of the tarp, body and anchor to rise
from its reservoir gravesite.
And then it took another 10 years or
the week after David Ray was arrested before they actually knew Bowers’
identity.
The location of Bower’s body when it
was found, combined with witnesses’ statements and evidence collected
from Ray’s “Toy Box” – the sound-proofed travel trailer chambers
in which he held his young female victims captive and tortured for days at
a time – also led Criminal Agent Norman Rhoades and the team of 14 New
Mexico State Police divers to the Kettle Top area to conduct their search
earlier this week.
Rhoades said Ray kept pictures and
illustrations of Kettle Top – a mesa shaped like a kettle - including
one that ran in the Desert Journal.
And Ray was no stranger to the lake,
having worked as a mechanic in the Elephant Butte Lake State Park’s shop
for several years. Being a boating enthusiast, he often took his daughter,
Jessy Ray, and her female friends on boating excursions on Elephant Butte
Lake.
One of his daughter’s friends, Becky,
who says she was lucky to never have been one of Ray’s victims possibly
because she affectionately called him “Dad,” went on these boating
trips with the Rays.
She recalled friendly conversations she
had with David Ray while on the lake. Like the time she asked, “I wonder
if there are any bodies in there,” and Ray would respond, “Lots of
them.” Or how Ray would comment as they passed over certain spots,
“These are the deepest parts.”
And no doubt the Kettle Top area is
among the deepest parts of the lake, possibly second only to the depths of
Elephant Butte Dam.
And Kettle Top would be the preferred
place to dump bodies because it’s a lot more remote - thus easier to
escape detection - than the dam area where a marina, restaurant and bar,
cabins and residences are situated.
But, one statement Ray made on a
boating trip in particular came to Becky’s mind after Ray’s arrest.
She recalled telling him about boyfriend troubles she was having at the
time and Ray explained what to do in such a case:
“After killing him, you cut him open,
fill up his body with rocks and wrap it with chicken wire (to hold the
rocks in place), then dump him in the lake.”
And there was also the time when David
Ray told his latest flame and accomplice Cindy Hendy - now serving 35
years in prison for her role in the kidnaps and rapes of two women in
February and March 1999 - that he had put 18 bodies to rest in the lake,
according to investigators.
So, put together, one would expect
other bodies besides Bowers’ would be discovered by now except Ray
learned the first time after Bowers’ body gassed up and rose to the
surface: “you cut ’em up and fill ‘em up with rocks.”
But Rhoades and the diving crew found
no such thing laying on the bottom of the reservoir although Rhoades
admits it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“We covered the area that recedes
back toward Kettle Top where it’s only 40 feet down now. The last time
we searched a couple of years ago it was at a depth of 90 feet to 110
feet,” Rhoades said.
The difference in depths is the result
of the severe ongoing drought.
And in spite of poor or zero visibility
at the bottom of the lake (and most of the lake), divers still managed to
cover a large area south and west of Kettle Top, Rhoades said. He said the
divers ran lines along the bottom of the lake and if a line snagged on
something they would check it out.
“Nothing was found. There is still a
lot of area not covered,” he said.
The reason for the search and other
current activities in this case is to bring closure to it, Rhoades said.
“We hope to close out this case by March,” he added.
Even if closed, if something pops up in
the future the case would be restored to active status.
And any bodies or body parts that may
be found at the lake well into the future will be tied to the Ray case
whether or not he did it and although Ray died May 28 in prison in Hobbs
from a heart attack while serving out his 224-year term.
To aid in the identification of any
possible victims, state police released photos of jewelry and clothing
items, including a couple of purses, that were among the 2,000 pieces of
evidence that they and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
seized from Ray’s lease lot property on Bass Road in the Hot Springs
Landing area of Elephant Butte Lake State Park.
The photographs of these items are
being displayed for possible identification of their owners on
Albuquerque’s Channel 13 News website at krqe.com.
Rhoades said the KRQE website’s
special project for David Ray received more than 130,000 hits since it was
posted last week. He said that as a result of the project, he has one lead
to follow up on when he returns to his command post.
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...Are
bodies buried in the lake?
There
have been in the past – Billy Ray Bowers of Phoenix and Janice Pulliam
of Albuquerque whose homicides are still unsolved since their bodies were
discovered in Elephant Butte Lake in the late 1980s. The question should
be, will any more be found? Any new finds will be tagged to David Ray and
then ruled out, investigators said Tuesday after their two-day underwater
search. The camera’s angle from the dock at South Rock Canyon is a
possibility of where divers might look – and they have been looking
there - as this area contains lots of depth and remoteness.
DJ Photo by
Bill Johnson
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David
Ray’s property (mobile home, etc.) on Bass Road at Hot Springs Landing
at Elephant Butte Lake State Park is up for sale. The community changed
the block numbers of Bass Road in an attempt to escape the stigma Ray
brought to the neighborhood with his torture chambers, known as the Toy
Box.
DJ photo by Bill Johnson
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HERE FOR MORE LINKS TO RELATED STORIES |
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Accident claims
woman's life
By
Fred Mramor
of the Desert Journal
A single vehicle accident claimed the
life of Truth or Consequences resident Lucille Montgomery Wednesday
evening.
Montgomery, 81, apparently lost control
of her vehicle while driving towards Truth or Consequences on Highway 51
at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Sierra County Sheriff’s
Deputy Matt Coulter, the investigating officer.
The 1989 Dodge Spirit crossed from
Highway 51’s southbound lane into the northbound lane at State Road 179.
Mrs. Montgomery’s car then struck a hillside, became airborne and
finally landed on its top, Deputy Coulter said.
Sierra County Sheriff’s Deputies, the
Sierra Ambulance Service and the Village of Williamsburg’s extrication
team responded to the accident after it was reported by a passerby.
Mrs. Montgomery died shortly after
emergency response personnel arrived. Her body was sent to the Office of
the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque to determine the direct cause of
death.
How Mrs. Montgomery lost control of her
vehicle is under investigation but may have been due to a medical
condition, Deputy Coulter said. Coulter said there is no indication that
she had been drinking and she was wearing her seatbelt when the accident
occurred.
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Senate
passes lease lot bill
for
EB and Caballo Lakes
Skeen say’s bill’s
success is a highlight
of his House career
WASHINGTON,
DC - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to the Elephant
Butte Lease Lot Conveyance Act, paving the way for more than 300 lease lot
holders at Elephant Butte and CaballoLake State Parks to have a crack at
private ownership of the land they have improved, according to a statement
released Thursday by U.S. Representative Joe Skeen.
The
U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this year and now
with the Senate’s nod it will go to President Bush for final passage.
“I
cannot tell you how pleased I am that this has passed the Senate,” said
the retiring Skeen, R-NM’s 2nd
Congressional District.
“I
had feared it had been caught up in the Senate gridlock and would die
unapproved. My staff and I have been working to bring this about for most
of the past decade,” said Skeen, who will leave his seat in the House
early next year.
“It
was simply a matter of fairness to these lease holders that we give them
the opportunity to purchase the land they built on. Many of them have
constructed permanent homes on the sites and live there full time,”
Skeen said.
“These
lots were originally held by the government because of the possibility the
level of Elephant Butte Lake would be raised sometime in the future. It
has been clear for some time now that this is never going to happen,”
the congressman said.
“So,
we went to work to help make things right. It is always a good feeling
when something you’ve worked hard on comes about. This is one of those
times.”
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City
denies wrongdoing
in
firing Sharon Roberts
By Fred Mramor
of the Desert Journal
The
City of Truth or Consequences in its answer to a wrongful termination suit
filed by former city financial manager Sharon Roberts naturally stipulates
to harmless facts such as Roberts having been employed by the city from
July 1986 until March 2000 and that Sam Isom was hired as city manager in
February 1999.
In the answer prepared by attorney
James P. Sullivan of Hatcher, Sullivan and Grand of Santa Fe, the city
denies any potentially actionable charges such as Sam Isom was openly
hostile to Sharon Roberts from the beginning and Isom harassed Roberts
until finally firing her without cause.
In
a stock affirmative defense, the city states that Roberts failed to state
a claim for which relief can be granted.
The
city further claims that Roberts failed to mitigate damages thereby
barring or reducing any recovery and that she failed to exhaust
administrative remedies.
In
other defenses that the city may have to develop for trial, the city’s
attorney claims that disciplinary actions administered by the defendants
(City and Sam Isom) were justified and Roberts is not entitled to punitive
damages as none acted willfully, recklessly or engaged in any grossly
negligent conduct in disregard of Robert’s rights.
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$2.5 million
awarded for control
of salt cedar
on Rio Grande Basin
Public
meeting set
Monday in T
or C
The
Legislature during the 2002 session approved funding of $2.5 million to
remove Russian Olive and Salt Cedar from the Rio Grande Basin.
These funds
are appropriated through the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to Soil
and Water Conservation Districts on the Rio Grande.
The Lower Rio
Grande Project will use $1.25 million of this appropriate to treat Salt
Cedar in the Socorro, Sierra, Caballo and La Union Soil and Water
Conservation Districts.
The project
scope is for the eradication and control of non-native phreatophyte plant
species (i.e. Salt Cedar and Russian Olive) through the following methods:
Developing
management and native vegetation restoration plans;
Conducting
hearings within the local conservation districts to receive public input
on the plans;
Carrying out
aerial spraying only by helicopter or ground application with prior public
notice;
Monitoring
and evaluating the effects of the control on wildlife, water quality,
vegetation and soil health; and
If control
affects threatened or endangered species, the project proponents will take
action to ensure compliance with applicable federal law and conformance
with any duly enacted recovery plan.
Tamarisk,
more commonly known as Salt Cedar, is a non-native, phreatophyte plant. It
is believed that nurserymen made the first introduction of Salt Cedar to
North America in 1823.
It was
planted as an ornamental in the Western United States and by the 1870s it
was reported to have escaped cultivation. By the 1920s Salt Cedar was
becoming a serious problem, spreading rapidly through the watersheds of
the Southwest.
The plant
forms monotypic stands, replacing willows, cottonwoods and other native
riparian vegetation. The stems and leaves of mature plants secrete salt,
forming a crust above and below ground that inhibits other plants.
Salt Cedar is
an enormous water consumer. A mature tree of 12-15 feet uses 200 gallons
of water per day. It produces thousands and thousands of seeds, with seeds
having the ability to germinate while floating on the water and sprouting
upon contact with soil.
With the past
drought conditions and the aggressive nature of the salt cedar plant, it
is very detrimental to the Rio Grande system and also impacts the ability
of New Mexico to meet the water requirements of the Rio Grande Compact
with Mexico and Texas.
The Supreme
Court decree of 1988 sets conditions that New Mexico must meet compact
obligations with delivery of water to Texas.
The soil and
water conservation districts, working through the New Mexico Association
of Conservation Districts, have worked with the New Mexico State
Legislature on opportunities to enhance flows on the Rio Grande.
A steering
committee has been formed with representation from each of the four soil
and water conservation districts, with the Socorro SWCD serving as the
fiscal agent.
The committee
established a budget for administration and treatment.
Stan
Bulsterbaum has been hired as the project coordinator. He will help
conduct public meetings, develop reports, presentation materials, news
releases, serve as a liaison for soil and water conservation districts
with other governmental entities and insure monitoring and evaluation is
completed, as per the enabling legislation.
A project
plan has been developed and approved by the New Mexico Department of
Agriculture.
The project
area will encompass the Rio Grande, beginning at the Socorro/Valencia
county line south to the Texas/Mexico border.
The treatment
plan would include aerial application of the herbicide, Arsenal, to about
4,590 acres.
In addition,
two areas have been selected to use the cut-stump treatment method,
including the seven-mile stretch of the Rio Grande through the City of
Truth or Consequences and the Village of Williamsburg.
This method
entails cutting the plant close to the ground and applying the herbicide,
Arsenal, directly to the top of the freshly cut stump within the first 20
minutes.
Studies on
Arsenal (the main active ingredient being Imazapyr) have shown that is
does not adversely affect vertebrate or invertebrate animal life;
dissipates quickly in the environment, and the metabolic pathway only
exists in plants.
The Sierra
Soil & Water Conservation District plans to begin their cut-stump
treatment plan by the first part of December.
Letters have
been sent to the landowners adjacent to the Rio Grande, based on the
latest records acquired by the Sierra SWCD.
If a
landowner has not been contacted, they can call the staff of the Sierra
SWCD.
Private
landowners would sign an authorization agreement, allowing a treatment
plan to be utilized on their property. The treatment plan would allow a
crew to come to the property, cut down the designated salt cedar plants,
treat the stumps and haul away the slash.
The slash
will be taken to a site donated by the City of Truth or Consequences and
free use will be allowed for the community to get firewood and fence
stays.
The remaining
materials will be run through a mulching machine for the community.
A Joint
Powers Agreement is in place between the Sierra Soil & Water
Conservation District and the Gila National Forest’s Black Range
District to engage their staff and equipment to complete the cut-stump.
Forest
Service staff is chainsaw certified and will also be working under a
Public Pesticide Applicator's License for the herbicide treatment.
A major
concern along this stretch of the Rio Grande is the high fire hazard that
salt cedar presents, which the Forest Service is gravely concerned about
in this wildland/urban interface area.
This project
will therefore benefit the community in two ways: removing a non-native
plant so that native riparian vegetation can flourish and also reducing
the hazardous fuel loads along the river.
A public
informational meeting is scheduled for this Monday, Nov. 25, at the T or C
Civic Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Sierra
Soil & Water Conservation District encourages everyone in the
community to attend and learn more about this project and other projects
along the river.
For more
information, contact the Sierra SWCD office at 2101 S. Broadway in T or C
or call 894-2212.
Any of the
District staff can help answer the public’s questions, with the staff
comprised of Brent Bason, noxious weed technician, Merry Jo Fahl, district
coordinator, or Stephanie Bason, resource management specialist.
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Retired investigator John
Ashbaugh and his bird dog, Remington, display their honors Tuesday and
prepare for regional competition coming up in January.
DJ photo by Bill
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Ashbaugh & Bird Dog win trophy,
qualify for regional contest in Denver
Their performance to be aired
Saturday on Outdoor channel
John Ashbaugh and his German shorthair
pointer Remington have made great strides since their first competition
last March when they won third place.
In just seven months the Truth or
Consequences duo has excelled to the point of winning first places in two
bird dog competitions and beating a course record.
The latest of accomplishments was their
success at the Oil Patch Bird Dog Challenge Oct. 19 and 20 in Hobbs, NM,
where they won first place in the open division.
Sanctioned by the National Bird Dog
Challenge Association, the scored event qualified Ashbaugh and Remington
to compete in regional competition Jan. 10-12, 2003, in Denver, CO.
Ashbaugh said he and Remington competed
against 16 or 17 others in their class. “All of them were top dogs,”
he said, adding that many also competed out of state with second place
going to a guy from Colorado and third place to a Texan.
Ashbaugh, a retired investigator for
the District Attorney’s Office in Truth or Consequences, and Remington
also nabbed first place in the under two years old division at the
Southwestern New Mexico Quail Unlimited Field Trial, a judged event held
April 14 in Las Cruces.
In that competition, they broke the
course record with a score of 81. “The nearest dog scored 24. We were
off the field in 15 minutes and there were no birds left,” Ashbaugh said
of his and Remington’s grand performance.
Not bad, considering their first
competition March 23 when they placed third in the open pointing division
at the Oil Patch Bird Dog Challenge, also held in Hobbs.
Ashbaugh now eyes the Denver challenge
as a great chance to qualify for nationals. The eight top dogs in each
region winning regional contests will qualify for nationals.
“If we qualify for the nationals in
the National Bird Dog Challenge Association, we’ll be going to Davis
City, Iowa, March 12-16, 2003,” Ashbaugh said.
Ashbaugh and Remington’s latest
performance in October also is being aired in three segments by the
Outdoor channel, which can be found on cable TV and on Dish Network
Channel 153.
The first two parts of their run
already were shown Monday and Thursday this week but the third segment on
the “Pointers and Flushers” program is yet to be broadcast at 5 p.m.
this Saturday, Nov. 23.
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OBITUARIES
Julia C. Armijo, 82, a resident of Las Palomas since 1945, died
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2002, at the Sierra Health Care Center in Truth or
Consequences. She was born Aug. 19, 1920, in Magdalena, NM, to Juan W. and
Ramona (Castillo) Carrejo. She was a homemaker and a member of Our Lady of
Perpetual Help Catholic Church in T or C. She also was formerly active
with the Democratic Party.
Survivors include her husband, Richard T. Armijo of the Las Palomas
home; her daughter, Kathleen and husband Horacio Terrazas of Las Palomas;
her son, Walter Armijo and wife Viola of Las Palomas; her seven
grandchildren, Ronald Armijo, Eric Armijo, Daniel Terrazas, Michael
Terrazas, Mark Armijo, Kelley Whitehead and Jonathan Terrazas; six
great-grandchildren, Christopher, Tyler, Justin, Aaron, Morgan and Kaylee;
her brothers, Nestor Carrejo of T or C, J.J. Carrejo of Rio Rancho, Roy
Carrejo of Socorro and Ernest Carrejo of Quemado; her sisters, Shella
Jiron of T or C, Annie Jiron of Belen, Lucy Armijo of Roswell and Teresa
Saavedra of Albuquerque; and her sister-in-law, Rita and husband Don
Montoya. She was preceded in death by her brother, Willie Carrejo, and by
her sister, Tony Martin.
Prayer vigil was said Thursday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Catholic Church in T or C where mass of Christian burial also was
celebrated at 10 a.m. today (Friday, Nov. 22) with Revs. Sean Garrity and
Art Roberts officiating. Rite of committal and interment will follow in
the Las Palomas Cemetery. Casket Bearers are Ronald Armijo, Eric Armijo,
Mark Armijo, Daniel Terrazas, Michael Terrazas and Jonathan Terrazas.
Honorary casket bearers are her great-grandchildren. Arrangements are by
French Mortuary of T or C Inc.; 505-894-2574.
Bon Albert
Thomson, 65, a resident of Elephant Butte since 1995,
died Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2002. The Santa Fe, NM native graduated in 1956
from Robertson High School in Las Vegas, NM. He also attended the Harding
Bible College in Henderson TN, in 1956-57 and Highlands University in Las
Vegas, NM, one year from 1957-58. He worked for PNM for 18 years in
Albuquerque and Santa Fe. He also worked for ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia for 17
years and for Plains Electric for two years before retiring in Elephant
Butte seven years ago. He was a current trustee of the Sierra Electric
Cooperative Board of Trustees and he also served as chairman of the City
of Elephant Butte Planning and Zoning Board. He was an active member of
the Church at the Butte and his favorite passage from the Bible was the
“love” verses in 1 Corinthians 13.
Survivors include his wife, Nona Francis “Nee” (Taylor) Thomson
of the Elephant Butte home; three daughters, Bon Jean and husband David
Rush of Denton, TX, Kerry and husband Dick Sparks, and Carolyn and husband
Martin Baca, all of Belen; six grandchildren, Benjamin Sparks, Sarah and
Bon Paul Baca, Jeremy, James and Zachary Rush; his mother, Lulu Crista of
El Paso, TX; his sister, Therma Keene of El Paso, TX; his brother, Gerald
Thomson of Venezuela; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in
death by his father, Gerald Thomson.
A memorial celebration service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday,
Nov. 23, at the Church at the Butte in Elephant Butte with Rev. Robert
Rachuig officiating. For those who prefer, memorial contributions in his
memory may be made to the Church at the Butte Building Fund, P.O. Box
1346, Elephant Butte, NM 87935. Arrangements are by French Mortuary of T
or C Inc.; 505-894-2574.
Eloise Marie Kunik, 86, a resident of Truth or Consequences since
1994, died Sunday, Nov. 17, 2002, at the Sierra Health Care Center. She
was born Nov. 25, 1915, in Niles, MI, to William F. and Catherine Elmira
(Mann) Leverenz. She spent her younger years in Albuquerque, and graduated
from Albuquerque High School. She met her husband in Albuquerque and was
married June 3, 1944, in Santa Fe. She enjoyed dancing and doing things
with her friends before and after her marriage. She moved to Michigan in
1948 where she lived until 1981. She retired from the Bank of Alma and was
active in the Business and Professional Women’s Club and Daisy Chain in
the Alma area. She enjoyed sewing and making clothes for herself, her
daughter and her granddaughters. She was an active bowler and bowled in a
league for many years. She continued to enjoy dancing and spending time
with friends and family in the Alma area. In 1981 she and her husband John
moved to California where they managed an apartment complex in San Jose
for several years. They retired in 1994 and moved to T or C where they
enjoyed being near family and the sunny weather.
Survivors include her daughter, Suzanne Simmons of Bellevue, WA;
her grandchildren, Catherine Simmons of Baltimore, MD, Jennifer Simmons of
Issaquah, WA, and Leslie Simmons of Bellevue, WA; her brothers and
sisters, Donald Leverenz of Stuart, FL, Evelyn Kimball, Irene Gains and
Richard Leverenz, all three of Albuquerque; her sister-in-law, Martha
Leverenz of T or C; her niece, Kathy McClean of T or C; and several other
nieces and nephews elsewhere in New Mexico, California, Michigan, Indiana
and Oregon. She was preceded in death by her husband, John, in 1998; her
parents; her brother; and her step-mother.
Cremation took place and a memorial celebration service will be
held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, in the Chapel of French Mortuary of T or
C with Rev. Art Roberts officiating. Arrangements are by French Mortuary
of T or C Inc.; 505-894-2574.
Opal Arlene Aldrich-Rodenbeck-Cox, 85, of Truth or Consequences,
died Saturday, Nov. 16, 2002, at the Sierra Health Care Center. She was
born March 31, 1917, in Gosper County (north of Cambridge), NE, to Albert
and Mable (Harmon) Aldrich. She lived there until her first year of school
when her parents and siblings moved to Edison for three years.
In 1927, the family moved to a farm northeast of Arapahoe. She
graduated from Arapahoe High School in 1934 and then taught school for
seven years. She attended summer school at the Teacher’s College in
Kearney. She married and left home and moved to Colorado where she worked
in the Gamble Stores in Greeley, Longmont and Grand Junction. She returned
seven years later in 1948. In 1949, she married her true love and former
sweetheart, Kurt Rodenbeck, and they had 24 wonderful years together,
first on a farm north of Edison and later in Arapahoe.
Opal and Kurt loved to travel after they left the farm and
practiced “retirement” by living six weeks every winter in Truth or
Consequences, NM, and they traveled extensively through both West and East
Coasts. After a long illness Kurt died in 1973.
In 1974, Opal was visiting friends in T or C when she met and
married Clarence Cox who had stopped there on his way from having spent
the winter in Arizona. A year later they sold the home in Arapahoe and
moved to Apache Junction, AZ, for the winters. There they joined the Wally
Byam Caravan Club and traveled in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois,
Kentucky and Tennessee. They made their home in an Airstreaj travel
trailer for years. They enjoyed their nomadic life and were involved with
the Caravan Club. When she married Clarence, she acquired the family she
had always wanted – four married sons and one married daughter, numerous
step-grandchildren and even several step-great-grandchildren. The family
kept a close bond and they saw each other often. Opal was pleased to have
a family and they traveled around together until two years before his
death in 1989. They were married for 15 years and now she was alone again.
Opal lived in Arizona for three years and moved to T or C where she
remained until her death. In August, 1999, Opal moved to the Sierra Health
Care Center. She suffered from Parkinson’s disease and it took more and
more control.
Survivors include her step-children, step-grandchildren, and
step-great-grandchildren; her brother, Ray & wife Gladys Aldrich of
McCook; and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her two
husbands, Kurt in 1973 and Clarence in 1989; her parents; her sisters,
Ethyl (an infant when she died) Vera and Fern in 1998 and Ruth in 2000;
and a nephew, Albert Dean Brown in 2002.
She was never an idle person and she was liked by everyone. She had
many friends and was a great volunteer in the Trinity Lutheran Church in
her community; taught 4-H sewing and enjoyed the RV Camper Club.
No local services will be held. She was taken to Williamson-Wenburg
Funeral Home in Arapahoe, NE, and interment will be in the Arapahoe
Cemetery. Local arrangements were by French Mortuary of T or C Inc;
505-894-2574.
Doyle A.
Woodward, 88, a resident of the New Mexico State Veterans
Home in Truth or Consequences, died Friday, Nov. 15, 2002. He was born
July 21, 1914, in Sturgis, MS, to Jimmy and Eula Woodward. He was a U.S.
Air Force veteran having served from the time of World War II in 1942 to
the end of the Vietnam Conflict in 1973. She was taken to Sandia Funeral
Care in Albuquerque.
Jeanne A. Valenciano, 75, a resident of Truth or Consequences the
last six years, died Sunday, Nov. 17, 2002, at Sierra Vista Hospital. She
was born April 21, 1927, in Chicago, IL, to William Fred Ballou and Evelyn
May (Johnson) Ballou. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include her 11 children, Lynn Wagner of West Linn, OR,
Laurie Valenciano, Kim Mayer, Jay Bush and Jon Bush, all four of Salem,
OR, Donna Collier of Scappoose, OR, Leslie Klug of Detroit, OR, Dale
Langley of Waldron, AR, David toeLaer of Killeen, TX, Larry Bush of T or
C, and Doug Bush of Independence, OR, 28 grandchildren; and 36
great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son, Curtis Bush.
Services were held Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Chapel of French
Mortuary in T or C with Lynn Wagner officiating. Arrangements were by
French Mortuary of T or C Inc.; 505-894-2574.
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